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Tom Taggart
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metro news

Post by Tom Taggart »

Need to get somebody out next week to get sat receiver working but need to know what bird and transponder its on. Swapped receivers, found bad coax but second receiver still doesn't work, even at the dish. So need to get local specialist with spectrum analyzer to get the dish lined up.
Cameron
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Re: metro news

Post by Cameron »

Galaxy 16
99.2° W
Transponder 3

The Comstream ABR 200/202s have a battery inside that "holds" their memory, much like CMOS.
You may be aligned, and as a result of a power outage and dead battery, dumped the receiver configuration.
Get you a 200/202 PDF from a Google search, set up your terminal software, do a little HOMEYD, (not with Hyperterminal - Comstreams hate it) -
and call Metronews. If they can't give you the command-set, (they used to guard it like it was the cure to cancer), call the engineer at WRVC in Huntington.
The command-set is on a label on the front face of the receivers. (Learn once/document once).
------------------------
Cameron Smith - CSRE®
Senior Member - SBE 68 Birmingham
Senior Digital Product Manager - Hibbett Sports|City Gear
RADIOHEAD 1
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Re: metro news

Post by RADIOHEAD 1 »

By the way who is the engineer at WRVC since you left...I heard Mike pulled a homeless guy off the street and
gave him the job...I understand he lives ath WRVC transmitter site..What a philanthropist Mike is...
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Lester
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Re: metro news

Post by Lester »

Cameron wrote:Galaxy 16
99.2° W
Transponder 3

The Comstream ABR 200/202s have a battery inside that "holds" their memory, much like CMOS.
You may be aligned, and as a result of a power outage and dead battery, dumped the receiver configuration.
Get you a 200/202 PDF from a Google search, set up your terminal software, do a little HOMEYD, (not with Hyperterminal - Comstreams hate it) -
and call Metronews. If they can't give you the command-set, (they used to guard it like it was the cure to cancer), call the engineer at WRVC in Huntington.
The command-set is on a label on the front face of the receivers. (Learn once/document once).
I.
F*****.
Love.
This.
Board.
Cameron
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Re: metro news

Post by Cameron »

RADIOHEAD 1 wrote:By the way who is the engineer at WRVC since you left...I heard Mike pulled a homeless guy off the street and
gave him the job...I understand he lives ath WRVC transmitter site..What a philanthropist Mike is...

...as stupid and unexperienced as I was - a homeless guy would be damn-near overqualified!
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Cameron Smith - CSRE®
Senior Member - SBE 68 Birmingham
Senior Digital Product Manager - Hibbett Sports|City Gear
Tom Taggart
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Re: metro news

Post by Tom Taggart »

We ran the receiver over to Morgantown just as a precaution, but it was OK.

We put up this old 8' mesh dish a while back when we were pulling just one program off Metro News, hasn't been any problem until now. We're taking more shows now, will need to look at a better dish. As suspected, the dish had "walked" just enough to be off the bird. Also got a signal boost by swapping out the LNB--with a "warmer" LNB. Took about 2 hours even with a spectrum analyser, old dish just not sharp enough with these close-spaced birds.

With our weather lately, I am suspicious that we had a small but vicious storm late one night--same week we noticed the receiver was out had a 20 amp fuse holder melt down in our tower light controller (an Excel/PiRod branded unit). Very strange--fuse on primary AC, with a solid state switch & current sample between it and the beacon. Even stranger--once we replaced the fuse holder (typical panel mount 3AG Litelfuse brand) everything else was OK. Even the funky ceramic fuse was still whole (end was charred too much to be any good, though). So, suspect we had a burst of wind that walked the dish & lightning burst that damaged the LNB, and took out that fuse.

BTW, the Comstream does have an AGC voltage out on pins 1 & 5 of the 15 pin "D" connector. Not sure how useful this is for monitoring.
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Re: metro news

Post by Cameron »

Tom Taggart wrote:We ran the receiver over to Morgantown just as a precaution, but it was OK.

We put up this old 8' mesh dish a while back when we were pulling just one program off Metro News, hasn't been any problem until now. We're taking more shows now, will need to look at a better dish. As suspected, the dish had "walked" just enough to be off the bird. Also got a signal boost by swapping out the LNB--with a "warmer" LNB. Took about 2 hours even with a spectrum analyser, old dish just not sharp enough with these close-spaced birds.


BTW, the Comstream does have an AGC voltage out on pins 1 & 5 of the 15 pin "D" connector. Not sure how useful this is for monitoring.
Yeah, 8' mesh needs a PLL LNB low-noise temperature for digital, no holes or bumpyness in the reflector or anything like bent supports to screw with the focal-point. You know, nothing that could happen at a remote, windy, site. If you have anything that does NTSC de-mod, Buena Vista/Disney does feeds on Txpndr 17 from 8a to about noon. (same polarity as 3) Mostly color bars/slate, Regis, and soaps. If you had to, you could hit the video as a course adjustment and peak from there.
------------------------
Cameron Smith - CSRE®
Senior Member - SBE 68 Birmingham
Senior Digital Product Manager - Hibbett Sports|City Gear
Tom Taggart
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Re: metro news

Post by Tom Taggart »

Yes, a cheap c-band satellite receiver would be a good investment. We had a pair we used for United Stations news, but they switched off that bird and went to a digital feed. Sold them to some religious station over near Cincy.
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