Transponder Monitor

Interspace’s in-depth study of European satellite activity, compiled by Mike Fallon

D = Digital
A = Analogue

78.5 degreesE:
Thaicom 2&3
D: Croatia’s HRT1 has launched on 3551 MHz horizontal, SR 13333, FEC 3/4, VPID 1537, APID 1538 in clear MPEG-2. The Pakistani domestic first channel PTV 1 and Radio Pakistan have left 3611 MHz vertical, SR 3333, FEC 3/4.

68.5 degreesE:
PAS 7 & 10
D: There is just one channel which remains free-to-air in the MultiChoice Africa package on 3863 MHz vertical, SR 20600, FEC 3/4. It’s Fashion TV on PIDs V514, A642. All of the other channels here are encoded in Irdeto. On January 29 at 17:05 a live feed from a soccer ground for Kuwait TV was fed over 11528 MHz vertical, SR 5632, FEC 3/4, VPID 308, APID 256, ID:’9MHz PAL, 2 Audio’ in clear MPEG-2.

62 degreesE:
Intelsat 902
D: A live feed from the U.S. military base at Okinawa, Japan, was carried on 4184 MHz LHCP, SR 5632, FEC 3/4, VPID 1110, APID 1211, ID:’AFN OKINAWA’ in clear MPEG-2/NTSC on January 31 at 12:10.

45 degreesE:
Europe*Star 1
D: On February 4 several feeds were carried here from Afghanistan and Pakistan. At 13:20 11565 MHz vertical, SR 5632, FEC 3/4, VPID 308, APID 256, ID:’Auto 13.5 MHz’ was fired up with a live report for Japan’s TV Asahi from Kabul courtesy of APTN Kabul. At the same time 11688 MHz vertical, SR 5632, FEC 3/4, VPID 36, APID 56, ID:’Encoder 6′ carried a CNN report on the kidnap of the U.S. journalist in Pakistan in clear MPEG-2/NTSC.

42 degreesE:
Turksat 1C & Eurasiasat 1
D: Akra FM and Moral FM have left 11154 MHz vertical where they had been co-existing with Samanyolu TV World for some time. At 11148 MHz vertical, SR 2155, FEC 5/6 The Medical Channel, Istanbul FM and Radyo Plus have all left the frequency. In the StarDigital package on 11804 MHz vertical, SR 27512, FEC 7/8 the Milan Channel has left. New here are NTV – V1648, A1649 and The Medical Channel – V1684, A1685.
A: Marmara FM has left the 7.56 MHz audio sub-carrier on 11122 MHz horizontal, home of Samanyolu TV. On 10966 MHz vertical Cem Radyo is new on the 7.38 MHz sub-carrier on the back of ATV Europe in clear Pal.

36 degreesE:
Eutelsat W4 & Sesat
D: Big Brother Russian style can be seen on 12245 MHz RHCP, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 via two streams entitled ‘Za Stelkom 1’ and ‘Za Stelkom 2’ via PIDs V322/323, A404/406 in free-to- air MPEG-2 for the NTV+ network.

31.3 degreesE:
Turksat 1B
D: Turkish channel TV8 has opened on 11028 MHz horizontal, SR 3755, FEC 5/6 in addition to their former outlet on 11037 MHz horizontal, SR 2342, FEC 5/6. Both relays are free- to-air. The footprint for 1B’s single beam is tightly centred on Turkey at 54 dBW and extends just to Greece and north western Iran at 48 dBW.

28.2 degreesE:
Astra 2A, 2B & 2D & Eurobird
D: The BBC’s newest radio service, Radio 5 Live Sports Extra, is using a stream on 11798 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 2/3, APID 2344, Sky Ch.907. As expected Granada Breeze was switched off on 31 January. The channel had occupied a stream at 12226 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 2/3. At 12051 MHz vertical several channels have undergone PID changes. The new settings are; TCM UK – V2318, A2320; Boomerang – V2325, A2327; CNN – V2312, A2314; CNN Radio – A5606; Travel Channel – V2338, A2340; Travel Deals – V2341, A2343 and Shop! – V2315, A2317. Asia 1 TV and Sonali Channel, which had been free-to-air on 11973 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 2/3 have left the frequency. Lashkara TV has vacated 12032 MHz horizontal to be replaced by a testcard. Following the success of Fox News’ foray into Europe through their inclusion in Sky News Active since the September 11 terrorist attacks the U.S. news channel is joining the Sky Digital line-up proper. From Monday February 11 the channel will be using 11508 MHz horizontal. So far details of their position in the EPG are unavailable, though they are likely to be placed close to Sky News. The popular B4U Music on Sky Digital Ch.668 is to encode from next month. The channel is likely to be included in a package along with B4U Movies and Sony Entertainment Television. Sirasa TV is a new general entertainment Tamil language channel at Sky Ch.686 aimed at Sri Lankans living in Britain. The UK’s Channel 5 has vacated 11508 MHz horizontal, VPID 2333, APID 2334 and has been replaced by Sky Sports 2 in clear MPEG-2. More PID changes, this time at 11817 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 2/3. The new parameters are; UK Horizons – V2318, A2324; UK Gold 2 – V2323, A2325; UK Horizons+1 – V2325, A2337; UK Food – V2305, A2309 and UK Style+ – V2310, A2315. BBC Four is set to launch on March 2 and will join the Sky Digital line-up. The new channel will replace BBC Knowledge in the evenings and has a diverse brief. It will cover matters concerning the arts in general as well as science and global current affairs. Motors TV is testing on 11527 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 2/3. No launch date for the channel has been announced yet. Motors TV does not yet appear in the Sky EPG but can be viewed through a Digibox by entering the parameters in the ‘Add Channels’ screen or via a FTA DVB receiver.

26 degreesE:
Arabsat 2A & 3A
D: Future TV and Zen TV in the Future package on 3875 MHz LHCP, SR 5612, FEC 2/3 have both changed PIDs to V97/668, A670/669 respectively
A: Radio station Sout Al-Khaleej 100.8 FM has joined the Jordan Satellite Channel on 4123 MHz RHCP via the 8.10/8.40 MHz audio sub-carriers.

24.2 degreesE:
Astra 1D
D: Innergy has left the Vision multiplex on 11876 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 1081, APID 1082.

19.2 degreesE:
Astra 1B,C & E-H, Astra 2C
D: France Culture has been added to the line-up of French terrestrial radio stations in the Canal Satellite Digital package on 12207 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 via APID 1906. The other stations here are Musique, FIP, France Info, France Inter, Radio Bleue and Le Mouv’. All are free-to-air. Fox News can be found on 11914 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 1023, APID 1024 and in the Canal Satelite Digital package on 12441 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 520, APID 668. Tango TV is a new offering from the Luxembourg based Tele2 Group. The channel, which can be found on 10832 MHz horizontal, SR 22000, FEC 5/6, VPID 61, APID 62 in clear MPEG-2 for 24 hours a day, is aimed at 15-29 year olds. An Austrian religious radio station, Radio Maria, is due to launch an ADR service on 10964 MHz horizontal, the home of ZDF, via the 7.56 MHz sub-carrier from February 15. RTL9 has left the French ABSat bouquet at 12266 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 172, APID 128. There are five temporary dedicated Winter Olympic streams in the Premiere World package on 12070 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 on PIDs V3839/2259/3071/3327/2303, A3840/2260/3072/ 3328/2304, all encoded in Betacrypt.
A: Fox News has left 11436 MHz vertical where it had been available in clear Pal following the September 11 atrocities in the U.S. The channel is still present in digital format from this orbital slot. A Tango TV promo channel has started on 10847 MHz vertical in clear Pal advertising the new digital service from the channel. It airs from 05:00- 21:00 daily.

16 degreesE:
Eutelsat W2
D: Eutelsat has been chosen by the new Renault F1 motor racing team to provide satellite links for telemetry feeds via D-SAT from the circuit back to the team’s bases at Viry Chatillon, France, and Enstone in the UK. In the TMC multiplex at 11083 MHz horizontal, SR 11312, FEC 5/6, Fox News is present in clear MPEG-2 under the ID:’Elpitel_Roma’ via PIDs V3601, A3604. In the CBS package on 11189 MHz horizontal, SR 5632, FEC 3/4, which is a copy of the package on PAS at 43 degrees West, WCBS NewsRadio 88 – the New York based all- news radio station – has launched on APID 4197. However, it is not available around the clock and timings are somewhat intermittent. RTK1 Kosovo TV has ceased dual illuminating here and via Eutelsat W1 at 10 degrees East. The signal here is present from 14:00-23:00 daily on 12633 MHz vertical, SR 4882, FEC 1/2, VPID 308, APID 256 in free-to-air MPEG- 2.

13 degreesE:
Hotbird 1/2/3/4/5
D: Tamil Television Network is temporarily free-to-air in the Television par Satellite package on 12245 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4. EuroMediterraneo has left the Croatian HRT bouquet on 12520 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 but is still present within the Slovenian package on 12303 MHz vertical. Also in this package Best van Nederland TV (BVN) is now available 24 hours a day on VPID 209, APID 210. Previously the Dutch channel was only on air here from 12:00-18:00. Polish domestic TV channel TVP1 has left the PolSat package at 12322 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4. TV Puls is new here on PIDs V273, A274 in Nagravision encoded MPEG-2. Radio Spazio Aperto (Open Space) from Rome is now running regular programming in the Italian Stream package on 11842 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, APID 2319 in Irdeto/Mediaguard/Videoguard encoded MPEG-2. Eurosport Greece and Eurosport News Greece are testing in the NetMed bouquet at 10930 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 via PIDs V512/515, A650/680. A new-to-satellite TV channel has joined the RR Communications multiplex at 12220 MHz horizontal, SR 6160, FEC 3/4. It is called CNL (Christian New Life) and is currently carrying out test transmissions via VPID 1057, APID 1058 in clear MPEG-2. CNL originated in Almaty, Kazakhstan where it was fed over the city’s cable system. This new satellite service, which will broadcast Russian language programming, is slated for an April 1 launch. Television Francaise Juive, a French channel for Jewish viewers, has joined the TPS line-up on 10795 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 1020, APID 1030. Gay TV is still testing with a promo loop in the Antenna Hungaria package at 12149 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 36, APID 37 in clear MPEG-2. The channel is due for a March launch with programmes in the English, Italian and Spanish languages. In the Spanish Telefonica bouquet on 12092 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 Visions Europe has been replaced by Maharji via PIDs V4416, A4417. Maharji airs for just two hours per night, from 19:00-21:00. Two more radio stations have joined the Arabsat package on 12564 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4. They are Sout Al-Arab – APID 1821 and El-Bernameg Al-Aam – APID 1822. Both are free-to-air. The Sitcom promo channel has been replaced by Alice on 12149 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 192, APID 193 in the Sitcom World package. In the Deutsche Welle platform on 11196 MHz vertical, SR 9100, FEC 1/2 radio service Deutsche Welle 4 has launched in clear MPEG-2 via APID 2150. Innergy has left 12188 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 515, APID 653 in the Greek OTE package to be replaced by the Extreme Sports Channel. Zee TV UK and Zee Cinema UK are currently free-to-air in the Belgacom platform on 12476 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 via PIDs V910/915, A911/916 respectively
A: PolSat 2 is new on 11345 MHz horizontal in clear Pal with audio via the 6.60/7.02 and 7.20 MHz audio sub-carriers

10 degreesE:
Eutelsat W1
D: The PIDs for Pop TV on 11019 MHz horizontal, SR 2169, FEC 7/8 have changed to V308, A256. This Turkish music channel is free-to-air. The APTN London feed traffic on 12629 MHz vertical is temporarily free-to-air.

5 degreesE:
Sirius 2/3 & Astra 1A
D: The Ukrainian channel TET on 11766 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 has changed PIDs to V6110, A6112.

0.8 degrees/1 degreesW:
Thor 1, 2 & 3 & Intelsat 707
D: Nasko Radio has undergone a name change to TNN Radio in the Bulgarian multiplex at 12168 MHz horizontal, SR 28000, FEC 7/8 via APID 700. Finnish channel Urheilukanava has left 12476 MHz horizontal. Big Brother Sverige is now encoded on the same frequency, VPID 518, APID 668 and Radio City Stockholm has left APID 652. Nelonen from Finland has vacated 11278 MHz vertical, SR 24500, FEC 7/8 and MTV3 has left 12303 MHz vertical, SR 27800, FEC 3/4.

4 degreesW:
Amos 1
D: Israel 10 and Channel 2 have commenced regular programming on 11177 MHz vertical, SR 8520, FEC 2/3, VPIDs 257/513, APIDs 258/514 in free-to-air MPEG-2. Israel 10 is a commercial channel offering youth orientated general entertainment programmes. The Amos Israeli beam is used which delivers 54 dBW to the footprint centre over Israel dropping to 30 dBW at the beam edges – Egypt, northern Sudan, Saudi Arabia, eastern Iran, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Ukrainian radio station Radio Dovira can be heard on 11384 MHz horizontal, SR 11567, FEC 3/4 via APID 35 in free-to-air MPEG-2. Another Ukrainian offering, NBN, has started regular programming on 11404 MHz horizontal, SR 12660, FEC 3/4, APID 4197.

5 degreesW:
Telecom 2C
D: The Arabic language Christian channel Sat 7 has opened on 12711 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 513, APID 660 in the GlobeCast multiplex.

7 degreesW:
Nilesat 101 & 102
D: A new data channel, Humax Download SVC, has appeared in the ERTU package on 11766 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4. On the same frequency is a new radio channel from Egypt, El-Bernameg El-Ebry via APID 1508 in free-to-air MPEG-2. Also on 11766 MHz horizontal, two more Egyptian radio stations, Sout Al-Arab and Sout Falsteen have changed PIDs to A3070 and A3080 and ERTU 1 has been replaced by ERTU 2 on VPID 3011, APID 3013. There are now 11 channels available in the Home Cinema platform within the Showtime Network multiplex on 11977 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 5/6. One stream, via PIDs V1020, A1021, is showing a Home Cinema caption and the remaining 10 streams are encoded in Irdeto. Dream TV was a new arrival to the Showtime Network on 11977 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 5/6, VPID 1000, APID 1001 in Irdeto encoded MPEG-2 but was almost immediately replaced by Space Toon.

8 degreesW:
Telecom 2D & Atlantic Bird 2
D: Storm Radio has joined the GlobeCast digital platform at 11598 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, APID 934 in Viaccess encoded MPEG-2. The French domestic network France 2 is currently available in clear MPEG-2 on 11598 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 1123, APID 32. Trans World Radio and Storm Radio have launched free-to-air on 12740 MHz horizontal, SR 6110, FEC 3/4, APIDs 3111/3211.

11 degreesW:
Express 3A
D: The Symbol Rate for the EuroNews multiplex on 11631 MHz vertical has been changed from 17000 to 14103.

15 degreesW:
Telstar 12
D: On 11732 MHz horizontal, SR 29900, FEC 7/8 Studio Europa, Napoli Network and Coming Soon TV have joined the current line-up which consists of Video Italia, Eurosport News, Italian Network News, Leonardo and Radio Italia. Radio Sedaye Mojahed (Radio Voice of the Mojahed has launched on 12588 MHz vertical, SR 4500, FEC 1/2, APID 2322 in clear MPEG-2. This clandestine radio station which is run by the Mojahedin e-Khalq organisation, is thought to be based in Iraq.

18 degreesW:
Intelsat 901
D: Romania’s Prime TV on 10978 MHz horizontal has changed Symbol Rate to 4199. Prime TV is free-to-air via PIDs V1160, A1120, ID:’Channel One’.
A: There is still the occasional analogue feed to be found here from time to time. On February 8 at 18:20 a live feed from a snowy scene in the Italian Alps was fed over 11135 MHz vertical in clear Pal.

27.5 degreesW:
Intelsat 605
D: A Channel New Life promo (see also Hotbird at 13 degrees East) is being played out on 10979 MHz vertical, SR 9000, FEC 3/4, VPID 3105, APID 3106 within the RR Communications package. CNL is stream-sharing with VTV 4 here.

30 degreesW:
Hispasat 1A/B/C
D: Historia has joined the Via Digital bouquet on 11771 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 via VPID 4224, APID 4225 in MPEG-2/Nagravision. Also, a data channel entitled Historia has opened here.

37.5 degreesW:
Telstar 11 & Columbia 515
D: The US military feeds from the various unmanned Predator aircraft over Bosnia continue to be carried in the CNN multiplex at 11495 MHz horizontal, SR 19496, FEC 2/3 in clear MPEG-2. An interesting scrolling caption appeared on one of the streams on February 2 ‘ATTENTION UFO-10 users.. The Norfolk SBM has been authorised to transmit a live telecast of SuperBowl XXXVI over UFO-10 transponders 101, 103 and 104 via the following PIDs: 120 (Video), 126 (Audio L/R), 120 (PCR)…. This broadcast will begin at 031900Z FEB 2002 and end when the game is completed….’. A live feed of the SuperBowl was carried in the CNN multiplex using Fox Sports coverage for Armed Forces Network Television during the evening of February 3. UFO 10 is a military satellite geostationary at 72.36 degrees East (inclined by 4.7 degrees) which utilises Ka-Band downlinks. It was launched on November 23, 1999.

43 degreesW:
PAS 3R & PAS 6
D: Three streams appeared on 12700 MHz vertical, SR 26725, FEC 7/8 on February 5. They are entitled ‘CHFDRS’ – V33, A36; ‘CHRTSI’ – V49, A52 and ‘CHTSR’ – V65, A68. All are in MPEG-2 4:2:2 and are likely to be Winter Olympic feeds for the EBU.

SR – Symbol Rate
FEC – Forward Error Correction
VPID – Video Programme Identifier
APID – Audio Programme Identifier