Transponder Monitor

Key:
D – Digital
A – Analogue

78.5 degreesE:
Thaicom 2&3
D- ATN Bangla has left 3600 MHz horizontal but continues to be received on 3480 MHz horizontal, SR 26667, FEC 2/3. Channel Nepal TV has launched on 3440 MHz vertical, SR 3333, FEC 3/4, VPID 308, APID 256 in free-to-air MPEG-2.

Insat 3C
74 degreesE:
D – Doordarshan Gyandarshan has launched on 4180 MHz horizontal, SR 2222, FEC 1/2, VPID 4194, APID 4195 in clear MPEG-2.

70.5 degreesE:
Eutelsat W5
Eutelsat W5 is now expected to launch on 16 November and will be parked here at what will become Eutelsat’s most easterly slot. The satellite carries 24 Ku-Band transponders.

68.5 degreesE:
PAS 7 & 10
D – A new TV channel from Africa, Swazi TV, has launched on 12610 MHz vertical, SR 2916, FEC 1/2, VPID 308, APID 256 in free-to-air MPEG-2. Big Brother South Africa has left the MultiChoice Africa package on 3863 MHz vertical, SR 20600, FEC 3/4, VPID 521, APID 649. EWTN Radio Catolica and EWTN Global Catholic Radio from the US based Eternal Word Television Network have both become rather intermittent on 4064 MHz horizontal, SR 19850, FEC 7/8.

64 degreesE:
Intelsat 906
D – The new Intelsat 906 has reached here after a brief stop at the 58.5 degrees East slot for in-orbit transponder tests and has replaced Intelsat 804. Uganda TV has left 3921 MHz RHCP for 3721 MHz RHCP, SR 4882, FEC 2/3, VPID 33, APID 34. India’s Sun TV is new on 3898 MHz LHCP, SR 3200, FEC 3/4, VPID 4194, APID 4195.

48 degreesE:
Eutelsat II-F1
D – Eutelsat II-F2 has now reached this position and will take over from II-F1 in the near future. Although inclined by around 3 degrees there are four full time Italian TV channels here. 11595 MHz horizontal, SR 1665, FEC 3/4 relays CountDown TV on V4194, A4195; 11599 MHz horizontal, SR 2896, FEC 1/2, V3601, A3604 – Magic TV; 11603 MHz horizontal, SR 2169, FEC 3/4, V4194, A4195 – Napoli International and 11608 MHz horizontal, SR 1999, FEC 2/3, V3105, A3106 – RTB International. These are all feeders for cable headends.

45 degreesE:
Europe*Star 1
D There is a new testcard present in the Maharishi package at 11555 MHz vertical, SR 5860, FEC 3/4 via PIDs V778, A779 in free-to-air MPEG-2. This bouquet uses Europe*Star’s Indian beam which is tightly centred on India with a peak EIRP of 53 dBW. This multiplex contains Maharishi Veda Vision, Rik Veda, Krishna Yajur Veda, Shukla Yajur Veda and Arthav Veda. On 11 October at 20:10 a feed for OF TB Tokyo from OF TB Pakistan was carried on 11658 MHz vertical, SR 5632, FEC 3/4, VPID 308, APID 256, ID:’APTN Islamabad 1′.

42 degreesE:
Turksat 1C & Eurasiasat 1
D – The Eurasiasat promo channel has left 12133 MHz vertical, SR 3470, FEC 3/4 but has reappeared on 12125 MHz horizontal, SR 2961, FEC 5/6, VPID 308, APID 256 in clear MPEG-2. There is a new multiplex on 12138 MHz vertical, SR 11717, FEC 5/6, Westerly beam, containing four active streams. These carry an EAS promo channel – V308, A256; NTV – V309, A258; CNBCE – V310, A260 and an EAS testcard – V311, A262. All are free-to-air. BK063 Sat has changed parameters on 12590 MHz vertical. They are now SR 3002, FEC 3/4. M1 TV, Genc Radyo and Radyo Cool have all left 10982 MHz horizontal. M1 TV has relocated to Turksat 1B at 31.3 degrees East. Haber Turk is new on 10982 MHz horizontal, SR 2344, FEC 7/8, VPID 308, APID 256 in clear MPEG-2. Big Brother Turkey has returned to satellite, this time on 12635 MHz horizontal, SR 2600, FEC 5/6, VPID 33, APID 34. A Lig TV caption has appeared on 12533 MHz horizontal, SR 3660, FEC 5/6, VPID 2109, APID 2210 possibly heralding the imminent launch of the channel here.
A – Star TV has returned to 12602 MHz horizontal in free-to-air PAL after an absence of 7 days. However, Metro FM [7.02/7.20 MHz] and Kral FM [7.38/7.56 MHz] are still off the air here.

40 degreesE:
Express A1R
D – RTR Kultura has been replaced by RTR TV Rossiya on 3675 MHz RHCP, SR 29670, FEC 7/8, VPID 513, APID 660. Kultura is now available via the one stream on PIDs V514, A670.

31.3 degreesE:
Turksat 1B
D – M1 TV has launched on 11565 MHz vertical, SR 2345, FEC 3/4, VPID 33, APID 34 in clear MPEG-2. Unfortunately all of the transponders on Turksat 1B are configured for the East/Turkish beam which is centred on Turkey at 54 dBW and reaches westwards only to Bulgaria and Greece where the signal level drops off sharply to around 48 dBW.

30.5 degreesE:
Arabsat 2B
D – TV Mauritania is present in two streams on 3915 MHz RHCP, SR 8150, FEC 3/4, PIDs V1617/1633, A1620/1636. The IDs, ‘TVZ-01’ and ‘TVM 1&2’ suggest that there are two channels available but both are relaying TVM1. Radio Mauritanie from Nouakchott can be heard on APIDs 1621 and 1627 in clear MPEG-2.

28.2 degreesE:
Astra 2A, 2B, 2D & Eurobird
D – QVC Barker Test is new on 12031 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 2/3, VPID 2326, APID 2327 in clear MPEG-2. During the day the channel relays normal QVC output but at night a QVC promo is aired. Red Hot UK Talent has launched on 11584 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 2/3, VPID 2328, APID 2329. It joins the other adult channels from the Red Hot stable, Red Hot Films, Red Hot Euro, Red Hot All-Girl and Red Hot Amateur. CNX, the new male orientated channel from Turner Broadcasting, launched on 14 October. It occupies Ch.244 in the Sky Digital EPG. UK History, replacement for the defunct Play UK, has started test transmissions on 11817 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 2/3. It is expected to launch on 30 October. The Soundtrack Channel’s launch date has been put back even further. It was originally set to launch on 1 October but this was delayed until mid-October. Now the channel is looking at a November or December launch date. Apparently delays in the processing of their license from the ITC is the cause of the hold up. French language channel TV5 Europe has joined the Sky Digital EPG at Ch.825. The North America Sports Network is expected to join the Sky line-up before the end of the year. Little is known about the channel which is not thought to have any connection with either ESPN or Fox Sports. Broadcasting tomes for The History Channel have been shifted by two hours. It now airs from 08:00-02:00 daily. A second channel from Chart Show TV, which is entitled Chart Shop TV, has been testing on 11488 MHz vertical, ID:’850-8′. The channel launched on 14 October and appears in the EPG at Ch.665. Chart Shop TV airs music documentaries and pre-release/new release shows. Following several false alarms I-Race TV is set to launch on 1 November. Reality TV officially launched on 10 October and has settled at Ch.241 in the EPG. Reality airs 24 hours a day. Sky One and Sky News are to switch to widescreen 16:9 format in the next few days. A Northern Light Communications promo is being played out on two streams at 10818 MHz vertical, SR 22000, FEC 5/6, VPIDs 512/514, APIDs 257/662, Ids: ‘NLC Test 1’ and ‘NLC Test 2′ in free-to-air MPEG-2. These are test transmissions from the soon-to-launch Icelandic digital package SYM. The two active streams offer promos for some of the channels to be included in the line-up, including Cartoon Network, TCM, CNNI and Fox Kids. Also, and more interestingly, snippets from Iceland’s terrestrial channels are also being aired here. Astra 2D’s footprint covers Iceland at signal levels of 48 dBW so dish sizes of 70-90cm would be adequate for good reception. Testing has begun for the BBC’s newest radio channel, BBC Radio 7, which is due to launch in December. The new station will provide a wide range of general entertainment shows. Test transmissions are being carried out on 11798 MHz horizontal, ID:’6468′. The popular US TV channel E! Entertainment is to join Sky Digital before the end of the year. E! Entertainment is already available throughout much of Europe as it is carried by a number of satellite DTH packages and cable systems. Living TV is to get a time-shifted version airing programmes one hour later than the main channel. Living TV+1 is currently testing on 11739 MHz vertical, ID:’lgpo’ and will officially launch on 28 October when it will appear in the EPG at Ch.113. Open Access TV, a new venture allowing easier access to a wide TV audience by buying slots of airtime of one hour plus, has launched on 11546 MHz horizontal and 11488 MHz vertical.

26 degreesE:
Arabsat 2A & 3A
D – Morocco’s RTM 1 has left 12620 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4. Also, Zen TV has vacated 12735 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 2160, APID 2120 and has been replaced by a testcard.

21.5 degreesE:
Eutelsat II-F3
D – EuroMed has left 11616 MHz horizontal, SR 3255, FEC 2/3, VPID 3105, APID 3106 and CalabriaSat has vacated 11611 MHz horizontal.

19.2 degreesE:
Astra 1B,C & E-H, Astra 2C
D – In the Canal Satellite Digital package for France on 12129 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 Playboy TV is available under the EPG entry ‘K10’ in the evenings. Interestingly, it is encoded in Mediaguard whereas the other channels in the bouquet use Seca 2 encoding. On 11895 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 – another CSD multiplex – several channels have new PIDs. These are; Gourmet TV – V174, A120; National Geographic Channel – V180, A116; TiJi – V173, A112; Match TV – V176, A100; MCM 2 – V177, A96; KTO – V172, A92; MCM – V179, A84 and C Cinema Auteur – V178, A104. A new data stream has opened within the SES Multimedia package at 12603 MHz horizontal, SR 22000, FEC 5/6 entitled ‘STB SamsungCo’ which replaces ‘SRB Phillips’. The adult channel No Zap TV has left 12632 MHz horizontal for 12662 MHz horizontal, SR 22000, FEC 5/6, VPID 80, APID 160. The channel is free-to-air during the day but encodes at night. A free-to-air Premiere Osterreich promo channel has started on 12148 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, V2559, A2560. Bahn TV has launched on 12633 MHz horizontal, SR 22000, FEC 5/6, VPID 201, APID 301 in clear MPEG-2. Three Disney Channel testcards have appeared on 12640 MHz vertical, SR 22000, FEC 5/6, VPIDs 165/166/167, APIDs 100/104/108 in clear MPEG-2.
A – TV Shop Deutschland has left 10847 MHz vertical where it had been available in clear PAL. It is still present on 10921 MHz horizontal where it transponder shares with The GOD Channel.

16 degreesE:
Eutelsat W2
D – A promo for the Greek OTE package has started on 11282 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 512, APID 650, ID:’Test Service 601′ in clear MPEG-2. Panorama TV/Ferratel Wetterstation, which carries live video from some Austrian and German ski resorts, can still be found on 12520 MHz vertical, SR 2169, FEC 3/4, VPID 308 [no audio] in free-to-air MPEG-2. A new channel, Tileorasi, has joined Polis TV on 11283 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 via PIDs V513, A660 in free-to-air MPEG-2.

13 degreesE:
Hotbird 1/2/3/4/5/6
D – The Russian channels NTV International, NTV Int-Nashe Kino, NTV Int-Detskey Me and RTV on 11938 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, are all encoded in Viaccess once again following several days in the clear. New here is Tamil TV Network on V2101, A2201, ID:’E5710′ and a stream entitled ‘Studio NY Feed’ on V164, A88 which is encoded in Viaccess 1. The Urdu language channel ARY Digital is still enjoying some lengthy periods in the clear in the Belgacom package at 12476 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 650, APID 651. The Jordan Space Channel has left the Telespazio line-up at 12674 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 310, APID 311 and has been replaced by a testcard. The Egyptian channel Nile TV International has left the HRT package at 12520 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4. The PIDs for Nile News in the BT package at 11137 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 have been changed to V1002, A3645. In the German Telekom INC package at 11604 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 the PID for Jazz Radio Berlin has been changed to A2160. The Jordan Space Channel has joined the GlobeCast line-up at 12380 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 3029, APID 3039. On the same frequency, Bangla TV has now left here. The PIDs for No Zap in the BT package on 11137 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, have changed to V3524, A3644. Alpha News has started in the OTE package at 12188 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 via PIDs V8191, A740. CalabriaSat has left 12520 MHz vertical and has been replaced by a testcard. Asianet is sporting new PIDs on 12437 MHz horizontal – V4567, A4568.

7 degreesE:
Eutelsat W3
D – There are three new audio channels in evidence on 11533 MHz vertical, SR 30000, FEC 3/4, home of the DigiTurk package. They are Digiaktyf – A2253; Ayarlar – A3301 and Nesely Ficilar – A2254. As yet no active programming has been heard from any of these. SkyTurk has officially launched on 11658 MHz vertical, SR 30000, FEC 3/4 via PIDs V2109, A2215 within the DigiTurk package.

5.2 degreesE:
Sirius 2/3 & Astra 1A
D – In the Viasat package at 11881 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 there is a new data stream entitled ‘Danske Bank’.

3.0 degreesE:
Telecom 2A
D – 2A is starting to be used for feed traffic now, mostly from France. On 18 October at 10:40 12635 MHz vertical, SR 6111, FEC 3/4, VPID 512, A4112, ID:’GCR-FRESNES’ with a switching caption stating ‘GlobeCast Reportages’ and ‘Signaux pour Reglage TVRO’.

0.8 degrees/1 degreesW:
Thor 1, 2 & 3 & Intelsat 707
A – As the demise of D2-MAC continues several more channels have left the mode. NRK 1, NRK P2 and NRK Petre have all left 11357 MHz horizontal. TV 2 [Norge] and P4 Radio Hele Norge have vacated 11261 MHz horizontal and NRK 2 and HRK Alltid Nyheter have fled 11325 MHz horizontal.

5 degreesW:
Telecom 2C & Atlantic Bird 3
D – The Farsi language package previously found on Atlantic Bird 2 at 8 degrees West has relocated here on 12710 MHz horizontal, SR 16917, FEC 5/6. Channels here are Jaam-e-Jam International – V3160, A3120; Tapesh TV – V3260, A3220; Channel One – V3360, A3320 and Iran TV Network – V3460, A3420. Kenya’s first foray into satellite DTH has resulted in KTN appearing on 4023 MHz RHCP, SR 2894, FEC 3/4, VPID 4194, APID 4195. Unfortunately the channel is encoded.

7 degreesW:
Nilesat 101 & 102
D – MTV India is now encoded in the Nilesat multiplex at 11861 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 3031, APID 3032. The Asian music channel has been free-to-air here for several months. Al-Majd [Glory] Channel 2 TV, which has been testing for some time on 11900 MHz vertical and also via Arabsat at 26 degrees East [11785 MHz vertical] will officially launch on 5 November, the start of the Holy Month of Ramadan. Dubai-based Al-Majd Channel 2 TV claims to be the first English language Islamic TV station. Al-Majd Channel 1 is a solely Arabic language channel.

8 degreesW:
Telecom 2D & Atlantic Bird 2
D – A live feed from Washington was carried on 11160 MHz horizontal, SR 4950, FEC 1/2, VPID 33, APID 34 on 12 October at 17:20. After the traffic this caption was sighted; ‘abc Washington News Office. Remote Router. Clients please call News One Ops Desk – 202-222-7525’. The US based Iranian package containing Jaam-e-Jam International, Tapesh TV, Channel One and Iran TV Network has left 11141 MHz horizontal, SR 28195, FEC 1/2.

11 degreesW:
Express 3A
D – Sofia Folk has joined the Bulgarian package at 3975 MHz RHCP, SR 27730, FEC 7/8 via PIDs V38, A39. The Italian feed traffic is picking up here with several feeds noted over the past few days. On 17 October at 17:30 11680 MHz vertical, SR6400, FEC 3/4, VPID 33, APID 34, ID:’LIVE’ was active with a feed from outside a court room in Brescia. At the same time 11620 MHz vertical, SR 5632, FEC 3/4, VPID 308, APID 256, ID:’Auto 6MHz’ was fired up with colour bars and 11630 MHz vertical, SR 5632, FEC 3/4, VPID 308, APID 256, ID:’FUCINO E/S’ was carrying a feed for one of those lavish, over the top, popular RAI Due game shows Porta Porta.

12.5 degreesW:
Atlantic Bird 1
D – The Middle East Broadcasting multiplex containing MBC USA, MBC Europe and MBC FM has left 12695 MHz horizontal, SR 7325, FEC 2/3. Most of the GlobeCast feed traffic from the US appears to have migrated here from the 21.5 degrees West slot. 12740 MHz, SR 5698, FEC 3/4 is being used for the GlobeCast NE Ad-Hoc feeds whilst 12733 MHz horizontal, SR 5698, FEC 3/4 is carrying GlobeCast NE Ch.1 traffic.

15 degreesW:
Telstar 12
D – The Polish channel PolSat 2 is being fed to the US on 11978 MHz vertical, SR 3400, FEC 3/4, VPID 6690, APID 6691 in clear MPEG-2 using the Pan American beam which provides 48 dBW to the eastern half of the USA and Canada and all of South America.

27.5 degreesW:
Intelsat 605
D – The Africa Satellite Channel has been carrying out some test transmissions on 3910 MHz RHCP, SR 6110, FEC 3/4, VPID 100, APID 110 in clear MPEG-2.

30 degreesW:
Hispasat 1A/B/C
D – As expected, Brazil’s TV Globo Internacional has joined the Portuguese TV Cabo package on 12012 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 4300, APID 4301 in Nagravision encoded MPEG-2. The Jordan Space Channel has launched on 12591 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 2203, APID 2213 in clear MPEG-2.

45 degreesW:
PAS 1R
D – An unexpected newcomer here is Radiodiffusion Télévision Ivoirienne from Abidjan, capital city of the Cote d’Ivoire. TV Cote d’Ivoire International is being relayed on 11576 MHz horizontal, SR 2918, FEC 1/2 via PIDs V308, A256 in clear MPEG-2.

58 degreesW:
PAS 9
A – Colombia’s Caracol TV is free-to-air again on 4132 MHz horizontal, SR 6165, FEC 3/4, VPID 512, APID 660.