Original Message
|
Below is a pdf document sent to me because of the field of work I'm in. It describes a condition that is about to happen where the sun will affect HITS satellites and your cable tv signal. The message went out to cable tv operators who use HITS satellites. Just food for thought for you guys. Not the end of the world, but at least this will help determine the cause if we start seeing outages in service in the next month or so.
Operations Management Center To: Headend Manager Tech Ops Manager From: Operations Management Center Date: February 16th, 2012 Re: Spring Sun Outages Pages: 4 Twice each year, the sun is positioned directly in line with the ground-based satellite dish antennas used to receive CATV programming. This positioning causes programming interruptions as the sun’s energy overpowers the C and Ku band signals transmitted by the satellites. When the HITS Quantum digital signal is interrupted by the sun’s energy, the DCT set top converter displays “One Moment Please” on the affected channel(s). This condition will be present for several minutes each day during the sun outage period, which lasts for several days. Because HITS receives some of the programming used in the HITS lineup via satellite, some HITS programming services will be lost twice during this period as HITS experiences receive outages. Additionally, the ISO data stream (OOB data), which delivers addressable commands to set tops from the billing system, may be affected during the sun outage period. Systems that utilize Motorola’s national addressable control may be unable to send commands to set tops during the sun outage period. HITS recommends that you peak and poll your receive antennas for the various HITS programming service to minimize any impacts and ensure optimal signal during these events. Please direct questions to the Operations Management Center at: 1-800-426-7790. . . . . . . . . . 2 of 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OMC Operations Management Center The following table lists the approximate dates and times of sun outages for HITS Quantum Classic programming received from Galaxy 17 for various locations. Please locate the city nearest you for the approximate times of the solar interruptions. You may also calculate the outage period for your downlink on the IntelSat web site. The address is [link to www.intelsat.com] Then select the “Sun Interference Calculator” link from the left side menu. This will open a new window. Select Satellite: “Galaxy 17” and Analysis Type: “Single E/S Input Mode.” Then enter your country, city, and dish size. For locations not included in the pull-down list, select “E/S Latitude, Longitude & Diameter” to enter the coordinates for your head-end. The Frequency Band will be “C.” Click on “Calculate” at the bottom of the page, and a table of solar interference durations for your area should appear. For additional signals not covered by IntelSat, please visit the specific satellite carrier’s web site for additional information on sun outage calculations. SUN OUTAGES FOR HITS SERVICES TRANSPORTED ON GALAXY 17 C-BAND FREQUENCIES LOCATE THE CITY NEAREST YOUR SYSTEM FOR APPROXIMATE OUTAGE TIMES Anchorage, AK Feb 26 – Mar 02 08:57 – 09:06 AM AKST Atlanta, GA Mar 03 – Mar 08 13:14 – 13:24 AM EST Boston, MA Feb 29 – Mar 05 13:20 – 13:30 PM EST Chicago, IL Feb 29 – Mar 05 12:12 – 12:22 PM CST Dallas, TX Mar 03 – Mar 08 12:07 – 12:16 PM CST Denver, CO Mar 01 – Mar 06 11:03 – 11:12 AM MST Houston, TX Mar 04 – Mar 09 12:07 – 12:16 PM CST Kalispell, MT Feb 26 – Mar 03 11:03 – 11:10 AM MST Kansas City, MO Mar 01 – Mar 06 12:09 – 12:18 PM CST Little Rock, AR Mar 03 – Mar 08 13:09 – 13:19 PM EST Los Angeles, CA Mar 03 – Mar 08 09:55 – 10:04 AM PST Louisville, KY Mar 02 – Mar 07 13:14 – 13:23 PM EST Miami, FL Mar 06 – Mar 11 13:16 – 13:26 PM EST Minneapolis, MN Feb 28 – Mar 04 12:10 – 12:19 PM CST New Orleans, LA Mar 04 – Mar 09 12:10 – 12:19 PM CST Philadelphia, PA Mar 01 – Mar 06 13:19 – 13:28 PM EST Phoenix, AZ Mar 03 – Mar 08 10:58 – 11:07 AM MST Salt Lake City, UT Mar 01 – Mar 05 11:01 – 11:09 AM MST San Francisco, CA Mar 02 – Mar 07 09:55 – 10:03 AM PST Seattle, WA Feb 28 – Mar 04 09:57 – 10:07 AM PST . . . . . . . . . 3 of 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OMC Operations Management Center The following table lists the approximate dates and times of sun outages for HITS Quantum SD programming received from SES 1 for various locations. Please locate the city nearest you for the approximate times of the solar interruptions. You may also calculate the outage period for your downlink on the SES Americom web site, at [link to skyline.ses-worldskies.com] From there, enter the satellite as “SES 1.” Be sure to include the diameter of your antenna. The Season will be “September Equinox” and the Frequency band will be “C.” Click on “Site Location” to enter latitude and longitude, or click on “Major Cities” to use the pull-down menu to the right. Click on “Calculate” at the bottom of the page, and a table of solar interference durations for your area should appear. For additional signals not covered by SES Americom, please visit the specific satellite carrier’s web site for additional information on sun outage calculations. SUN OUTAGES FOR CMC SERVICES TRANSPORTED ON SES 1 C-BAND FREQUENCIES LOCATE THE CITY NEAREST YOUR SYSTEM FOR APPROXIMATE OUTAGE TIMES Anchorage, AK Feb 25 – Mar 03 09:37 – 09:50 AM AKST Atlanta, GA Mar 02 – Mar 09 13:58 – 14:11 PM EST Boston, MA Feb 28 – Mar 07 14:03 – 14:16 PM EST Chicago, IL Feb 28 – Mar 07 12:56 – 13:09 PM CST Dallas, TX Mar 02 – Mar 10 12:51 – 13:04 PM CST Denver, CO Mar 02 – Mar 08 11:47 – 12:00 PM MST Houston, TX Mar 05 – Mar 11 12:52 – 13:05 PM CST Kalispell, MT Feb 26 – Mar 05 11:46 – 11:56 AM MST Kansas City, MO Feb 29 – Mar 07 12:52 – 13:06 PM CST Little Rock, AR Mar 02 – Mar 09 13:54 – 14:07 PM EST Los Angeles, CA Mar 02 – Mar 09 10:39 – 10:52 AM PST Louisville, KY Mar 01 – Mar 08 13:57 – 14:10 PM EST Miami, FL Mar 05 – Mar 12 14:01 – 14:14 PM EST Minneapolis, MN Feb 27 – Mar 06 12:53 – 13:06 PM CST New Orleans, LA Mar 03 – Mar 11 12:55 – 13:08 PM CST Philadelphia, PA Feb 29 – Mar 07 14:02 – 14:15 PM EST Phoenix, AZ Mar 04 – Mar 09 11:43 – 11:54 AM MST Salt Lake City, UT Feb 29 – Mar 07 11:44 – 11:57 PM MST San Francisco, CA Mar 01 – Mar 08 10:38 – 10:51 AM PST Seattle, WA Feb 27 – Mar 05 10:40 – 10:53 AM PST . . . . . . . . . 4 of 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OMC Operations Management Center The following table lists the approximate dates and times of sun outages for HITS Quantum Classic and Quantum HD programming received from AMC 18 for various locations. Please locate the city nearest you for the approximate times of the solar interruptions. You may also calculate the outage period for your downlink on the SES Americom web site, at [link to skyline.ses-worldskies.com] From there, enter the satellite as “AMC 18.” Be sure to include the diameter of your antenna. The Season will be “September Equinox” and the Frequency band will be “C.” Click on “Site Location” to enter latitude and longitude, or click on “Major Cities” to use the pull-down menu to the right. Click on “Calculate” at the bottom of the page, and a table of solar interference durations for your area should appear. For additional signals not covered by SES Americom, please visit the specific satellite carrier’s web site for additional information on sun outage calculations. SUN OUTAGES FOR CMC SERVICES TRANSPORTED ON AMC 18 C-BAND FREQUENCIES LOCATE THE CITY NEAREST YOUR SYSTEM FOR APPROXIMATE OUTAGE TIMES Anchorage, AK Feb 24 – Mar 03 09:55 – 10:08 AM AKST Atlanta, GA Mar 02 – Mar 09 14:16 – 14:29 PM EST Boston, MA Feb 29 – Mar 07 14:21 – 14:34 PM EST Chicago, IL Feb 28 – Mar 07 13:14 – 13:27 PM CST Dallas, TX Mar 02 – Mar 10 13:09 – 13:22 PM CST Denver, CO Feb 29 – Mar 07 12:05 – 12:18 PM MST Houston, TX Mar 03 – Mar 11 13:10 – 13:23 PM CST Kalispell, MT Feb 26 – Mar 05 12:03 – 12:14 PM MST Kansas City, MO Feb 29 – Mar 08 13:11 – 13:24 PM CST Little Rock, AR Mar 02 – Mar 09 14:12 – 14:25 PM EST Los Angeles, CA Mar 02 – Mar 09 12:57 – 13:10 PM PST Louisville, KY Mar 01 – Mar 08 14:15 – 14:28 PM EST Miami, FL Mar 05 – Mar 12 14:19 – 14:32 PM EST Minneapolis, MN Feb 27 – Mar 06 13:11 – 13:24 PM CST New Orleans, LA Mar 03 – Mar 11 13:13 – 13:26 PM CST Philadelphia, PA Feb 29 – Mar 08 14:20 – 14:33 PM EST Phoenix, AZ Mar 02 – Mar 09 12:01 – 12:14 AM MST Salt Lake City, UT Feb 29 – Mar 07 12:02 – 12:15 PM MST San Francisco, CA Mar 01 – Mar 08 10:56 – 11:09 AM PST Seattle, WA Feb 27 – Mar 05 10:58 – 10:11 AM PST
|