Key:
A = Analog
D= Digital

68.5 degrees E: PAS-4 & 7
A. The Asian version of Sony Entertainment Television is occasionally testing on 3925 MHz horizontal in clear Pal. Two audio subcarriers are in use, at 6.80 and 7.20 MHz. Gymnastics from Japan were fed over 12606 MHz vertical on October 3 at 1045 in clear NTSC. The audio was available via the 6.20 MHz subcarrier. The signal was very strong in the south of the UK as this transponder was switched over to the European beam.

62 degrees E: Intelsat-602
A. On October 3 at 1005 a transfer from RTBF in Brussels to CCTV, Beijing was fed over 4166 MHz RHCP in clear Pal.

60 degrees E: Intelsat-604
A. On September 23 at 1425 a report from Taiwan on the earthquake there was fed over 4188 MHz RHCP in clear NTSC. The same transponder was used as the primary feedpoint for Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix from Melbourne on 3 October in free-to-air Pal. A pre-feed caption read "GTV E/S".

57 degrees E: NSS-703
A. RTNC – La Voix du Peuple from the Democratic Republic of Congo in central Africa left 3798 MHz RHCP for a few days around September 25 but had returned by the 27th.

42 degrees E: Turksat-1C
D. Azerbaijan Radio, based in the capital Baku, has launched at 11607 MHz horizontal – Turkish beam via APID 4132.

40 degrees E: Gorizont-31
A. In the audio baseband on the back of RTR at 3675 MHz RHCP there are two active subcarriers. 7.92 MHz carries the national Radio Mayak whilst 8.10 MHz supplies Voice of Russia in English. Voice of Russia was formally known as Radio Moscow, well known to all shortwave listeners.

36 degrees E: TDF2, Gals-1/2, Most-1, Eutelsat-II-F3
D. The Italian independent channel, Studio Europa, from Modena has launched on 12515 MHz horizontal, SR 3254, FEC 3/4, VPID 900, APID 901 in clear MPEG-2. Four more channels have joined the NTV+ bouquet at 12476 MHz LHCP. They are CNNI (V332, A418), Cartoon Network Rossii/TCM (V333, A420), Discovery Civilisation (V320, A400) and Discovery Sci-Trek (V334, A422). All are encoded in Viaccess. A live interview with a delegate at the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth was fed over 11047 MHz horizontal, SR 5632, FEC 3/4 for Sky News at 0630 on September 27. The EPG entry was "RTV UKI 316 SKY NEWS". The same frequency was in use again the following morning at 0615 with a live interview with the Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, for Sky News. 11047 MHz horizontal was also used on September 29 at 1200 for a feed from Bournemouth of some recorded material on John Prescott for Sky News. Before the feed a Sky News caption was overlaid with the name "Paul Bromley". Also on the 29th, a live feed of the Sky News programme Sky Forum Conference was relayed on 11040 MHz horizontal in clear MPEG-2 from Bournemouth. The programme was aired live on Sky News.

30.5 degrees E: Arabsat-2B
A. Morocco’s RTM1 on 3875 MHz RHCP has made the switch from Secam to Pal. This trend is picking up pace as more and more channels make the changeover to Pal. On October 4 at 1810 a report for MBC on 4085 MHz RHCP in clear Pal from Iraq carried some very interesting video footage of a new satellite facility near Baghdad. Several large motorised dishes were shown. This earth station has probably been built to up and downlink to/from the Arabsat craft now that Iraq has been allowed back into the fold and is used for TV, data and telephone traffic.

28.2 degrees E: Astra-2A & Sirius-3
D. Zee TV, one of the new clutch of digital Asian channels about to launch here, is advertising a launch date of October 8. Zee is currently free-to-air at 12129 MHz vertical. Zee Music has been replaced by Music Asia at 11973 MHz vertical, VPID 2312, APID 2313. The new channel is operated by Zee. As expected, Sony Entertainment Television UK and Bollywood 4U have encoded in Videoguard on 12129 MHz vertical and 11973 MHz vertical respectively. Asia 1 TV has launched regular programming at 11973 MHz vertical, EPG Ch.682. It is currently free-to-air but will encode in a week or so. The channel’s output is aimed, in particular, at Punjabi speakers. Asia 1 is based in Birmingham. There is still no sign of Nigeria-based Minaj International launching yet (see Interspace 678). A test pattern has appeared on the stream with "Tektronix TSG601 Serial Digital". Fourteen new Sky Box Office channels were added to the EPG last week. The Box Office channels now count up to Ch.758. The home shopping channel ScreenShop has launched on 11954 MHz horizontal in clear MPEG-2. The Christian Channel Europe/The GOD Channel has launched at 12090 MHz vertical via PIDs V2311, A2312 in free-to-air MPEG. In the EPG it is placed at Ch.691. Hallmark Entertainment, the US-based movie channel dedicated to family entertainment, is to join Sky Digital early next year. No further details have been released yet. National Geographic+, a time-shifted version of the documentary channel, has launched. The new channel occupies Ch.539 in the EPG.

21 degrees E: Afristar
D. Some 70 plus radio channels have launched via the new L-Band service provided by WorldSpace’s Afristar craft. So far radio stations from South Africa, the Middle East and south east Europe plus TV audio from several different language versions of Bloomberg TV can be found here in clear MPEG-2 on the six active transponders at around 1500 MHz.

19.2 degrees E: Astra 1A-C & E-H
D. Canal Assemblee, which carries the proceedings from the French parliament, has joined the Canalsatellite Numerique platform at 12207 MHz vertical, VPID 163, APID 92. The channel is already available via a digital stream on Hotbird. A new service called Astra Mosaic has opened on 12552 MHz vertical, SR 22000, FEC 5/6, VPID 175, APID 176 in free-to-air MPEG-2. The aim is to screen a multiple screen window featuring the free-to-air channels available on Astra. At present only some logos are being shown. On October 1 the German providers DF1 and Premiere merged to form Premiere World. As a consequence the bouquets of both companies have undergone some fairly radical changes. The present situation is as follows: 11720 MHz horizontal – Cinedom 1-4, Sport 1, 11758 MHz horizontal – Blue Channel, Heimat Kanal, Blue Movie 1-3, Cinedom 2-4, 100.6 (radio), 11798 MHz horizontal – Premiere World (FTA promo channel), Premiere, Cine Action, Cine Comedy, Star Kino, Sci-Fantasy, Studio Universal, Romantic Movies & 13th Street, 12032 MHz horizontal – Disney Channel, Comedy, Sunset, Krimi & Co, Discovery, Planet, Junior, K-Toon & Sports World, 12070 MHz horizontal – Sport 2-5, Cinedom 1,2 & 4, 12090 MHz vertical – Film Palast, Classica, Seasons, BBC Prime & Cinedom 1, 12148 MHz horizontal – CNBC & Rock Antenne. MTV Germany, VH-1 Germany, NBC Europe/GIGA TV and the 30 MCE audio channels have all been dropped from the line-up.

16 degrees E: Eutelsat-W2
D. The Portuguese channel SIC International appears to have replaced SIC (the domestic version) on 12568 MHz horizontal, SR 2892, FEC 3/4, VPID 308, APID 256. This means that the programming here and via the outlet at 12.5 degrees West is now in parallel. Programmes from Georgian TV1 have been sighted on 11304 MHz vertical via PIDs V2304, A2305 intermittently recently. It is not clear if the channel from the former Soviet republic will join its neighbour Armenia in using Eutelsat to beam programmes into Europe and the Middle East. On September 21 at 2000 live ice hockey was fed over 11132 MHz horizontal, SR 6109, FEC 3/4, VPID 308, APID 256. The EPG entry was "AKK-TV MANNHEIM". Recorded coverage of the funeral service for Raisa Gorbachov in Moscow was relayed on 12524 MHz horizontal, SR 5632, FEC 3/4, V33, A34 in free-to-air MPEG-2 for the Russian channel NTV on September 22 at 1430. Also on the 22nd, action from a speedway meeting was fed over 11012 MHz horizontal in clear MPEG-2, SR 5630, FEC 3/4 under the EPG banner "NTL UKI 458 Enc 1". A new BT multiplex has appeared on 11303 MHz vertical, SR 30000, FEC 3/4 containing nine streams. When the service first launched on or around September 23 one of the streams (PIDs V2561, A2562) carried colour bars overlaid with "HOCTV" with the EPG ID "House of Commons TV". Another stream also carried bars with "House of Lords 0171 219 2756" and the EPG entry read "House of Lords Sound". More recently the channels have been encoded with EPG entries such as "BTV1", BTV2" etc. On September 29 at 1220 colour bars were occupying 12532 MHz horizontal, SR 5632, FEC 3/4. The EPG entry was "MEDIA POOL – CH – BERN".

A. There is apparently little hope in the near future of Belgrade-based RTS returning to a Eutelsat craft. Eutelsat still refuse to allow the channel access to any of its craft following the hostilities in Serbia and Kosovo earlier this year. RTS is using Amos at 4 degrees West for a limited service but the satellite’s footprint covers only central Europe. This feed is primarily to provide the RTS signal to remote terrestrial transmitter sites as much of the infrastructure in the country is still disabled.

13 degrees E: Eutelsat Hotbirds 1/2/3/4/5
D. The German channel Worldhaus TV has left 12476 MHz horizontal. The channel has also vacated its slot on Eutelsat-II-F3 at 36 degrees East. Worldhaus was always a temporary project and it was expected to close in the late Summer. Radio Television Montenegro has started regular programming on 12380 MHz vertical, VPID 3026, APID 3036 in free-to-air MPEG-2 following a short period of test transmissions. Arab News Network opened on 12654 MHz horizontal, VPID 1960, APID 1920 in clear MPEG-2 briefly last week and then promptly went off again after about 24 hours. It seems that intermittent tests are being carried out on this frequency by the channel prior to a regular service here. Sicilia International has started to use capacity at 12520 MHz vertical on PIDs V501, A502. The Polish platform Cyfra+ has moved from 12460 MHz vertical to 10719 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4. The current line-up is: Eurosport Polska, Nasza TV, TVN, PolSat, PolSat 2 and Planete. All of these are encoded in Mediaguard. The national service of Hrvatska TV from Croatia has started test transmissions on 12520 MHz vertical via PIDs V107, A108 in encoded MPEG-2. A Swiss version of MTV has launched on 11242 MHz vertical, VPID 169, APID 116 encoded in Cryptoworks. Radio Omdurman from the Sudan has launched on 12654 MHz horizontal, APID 1622 in clear MPEG-2. Following the recent dual illumination of Canal Sur on Hotbird and Sirius-2, the Hotbird outlet on 12092 MHz horizontal has now closed down. A new Greek digital platform from OTE is testing on 12187 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4. So far there are five streams here: OTE TEST 1 (V3073, A3074), OTE TEST 2 (V3201, A3202), OTE TEST 3 (V2945, A2946) and two IP streams, OTE FAST INTERNET u and OTE FAST INTERNET m. OTE 1,2 & 3 are all showing a promo video loop which is time shifted by about plus one minute on each of the streams. The package is operated by Greek Telecom.

10 degrees E: Eutelsat-II-F4
D. At 1810 on October 4 11580 MHz horizontal, SR 5032, FEC 3/4, VPID 308, APID 256, was fired up with an encoded feed. The EPG data was "10 GRADI XP33 CH2".

7 degrees E: Eutelsat-W3
D. A new religious channel, Omen TV, has launched a part time, free-to-air service at 11517 MHz, V2305, A2306. This stream is also being used by CNBC Europe at times.

5 degrees E: Sirius-1/2
D. A Christian digital platform called Dream has launched on 12349 MHz horizontal – European beam, SR 11664, FEC 3/4 in free-to-air MPEG-2. There are five streams active here with: Dream One (V2001, A2201), Dream Two (V2002, A2202), The GOD Channel (EPG entry is Euronews) (V2003, A2203), The GOD Channel (EPG entry is Travel/MCM Europe) (V2004, A2204), The Dream (A2205), The Bible (A2206), United Christian Broadcasting (UCB) Europe (A2207) and Cross Rhythms (A2208)

0.8 degrees /1 degrees W: Thor 1, 2 & 3 & Intelsat-707
D. Sicilia International has appeared here via an SCPC carrier on Thor-3 transponder, 12399 MHz horizontal, SR 3332, FEC 3/4, V308, A290. The Baltic service of the Russian channel, ORT Balt, has been replaced by an international version of ORT at 12322 MHz horizontal in free-to-air MPEG-2.

A. It appears that the two Gabon-based TV channels previously available here, Radio Television Gabon at 3800 MHz LHCP and Gabon TV2 at 3850 MHz LHCP may have left. Both channels have been missing for several days.

8 degrees W: Telecom-2A
D. Some rare Ku-band here. A new IP service has launched on 12563 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 2/3. The EPG entry reads "Sky DSL1".

18 degrees W: Intelsat-705
D. Two new streams have joined the Romanian channel Prima TV at 10978 MHz vertical, SR 6000, FEC 3/4. They are colour bars on PIDs V1260, A1220 (EPG: "Channel Two") and a data channel, "Canal cu transmisiuni" in the EPG. One of the streams on the same frequency was used to relay TeleGiornale 5, the news provider for all RAI and Mediaset channels, on October 4 at 1820. The programme was being transmitted live on Canale 5 via Hotbird. The parameters were: SR 19200, FEC 3/4, VPID 38, APID 39 and the EPG data was "AOR TD1".

A. Porta a Porta, one of those lavish and long Italian game shows, was fed over 11134 MHz horizontal in clear Pal on October 4 at 1800. The programme is believed to be carried on one of the Mediaset channels on Hotbird, but was not being aired in real time.

21.3 degrees /21.5 degrees W: NSS-803 & NSS-K
D. Live coverage of the Cleveland/Baltimore NFL game was relayed on 11685 MHz vertical, SR 5632, FEC 3/4 on September 26 from 1800-2135 in free-to-air MPEG-2. TVE from Spain is to use C-Band capacity here to beam its output to Africa. So far no frequency details have been released. On September 29 11590 MHz vertical, normally the home of the three GlobeCast New York streams, was carrying the US version of CNN in MPEG-2/NTSC, SR 4651, FEC 3/4, VPID 4377, APID 4385. The audio was periodically interrupted by an announcement from the Mormon TV channel, Latter Day Saints Television, advising viewers experiencing reception difficulties to contact the channel. Recorded video footage from a meeting of the World Bank Group, attended by US President Bill Clinton, was fed over 11566 MHz vertical, SR 5630, FEC 3/4, VPID 308, APID 256 on September 29 at 1805 in free-to-air MPEG-2. On Channel 2 in the GlobeCast package at 11590 MHz vertical, SR 20145, FEC 3/4, VPID 1260, APID 1220, the following caption was noted over a test pattern at 1925 on October 4: "NYSE Broadcast. Date Mo10-04-99. Time 03:25:28p". The same stream was also being used by the German all-news channel n-tv for its regular live reports from Wall Street later the same evening. n-tv normally use SCPC capacity elsewhere on NSS-K for this traffic.

27.5 degrees W: Intelsat-605
D. The European F1 Grand Prix from the Nurburgring in Germany was fed over 11572 MHz vertical in free-to-air MPEG-2, SR 5632, FEC 3/4 for ITV Sport on September 26. Two other streams at 11562 and 11582 MHz were carrying clean studio feeds from ITV in London at the same time. Presumably these were for cueing/production purposes for the OB. 11658 MHz vertical was in use at 1545 on September 23 with a feed for the French network TF1. The content was a BBC News report on ovary replacement surgery complete with a BBC correspondent’s by-line at the end. The parameters were SR 30493, FEC 3/4, VPID 1260, APID 1220. Sony Entertainment Television Asia continues to be available free-to-air on 11665 MHz horizontal. This version is not the same as Sony UK on Astra 28.2 degrees East.

30 degrees W: Hispasat-1A/B
D. A relay of a Spanish sports channel featuring a programme on Spanish soccer was fed over the feed stream at 12671 MHz vertical, SR 28116, FEC 5/6, VPID 1660, APID 1620 on October 4 at 1915. The EPG info for this stream is "OCASIONAL". When checked again at 2045 this stream was airing a testcard overlaid with "Television Castilla y Le</=n" with a scrolling script which said "Repetici</=n Informativo 21:39 horas". Incidentally, the local time was already 2249.

A. At 1800 on September 29 a live feed of some rehearsals from a palm-filled park for a Spanish channel was relayed on 11575 MHz vertical in clear Pal. Audio was available via the 6.60 MHz audio subcarrier.

31.5 degrees W: Intelsat-801
D. A meeting between the Egyptian and Israeli leaders was fed over 11008 MHz vertical, SR 5632, FEC 3/4 accompanied by Arabic commentary on September 22 at 2020. The EPG entry read "BT Paris". The complete Norwich-vs-Manchester City soccer match was fed over 10956 MHz vertical, SR 5630, FEC 3/4, VPID 308, APID 256 on September 28 from 1845 for Sky Sports in free-to-air MPEG-2 under the EPG title "BT TES 16. 2 Audio". Manchester United TV, as seen via Astra, was an unusual visitor here on September 29. A live feed of a discussion programme prior to the team’s Champions League game against Marseille was carried on 10964 MHz vertical, SR 5630, FEC 3/4 in clear MPEG-2. The stream cut at 1845, just in time for the start of the match. A pre-feed caption stated "GTV 31. Granada Television". The EPG entry read "LTP DSNG1".

37.5 degrees W: Orion-1 & Columbia-515
D. The two Dutch channels Film1 and Extreme Sports (see Interspace 677) continue on 12654 MHz horizontal in free-to-air MPEG-2. Both channels appear to broadcast around the clock here and are probably present to feed cable headends in The Netherlands. In parallel with 11590 MHz vertical on Intelsat-K, the American version of CNN can be found here on 11667 MHz vertical, SR 3957, FEC 3/4, VPID 4384, APID 4406 in free-to-air MPEG-2. In common with the Intelsat signal, an audio loop from the Church of Latter Day Saints Television intermittently overrides the CNN audio.

43 degrees W: PAS-3R & PAS-6
D. RTL is using PAS-3R capacity at 12545 MHz horizontal, SR 6620, FEC 3/4, for occasional feed traffic from its New York bureau.

A. A live report from outside the White House in Washington for a Turkish channel was fed over the feed transponder at 12702 MHz horizontal at 1815 on September 28 in clear Pal.

All times in UTC unless otherwise stated.
SR – Symbol Rate
FEC – Forward Error Correction
VPID – Video Programme Identifier
APID – Audio Programme Identifier