The satellites were a bit lower powered then, and the transmissions were almost all analog(the signal is spread across a whole 30mhz transponder). With digital transmission(which only use a portion of a 30mhz transponder) and error correcting algorithms, it's a new ballgame. In '90, I swung the 10 ft'r to look out over the Atlantic, and by golly, I was gettin' NTSC and PAL Gulf War feeds on a couple of satellites. A bit sparklie, but no worse than some domestic satellites at the time. Today I have I-805 at 55°W with studio quality video. BTW, it's the same dish in use today. I also have 30°W on a dedicated Ku dish. That one is only 6° above the horizon. The increase in distance is minimal, as a sat south of you is 22k miles out, Going to the horizon probably only adds another 1000. Just looked at dishpointer, 97°W, my south sat, is: Distance: 38212km, 30°W is: Distance: 40977km That's an increase of 2765 kilometers (1718 miles), basically negligible at a 7% increase in distance. Most satellites, c band, that can be seen in N.A. that are east of 55°W use circular polarization. Requires the dielectric in the feed throat or a circular polarization feed horn.