Old Equipment Info Needed

[Techfizzle]

Alphastar pics and more

I am looking for pictures and scans of any alphastar and primestar manuals brochures ads and pics of alphastar receivers and dishes.
I know in the us and canada there was
starchoice
expressvu
dish
directv
pegasus and ussb (part of directv)
primestar
and alphastar.
But was there any others that might of been for a few months?
Also I saw in a libary book (il have to scan it) a picture of dish network satellite system when they were going to launch in 96 however the dish looked like a primestar dish and used linear.
I am using this info to compile a book about the history of satellite televsion

 

[Mr Tony]

Alphastar lasted only a year or so
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphastar"]AlphaStar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

and if you want pics google can be your friend

 

[Techfizzle]

google is a big freind. a picture of a 57 chevy is a hell of alot easier to find then a picture and ad scans

 

[starman345]

There was a system here in Canada called Skypix. As far as I know it never got off the ground, but they did have hardware, I saw some of the what looked to be 3' dishes with the Skypix logo stamped on it. There were dealers who were signed up, a friend of mine laid out some $$ to become a dealer and he lost it all. I remember in the end there was a dividing up of remaining assets in court. This was late 80's or very early 90's. Google "skypix satellite system". It will bring up some info.

 

[turbosat]

Voom

There was Voom, before the giant gobbled it up.

 

[Stargazer]

I did have some old Primestar literature but it could take quite some time to find it/come across it again. I remember there being children and the mother and father in the pictures along with the family dog and the flyer is about 13 or 14 years old showing the channels and prices.

 

[rocket69]

alpha star u want an alpha star system got three NIB $900 takes one

 

[aegrotatio]

I searched high and low and only found a couple of pictures.
I'm pretty sure I know someone with one on the roof of a townhouse, but I cannot see the roof. I only know that because I saw the manual and the analog receiver they were using to get CCTV-4 before they went digital.

 

[Techfizzle]

why so much for a alphastar? they are about as good as a primestar.
My main question is was directv the first digital signal satellite?

 

[Davage]

My main question is was directv the first digital signal satellite?

As far as I know, Primestar was the first direct-to-home Ku-Band satellite service using digital compression. The Digicipher 1 system if I recall correctly.

 

[Techfizzle]

see if any of these ring a bell
FEB-1990
The nation's largest cable TV multiple system operator, Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI), and 8 other cable MSOs announced last week their intention to launch this country's first Ku-band direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service (SN, Jan. 29, p. 8) which many industry watchers believe will "spur growth in the Ku-band satellite industry" and may provide an important impetus to high-power DBS in the United States.
JUL-90
DBS, digicipher dominate SBCA show. (Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association)

**SPECIAL REPORT--DBS, DIGICIPHER DOMINATE SBCA SHOW**

NASHVILLE, TENN.--Unlike previous year's satellite dish dealer shows, last week's Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association's (SBCA) conference buzzed here with talk of full-blown, direct broadcast satellite (DBS) proposals as well as General Instrument Corp.'s (GI) DigiCipher digital video compression venture.

SATELLITE NEWS editor David Bross was at the show and reports that enthusiasm for satellite TV appears to be on the rebound--both in C- and Ku-band. In addition to this week's report, look for more coverage next week.

Dish dealers crammed one panel session to hear the leading figures in the nascent DBS industry--including Stanley Hubbard of United States Satellite Broadcasting (USSB), Jim Ramo of Sky Cable and David Beddow of K Prime Partners--square off against one another.

What they heard were bullish predictions for the growth of DBS and an unexpected revelation of potential technical problems for K Prime.

Hubbard asserted that, after DBS systems had been up and running for 5 years, "these small dishes will take off like CDs," adding that high-power DBS will be "bulletproof" in that it will not experience terrestrial interference due to its high power levels. He called on dish dealers to not "waste your time holding on to the past" because high-power Ku-band is going to be the future of the DBS industry, a veiled reference to K Prime's medium-power Ku-band service.
K prime sounds alot like primestar!
Directv laucnhed in june of 94
acording to a website primestar launched in 1991 as an analog service then went digital in 94


K Prime Partners (KPP), a newly formed company consisting of TCI, American Television and Communications Corp. (ATC), Comcast Corp., Cox Cable Communications, Continental Cablevision Inc., Newhouse Broadcasting, United Artists Entertainment Co., Viacom, Warner Cable Communications and GE American Communications Inc., will launch the 10-channel, medium-powered, 45-watt Ku-band service via GE Americom's Satcom K1 satellite, 85* W, in a transponder deal valued at more than $100 million. The contract is for the lifetime of the satellite which is scheduled to remain active until 1996.

The company said late last week it will provide 10 channels of existing cable programming through its Extended Program Service (EPS).
SEPT-91
Firm proposes new spot-beam DBS service for local broadcasting. (Local-DBS Inc. to provide direct broadcasting service)

SATELLITE NEWS has learned that a group of Tulsa, Okla.-based entrepreneurs, using the name Local-DBS Inc., plans to launch a high-powered direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service in 1995 aimed at providing locally originated, digital television signals to consumers via spot-beam technology.

In an exclusive interview with SATELLITE NEWS associate editor Britton Manasco, Selman Kremer, vice president of marketing for local-DBS, said that the proposed service will enable local broadcasters to uplink digital NTSC and high-definition television (HDTV) signals to a satellite and then downlink them to consumers within its particular coverage area at costs below those of upgrading their terrestrial systems. Eventually, the company hopes t beam DBS spacecraft in three different orbital positions spanning the contiguous United States.

Beams will range between 200-300 miles in diameter. Smaller beams will be aimed at more populous regions while the larger patterns will be reserved for sparsely populated areas, The company intends to launch the first satellite in 1995.

Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.

 

[Davage]

If my memory is correct. The first DirecTV receiver was the "1st Generation RCA" receiver. I have one in the other room this very moment. I used to subscribe to DirecTV and USSB on the same receiver, before DirecTV bought USSB.

 

[1captain]

I have a 90cm Alpha-star dish on a motor here an its a great dish also very well built an heavy, was built by Eagle Co. but nice dish an great gain, it got more signal than a 1m fortec when I compared the 2 dishes, an the Eagle dish weights alot more than the Fortec even though it is smaller dish.

now the only AlphaStar dishes that I have worked with have been a 80cm an 90cm an they where made by 2 different co, I think the 80cm was built by AsuraShine? an the 90cm has a Eagle stamped into its mount. now another dealer south of me has a few 80cm still left of the pile that he bought years ago, an he may want to sell them?

Now AlphaStar was a sub co from Tee-Com people that built StarTrack receivers, with 2 locations Miami an Canada. what caused their demise was PrimeStar, a bank out of Canada which held their loan note was recalled for total payment, by some of the higher ups in that bank that invested with PrimeStar. now all of this is what I have been told by a good freind Bob, he was the CEO for the Miami location, an only lives about 3-miles from me right now. but AlphaStar was only in bussiness for about 1-year if that. an alot of satelliste distrubitors where selling those dishes after they closed their doors, but to find 1 today would be hard.

So AlphaStar was the 1st small dish people, then came PrimeStar, then Direct-TV bought out Primestar, so big fish eat little fish.

 

[Techfizzle]

i got a free trail to a news archive company so I will upload some articles in a bit.

 

[SatPhreak]

I had a 76cm AlphaStar dish that I got for 20 bucks in about '04. I used it till this spring then I donated it to my sister for G18. I've never seen any of the receivers for that system. Is there anything DCI left up there? I read that there was 1 or 2 channels on one of the Satmex sats a few years ago that could be picked up with an old AlphaStar box.

 

[aegrotatio]

Thanks, this is really useful information!!

 

[swampman]

why so much for a alphastar? they are about as good as a primestar.

He HAD to be joking.

 

[rglore]

I still have my original AlphaStar system and I'm using the dish for receiving 97 orbital with a Pansat 3500. It has a dual LNBF and works great. Last time I used the receiver was to subscribe to the Extacy channel. I have the dish manual but can't find the receiver manual, it's in the house somewhere. Here's some pics...

 

[Inno]

Hmmm, interesting history lesson. I was always under the impression that the RCA DSS system was the first one out. I'm sure they were the first to use a 18" dish, perhaps that's why it seemed so revolutionary.
I know there was some Alpha Star in Canada but I was under the impression that it was Canadian programming much like when Star Choice first started.
I remember installing my first Star Choice on the store I worked at. We had been selling grey market RCA for quite awhile before Star Choice was even available. It was about $1200 to purchase a system back then. To tune it there was still some analog Ku to be had so I tuned to TV Ontario I think. It was all very new to me even though I'd had a C-Band dish before that. There might have been 2 dozen channels total, perhaps even less when we had it activated. Still better than the old Cancom system from years before that which maybe had 10-12 channels on C-band.

 

[eurosport]

alpha star u want an alpha star system got three NIB $900 takes one

You're kidding...right?