Taking A Trip Down Memory Lane - Satellite TV Magazine, October 1983

[Techfizzle]

A few things.

1. My uncle had a big dish, but it was plastic! It had a downconverter on it so I think it was old.
2. they talked about HDTV!!! i didnt think it was even invented till the early 90's
3. This logo looks SO MUCH like the echostar logo do you think charlie got his idead fron it? The slant and type of font and the dish look exactly like it.

4. There was alot of no-name satellite companys back then, beach craft, spacecoast resarch, etc, etc. Alot were bot ought buy companies.

 

[ACRadio]

A few things.


3. This logo looks SO MUCH like the echostar logo do you think charlie got his idead fron it? The slant and type of font and the dish look exactly like it.

I'd say he carried the logo right onto the formation of Dish Network. Charlie Ergen owned Echosphere, which in those days was a satellite distributor. He later had a line of C band receivers whose brand name was...you guessed it...Echostar. It was almost identical in design to the Houston Tracker receivers, and a lot of parts were interchangeable. And so was the beginning of Charlie....

 

[Techfizzle]

I had a pizza dish dish receiver that said houston tracker on it. Big heavy thing, probaly of of the first. Had a bunch of serial ports on it. and a big expansion port on the side about the same size as a nintendo NES cartridge. Anyway, I havent watched any thing on fta cband yet, mainly due to waiting on a bid for an lnb since my old one was no good (grounded out the receiver). Anyhoo how is the pq on cband versus ku?

 

[ACRadio]

Well picture quality is more of a function of bandwidth as opposed to frequency. The receiver (whether it be analog or digital) doesn't know the difference, as it is only able to tune L band. And since both C and KU signals are downconverted to L band, the receiver just plays whatever it is given. That's the fun part of satellite...being able to use whatever dish, feed, and LNB combination will deliver the best and purest signal to the receiver for the desired band.

Now if you were to ask what is the best picture quality between 4DTV ( C band) and Dish Network (KU band) then I could say 4DTV would win hands down. And even though the modulation types are different it still is a function of bandwidth, as 4DTV doesn't try to crowd as many channels onto a single transponder...they use more bandwidth per channel.

 

[PKII]

Thanks, that was interesting to look at, In the magazine there was an ad saying how a C-Band 120 degree LNB preformed like a 100 degree LNB

LoL my first dish had a 120 degree LNA that hooked to a downcoverter. My motor...lol no motor it had a hand crank on it. The way I could find each satellite was I counted the number of times I cranked it. lol

 

[Techfizzle]

how do you install the scalar so it is facing the right way? its a chapral scalar

 

[voomvoom]

how do you install the scalar so it is facing the right way? its a chapral scalar

I completely do not understand this question...? The Scales should be facing the reflector, otherwise I doubt they would be doing any good...?

 

[PopcornNMore]

Thank you so much for sharing this file. I got my first satellite system in 1982 and this brings back some great memories.

 

[Techfizzle]

no what i mean is that the scalar ring has a flange mount on it for the cband lnb. The scalar can be atached to the dish so the flange is pointing up, down, left, or right. Which way does the flange point? Because I dont think the scalar can pick stuff up if its roated the wrong way.

 

[rv1pop]

Someone else may have already answered, my internet connection is so slow, it took 12 minutes to read your post... The main purpose of the scaler ring is NOT to receive signal, but to block interference. The rings point toward the reflector (dish) just as the LNB does. the scaler helps keep the microwave (oven - telephone, etc.) out of your LNB. If you look at a traffic signal, (as in red light) it has a shield around it to keep the sunlight off the lens, and as an additional benefit, keeps drivers to the side from seeing your green light... The scaler rings are much like that.

 

[jsb1980]

Interesting find....makes me want to track down more old Satellite magazines from the 1980s. I've already got a small collection of Satellite Orbit magazines dating to 7/85.

Speaking of Satellite Orbit, I'm looking to add those and plenty of other satellite magazines to my collection. If you're interested in getting rid of them for really cheap, let me know.

Got anything going back a little older?

 

[Mojo]

Wow

 

[ACRadio]

Got anything going back a little older?

Nope...that's as old as I can find, although one never knows what can be found when digging in the archives. I have quite a few from 1984 and a lot from 1985-6-7. I used to have an issue of a cable TV publication from 1979 that was introducing a new cable network called "CBS Cable" . History tells us that CBS never did much more than get it off the ground.

But I need to finish scanning this one....don't I??

 

[Diamond Jim]

Wow.......that takes me back. That was a month before I got my system. I had the MTI dish mover. It lasted until I got my 4DTV in 2003, I did have to replace the arm and motor after about 12 years. I also had a KLM receiver. You turned a knob right/left with a light to get the TPs. It looked like an old time radio dail. I later replaced it with a Drake something or other, very good receiver. I was an ORBIT man, wish I would have kept those back issues.

 

[ACRadio]

Folks I will try to get the rest of the mag scanned in the coming days. I just got out of the hospital and will be confined to the house for the next several days so I should have some time to get this done.

 

[ats7627]

I'd say he carried the logo right onto the formation of Dish Network. Charlie Ergen owned Echosphere, which in those days was a satellite distributor. He later had a line of C band receivers whose brand name was...you guessed it...Echostar. It was almost identical in design to the Houston Tracker receivers, and a lot of parts were interchangeable. And so was the beginning of Charlie....

Didn't Charlie own Houston Tracker Systems?

 

[dfergie]

Merged posts... new attachment in post 1

 

[ACRadio]

Thank you!!

 

[dfergie]

NP... For some reason I couldn't just upload that attachment and had to merge the posts...

 

[ACRadio]

I was surprised I couldn't just edit the original post...editing must have a time limit or something...