May - The Old CATV Equipment Museum
Transcription
May - The Old CATV Equipment Museum
.l. . HBOANNOUNCES'Final' Plan 'Our Gustomers' . MARKETPROFILE/ . SCRAMBLING/ IRDDetails TI=IETWICEPERMONTHBUSINESSJOURNALOF TVRO cooP's SATELLITE DIGEST MAY 1.5,1,985 C'mon aboardwith UnidenY Win a sun and fun-filledCaribbean cruise on the S/S Norway,the largest, most glamorous resort ship on the seven seas. Just close vour eyesand picture it. An 8-dayluxury vacation stopping at St.Thomas, Nassau, and even an exotic private mvstery island. Crystalblue seas, sparkling beaches, dazzling entertainment,gourmer dining, and shoppinggalore. And Uniden nrakesit so eas1,to win. Justearn 990 points (seepoint table) on Uniden satellitetelevision products you purchaseberween April I andJulv31,1985.* You'll find our new.comolete line of block downconversion ieceruers and s,vstemcomponen$ so advanced, so anractivelyswled and priced, they'll virtuallv sell themselves.And we'll be backing them all the way with the most exciting advertisingand dealer support program this industrv hasever seen. There has never been a bener time to be a Uniden satellitedealer.So don t wait. Enroll in our Caribbeandealer incentive program now To get a free full-color brochure and more information iust contactvour local authorized Uniden SatelliteTelevisionSvstems distributor,or call toll-free 1-ti00-582-5360. In Canadacall 1-800-663-0296. Dont missthe boat.C'ln(nl aboard.And win with Uniden in'ti5. PRODUCT SYSTEM A: (rST-1000tlcci\ri trsTi.il LNA. t l s T - 5 5 o B k f , kD o $ , n ( 1 n t r c r t e .r . . . . . . . . 20 SYSTEM B: tlST-6(X)()Recci\cr, tlsT.ill l.NA, t t S T - 5 5 0 t l h x kD r n n c o n \ r r t e r - - . . . . . . . 1 5 SYSTEM C: t]ST50O0 Recci\cr, trSI{{l l.NA, LlST550lll(rckll)snc(xl\rrter. -.. ..... l0 trST-lo00orUSTJ0oOllccei\rr...........5 tlsTll0Antennr. ............l0 trST'tl0 or tlST7.l0 Atennx C(nrrrollcr $ ilh trsT.770A(ur()r. ..........l0 uniden' Win with Uniden in'U5. Blockbringsyou choice, Echosphere bringsyouBLOCK. Echospherehelps your customersstay tuned to all their favorite programming with the advanced technolory of block downconversion receivers.Independentprogram selectioncan now be obtained utilizing only one antenna. Unlike standard systems,block receivers provide for multiple televisions in the home. each with its own receiver tuned to 'DealersOdY a different channel, all at a very affordable price. Your customerswill enjoy the latest in viewing entertainment while experiencing the finest picture quality available today. Our block receivers provide unmatched tuning stability and overall performance reliability. All from Echosphere, the nation's largest blockreceiver distributor. Let us expand your entertainment horizons with the right producls at the right price. Call us, and seewhat it's like to be on the receiving end of the verybest. Our current selection of Block Receiversincludes: Anderson Drake DX Janeil M/A.COM Panasonic STS Uniden The DistributorThat MakesA Difference. ------- 3/csD-2/5.8s SATELLITEDICEST eAGE MAY 15,1985 REMEMBER The Trees It didn'ttakelongfor the rowoverscrambling to loseallperspective; peoplequickly became swept up bythe'emotion' of theissueandwellmeaning reporterswrotestorieswhicheithermissedkeyelements of 'the story'or deliberately slantedwhat it was all about.Let'sreview. Scramblingis inevitable.The legislationof 1984assuresus of that.We anticipated that even backin 1980.Whatis notinevitable isthatmorethan a handfulof semi-important channels willscramble; ever. So one must ask the question'Are those channelswhichwillscramble so terriblyimportant that their specialrequirementsmust dictatehow wedesignallsatellitereceivers?'Inotherwords, is havingHBOand Cinemaxand Showtime and The MovieChannel so important to ourwellbeingthatwe mustacceptcertain'minimum designstandards'for our equipment if we are to continue to offerTVRO usersthesechannels? HBObelieves thatitsserviceis terriblyimportant to homesystemviewers.Theybelievethissostrongly thattheyhavegambledon an unproven and untestedscrambling systemby Linkabitand now we learnthat if we are goingto use the Linkabitdescramblers withour systems, we mustbuilda new breedof supersophisticated receiver.And this will costus moremoneythantoday'sreceivers. Testsreportedin CSDfor April01 andCSD/2for April1Sthrevealed thattheactof descrambling does NOTrequirea specialreceiver. M/A-Com's Linkabit 'this is true,'butthenhasresponded by admitting tenedto pointout that the periphereal functionof 'addressing' eachdescrambler doesrequirespecial receivers;something to do with'biterrors'and'data flow'.An example. A pigfarmerteacheshisherdof pigsto comefor Hog Chowwhen he standsby the feed pen and shouts'SUEEY- SUEEY'. Allit takesis one pig in theherd,smartenoughto identify'SUEEY'with feedingtime,to starta stampedefor thefeedpens.Now suppose thefarmerhadto teacheachpig intheherd cooP's SATELLITE DIGEST /z to respondto his specificname.Picturethefarmer standingby the feed pen rattlingotf a long list of 'Albert, individualnames. Bertha,Clyde,Donny,Edward. . .'and so on throughthe wholeherd.Now eachpig hasto knowandrecognize his own individualnameandhe hasto be ableto pickhisname o.utof a long,babbling listof names.Someofthepigs go hungrybecause theyneverlearntheirnames. The Linkabit datastreamis likethat;yourindividualreceiver hasto be'goodenough', technically, to pickouttheuniqueelectronic digitaladdress code senttojustthat receiver.lf thereceiver'misses'the tinyhighspeedaddress buriedin a'stream'ofmillionsof addresses, the TV set connectedto the receiver'goes hungry'; it missesthedescrambled HBO programming. At leastthatis whatM/A-Comis now telling us after CSD revealedthat even oldfashionedreceiversworkjust fine with the 'basic' descrambling circuits. Everybit of evidencewe haveturnedup reenforcesouroriginal beliefthatLinkabit compatible systemsbuiltto Linkabitspecifications aregoingto cost everysegment of themarketplace moremoney;from OEMto user.Andeverybitof testingCSDhasdone convinces usthattheincreased complexity andcost isjustified only becauseof theaddressing scheme or systemLinkabitengineershavecreated. Addressing maybeanultimate factof lifewithany scrambledservicebrought'to market'but it continuesto botherus that HBOwouldcommission a systemwhichforcesaddressing andaddedexpense on us, andour customers, becausethat is the way THEYhavedecidedto approachthismarketplace. I don'trememberthem discussingthiswithusbefore hand;I don'tremember us askingto 'beaddresssed'. Weoffered themnumerous alternatives: SPACE. for example, offeredrepeatedly to establishan industry wide collectionsystemor an industrywide 'surcharge'on new systems,to compensate the programmers.HBOignoredthoseoffers. COOP'SMID-MONTH/ continuespage30 C S D / 2 - C o o p ' s S a t e l l i t eD i g e s t i s p u b l i s h e dt w i c € p € r m o n t h b y W e s l I n d i e s Video, Ltd., a Turks and Caicos Corporationwith corporateoff ices at WIV-TV,Grace B a y ,P r o v i d e n c l a l e T s ,u r k s & C a i c o sl s l a n d s ,B W l . S a l e s ,e d i t o r i a la n d s u b s c r i D t i o n liason offices located at Fort Lauderdale,Fl. (p.O. Box 10065g,Fl. Laudsrdalo.Fl. 33310;305/771.0505 betwoen 9 AM and 4 pM eastem, we€kdays).CSO/2 is issued o n t h e 1 s t h o l e a c h m o n t h a s t h e m i d . m o n t hc o m p a n i o nt o C S D w h i c h h a s b e e n i s s u e do n t h e l s l o f e a c h m o n t h s i n c e O c t o b e | l g 7 9 i t h e , b i r t h ' o f h o m e T V R O . CSD/2 is combinsd with CSD, a total of 24 issues per year, for all domestic (U.S.) subscriptions and is also availableoptionally for CSD readersoutside ol the USA. Additionally,CSO/2 is providedtrse.of.chargeto ail DeaterMembers of SPACE,the internationaltrade association of TVRO, upon request from such dealer members. CSD/2 is also a part of the'TVRO OealerStarter Kit' providedfree to aspiring TVRO dealers who learn about TVRO from Coop's monthly column in Radlo.Electronics magazine.CSD subscription rates are S75per year,24 issues, for ail US subscrjbers or where US zip-codesapply; i85 per year (US funds) for Canada/Mexico;$i0O per year (US funds) tor others.All copi€s sent via 1st-classAlRmail. West Indies Video, Ltd. is a 'DealerPioneer'class member of SPACE.Copyrlghtacr 1985 by Robert 8., Susan T., Kevin P. and Tasha A. Coooer. Introducing,,, The 0nly Gable "Sweep Routinely Tested" for 950-1450MHzAccuracy Multi-Pak Ribbon Gable Your cable worries are over. SatelliteVideo Services now offersyou DirectBurialcablethat is guaranteedby M /A Comto accur atelycar r ya 950 - 1450 HM z s i gnal . M/A Com ' s RG 59, RG 6 and Dual 6 RibbonC abl ei s routinely "Sweep Tested" to ensureyou the perfect performancestandardsdemandedin all your blockconM/A Com Multi- PakRibbonC abl e ver sioninstallations. is availablein custom cut lengthsor l OOO'spools. Volume discounts are available. IN STOCK NOW AT Inc. Servioes, Uideo Satellite MasterStockingDistributorsof M/A Com LNAs, receivers,drives,antennas& cable. Leading Distributor TheNortheast's FactoryAuthorized Seruice Dealer Training Seminars Satelltle Vldeo Servlces SatelliteVideo Services,Inc. SatelliteVideo ServicesWNY, Inc. RR #1, Box85-S NY 12414 Catskill, East Avenue Extension H o r n e l lN , Y 14843 607-324-3435 518-678-9581 121-mm"r 8OO-831-1 800-528-DISH -0018-rwo,*v 8OO-64J o'rv 8OO-831-DISH-nrY SatelliteVideo SatelliteVideo ServicesNH, Inc. ServicesPA, Inc. UnidenIntersatMIAGom ValleyRd. 317 E. Pleasant Luxor Gonifer Gensat Altoona, PA 16602 814-942-5003 Houston TrackerWinegard o'rv 8OO-242-3860-pr RFD#2, HarrimanHill Rd. Raymond, NH 03077 603-895-3182 800-448-0012'ruatona _--- s/csD-2/5-85 SATELLITEDICEST pAGE AUTOMATIONTECHNIQUES, lNC. (1550N. 105thE Avenue, Tulsa,Ok. 74116; 918/836-2584)has a pair of new blockdownconversionreceiversin production.ModelGLR-5008Dhas tunableaudio with narrow and wide switching,automaticpoweringfor BDC and LNA,skewcontrol,a built-inhorizontaland verticalrelayfor twin-LNA systems,plus basebandand unfilteredvideo outputs. Model GLR-530adds automaticpolarityswitching,digitalsteptuningof transponders, two formsof audiomuting,automaticrelurnto local(terrestrial TV) servicewhenlhe receiveris switchedoff,a signal level bar graph plus optionalinfraredremote conlrol which can be factoryor field installed(.). GLR-530 TOTALLYNEWFROMA.T R.L.DRAKECO.(540Richard St.,Miamisburg , Oh.45342;S13t 866-2421) has begunshippingnew receiverandiccessorymodels firstshownattheLasVegasshow.ModelESR424 isa singleconversionORblockdownconversion receiver withinfrared remotecontrol, automatic audiosubcarrier seeking,directpolarization controland interlacing withtheirnew ModelAPS4Z4antennaoositioner. The APS424is alsocontrolled by thehandheld infrared remote.Drakeis nowshipping theirESR3248,a newblockversion ofthepopular 324 singleconversion receiver. Drake'sBDCunitsutilizethe nowwell i[#, crs/-'d""=u'ooo SERVICES/ -.,r{ ,,o"o,Ribsyou, EVENTS used950-1450 MHz'lF'andcomplimenting thereceivers area pairof LNBs(models 2500and2501,85 or 100degree,with60 dB of BDC gain),and,the BDC24,a stand-alone blockdownconverter for use withseoarate LNAs. Drakeisalsoreleasing a newcommercial receiver fortheSMATV andcablemarkets; modelESR2240 is a blockunitwithan ootional 'cue' secondaudiosubcarrier demodulator for andnetworkadvisory functions. A companion cable-grade modulator, the VM24l0,has thumbwheel selected channels to 400 MHz. GENERAL INSTRUMENTS CORP.(RFSystemsDivision, 4229 S. Fremont Avenue,Tucson,Arizona85714;602/294-1600) has a pairof new homeservicereceivers for TVRO.The System1000 receiverusesan infraredhandheldremoteand featuresinclude synthesized audioandvideotuningwitha pairof presetaudiosubcarriers'in memory'for eachtransponder. Model950hasthe primary featuresof the System,|000lessthe remotecontrolabilitv.Both receivers function witha BDCor LNBfrontend. GENSATCOMMUNICATIONS CORP.(951AtnessSt.. Downsview,OntarioM3J 2J1, Canada;416/736-4555) has greailyexpandedtheirline-upof accessory hardware for theBSR-i2OO btock conversion receivers. TheBDC1.2is a direct-to-LNA mounting BDC '/ Automation.Techniques which.claims a noisefigureof lessthan6 dB.Theunithasa gainlslope hasfiledforChapter11 re-organization andcourtprotection; equalization circuitsothatoutputlevelsatg5OMHzreferenCe edltor. thehioh HBOFINALLYDecides! ,plan'to HomeBox Officehas finallyreleasedtheirmarketing distribute theHBOandCinemax services to homeTVROuseis.HBO PrexyJoeColllnssaystheplanwillgointoeffectimmediately butthat full-time scrambling of the HBOandCinemax feedswill not begln 'untilhome TVROownershavean opportunity to obtainconsurier descramblers'. Hereis howit willwork: 1) M/A-Com, the supplierof the consumerdescramblers, is to establish theirown'computer addressing facility'whereindividualsubscribers will be approved for serviceand through whichall individual subscriber addressing willtakeplace. (M/A-Comhas beenactive attemptingto sell ,other;satellite delivered,cableprogrammerson the conceptof M/A-Combelng the programserviceoperatorsince mid-April.This apparentl! happenedafter HBO decided to cancel thelr own irirfetin! plans.) 2) HBOwillsellto homeTVROownerswithin'cablefranchise areas'through HBO(andCinemax) affiliates. Eachcablefirm willestablish theirown'schedule of rales'andthesecharges willvaryfromareato area,at the 'whim'of the cablefirms. (Therewas no cleardefinitionof ,cablefranchisearea'in the announcement but HBOhas In the pastsuggestedto afflliates that for the purposesof selling homeTVROusers,a ,franchise area'mightbe largerthantheactualmunicipalaleafor whichthe cablecompanyholds a 'franchise'.) 3) .Outside of thecableareas,or outsideof the,franchise areas' (however ultimately defined),HBOwillseltthe homeTVRO userthrougha directsalesprogramutilizing an gOOnumber (tollfree)orderservice. Themonthlyratesfor HBOandCinemax,soldinthismanner, willbe912.95eachor $19.95forthe pairof services. ,consistentwlth marketplace . (HBOsays that these ratesare valuealreadyestabllshedfor the two services'althoughniilonwlde the servicesare generallysold at about 75oloof this rate throughcableafflliates.) releasedatedMay2nd,reportedly . l-t-99'.Collins,in a prepared said"Weareverypleasedthatwe willbe ableto irovideHgOani Cinemax to homeTVROownerswhileprotecting thesatellite signals. We believe thatthisequipment distribution andservicesubscriotion approachprovidesus with the most cost-etfective and efficient methodto serve'backyard dish'owners." HBOdidnotaddress theon-going question of allowing anypartof theTVROindustry (OEMs, distributors ordealers) to participaie inthe saleor marketing of the in-homeserviceand fromthe text of the prepared releaseit appeared thatHBOdoesnotintendto allowanv suchparticipation by the TVROindustry.SPACEreactionwas as expected. TaylorHowardresponded thatthe HBOannouncement clears theair of thecable createdmyth that ,the skies wlll go dark' and provides TVBOretailers withproof thattherewillbe the continued availability programming ofpremium tohomesystems. However, Bud Rosswasnotso pleasednotingthattheratesestablished by HBOfor directsaleare indeed25/" higherthan normalHBOand'Cinemax rates.Rosswasalsoincensed thatthecableoperator is being,needlesslyinserted intothe marketing schemeandthe planallowsthe cableoperatorto establishhis own ratesand reap,windfallprofits, fromthe non-cableconnectedsubscribers. SPACE attorney RickBrownusedtheannouncementto notethat tfe HBOplanis proofof theneedfor supportfortheCongressman JuddGreggproposal (HR1769)to bananyscrambling fora two-year 'sortout'and period whilethemarketplace mechanisms descrambling equipment becomes generally available. SATELLITE DICEST PAGE6/CSD-2/5-85 o z = q E o U z F zq o u +60 DEC +50 +40 +30 JAN FEB MAR +20 +10 0 -10 -20 -30 -40 -50 o z H g APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SPT ocr NOV m3[3=1 O J F s ^ F v / 1 v < @ o z -cl-26 tssH E i h ? 2- g 2 EZ p (Retail) UNDERSTOCK OVERSTOCK T H I S R E P O R TC : S D / 2r o u t i n e l ys u r v e y sa p p r o x i m a t e l3y 0 0T V R Od e a l e r se a c h m o n t h t o d e t e r m i n e( 1 )h o w b u s i n e s s ) o n t h c o m p a r e sw i t h t h e s a m e m o n t h i n 1 9 8 a (; 2 )w h e t h e rf o u r p r i m a r ye q u i p m e n t f o r t h e l a s t c o m p l e t e( c a l e n d a rm i t e m sw e r e i n d e a l e r ' o v e r s t o c k( i' . e .l o o m a n y i n - h o u s eo) r ' u n d e r s t o c k(' i . e .s u p p l i e sd a n g e r o u s l yl o w a t r e t a i ll e v e l ) . T h i s s e r v e sa s T V R O ' s" i n d u s t r yb a r o m e t e r "o f e q u i D m e n t r e n d sa t t h e r e t a i l / d e a l el re v e l . end outputsat 1450MHz are -6 dB. Nominalgain is 14 dB at 'mid-band' (1200MHz).TheirDualBDC1200ll hastwln outputsfor processing polarized bothhorizontal andvertical signalsfroma dual modefeed,slopeequalization between 950and1450and15 dB of gain.Thisunitusesa single,common'DRO'puckto maintain oscillatorstability. TheGensatBSR1200receiver isalsonowavailable asa rackmounted receiver for SMATVapplications. the CDR4112receiver, Gensatalsoannounced an (optionally) intraredcontrolledconsumerreceiverwith synthesized tuningand digitalmicro-processor controlthatincludes a non-volatile memory. Thememorysystemretainsspecificinformation for audiosubcarrier tuning,audiomode,audiobandwidth, videofinetuningandpolarizer skewfor eachof 24 transponders on up to 18 satellites. Finally,Gensathasopenedotficesin the UnitedStateswithBobThetemporary address isSuite300,6584Poplar byTaylorincharge. Tn.38138(901/682-1670). Stre6t,Memphis, CDR4/12Is tull MTVROCompatlble LOCOUDlvlslonof RadloSemlconductor, Inc.(p.O.Box529, StateCollege,Pa.16804;814/355-3494) hasfileda petitionrequestingcourtapproval for voluntary bankruptcy underChapter11 provisions.LOCOMseekslo have the protectionbf the courtwhile it attempls financialreorganization of itsmonetary attairs.LOCOMcites pricecompetition (fromFarEastern intense LNAsuppliers), a general downturn in TVRObusinessduringthe firstquarterof 1985,and problems withtransfening fromproto-type associated to fullproductiontheirnewlycreated'RoyalCommander' lineof micro-processor basedTVROreceivers factorsto thefirm'sfinancial as contributing problems. partners LOCOMis stillseekingfinancial to bringthenew receiver to marketandreports fortheirLNAand anupturninbusiness otherproducts sincethespringsellingseasonbegan.FirmPresident KlngsleyHastingsreports thefirmwould'seriously consider thesale productandits technology' of the RoyalCommander at thistime. LUXORNORTHAMERICACORP.(600 108thAvenueN.E.. Suite539,Bellevue, Wa. 98004;206/451-44141 has introduced a numberof newblockdownconversion outdoorunitsincluding their model9734'dual downconverter'. Luxorhasalsoformally introduced the9726LowNoiseBlockDownconverter andreoorts the'retailorice' fortheunitis $450for a 100degree(LNB)unitand$550for the80 degreeunit.AnothernewLuxoroutdoorproductis the 9755standunit(seeCSD/2for March1Sth)which aloneblockdownconverter carriesa suggestedretailpriceof $205. SAT-TECSALES,lNC.(2575BairdRoad,Penfield, NewYork 14526;7161586-3950) isotfering dealers'cash rebates' onallSat-Tec XLreceivers, receivers, standard downconverters, stereodemodulaproducts. torsandantennapositioner Thecashrebateperiodruns through June30thanddetailsareavailable fromMikeO'Connell. (480 SATELLITE GROUND COMPONENTS EastStreet,Suite3, SimiValley,California 93065;805/583-4818) has releaseda new powersupplydesigned to operate singleordualpolarization LNAplus (block)downconverter systems. The powersupplycreates15 volts DC (at850mils)andhastwosetsof F connectors for in andoutput connections. Theunitcaniesa oneyearwarranty for andis available immediate shioment. (5225OldOrchardRd.,Suite27STARTECHCORPORATION has introduceda trio of sepaC, Skokie,ll. 60088;312/967-0170) rate TVROreceiverproducts.ModelST-1000has matrixstereo, detenttuning,skewcontrol(automatic Polarotor 1 interfacing), AFC, video-invert, and a matching(15 dB noisefigureclaimed)downconverter. ModelST-9000 is continuous tunewitha scanning feature andis matched witha 13 dB noisefigure(claimed) downconverter. ModelST-3000 pricedwithbuilt-inmodulator, is economy skewconNEWPRODUCTSI contlnueson page20 ? roo,ooo go,w osq ) CPN, 7o,ooo t50,000 P The Numbers Game Another new satelllte W publlcation ls tqring to conMnce you that bulng advertlsing space is a simple matter of comparing numbers. "Buy us," they say, "because we have the largest dlstribution . . . buy us because we have the lowest CPM." "Know We say: what you're bul ng, ancltake a carefu| look behlnclthose numbers." Flrst of all, we must remember that there is a very lmportant difference between COPIESDISTRIBUTED and COPIESSOLD. Unfortunately,not eveql magazine sent to the newsstanclsls bought anclreacl.Depencling upon the qualltyof the publicatlon,the power of its cllstrlbutor and the type of newsstands to which it is circulatecl, a magazlne can sell in very hlgh or very low percentages. lt's pretgl obMous that aclvertisingwhich appears in unsold m4gazines is of no value. The newest satellite W magazine saysthat it has the "cost lowest CPM, per thousand reaclers."That'sinteresting because it is making this boast weeks before its first issueevengoeson sale.Thatmeanstheyare making the claim on the basisof copies printecl,not copies sold. That is not a vallcl figure for CPM comparisons. We at HOMESATELLITEWcan'Iglveyou avaliclCPM figure either.Our ffrst issuegoes on saleMay 23rcl ancl we won't have meaningful s.rlesreports for weeks. We can tellyou this: Over 9O,OOO copies of our first issuehavebeen clistributecl.The ne<t issuewillgo over IOO,OOO. We are circulateclon newsstanclsthroughout North America byWarner PublisherServices,the largestclistributor in the business.Warner's team of marketing o<perts maclethe clecisionas to how many copies should be placeclin circulation.Theirfigure is baseclupon quality clistributionin the best income areaswith a high percentage of salespotential. We have procluceclan exciting magazine aimecl clirectly at the consumer who has a new interest in WRO. Our professionalstaffhascaptureclthe wonclersof s.rtellite W with articles by experts you know and respect. They have put them into a colorful package using moclem graphic techniquesto make the subiectalive ancl unclerstanclable. What we are saying is that HOME SATELLITE W is the quality consumer magazine...Qualigrin distribution, quality in product. Ancl,asyou alreaclyknow qualityis always the best buy. Ad spacereseryationsfor issueNo. 2 close MAy gO. CALLTODAYFORPRIMEPOSITIONS MarleneCollier MikeGumpel MillerMagazines,Inc. Ventura,California 805643.3664 U I I flrlr 0 The QUALITYGonsumerMagazine MarthaRayFedric MediaTech, lnc. (NationalAdReps) Grenada, Mississippi 601226,6807 I SATELLITEDICEST eAGEe/csD-2/s.8s PROFILE OF A MARKET: Partone FROMThe Top comingto grips with the ,scrambling situation, In the beginning, we knewwho the firstusersof TVRO becomesmorepressing. were.Theywerehamradiooperators, peoplewholivedin the C) BuylngHablts.lf thetypicatbuyeris middteandupper middleof 350,000acreranchesin NewMexico,and people incomeonly,andhe is payingcashfor hissystem'(or who had hugebankaccountsand someparticularlustlor arranging hisownfinancing to buya system), themar_ sportsprogramming. Thehamsbuilttheirsystems, usuallyfor ketplacewillultimatelyself-limitbecau'se noi everyone under$2,000.Therestpaidbig bucksfor theirsystems;upcanaffordthecash-up-front dollars.We needto linow wardslo $36,500if theyselectedSclentlflc-Atantaas their moreaboutthebuyinghabitsof theconsumer whohas supplier. Andtherewasnomiddleground,nomiddle-America beenattractedto TVROto date and to betterunderbuyer. standhowto motivatethe buyerwhohasnotyet purcAndthenthemarketbeganto change.Thehamsfigured hasedfrom us. outtheycouldbuildtwoaseasilyasone,andtheybecameour Tolearnaboutsize,thedepthandtheprofileof ourpresent first'dealers'(1). AndfirmswithoutSA'soverhead figuredout marketplace, CSDgottogetherwitha majortelecommunicathatit youcouldsellonesystemlor 936,500, youcouldprob- tionscorporation andwepackaged thesetwoelements witha ablysell10for$3,650andwe hadtheearlyentrance of firms groupof hardwareequipment supplierswillingto sharebesuchasChannelMaster.Andthusa middle-America market- tween500and1,000customer namesandaddresses takenat placedeveloped. And it grewand grewso thatby 1984we randomlromeachof the OEM'swarrantycardreturnfiles. weresellingmorethan400,000newterminals peryear.But Wewerecareful who werewe sellingtheseterminals to, andwhy werethey varietyof products,to selectOEMswhosolda considerable on a nationalbasis.We were equally buyingfromus??? carefulto selectout a time-diverse cross CSDdecidedto find out. And not simplybecausethat cardnamescoveringthe full four year sectionof wari.anty span of the TVRO seemedlike somethingthat neededto be iJone.We had ing.ugtry. Thenwe puttogeJhera 4 page,45 questionsurvey several concerns to resolveandwe'llsharesomeofthemwith whichwe mailedto nearly5,000existingowners andusersof you: TVRO.To makethe recipients of the s-urvey morewillingto thesurvey(requiring from15to 20 minutesof their A) Market slze. lf you determinedthat the only REAL complete lime since most of the guestionswere multiple-choice marketplacefor homeTVROswas the rural market a promiseof 1wocrisp,new,$1 bills,wdsincluded wheretelevisionreceptionby moretraditional(and answers) person for each returning a surveyform. lessexpensive) meanswaspooror non-existent, ihen potential ourtotal marketplace wasgoingto be limited. conducted duringthefirstquarter - .Theresultofthisproject, Perhapsto no morethan2,000,000 homeunits.With year,wasmorethan2,000returned of.llr.is surveys;43.6/ool the industryracingrapidlytowardsthe 1,000,000 terallTVROownersreceiving thesurveyreturned itessentially or minalmark,a conclusion favoring ourjustbeinga rural totallycomplete. Andfromthattabulation of morethan2,000 phenomenon was important to recognize. rgpry!-su1v_eys, _- market CSDhaspubtished a 1S0page,t ggs(CSD) B) MarketType.lf theprogrammlngavailable-via satel- TVROMARKETPROFTLE'. This profiteib avaitabte undel. litewas an importantpart of the consumerbuying specialcontractto businesses and individuals whoseekdedecision, thenwheretheconsumer livesis lessimiloitaileddemographic profilesand behavorial answersto the People justastheydo in watch movies in Atlanta 40+ questionswe posedto TVRO owners(2). Over the Lant. "Dubois, Wyoming. lf moviesweremoreimportarit than courseofthenexttwoissuesof CSDandCSD/2,wewillshare a lackof localreception, not only is the sizeof the just a tinyfractionof this analysiswith you so that you will marketconsiderably greater,but the importance of betterunderstand the marketplace whichyou are now involvedwith.The'MarketProfile'is a copywritten reportproexpense andseveraldozen,clients; 1l Thellrst dealerto operatesolelyas a dealerwasFredHopen_ ducedatconsiderable will garten(amateur profileddatafound KlVR)whoopenedhis,ChannelOne'TVRObusi_ be usingthe reamsof demographically nessin Waltham,Ma. in the springof .1979.Hopengarten and analysisof the otfered hereto createtheirown interpretations Microdyne.commercial equipment TVROmarketplace inhomesystemconfi-gurations for the balanceof 1995.Of particular and continuesin the samebusinesstoday. interest willbe the measurement andanalysisof ,behavorial l-_ . PAGE 10/CSD-2/5-85 motivations'; clearinsightintowhydifferentageandincome munitieswherecableserviceexisted.He alsotookthisas a buyershaveoptedto buyand 'signal'that distributed andgeographically the natureor'mix'of homeTVROselling was usea homeTVROsystem. rapidlychangingand he forecasta greaternumberof 'small dish'systems, locatedin suburban backyards, in 1985as a OTHEREfforts result. On an on-goingbasis,theChannelMasterCorporation The1984Channel Mastersurvey, whichChannel Master homeTVROmarketingdepartment, underthe tutorshipof willinglyhas sharedwiththe balanceof the marketplace, is 'TVRO DonaldBerg,hascompleted its own MarketProfile' importantto us here becauseit providesus with a 'scale' fortwoconsecutive years.TheChannelMasterapproach isto againstwhichto compare thetabulated resultsof thespringof enclose witheachnewTVROsystemormajorcomponent unit '1985 (CSD)TVROMarket Profile'. A similarstudy,con'minia customerwarrantycard whichalso doublesas a ductedby UnidenCorporation througha similarwarranty card market-survey'. TheCMwarranty cardapproach extracts data approach, was alsoinstructive. 'marketwhichthecompany feelswillhelpit betterdetermine But,a studyconducted by onemanufacturer represents a placemotivation' forluturesales.Thisapproach is commonly profile at bestof thecustomers of justthatmanufacturer. The practiced bymanyindustry leadersinotherfields andfromthis distribution patternof anysinglemanufacturer, evena Chanmarketresearch important trendsin buyinghabitsas wellas 'uneven'. Nosinglesupplier, the demographic makeupof the buyersare detected.From nelMasteror a Uniden,is at best yet hasa totally'inteincluding Channel MasterandUniden, this'earlydetectionsystem'bettermarketing strategies de- grateddistribution system'which properlybalancesrural velopandnewmarketing plansare born. salesandsuburban salesandurbansalesDatlerns. Channel ChannelMasterfoundthatintheyear1984,themajority of Master'sstrength,for severaldecades,has been in rural 'Poor their homeTVROcustomers cited TV reception'and areas.Uniden'sstrengthis not yet clear other than their 'MoreTVchoices'asthetwoprimary reasons forinvesting in volumedistribution. a TVRO.ChannelMasteralsofoundthat 19olo of all people Sowhenwe areableto takea ChannelMaster'question' returning theirwarrantycardsand completing the questions and find a 'reasonable fit' to a specificquestionin our 45 'No 'Poor on the cardreportedtheyhad TV reception' or TV question survey,we considerthatmore'luck'thanskillsince reception'. Thisnumbercompares withbetween4 and5%of ournearly5,000questionnaire formseventually filteredoutto allAmerican homeswhichwouldfindthemselves inthesame whatweintended to bea totallyintegrated marketplace made reception situation. ChannelMasteralsofoundthat62%of all upof rural,suburban andurbanusersspreadoveralltypesof thosesurveyed reported theyhadreception fromfiveorfewer equipment packagesfrom exceedingly expensiveto exchannelspriorto investing in a satellitedish;nationally, there ceedingly inexpensive. Thereisvalueinanystudyconducted; wouldbe between20 and 21"/"in the samepredicament. thereis morevaluein somethanothers.Thepioneering work Bothof thesesurveyresults,from the ChannelMaster doneinthisfieldbyChannelMasterandUnidenis recognized study,wouldsupportthethesisthatthe majorityof ourTVRO andimportant. Andwherewe foundimportant'fits' between cuslomers to date are peoplewho livein areaswheredirect datasetsin thesurveyscited,we shallcallthemoutfor you. (terrestrial) televisionreceptionis pooror belowacceptable Moreimportant, wherewe did notfindfitsbetweendata,we levels.Thelogicalextension of sucha profilewouldleadone shallalsocallthatout for you. to theconclusion thatultimately, this marketplacewouldbe Customers? saturatedsincebarely1/5thof all Americanhomesare so WHEREAre TVRO'conflicts' Weforesawthe between locatedthat they havefive or fewertelevisionchannelsto cableandTVRO'coming'. And we carefully questions selected our selectfrom.Still,inthe18,000,000 relatingto the or so realm(thenumber of of eachTVROownerso thatwe mightbetter homesor livingunitsthat equalsthe percentages tossed livingsituation why peoplewho haveaccessto cableteleviabouthere),themarketplace wouldseemto bebarely'dented' understand sion service(s)would,in fact,optfor a homeTVROsystem. at the 1,000,000 home(TVRO)terminal levet. patternof TVRO The ChannelMaster1984 survey,however,revealed Ourdataclearlyshowshowthe behavorial 'matured' something sincethe 1980-g'lera else;'a trend'since1984'ssurveywasthesecond buyershas changedor respondents suchcompilation wereasked done by ChannelMaster.CM foundthat buyers.InourCSDstudy-approach, they live and how longthey have had a whereasintheir1983survey11%ol allTVROcustomers had to identifywhere 'where-they-live' profilewasthenbrokenout for accessto cableTV,thatin their1984survey,thisnumberhad TVRO.The analysis in several waysincludingthe regionof the United risensharplyto 21 percent.ChannelMaster'sBergtookthis asanindication thathomeTVROsellingwasmovingoutofthe Stateswheretheylive(i.e.Pacific,West-Central, Southwest, East-Central, Mid-Atlantic countryside andNewEngland; and intoeitherthe suburbsor the smallercom- Southeast, see map).Thenwe wantedto see wherethey lived,relativeto townsandmetropolitan areasof varioussizes.Wealsoidenti2/'The 1985(CSD)TVROMarketProflle'is immediately avail- fiedhow longeachcategoryhad ownedtheirsystemsand able,onanindividual copybasis,fromCSDMagazine. The150page furtherbrokethatdownbytheirincomelevelsandbythetype reportincludes52 pagesof 'cross-tabulation' tables,22 pagesof 'summary of workdoneby the Tamilyhead'. tables',a 16page'executive summary'suitably illustrated Hereis a summaryof thatdata: withgraphslo highlight the size,caliberand scopeof the market. Manager for thesurveyproperwasRuddickResearchInternationA) TVROOwnersLive In: al, Inc.,a leading marketing andcommunications marketing strategy yES/ 1 ) I n c o r p o r a t etdo w n s o r c i t i e s research firmwithheadquarters in Tulsa,Oklahonia and including 25.8% NOt71.90'/0 amongst itsclients firmssuchasBechtel Corporation, General Motors B) Distanceto nearestCity of 100,000or More: Corporation, Goodyear Tireand RubberCompany, U.S.SteelCoryES/ 30.4olo 1) Lessthan50 miles poration andXeroxCorporation. Instructions for ordering thiscopyyES/ 62.6010 2) MoreThan50 Miles writtenreportappearhereon page13 or call CSD Magazine at -0505. 3) Wfthincfty 100,000+ 305/771 YES/5.3% SATELLITEDICESI eace 11/csD-2/s-Bs W H E R ET V R OO W N E R SL I V E PACIFIC 22.20h WEST CENTRAL 22.40 D-ATLAN 5.3% EAST CENTRAL '12.4o/o SOUTHEAST 16.2% NO RESPONSEII.2Oh NotethatChannelMastertoundT3/oare ,rural'(withoul defining thetermrural),1gy"are ,onfarms'and7% aresub_ uroan. distribution . Our studyalsofoundthat the geographic of satelliteuserswas: A) Pacific,(Ataska,Hawaji,Catifornia, tdaho,Oregon, Utah,Washington, andArizona):22.i"hoialltermiials nowinstalled B) Southwest(Arkans^as,-Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas, allterminals nowinstalled ^. 3ld Ner Mexico):13.3o/ool C) West-Central(Colorado,lowa,Xanias,frlinnesota Montana,Nebiaska,lrto-rtn Oitota,-Sdrtn Oaf<oia, Wisconsin andWyomingl:22.4o/o of all ttiminatsnow installed D) Georgia,Mississippi, louthgast.(Ftorida,..Atabama, NorthCarolina,SouthCarolina,Teniesseeand Vir_ of all terminalsnowinstalled _. ginia):16.2o/o ,logarithmic,. 24 months, hasbeenvirtually In measuring the termof ownership, we found: 1) 59.4%of ownershadpurchased theirTVROwithin12 months of the surveyresponseOates ltnrougntate February) 2) 29.80/:had purchasedtheirterminalstrom 12 to 24 -. 1r:qths priorto the surveydate 3) 7.Bo/o_.had purchasedthei; ter;inals from 24 to 36 prior y91ths to the surveydate -. 4) 1.go/o hadownedtheirterminilifiomSOto 48 months, and, 5) An additional ,longer 1.37ohadownedtheirterminals than48 (in theory, out to tne d7,ontn pointor Juneof T-o1r-tnsl 1979whenthefiistcommerciat_nome termin_ als wereinstalled). ,activity, the m'arketplace has changed ., Significanily, through theyearswithcertainiegionsoiin"'6orntry,catching e) Indianl Ke;iu;kt,Michisan, flgt-9-elllll {tfil"'.r,. -now onfaster'toTVROthanoth"rs,a"no tnln ;i;;;6lo*n asthey unlo and West Virginia):12.4o/o of all terminats ceriainsrageof maturitytorrirf,eis"aiuration). For installed :"_1*13 examole: F) irlid-Ailantic(Delaware,_Maryland, NewJersey,New Of all terminalssoldto date: York,Pennsylvania andDistrictot botumOia;: S.gV"o,t 1) The Pacific districtachieved24.5o/o of rts present all terminalsnow installed ggtulgtiolat a point24 months,back,; G) ^, (Connecticut, Massachusetts, z, ! neNo.rtheast, Maine, lPy,E,l_gland bycomparison, didnotreachthesame N.ew Hampshire, RhodelslandandVermont): 2.9ohoi pointof saturation untilsome14 monthibacf. all terminalsnowinstalled H) market,forhomeTVROsbetween12 and _ Or,the'hottest Ig."jgllOurside of USAbutwithinU.S.or Canadian 24 months'back'wasthe pacific,"gion DOMSAT coverage regions ): 4.1"/"ol allterminals now ol all tbrlrlq' 44.go/o terminals installed. owned,in THAT12month-perio'di;hib the stowest geographic areawithinthatSAMEt'Z montnpeiioOwastne ThegrowthoftheTVROmarketplace, duringthepast18to Southeast whenbut 21.4o/o ot affpresenify'oilieO terminals PAGE12|CSD-2/5-85 wereourchased. Thecrosstabulations breaksthepurchases 'motivadownregionbyregion,timeframebytimeframe,and tion-by-motivation' so that a 'student'can followthe exact progress of terminalsalesfor thefull(fiveyear)historyof the markelplace. With25.8%of userslivingin incorporated townsor cities, thestudyfoundthat10.1olo of allsystemownerslivedintowns of lessthan10,000population whilecitieswithover100,000 populationattractedthe next largestsegmentof town/city dwellersinthemarket;5.3%.TheChannelMasterstudyfound similarnumbers; 73olo described theirlocation as'rural'while 7"h wereselfdescribedas 'suburban(urban)'. Profilesof thetypicalTVROuserfellintoseveraldistinct patterns, asdidtheuseof terminals. Severaldozenchartsand tablesin thefullstudypointouttheviewinghabitsandeducationalbackground, as well as the incomelevel,for TVRO usersin eachgeographic district.lt appearsthemajordemographicsegmentsare: 1) Thelargest single'category' is married withchildren at home,aged35 to 49,earning$30,000t0 $49,999per year,witha highschooleducation butselfdescribed as 'professional'. 2) The secondlargestcategoryconsistsof a married householdwith childrengrown,60 years of age or older, with an annualfamilyincomeof between with somecollegeor vo-tech $18,000and $29,999 schooling creditsand 'retired'of semi-retired. ChannelMasterfound(withfewerrespondentchoicesto selectfrom)that the 'typical'customer had a household incomeof morethan$30,000(butlessthan$50,000), a high schooleducation,more than two peoplein the home and self-described as'bluecollar'.Significantly, ChannelMaster also found 'retired'asthe secondlargestcategory. HOWThey Buy Eightof the questionnaire topicsdeveloped a behavorial profileof theTVROconsumer; or how theydescribedthemselvesas purchasers inthemarketplace. Thequestions were 'general'to seekout patterns anddid notspecifythe buying processas it relatedonlyto TVRO.Amongwhatwe learned: A) A highpercentage do comparepriceswhenshopping percentage BUTa significant doesNOTtendto buyat the 'lowestprices'found. percenAnothersignificant tage saidthey 'usuallybuy morethanthey planned whileshopping' althougha surprising majoritysaid theywillNOTbuysoonerif creditis available. Therehas alwaysbeen muchdiscussionwithinthe marketing armof theinduslryasto whatmotivatesa personto actuallylearnaboutandthento buya TVROsystem.Thatlirst 'exposure'to TVROis criticalbecauseit startsthe purchase process.Our sludyfound: A) Themajorityol buyerseithersawa systemat a neighbor'sor relative's,or, saw a systemin operationat a dealer(59.4%). A sizeablepercentage citeda'lackof cable'or'cable is tooexpensive'as a reasonto purchasea TVRO.Thatnumberwillcomebackagainaswe shallsee in CSDfor June1st. Afterthefirstexposureandinterest, what'motivates'the @nsumerto buya TVRO?Again,respondents weregiven8 possibleanswersandonceagaintherewasa clearcut leader; 60.5%reportedthat'More Channelswlth a GreaterProgrammlng Varlety' was the primarymotivationfor buyinga terminal.However,runningconlraryto this answerwere severalsub-groupswithinthe wholeof the study. SATELLITE DIGEST A G E O F H E A DO F H O U S E H O L D 60 and older NO RESPONSEIl.OOA 1) Peoplewho had purchased theirterminal3 or more years prlor to the studysignificantly lelt strongabout 'GetlingBetter Quallty Programs'; 2) Peoplewho livedwherelhere was NO receptionAT ALL had a much broader'reason-range' for their purchase. 3) Peoplein the southeastsegmentof the countrycited 'moremovles'as a predominant reasonfortheTVRO whilepeopleinthePaclflcsegmentof thecountrywere lar lessinterestedin movies. 4) Peopleeaming$50,000or moreperyearweremore H O U S E H O L DI N C O M E U N D E R$ 1 8 , O O O $18,000- $29, \ 34.3o/o $50,000and above $30,000. $ 4 9 , 9 9 9 NO RESPONSEI4.2o/o THEBIG BLACKBOOK THATUNLOCKS THESECRETS OF THETVRO Fa#. MARKETPLACE WHO - WHAT- :"rflyr#f"s up the 1985TVROmarketplace? ls the marketplace shiftingfromruratto Iil:tffi:?:,ffi"fi5J"":iil#??t ffi:i$, sports, news??? How important torvRoowners are Now forthefirsttimethere^is profile'oftheTVROmarketplace; a'definitive a detailed, perceptive lookat the demographics of the TVROconsumer,completewith behavoriat s6gmentitionpioiif'estMore m.ani,ooo present-day ownersof r!.RO completeda 43.question,four-pagei-urveydesignedby skilledmarxZting strategists to elicitdatawhichwouldallowa fullcomputer tabulati6n of the''demo"gr"pni"s of TVRO.' ,The THE1985(CSD)TVROMarketProfile'contains150pagesof charts,analysis, tablesandsummaries. provides insight into the motivations of TVRO and reveals important'user iurcnase satisfaction' 19119' and TVROsystem'useprofiles' forthefirsttime.'TheProfile' is skillfully editedandarranged intosections to allow cursory, intermediate andin-depth analysis of allof theimportant fictorsinfluencing iVnO prrcniie-anOuse. tft^l19!^"gjs there are32 'basictables',49 'cross-tabulation tabtes'and 38 'behaviorat tendency Ii'ilil 'slmmary raoles'.A 16 page'Executive Summary'backedyp by 22 pagesof tables'is tailoredfor the busy management personwhoneedsto understand thebasicmotivations of TVRObutwhodoesnothavethetimet6 preparehis own analysis. 'The1985(CSD) TVROMarketProfile'is available to youon a confidential basisforuselimitedto withinyour organization, andit maynotbe reproduced norprintedin anyformwithoutthewrittenconsentof tne copyiight holders. METHODOLOGY/Nearly 5,000 home TVRO system users were identified throughan arrangement with a cross-section of TVRO hardwareoriginalequipment suppliers.A randomsampleof warrantyregistrationcard files provideda master'survey universe'covering the period1980through1985,spreadoverall regionsof the UnitedStatesand outsidethe USAwhereDOMSAT(domesticUS satellites)can be received.Survey results are based upon 2,086 responses (43.6%)receivedby the specifiedcut-offdate. The studywas conductedunder contractby RuddickResearchInternational. Partlal llstlng ot qu€stlons Includod In orlglnal 3uruey form: How long had satelliteearthstation?Rgglon of country? Primaryuse of system? Factor that convlnc€d you lo buy system? Numberof broadcasttelevision numberol hours per we€k salellitesystem used by all membersol household?Sailstactlon wllh sstglllts recelvlng squlpment? Satellitestuned-inthree or more times per week? Catogory of Programmlng vlswed most lrgqusntly by housohold on satelllte? Categoriesof programmingviewed next-mostfrequently?lmportant source of sstelllts proglammlng Inlormallon? Main benefitexpectedfrom satellileequipment?How much sponl on satellllo rscelvlng equlpmont? Otherelectronicequipmsntcurreniy have or own in home? equipmentwithin next 12 months?Equlpmsnt plan on buylng? Age of head of household?Famlly staius ol household? lncomeof household?Educatlon ot head of household? Occupationof headof household?Publlcatlons subscrib€d lo or read rsgularlly? Programmingsourcesvi€wedthroughsatellile:ABC, CBS, NBC, WTBS, WGN, USA Network,CBN, ESPN,HBO, Cinemd, Showtlme.Typeol productsusuallypurchased?Buy soongr It on credil? Gen€rallya'risk taker'in purchasing? Wh€n shopplng, genorallybuy mors than antic|patgd?Use800.to||.freenumberswhenshoppin9?Tendtobuymerchand|sobasdupon Generally comparg prlceg b€fore buylng? household:Localion ol residence by region; Educationallevel ol head of household;Occupationof head ol household;Magazines subscribedto or read regularly. Blhavloral Satellitesviewed;Types of programmingviewed; Seruic€sviewed (Viewership,Programmingviewed). HOWTO 'The 1985(CSD)TVROMarket Profile' PLEASEenter our order for a singlecopyof the 150 page'1985(CSD)TVRO Market profile'. Our checkfor 91,000,to WestIndiesVideo,Ltd.,is attached.We understand thatthis'Profile'is beingsoldto us withour agreementthat no portions maybe duplicatedfor distributionnor publishedwithoutthe writtenconsentofthe copyrightholderslWe also understandthat our copy will be sent via FederalExpresswithin two workingdays of receiptof odr order and payment. Shipto: NAME COMPANY (streetonly) ADDRESS CITY ( Telephone Number: STATE ztP We agree to the confidentialityterms of this 'Profile': Signature Order WestIndiesVideo,Ltd. FortLauderdale. Fl. 33310 P.O.Box100858 -0505) (Telephone 305/771 Tifle COOP'S SATELLITEDICESf aptto cite'moresports' as theirreasonfora terminal whilepeopleinthe18 to 34agegroupwereleastaptto cite moresportsas a reasonfor buyinga lerminal. Becauseof the demographic breakdown,by program type,yearsof ownershipof a terminal,locationwithinthe country, thenumberof stationsreceived withouta TVRO,the agegroups,and,lhe incomelevels,thefullstudyrevealeda numberol enlightening patternswhichallowthe skilled marketing personto focuson potentially usefuladvertising messagesand promotionsfor the sale ol TVRO. WHATThey Buy Formorethana year,theindustry hasbeenpricedrivenat boththewholesale andretaillevels.Yet,asCSD/2forJanuary 1sthreported,theaverageretailpricefor a homesystemhas not droppedfromoneyearagoin spiteof thepre-occupation by membersof the industry'with price'.The 1985TVRO MarketProfilesubstantiates thisattheretailorconsumer level as well. Thosesurveyedweregiven5 pricerangechoicesfor the amountlhey had paid for their systems.And 91.3%paid between$1,500and $5,000for their systemswilh 44.2./o payingbetween$3,001and $5,0fl1fortheirsystems.When price-paidis viewedas a functionof 'age of system'and 'bcatbn patternsemerge. of user'severalinteresting A) Systems costinglessthan$1,500aremostfrequently foundin the mid-westand southwestand leastfrequentlyfoundin the northeast. B) Systemscostingmorethan 95,(X10 aremostfrequenlly foundin the southwest, Pacificand northeast. C) Peoplebetween18and34,earningbetween$12,000 and $18,000per year are most apt to purchasea systemcostingunder$1,500. D) Peopleover50 and earningmorethan$50,000per year are mostapt to purchasesystemsover 95,000 (especially in the northeast). ls the TVRO systemmerelyan extensionof a buyer's fascination with'electronic toys'?Certainly a TVROis about 'homeelectronics themostsophisticated andeasy-to-use toy' available to theconsumer at thepresenttime.lt,however, the primarymarkelto date has beento peoplewho are excited about'lhemachine'andlessin lovewiththeproduct(i.e.the programming it creates), therearedangersignsherefor the longtermgrowthof the industry. ChannelMasterin their 1984surveyfoundthat TSo/o ol theircustomerssurveyedownedtwo or moretelevisionreceivers.We foundthat 80o/o of all TVROusersownedtwo or moreTV sets.ChannelMasteralsofoundthat35o/o ol all(CM) TVROownersalsoowneda VCRwhilewefoundthat39.5olo oi allTVROownershada VCR.Bothnumbersaresignificantly higher(bya factorgreaterthan2) thanthepopulation baseas a whole. Wealsofoundhighownership of personal computers and even'amateurradioequipment'. Thatone botheredus until wecrosscheckedandlearnedthatthosewhoownedamaleur radioequipment wereheavy'earlyusers'of TVRO,beinga significant-percentage of theearlyTVROuniverse (i.e.owning lerminalsfor overthreeyears). TVRO'usepatterns', a measurement of notonlyhowthe terminals areusedbuthowoftentheconsumerswaich television,turnedupsomeinteresting datapreviously onlyguessed about.According to theNovember (1994)NatldnalAuArcnce DemographlcsReport,a frequentlyusedrelerencein the (overthe air) broadcasting industry,the typical(average) Americanhomehadthe television set operiiional37 hour6 nnce 15/csD-2/5.85 and24minutesper weekin thefallof 1994.lf youmadethe assumption thateachday in a weekwasevenlysplitfor TV viewing,thatworksoutto about5 hoursand20 minutesper day. SatelllteTV vlewersare heavyusersof television. 1) 19.5olo usedtheir(satelllte)television fewerthan 30 hours perweek; 21 25.9./0 usedtheirequipment between30and39 hours perweek; 31 23.2/ousedtheirequipment between40 and 49 hour perweek; 41 12.4o/o usedtheirequipment between50and59 hours perweek; 5) 18.4olo usedtheirequipmentmore than 50 hour per week. Thereis a'breaking-in period'however; peoplewhohad theirterminalslongertendedto use theirterminalslessper week.Peopleinthesoutheast andPacificwerelessaptto use theirlerminalsheavilythanpeoplein the northeast, as well. SATISFACTION Guaranteed? Seemingly, satisfieduserswouldbe interested in recommendinghomesystemsto neighbors and relatives, andalso interested in upgrading or expanding theirsystemsas well. Thestudyaskedthosesurveyed fortheir'levelof satisfaction' withtheirhomesystem.We foundan exceptionally highpercentage(62.6old was'extremelysailsfled'(thehighestlevel possible') of satisfaction withtheirsystemsand satisfaction seemedto increase with'age'likea finewinei72.2o/o of those whohadownedsystems3 years or more were'extremely geographic satisfied'. Likewise, localehada bearingon staisfactionwiththeleastsatisfied in thesouthwest andmid-west. Approximately1 userin 5 anticipates buyingsomeadditionalTVROequipment during'1985andthisgroupexpands to 1 userin3 whenyoulookonlyatthoseterminals 3 yearsold or older.Nottoosurprising, we learnthatmotorized actuators and receiverremotecontrols(or new receivers with remote control) arethetwomostoftencited'newequipment'categorieslor existing TVROowners. Whatwilltheybuy? Motorizedacluators(41.9y"1and receiverremotecontroll_qs(23.5olo) leadthe listbutpeoplein the northeast areonly !079-gslikelyto buya newactuatorthisyearas peoptein th6 Pacilicregion.lf you wantto sell new recelversto existing owners,go to the southeastand concentrate on userswho earn$50,000ormoreperyear.lf youwanttosellnewdlshes, lindcuslomers withdishesmorethanB yearsold in the midwestor southwestearning$50,000or moreper year.New LNAsalesareplannedby only1 existingsystemoivnerin 50 andthenyouwillhaveyourbestchancewithcustomers who havesystemsfrom12to 36monthsold,livinginthenortheast, receivingno otf-airTV stations,aged 18 to 34 and earning over$50,000per yearl series,profiting the,1985(CSD)TVRO _ Thismultiple-part MarketProflle',willcontinuein ourJune01 issuewherewe will concentrate on the unusualviewinghabitsof satellite users.Pleasenotethattheseextractshavebeentakenfrom the recentlyreleased'1985 (CSD)TVRO Market proflle' wheremorelhan150pagesof summarized dataexplains the typeof marketplace we nowdealin asan industry. Fullcopies 'Profile' of this are available; see page13 here. 3/Thereare89,400,000 U.S.homesequipped withtelevision sets representing 98%of all American households. SATELLITE DICEST PAGE16/CSD-2/5-85 OUTMOR l,|lT IR RBOTE COilTNOLLER rlSH ||tTEiliA LOCALVHF IIIPW TV0R V!DEol.{litTn SCRAMBLING PART2: THEIRDUNIT ' D IAICLoCK TYPICAL TVROconflguratlon uslng lntegratedRecelver(lRD);drawing Descrambler courtesy of M/A-Com. The 'lRD' or VC2000Mdevicewas createdostensibly connector. one must'talk'with receiver becauseM/A-Comclaimedtestingat Linkabitrevealedto TheIRDunitandtheoriginal 'communica' codes.Thereare 17 themthata verysmallpercentage of the existingTVROre- another,usingelectronic theIRDunitand videoto proper- tion/control/powering'lines required between baseband ceiversprovided adequately'pure' ly interface withan externally connected outboardbaseband the receiver.This meansthat any receiverdesignedto pin descrambler. theIRDunitmustprovidefornotonlythe44 accommodate 'dalal receivers, M/A-Com tested22consumer according to their connector for the IRD unit,but for a minimumol 17 the IRDto the to interface reports,andfoundthat4 of thesereceivers workedwith'no communication/powering'circuits 'with 4 requiredis shownhere in modification'while 14 moreworked modification.'and receiverproper.The interfacing The fourthat worked diagramform. did not workeven wlth modification. lines,there andpowering withoutmodification wereneveridentified as a groupbutthe to thecommunication lnaddition unitwillinitiate M/A-Com T1.H1andViewstar1450modelswerebelieved to whichtheVC2000M/|RD arecontrolfunctions thattheTVROreceiver letussuppose be 3 of the 4. Forexample, ordictate. package of to allowtheuserto usean infra' M/A-Comsaid that becausesuch a low percentage hasbeendesigned input red remotecontrol with the receiver.One of the requirereceivers testeddidfunctionwithan externalbaseband controlcircuitry isthatthisinlrared descrambler, theycreatedthe inboardor'lRD' descrambler mentsoftheVC2000M/lRD command The theorybehindthe inboardunitis that by unitpackage. of being'broken'by an uplinkinitiated be capable 'catching'the withinthereceiver, the center.Thepurposeforthisis satellite signalinternally fromtheprogramming coming plug-in process'the IRDunitcouldthen'moreproperly signal to allowthe uplinker, suchas HBO,to shut'downthe user's betweenthe and assurea highpercentage of compatibility by remotecontrol,Why would they infrared remote control 'delicate'descramblercircuits suchas TheIRDunit, wantto do that? Thetheoryis thata programmer, andthereceivers. may not havebeena or Integrated ReceiverDescrambler, HBO,mightwishto charge'extramoney'for the customer premium productof M/A-Comcreationat all, at leastconceptually. usinghisinfraredremotecontrolon the scrambled, in turn, is 'obliged' Duringthe LasVegasshowearlyin April,representatives ol channels.The receivermanufacturer, to 'break'the inShowtime/The MovieChannelwereopenly'taking credit'for underthe termsof the |RD-use-agreement havingdirectedLinkabittowardsthe IRD unitclaimingthey fraredremotecontrollines.withinthe receiver,so thatil the were'concerned wishes,the normalhandheldcan be that M/A-Comtestingrevealedsucha low satelliteprogrammer percentage agreesto a betweenreceivers.' rendered ol scrambling compatibility uselessunlessthe(HBOet al)customer Regardlessof who inspiredthe IRD unit, laterto be to get use of the infraredcontrolback special'surcharge' where'M'stands formodule, theunit's again. dubbedtheVC2000M, firstin LaJollaat the LinkabitplantMarch28thand unveiling laterin Las Vegason March31st createda considerable In anotherexample,therearestereooutputsforthe IRD reactionfrom receiverOEMs. andstandaloneVC2000Eunit.Theseareto accommodate 'brick'measuring 11.50 TheIRDis a 2 poundelectronic (such the plans{or-stereo whichthe premiumprogrammers incheswide by 9.02 incheslong by 1.77 inchestall (see as HBO)are scheduling at somefuturedate.The stereois 'miniaturized'verdrawing).Thiselectronic brickis a relined, actually a featureof theLinkabitsystemandbothhomestyle electronics found sionol thelulldescrambler andaddressing (i.e.the VC2C)are equipped andcablestyledescramblers in the earlierannounced cableversionVC2Cdescrambler withleftandrightstereooutputs.Thetheoryis thatthe pre(seeCSDlorApril0l 1sth).TheIRDunitis andCSD/2lorApril miumprogrammer maywishto chargean'extrafee'foruseof foritbythe designed toslideintoanopening orcavityprovided thestereofeatureandonceagainthe stereolinesareto be receiver 'broken'within OEM.TheIRDunitconnectsitscircuitsto theTVRO the receiver/lRD systemso thatthe uplinker receivercircuitsthrougha 44 pin (!) Amphenollype 225D canrequesta customer to paya special(added)feefor the package,confibenefitsof stereo.lf not,the |RD/receiver guredas Linkabitrequiresfromthe OEM,willdeliverthe by Alll Lake audioin'livingmonaural' only.Youcanspotthesetwounusual 'functions' The SatelliteLlnk as lines7 and 8 in the 'VCllMInterface' drawing Ft. Lauderdale,Fl. shownhere. I I COOP'S SATELLITEDICESf ence 17lcsD.2/s-Bs DISAELE STEREO IF lo u.xz lF input(top left)and IRDfunctionsthroughto stereooutput,basebandvideooutputand RFoutput(right handside); drawingcourtesy of M/A-Com. HEAVYPowerUser As mentioned brieflyin CSDfor May 1st,oneof the concernsvoicedbyreceiver OEMson handattheLaJollaunveilingdealtwiththepowering requirements of the IRDunit.All TVROreceivers requirepowerandpowersupplies inthe12to 25 volt range,DC,are prettystandard.Somereceiversup-r F-rrr rr ---rrr lrr- r r--rrr- Yt0€0T0 vc ltr I I I 1 I I I I -aAuDIo FRO4 VClul R E C E I V EURI { I T l.wrLtr\ L------lrr- DATA/cLocK --r-r--r- - - - - - - - J VCIIM INTERFACE/note 'stereo disable'and ,lR disabte, llnes iust above mid-way point on receiver to VCIIM interlacing; draw_ ing courtesyof M/A-Com. I ! I I I I I t I I I I pliershaveformanyyearsseparated the(117volt)ACto (12 to 25volt)DCpowersupplies fromtheTVROreceiver proper, prefering to shipa self-contained'wall mount'power'block' to powerthereceiver. Suchwall-socketmounting units typically 'l AMPor less, provide at 15to 18voltsDC.Thisoowerisfed intotheTVROreceiver witha smalltwin-wire cablethrough someformof miniature plugon the backof the (TVRO)receiver. Suchpowersuppliestypicallyare 'UL' or otherwise approved powersupplies; as stand-alone youcanfindmany variations of thisfamilyof supplies at RadioShack,forexample,intendedto powereverything fromcalculators to video games.Thereare two reasonswhy a receiverOEMwould electthis'oulof-receiver' approach to (DC)powering for his receivercircuitry. powersupplies, 1) Inboard to meetUL andothercodes, requirespecialprotective circuitsdesignedto reduce theopportunity forshortcircuitsandpotential electrical fires.Suchseparate suppliescommonly get around this requirement, or have their own certification, by havingcircuitsbuilt-in to theirownhousing. 2 ) I n b o a r dp o w e rs u p p l i e sg e n e r a t ec o n s i d e r a b l e amounts of heat;electrical circuits whichchangevoltages(fromAC to DC) or reducevoltages(from18 voltsto 12volts,forexample) createheat;it is a partof the process.Heat,in turn,causespartsin the same housingto increasein operatingtemperature. When partsheatup,andcooloff,thevalueof the electronic parts(resistors, capacitors, transistors, lCs) actually change. A circuitthatrequires a 100ohmresistor may workquitedifferently if thatresistorheatsup (because 'value' of heatinsidethereceiver) andchanges to 10g ohms.Thusheatinsideof a receiveris notdesirable andmustbe'shunted partsfrom off'toprevent internal radically'changing value'intheheating(andcooling) process.Whenparts'changevalue,'thereceivercircuits're-tune'and createproblems such as receiver SATELLITE DICES PAGE 18/CSD-2/5-85 I see DETATL- 4- SqEeT toF6 VC.E M MODULE CASE - TOP SEE DETAT I- E*Eer 5d6 ELOW ArR CoLTNG THRU TC.B4RD g4e9 A PL 'I vc-tr M MoDULe ( 2e4A) Pc. BdRD s€r 3EE DETAIL. D6A|L-R- SqEef 5 oF 6 D vc-E s BOTTOM .6.!2, (usE a4 FLr HD 'ELF t"" 1F F6uNb NeceasARy) MoDuLg UALF asE .....-.-.......*l J LAYERING and sub-assembly of IRDmodule;notecenterof drawlngandcalloutfor sevenventllatlonholes.Drawing courtesyof M/A-Com. (tuning) drift. was in the middleof the receiverhousing,as the example The1.5ampsrequired bytheIRDunitis from50to 100% receiveranddrawingsdepicted, the heatcreatedby the IRD morecurrentthanmanyof the mostpopularreceiversnow unitstillhadto findsomewayto 'filte/outofthefulllreceiver. lt usedto oowerboth the receiverand theoutdoorelectronics appeared to thosewhowereskilledin suchproblem-solving (i.e.downconverter plusLNA).Therefore, the IRDunititself thatthe onlyway all of thisheatcouldescapefromthe IRD couldeasilydoublethe capacityrequiredfrom the power throughthebalanceof thereceiver wasto 'in effecttoast'the supply.Suchan increasein capacityis unlikelyto be metby an restof the receiverelectronics in the process.Oneengineer mounted'powerblock.'This simply pickeduptheIRDelectronic external,wall-sockel brickandmumbled"Thisis nota meansthatanyreceiver, capableof handling the IRDplug-in descrambler, it is a portabletoaster!". unit,wouldbe requiredto movethe full powersupplyback Giventhe powersupplyrequirements, the considerable insideof the receiverhousingand to perhapsdoublethe amountof heatthatwas generatedwithinthe lRD,and the capacityof the powersupplyin the process. complexinterfacing requirements betweenthe IRDand the Thereis, of course,a'$$' valueassignedto this. basicreceiver, veryfew of thosewho attendedthe La Jolla Linkabithad maintained that existingreceivers couldbe sessionfeltthattheLinkabitestimateof increased OEMcost'adapted to the IRDunitfor between $2 and$15OEMcost.' ingof '$2to $15perreceiver' wasaccurate. Severalfeltthatthe Manyof thereceiver designengineers on handat LaJolladid larger,morecomplex,and difficult-to-ventilate new receiver powersupplyrequire- casealonewouldcostthereceiver notsharethatestimate. Theincreased OEM'morethan$15each.' 'heat' mentswas certainlya significanthurdlebut was lN THE June 1st CSD/this seriescontinueswith a another. 'compact,' The IRD unit itself,beingexceedingly was completionof the discussionfor the VC2000Munit(lookgoingto 'dissipate' 1.5ampsin that11.5by9.02by 1.77inch ingat acutalinterfacing to TVROreceivers designed to accept 'electronic brick.'lt had to be notedthat the black,plastic- the 'lRD brick'),pricingand anticipated deliveryof the lRD, ribbedcovering ontheIRDunithadbeencarefully to and the complextestingprocedures to be establishedby designed allowforthecirculation of airaroundandperhapsthroughthe OEMswhowillmaketheirreceivers'lRD comoatible.' Alsoin (seediagramhere,pro- theJune1stissue,a lookat the'stand-alone'VC2000E sandwichtype boardconstruction unit videdby M/A-Com). However, il the 'cavity'for the IRDunit whichacceptsbaseband or 70 MHzlF inputs. - "o,r",r,,*rra*,Ldufiffi +i Ilil-.y,!Birp t6 lhe ilone Scteflite .,., ,, .,. ,.., zo fi w*" 6y L6 ao,ri^ofon iffw ,,'',W I#bL Dy Dav!,6.rdo^ DtsSmnir n7(HAfliltrs 30 !ffioutrn li,::'.,..; 32 3g #,ffi" -lffifr#tf; lli VolumeI, NumberI of HOMESATEttlTE TV goes on sole on the nolion's newsslondsnexl week. lf you hove olreody seeno preview copy,you know why this exdting new mqgozineiso moior meqns of communicqtionfrom you toyour next .ustomers.Aimed directly ot the consumer who hos o new interest in TVRO, HOME SATELIITETV is produced by mogozineprofessionols.Theyhove coplured the wonders of sotelliretelevision with orticlesby experts you know ond Iespect.Theyhove put them inlo o colorful pockogeusingmodern grophictechniques lo moke rhe subiect olive ond underslqndoble. This new solesmonof privote eorth slotions is disfributed on newsstonds throughout North Americo by Worner PublisherServices.lt is blozing new troils into the homesof offtuentionsumerswho moke up the universeof your solesprolections. The secondissueof HOME SATELIITE TV is now being produced. lt will be on even bigger ond more exciting mogqzine.lt shouldbe corrying your messoge. Reservotionsore beinq token now with o closing dote of M-oy 30. Coll us todoy to ossureprime spoce. Milr"*iff:r"' cHomcSdGltlterm [ll?'ii*{ril MillerMagazines, Inr Ventura,California Bos643-s664 the Mogozine For New TVRO Buyers A, 601 226-6807 PAGE20/CSD-2/5-85 continuedfrom page6 NEWPRODUCTS/ trol, continuous tune,videoinvertand signallevelmetering. The matching downconverter hasa (claimed) noisefigureof 15 dB. UNIDEN CORPORATION of Americahasmovedtheircoroorate headquarters from Huntington Beach(California) to Indianapolis; Indiana46250(317/842-o28o). 6345Castleway Court,Indianapolis, werealsorePersonnel at the firm'sNewYorkCityheadquarters locatedto Indianapolis in theconsolidation of management andproduct distribution; UnidenTVROsystemshavebeendistributed through theIndianapolis facilitysinceUnidenentered theTVROfield. Dealers for Unidenarealsovyingfora newsalesincentive award paid8 dayand7 night whichincludes intheprizestringanall-expense cruisehip throughout the Caribbean. The salescontestinvolves pointsforproducts selling variousUniden TVROproducts andearning sold.An accumulation of 950points,throughJuly31st,resultsin the dealerwinningthe cruisetrip.Pointsearnedvarylrom5 pointsfor eachUST1000or UST3000receiver soldto 20 oointsforeachUST 7000receiversystem(LNAand BDC). VIEWSTAR,lNC. (55 MillnerAvenue,Scarborough, Ontario, Canada;416/298-9919) has introduced theirCSS 1450consumer TVROreceiver usingPLLquartzsynthesized tuningand'fiddlefree' performance according to thefirm.All functions areinfraredremote controlled, includingparentalview control,stereosound,antenna actuatorand transponder memory.Viewstaralso reportsthe new receiveris certified to be compatible withOakOrionandM/A-Com Videocioher descramblers. FIDDLE-FREE from Vlewstar DISTRIBUTOR Dolngs HOOSIER ELECTRONICS hasopenedtwonewotficeandwarehousefacilities. A newmid-western location is locatedat 8920Bond Avenue, Overland Park,Kansas66214(8OOI4S7-3330) inthegreater KansasClty region.A new west-coast locationis foundai t63O Cerbrian,West Sacramenlo,California 95691: 800/457-3330. Hoosier claimsto bethelargestdistributor of homeTVROequipment nationally andwasformedandheadquartered inTerreHaute,Indiana morethan14 yearsago. MASTER DISTRIBUTOR (MDA)formedduring ORGANTZATTON the LasVegastradeshowin an etfortto providelowerequipment buyingpricesand improved dealertrainingand serviceto retailers located inthestatesof Indiana, Tennessee, WestVirginia, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio,Texas,Louisiana, Floridaand Pennsylvania. The new distributor association has an ambitiousprogramplannedto concentrate distribution and marketing abilities to the benefitof the deale/s;a secondmeetingof thegroupwasscheduled formid-May. proInformation tromMikeTalbert(812/426-2188) ot FlameSatellite ducts(Evansville, Indiana). penti(2000Barnes MISATSATELLITE CORPORATION Streer. con,8.C.,Canada; 604/493-7168) hasbecomea 'masterdishibutor' SATELLITE DICEST for the Automation Technique line-upof GLRseriesreceivers and accessories. Misathas also becomeCanadiandistributor for the Fanon-Courier lineof equipment. Additionally, Misat'sOrinBeebe announces the firm is otferingSMATVconsulting services, dealer technical seminars, warranty repairandexchange, andotherdealeroriented services to Canadiandealers. (Clifton NATIONAL SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS Park,N.J. andOrlando, Fl.)hasopeneda new60,000squarefootfacilityat9220 Cody,OverlandPark,Kansas(66214). Thenewfacilityis managed by H. BruceBachelder andJanetGildig. NSChasalsointroduced an'Authorized DealerProgram'aimed at upgrading retailers existing whobuyfromNSCbyproviding theretailerswithextensive additional trainingandsalesandmarketing support.NSCreportsthatapproximately 200 of their1100(+) dealer accounts havenowqualified as 'AuthorizedNSCDealers'whichis grantedon an 'exclusive basis'.To qualify,dealersmusthavea fulltimededication to TVRO,a storefront location,undergocredit possessequipment scrutinyand attendtrainingseminars, testing capability and havecustomerrecommendations. Information from RonaldBruceor GerryJordanat 518/383-2211. PRECISION SATELLITE lNC. (715GroveStreet, SYSTEMS, Clearwater, Fl.33515;800-HOT-DISH) hasannounced a new'shippingprogram'to serveretailers morequicklyanddependably. They callit'Same-Day/ Or-We-Pay' and it meansthatall ordersplaced betore12:00PMeasterntimewillbe shippedoutthesamedayOR Precision willpickup (pay)theheightcharges. Theotferis subjectto theavailability of productin the warehouse, of course. SATELLITE VIDEOSERVICES, lNC. (RR#1,Box 85-S,Paul SaxeRoad,Catskill, NewYork12414;5181678-9581) hasopeneda fourthwarehouse andretailer service outletinHornell,NewYork.The outletis dubbed'Satellite VideoServicesMestern NewYork'andis portionof the state70 milessouthof locatedin the southwestern Rochester. Product lineup includes Uniden,Luxor,M/A-Com, Intersat,Conifer, Winegard, HoustonTracker,Gensat,Laux,Chaparral andKentResearch; Christopher Walczakis thethe GM. Accessories ANTENNAS/Antenna (Box1416,Smithfield, NC MASTER CORPORATION CHANNEL TVRO 1) willbe givingawaya trioof complete 27577;9191934-971 June Electronic Showin Chicago systems duringtheCES/Consumer (plussystem) a new6loot perloratedantenna 2-5.CMisintroducing to theCMdisplay atCESandis usingthegiveawayto drawattention retailers will electronic consumer Onlyestablished ofthenewproduct. for the prize(s). be eligible CHAPARRALCOMMUNICATIONS, Inc. (2360BeringDrive, San Jose,Ca. 95131; 4081262-2536) has createda new installer 'The alignment aid called Arrow'. The plastictool is usedby the installer to insurecorrectrotational orientation of the feedto guard againstpremature servomotorfailure.The devicealsoassiststhe dealerin installing andadjusting scalarringsfor specificf/D ratios. Partnumber0471is for Polarotor 1, dualfeedand twistermodels whilepartnumber0470is for the PolarAmp unit.The'Arrow'is now packedwithall unitsshipped. routinely DX COMMUNICATIONS, tNC. (10 SkytineDrive,Hawthorne, NewYork10523;914/347-4040) has introduced theirfirstantenna positioner. ModelDSB-400 usesmicrocomputer technology to coordinatethemovement ofthedishto anyof24 programmed pisitionsin theClarkeOrbitbelt.Thecontroller is totallycohpatible withtheDX DSB700seriesof blockdownconversion'receivers and the 7OO's 21lcsD-2/s.ss SATELLITEDICESI nnce handheldinfraredremotecontrol.The controllerhas a 10 year memory shouldpowerfail,programmablelimits,parentalsupervision,a 15 inch actuatorarm and a host of advancedfeatures. IN STOCKIN TAMPA DX COMMUNICATIONS Receivers& Accessories DX Completes The Circle HERO COMMUNICATIONS,lNC. (2470 West 8rh Avenue, Hialeah,Fl. 33010; 305/887-3202)has introducedtheir ,Super-7' homeTVROantennaas lhe latestin theircompleteantennalinefrom 7 feet to 32 feet in diameter.The 'Super-7'is intendedfor the home TVRO market and featuresslide-iniradar mesh' panels and UpS shippability.The antennacomes with an AzlEl mount but a polar mountis optionalas is a horizonto horizonmount.Heroclaimsa qain of 37.9dB for the antennawith2 degreespacedsatellitesdown t 5 Oe and side lobes reduced20 dB. lSlS ELECTRONICS(P.O. Box 3708, Terre Haute, Indiana 478Q3;8121234-4033) has introduceda new, portable,TVRO antenna; the lSlS55.Theantennahasa'hardaluminum wall',enamel finish,is 55 inchesin diameterand weighs47 pounds.euick installation and set-upare featureo. NORTHERNSTATES METALS CORPORATTON(Box 666, West Hartford,Ct.06108; 203/296-16j3)is expandingits direct-to_ OEM dealingsfor providingcustomizedaluminume-xtrustons and aluminumparts.Thefirmoffersaluminumpartscoveringa widerange of TVRO.designerapplications;LNA casiings,antenni part fabricltion and bending,receiverfront panelsand housinqsaie included. VERSA-MOUNTTNDUSTRTES (p.O. Box 5291Big Bear City, California92314:714t585-8974) has introduceda ,f-Bif pote sup_ portpackagefor the installation of TVROantennas.ModelT860uses 2" OD by 25" schedule40 pipe while modetTB75 uses 3,,OD bv 30,, schedule40 pipe.The primarytargetfor the mountsare dishesih the 4-6 foot class requiringa low to the ground/mounting surfaceprofile. Leglevelersfor horizontalfinetuningand plumbadjuitmentfor vertical surfacefine tuning are included.The mountsare UpS shippable and carryretailpricingof $135 and $185. WINEGARDCOMPANY(p.O.Box 1008,Burtington, lowa52601; 319/753-0121) haspackagedtheirnew6 foot,Mini_beptor, dishwith necessaryaccessoriesto allow TVRO retailersto perform rooftop (level)installationswith a greaterease. The perforatedantenna can be.,rnstalled on flat or.slopingroofs or on a pipe along the side of a ouilotng.Ine mountshave stainlesshardware,offercoverageof the gomqele ClarkeOrbit belt, and requireno specialorientatio-n during installation.The six foot 'Mini-Ceptor,antennahas a claimedgain o-f 35.4 dB(i)and ships in four quartersections.Totalantennaw6ightis 22.poundsand assemblytime is said to be 20 minutes.Wind suirival ratingis 125 MPH. Paraclipse 16 FootAntenna 12 Foot Antenna 12 Foot PowderCoatedAntenna 9 Foot Antenna ActuatorRib MountingBracket GHAPARRAL PolarotorI and Polarotorll Tune FeedPolarotorI for Paraclipse HOUSTON TRACKER SYSTEMS All Models -== :-: --: ::-: -= = = = = = =:L=- RECEIVERS SPACEVISIONLNAs SEABREEZE MESHANTENNAS STS/MBS SYSTEMS CALL TOLL FREE FOR PRICES S A T E L L I T ER E C E P T | O NS Y S T E M S ,t N C . ( 1 4 5 C o t u m b u s Road, Athens, Ohio 45701;614t594-2524)has becomeone of the first distributorsto offer the computer programmed,Nitec Robot 813t876-7677 TELEX:52-825 1-800-237-2903 1-800-282-7713 PROMAR,INC. 4912 W. LaSalleSt. Tampa, Fl. 33607 PAGE 22tCSD-2t5-8s Antenna Positioner'initiallyshownto the industryin Nashvillelast The positioner September. willtrackan antennatowardsany satellite in any direction.The installerprogramsin the location'slatitudeand longitudeand sets lhe mount to 'true north'.From that pointforward the controllerlocatesthe geostationary orbitbelt (or non-beltsignals positionsthe dishat any oJup to suchas Molniya)and automatically 32 separatelocations. The azimuthand elevationdriveswilltrackto within0.2 degreesin any direction. S I G M AS A T E L L I T E( 1 1 1 5H a m i l t o C n t . ,M e n l oP a r k ,C a . 9 4 0 2 5 ; 4151327-5210, or,925N. Central,Medford,Or.97501:5031772-9227\ has introduceda pair of new 11 foot aluminummesh antennas. Sigma'soriginal42 ribmodelwasdesignedfor highwindareaswhere dish stabilitywas a functiono1structuralstrength.To satislyneedsin lowerwind areas,Sigma introducesthe Sigma'Supreme',a 32 rib modeland the Sigma'Deluxe',an 1Brib model.Bothantennashave an all steel base,true polarmount and field adjustabledeclination offset.The firm has warehousingin Los Angeles.Modesto,Menlo Parkand Auburn(Calilornia) as well as MedJordand Portland(Oregon) and Tacoma(Washington). They are currentlyexpandingdistributioneast from the west coast to selecteddistributors. S.R.C.INDUSTRIES(773 S. OregonSt., Ontario,Oregon;503,' 889-7261)has expandedits PacificNorthwestand West Coast distributionto the Southwest. S.R.C.spunaluminumantennasare now availablefrom a locationin Kerrville,Texas (509 Mill Run, Villaqe West lndustrialPark, Kerrville,Texas 78028; 512t895-5501). UNIDENCORPORATIONOF AMERICA (15161Triton Lane, HuntingtonBeach, Ca. 92639;714t898-0558)has introducedthe UST 110 as a new product.The 10'7"antennahas a totalweiohtof 140poundsand is UPSshippable. The {irmreportsinstallation timeis 1.5 hours.Eighteenextrudedaluminumribsareusedin theexoanded aluminummesh surfacedantennawhich is protectedwith a five-steo baked-onpaintingprocess.The antennahas an f/D of .3. SYSTEMPackage Accessories receiver.lt convertsthe packagesfrom manuallune and manualdish controlto digitallydisplayedinfraredcontrolledoperationwith skew control,dish control,antennatuning (with adjustableactuatorlimits, visualendalarmsandoptionallock-out); allwitha 12 buttonhandheld infraredremote package.Pricingfor the deluxe packagestarts at $472in lotsof lessthan 1,000anddropsto $357(inCanadiandollars; check the exchangerate in USA; if lS favorable!). FIELDINGMOTORCYCLECOMPANY(P.O.Box 944, Athens, Alabama35611;205/232-8564) has a TVRO 'antennasightsurvey tool' which allowsthe user to performon-sitevisualverificationthat thereis antennaboresightclearancefrom a chosendishlocation.The handy,all aluminumtool usesa sightingtube,compass,and inclinometerscaleto tellthe userwhetherthe proposedlocationis'doable'. Pricingis $10.95each or threeJor$25. HOPSONELECTRONICS LABORATORY(P.O,Box 774,Sherman, Tx. 75090;2141892-01 16) has a computerizedsatellitelocator programavailable. Theprogramcovers4 and 12GHzsatellites nowin operationor projectedthrough1988 and givesthe user a print-outlor a specificlocationof user name and address,polaroffsetfor the site, nameof eachsatellite,satellitelongitude,true azimuthto the satellite, magneticazimuthto the satellite,elevationangleto the satellite,polar offsetfor the site and distancein milesto the satellite.Thoseordering shouldprovidetheirfull nameand address(as it is to appearon the print-out) plussitelatitude, longitude, andthe magneticdeclination. A companionmagneticdeviationprogramis also available.Pricingis $19.95for the SatelliteLocatorProgramand $29.95ior the Magnetic DeclinationProgram. MICROSCIENTIFICLABS (4719 South Cobb Drive,Smyrna, Georgia30080;404/435-8630)has added a 25 dB gain 'site survey horn' to its line up of test relatedproducts.The T17000horn is designedto allowa systemplannerto quicklyascertainthe directionand exlentof terrestrialinlerferencewithinthe 4 GHz receivebandwhen coupled with an appropriateLNA and receiver/spectrum analyzer. Priceis under$150 and delivervis immediate. DISHSET(P.O.Box 2105,Durango,Co. 81302;800/237-8838) has introduceda product to help installingdealers speed up their antennainstallcycle.The specialhigh densitypolyurethane(plastic) foam has been createdto allow a dealerto set an antennamounting polein recordtime.The productcomesto the TVRO industryfromthe utility firms where it has been used for more than 15 years. The processhas a two-partliquidwhich is combinedand stirredand then pouredinto the hole dug for the mountingpipe.The foam expandsto as muchas 15timesits liquidvolumeand setsin typically30 minutes time. @ PLANT lT With DishSet G & G ELECTRONIC SUPPL|ES,LTD. (Box329,.St.JeanBaotiste,Manitoba,Canada ROG2BO; 2O417SB-9944\ has introduceda retro{it packageantennacontrollerwhich upgradeseven the lowesl end priced systems to full infrared remole control capability.The 'Northscan'package comesin severalforms but here are the basics: The retrofitunitfunctionswith virtuallyany dish and any feed and any MSL Horns ln MISAT SATELLITE CORPORATTON(2000 B Barnes Street. Penticon, BC,CanadaV2A 4C3;604/493-1 122)has openedan affiliated companycalled Basic SatelliteRepair.The firm offers faclorv directedrepairservicefor Canadiandealersand their customersfor both warrantyand after-warrantysituations.Firm head Orin Beebe reportsthey can handlevirtuallyany TVRO productsin the field and have a long list of factory authorizedarrangementsthat includes 23lcsD-2/5-Bs SATELLITE DICEST eAGE :::::::::::.... ,.,, ,...,.... ,.., :::;::: ....,.. :,: :::.:.:r: :.:.:.:::::: :::::::::::i:i r::': ::i l ':::':::,:'::i,:.:.:':::':::::':::::::::|:::::::::.::::: Autotech,Lowrance,Pentec MTl, Satronand others. PROFESSIONAL (2612LexinotonStreet.KenELECTRONTCS ner, La. 70062;504t467-1717) is now producingriercurytype limit switchesusefulwithany DC operatedmotordrive.The limitswitches requirea pair of wires to hook up, and dealercost is $15 while distributor cost in the 100 lot area is $11. SATELLITEGROUNDCOMPONENTS, lNC.(480EasvStreet.Suite 3, Simi Valley,California93065:805/583-4818) has introduceda newly created antenna feed system which they claim overcomes manyof the problemsassociatedwithearlyTVROfeeds.The Ferrostat Ferrite Polarizer Feed has no moving parts (and thus cannot freezeup), uses a straight-through design (and thus has no elbow) and is capableof being interfacedwith the polaritycontrolbuilt into mostreceivers.The new feed carriesa five-yearwarrantyand availabilityis otf-the-shelf . SCHINDLERMACHINE WORKS (4954 W. Orem, Houston, f exas 77045;713(433-7845) is offeringa ball screw linearactuator which includesa swivel saddleclamp, swivel rod end and a pair of reducerbushings.The dealer has the option of a potentionmeter position sensor(12,18 and24incharm)and halleffectsensor(12,18 and 24 incharms).A specialbracketfor Paraclipsefamilyantennasis alsoavailable.The firm alsooffersa lineof actuatorhardwareincluding SwivelActionSaddleClamps($8each;,ReducerBushings(g.75 each)and SwivelAction Rod Ends ($B each). S T E R E OV I D E O D I S C O U N T( 9 3 1 0 T i m b e r t a k eR o a d , L v n chburg,Va. 24502;8041239-7585) has an extensivecatalogcovering a widevarietyof coaxialcabledistributionsystemaccessories. Matchangtransformers,line splitters,switchersand combiners,line amplifiers, connectorsand connectoradapters,signal tap off devices, jumperandhook-upcables,powerdividersanda considerable selection of consumerre-salevideoand audioitemsare included. SUPERWINCH, lNC.(WinchDrive,Putnam,Ct.06260;ZO3I92B7788) reportsthe firm's two TVRO antenna controlsystems have beensubmittedto boththe (US)Underwriters Lab andthe (Canadian) StandardsAssociationfor their 'approval'and listing.Superwinch 'Standard notesthat under Number 73', a DC motor drive system must not create a 'peak voltage'greaterthan 60 volts. Superwinch feels that many of the present36 VDC actuatorsactuallygenerate peakvoltagesover 60 voltsand thereforehas chosento operatetheir motordriveswith a 24 volt DC lineto insurethat peakvoltagesdo not exceedthose allowedby UL and CSA. System 2001is an easfwest packagewitha 3 digitreadoutand a key lockfeature.System 2010is a programmable16 satellitememory system. Both packages use a brand new actuatordevelopedby Superwinchspecificallyfor TVRO applications.A 1/8thhorsepower motorwith a one ton thrustratingdrivesa solid steel gear transmission.Innerand outertubesare cad olatedsteel. lowa's Electronic Technicians Association has also respondedto the needfor TVRO dealertrainingby addinga 'Journeyman OptionCertificate'in theirCertifiedElectronicsTechnicianprogram.The newtrainingcoursebeingofteredin lowa dealswith dishes, waveguides,low-noise-amplifiers, downconverters,satellitereceivers andelectronicsbasicto all tieldsof endeavor.Fullinformationand classschedulingavailablefrom Ron Crow (Box 1258/lSUStation, Ames,lowa50010;515/294-5060). NCP ENTERPRISES (22701- 119 Avenue,MapleRidge,Brit ish Columbia,CanadaV2X 8S5; 604/463-7885;464-2002)has introduced a series of handcrafted,desk{op models of the SATCOM seriesand Galaxyseriessatellites.Modelsare availablein kit (construclit yourself)or assembledform and the SATCOMmodel measuresI inchesby 1.75 inchesby 3 incheswhilethe Galaxymodel measures7 inchesby 2 inchdiameter.Bothmodelshavean acrylic base,detailedsolarpanelingand are suitablefor showroomdisplay. Pricingis $9.95in kit form and $35 in assembledform (US dollars). SATCOMOn Your Desk from NCp (The FifthAnnual)NORTHWESTSATELLTTECONFERENCE will be held August2, 3 and 4 at the MGM Grand Hotelin Reno, !9ya_da Emphasiswill be on new productsand new technologyin TVRO featuringspeakersthat includeTaylor Howardof Chapairal, Ted Andersonof AutomationTechniques,Royal Lamb of pentec International, Stan Leafof SRC Industriesand manv more.Reqistrationfee is $30 in advance,$40 at the door;fullinform-ation from ivelvn Kessleror Tamara Neff at 503/389-1553(NATS, p.O. Box ZZde, Bend,Oregon97708). 'SATELLITE PREVIEW'85'is a specialtwo hourtelevision proqram scheduledto uplinkon F4,TR22at 8pM on TuesdayMay'2Oih and againat 8 PM on June 4th. The programwill addresszoning, scrambling, newproducttrendsand predictions of bothlongandshort term growthof the TVRO industry. SATELLITEELECTRONICSSCHOOL,operationalfor nearly DEALERAids two years now from Reno, Nevada, is expandingto reach more BizNet News Today has joined the FinancialNews Network dealers.The programis'goingon the road'toallowdealersin various (FNN)weekdayprogramschedule.BizNet,an activityof the U.S. partsof the countryto be exposedto professional trainingwhichwill Chamberof Commerce,is now seen weekdaysat 8AM (eastern)on makethembetterqualified to planandmakeinstallations. At thesame F3R TR4. timethe basicschool,conductedin Reno(Nevada), willcontinueand COMMUNICATIONS PRODUCTMARKETINGis a newfirmformed the nextset of schooldatesfor the Renocourseare May 22-24,June byformerD.B.S.Satellite Television headDavidSheldon.Thefirmis 5-7, 19-21and July 10-12.Information from 702t329-6611. "SEMINARin providingmarketingassistanceto TVRO and other communication SatelliteSystem Engineering"is scheduledfor equipmentmanufacturersand they are also providingproductdeJune11-13at the HyattRegencyCityHotelin Arlington, Virginia. The velopment,technicalmanual creation,marketingcoordinationand threeday courseis designedfor professionals in the communications productrepresentation services.ContactSheldonat 503/388-0431 fieldandwilldealwithcomplexengineering of uplinkand international (Bend,Oregon). data flow systems.Course cost is $895 and each participantwill (The)ELECTRONIC TECHNICIANS ASSOC|AT|ON, TNTERNA- receivea coursenotebook.Inlormationfrom Kathv pritchardat 800/ TIONAL (825 E. FranklinStreet,Greencastle, Indiana46135;317/ 932-6100. 653-3849)has joinedwith the IndianaElectronicServiceAssociation (TheThirdAnnual)"Campus SatelliteSystem Conference',will (IESA)to conductan extensiveseriesof trainingseminarsfor wouldbe held May 30,31 and June 1st at CreightonUniversity, Omaha, be TVRO retailersin the state. ETA and IESA are respondingto an Nebraska.Creightonhas beena pioneeringUniversity in creatinga Indianastatelaw whichrequiresthat personsengagedin the retailing campus cable distributionnetwork feeding into school rooms and and installationof (TV antenna)productsbe licensedby the state livingquartersa widevarietyof international television'fare including beforeoperating.Bothgroupsare on recordas supportingthe Indiana the elusiveRussianMolniyaorbitservices.Creightoncreatedthe first 'model law and consider it a which other states should follow' in Molniya tracking system monitoredby a computer (see CSD for controlling'fly by night'TVROretailoperations. An additional seminar November 1983).Cost for the seminaris $325 althoughlow cost seriesis plannedfor August and November. on-campushousingis also available($15 per night);detailsfrom SATELLITE DICEST PAGE 24tCSD-2t5-85 munications Otf ice, 4O2l280-4063 (Creig hton University/Telecom Otfice, Californiaat 24th Street,Omaha, Nebraska68178). SATELLITETV CENTER(208 Broadway,Asheville,N.C.28801; 7041252-1 165) has introducedan unusualapproachto outof warranty repairsfor virtuallyany piece of TVRO hardwareever producedand distributed,They promisea 24 hour turn-aroundand tor a flat fee oi $50 will repairanythingthat is brokenplusgive you a one year parts and labor warranty. More than 31 brandsof receivers,9 brandsof LNAs, 6 brands of antenna actuatorsare included in their list ol 'repairable'products. And they acceptcreditcardsfor paymentas well (!). UNITEDRETAIL SATELLITE SYSTEMSASSOCIATION,INC. (P.O. Box 931, Oakdale,California95361; 209/847-5996)has convertedfrom a privatelyownedbusinessto a'non-profittradeassociation' accordingto the founder Steven J. Clark. The association's membershipis made up solely of 'showroomTVRO dealers' and during the past year URSSA has expancredits activitiesto include 'mediating disputesbetweenretailersand suppiiers'over equipment performanceand warrantyproblems.URSSAhad drawnsorrreheat' from SPACEand othersfor its privatelyowned statusarrdOlarkhas respondedby convertingthe operationinto a trade associationwith non-orofitstatus. SATELLITEPotpourri ECHOSPHERECORPORATION(1925 West DartmouthAvenue, Englewood,Co. 80110;3031761-4782), as reportedin CSD for March01, has joined with two partnersto file an applicationwith the FederalCommunications Commissionto ooeratea two-birdKu band satellitesystem late in this decade. The new system, dubbed 'Antares', would have 12 transpondersof 100 watts output power each locatedat 61.5 and 157 west. Echospheresays that 3 foot dish systemswouldallowearthboundviewersto accessthe networkwhich may ultimatelybe used for televisionprogramdistributionas well as non-videoservices.Echospherewillbe a 30% partnerin the venture,if the FCCapprovesthe application,requiringa capitalinvestmentof up to $150M. Firm PresidentCharlie Ergen sees the smaller-dishKu band systemsas inevitablein the decade ahead and feels that any systemwhich brings down home-viewerdish size will ultimatelybe successfulin spiteof recentfailuresto launchsuch systemsin North America. GENSAT COMMUNICATIONSCORPORATION(951 Alness Street,Downsview,Ontario M3J 2J1, Canada; 416/736-4555)has introducedthe firstof the firm'snew 'Microstar'integratedblockdownconversionaccessories;their model MTS 1200 'multi-tapV/H switch'.This unitwillfunctionwith virtuallyany 950-1450MHz BDC lF downconverterand allow any of up to four separate receiversto access either a vertical feed or a horizontalfeed from the same antenna.The switchingcircuitis drivenby the polarizationoutputon the TVRO receiver(demodulator)and the systemis compatiblewith elther fenite or pin diode polarityselectionsystems. lsolationbetween polarizalionsis 25 dB or befterand receivermatchis 10 dB or better. 6, ir{t -t \Y L- o l FOUR SETS/Both Poles/One Antenna by Gensat ISS/INTERNATIONALSATELLITE SYSTEMS (2225 Sharon Road,#224, MenloPark,Ca.94025;415/854-8987) is shippinga 105 channel frequencysynthesized,totally agile modulatorwhich will functionon standard,HRC,and IRC channelassignments.The mod- ulatoris the'lFtype'withvideolF loopthrusandit is compatible with virtuallyany type of cablescramblingsystem.The user switchprograms the channelfroma securedswitchlocation (600108thAvenue LUXORNORTHAMERICA CORPORATION NE,Suite539,Bellevue, Wa.98004;206/451-4414) hasbegunshippingfournewproducts for theBDCfamilyof receivers. ThefourDC passing accessories include themodel9757vertical/horizontal switch polarization drivenby the receiver's switchingpulse,model9758 powerdivider to allowmultiple receiver configuartions, model975920 dBlineamplifier foradjusting andmodel976010dBsignalattenuator cabledistribution levelsto the recommended regionfor receivers connected to theBDCdistribution system(s). Frequency rangeforall products of theLuxordesigned is 950-1450 MHz andmanufactured andalldevicesaredesigned to be compatible withLuxorandmany otherBDCreceiverlines. 4-WAY DCPASSI}IG POWEB DIVIDER LUXOR Completes The System SCANNERSATELLITESYSTEMS,lNC. (P.O. Box 571,Massena, New York 13662;315/764-0775) has introduceda quartzsynthesized block downconverler(model SD1000) which the firm claims increasesreceiversystem stabilityto the point that no receiverfine tuningis required.The Scannerunit avoidsAFC design approaches whichresultin the receiverAFC systemlockingon any strongsignal, includingTl, in the area.They claimthe quartzapproachinsuresthat the receiverwill alwayssee the correct lF stabilityfor any operating temoerature between-40 F and +140 F. UNIDEN CORPORATIONOF AMERTCA(15161 Triton Lane. HuntingtonBeach, Ca. 92649; 7 14/898-055S)has introducedtheir modelUST550blockdownconverter, modelUST441 LNAand model UST 900 low noise block downconverter.The new products are designedto complimentthe firm's recentlyintroducedBDC type receivers.UST 550 has an output frequencyrange of 950-1450MHz and will sell at a suggestedretailprice of $99. Model UST 441 is a radicallyredesignedLNA packagefrom 1/3rdto 1/2the weightof most existingLNAsin the marketplace,therebyreducingweight-loadat the feedpointof the antennasystem.Suggestedretailpriceis $149.The LNA plusthe BDC will carrya combinationretailpriceof 9239. Model UST 900 LNB will not be availableuntilthis June, but it will coverthe rangefrom 60 to | 20 degreesK and carry a suggestedretailpriceof $249. SATELLITENews Brooks/The Satellite Store has named Robert C. Schubert as Director.ofProductEngineering.He will be responsiblefor selecting andtestingnewproductsaddedto the franchiseoperator'sequipment line-up. Thomas L. Sharpe has been namedas EasternRegionalManagerfor DX Communications, lnc., a divisionof C. ltohand Company/ America.Sharpewill cover a 21 state area that stretchesfrom New Englandto Florida. continueson page28 NEWPRODUCTS/ unidelt'I I trtrt ttrta tttlt ttltl tttll ttttr UST 50OO Block receiver offers LED channel d i s p l a y ,a u t o m a t i c p o l a r i t yc o n t r o l , s l o w a n d f a s t scan. UST 730 Antenna Positionerfeatures built-in programmable antenna control and OptoI n t e r r u p tc i r c u t r V . U, UST 6000 Block receiver features expanded audio format and fine tuning skew adjustments. U S T 7 1 O A n t e n n a p o s i t i o n e ro f f e r s c o m p a c t s t y l ing, manual east west control and 3 digit LED readout. UST TOOO Block receiver features lR remote built-in programmable antenna control accomm o d a t i n g u p t o B 1 s a t e l l i t ep o s i t i o n si n m e m o r y . d o - Sqteltite Video Services UST 110 Aluminum Mesh Antenna is designed f o r m a x i m u m f l e x i b i l i t ya n d m a i n t e n a n c e ,e a s y t o i n s t a l la n d w e a t h e r r e s i s t a n t . The Northeast'sLeadingDistributor Salesand MarketingAssistance FactoryAuthorizedService Professional TrainingSeminars Co-opAdvertisingSupport , c. S a t e l l i tV e i d e oS e r v i c e sI n R B # 1. B o x 8 5 - S ,C a t s k i l lN, Y 1 2 4 1 4 5 1 8 - 6 7 8 - 9 5 8 1 . 8 0 0 - 5 2 8 D I S H- N a t i o n a l 8 O O - 8 3 1 - D I S -HN Y O n l y S a t e l l i t eV i d e o S e r v i c e s N H . I n c . R R # 2 , H a r r i m a nH i l l R d . , R a y m o n d , N H 0 3 0 7 7 603-895-3182 . 800-448-001 2 - National Satellite Vicleo Services PA, Inc. S a t e l l i t eV i d e o S e r v i c e sW N Y , I n c . E a s t A v e n u e E x t e n s i o n ,H o r n e l l ,N Y 1 4 8 4 3 607-324-3435 . 800-642-0018 - NY Only 317 E. Pleasant Valley Blvd., Altoona, PA 16602 8 1 4 - 9 4 2 - 5 0 O 3. 8 0 0 - 2 4 2 - 3 8 6 0 - P A O n l y U n i c l e nM r A C o m l n t e r s a tG e n s a tH o u s t o n T r a c k eWri n e g a r d C o n i f e r L a u x O r b i t r o n K e n t S u r v e y o t l No, it'snot a misprint. Itlsa statement of fact. Becauseevery new receiver in the 1985 Uniden line deliverstop-ofthe-lineperformance,regardlessof price. Itisthe kind of performance thats made us the leader in the industry Like our UST5000for instance.Itisthe simplestblock downconversionunit in our top-of-the-lineline, yet it offersyour customersall the sophisticationof Uniden technology and styling along with features usuallyfound on more expensive receivers. Like soft-touchcontrols for easychannel selection,slow/fastchannelscan,easy-toread LED channel display,and skew and audio tune controls.Plus,the most soughtafter featureof all: aver! affordable price tag. Theres alsoour UST6000.An incredibly reliable mid-priced blockdown receiver that offers all the featuresof the UST5000 plus convenienthandheldwirelessremote control and full stereosound. Our UST7000combinesthe most sophisticatedengineering in the industry with the most advancedconvenience features.Like a built-in programmable antenna controller. Easy-to-readLED displays that provide a full rangeof informatronata glance.And a full-function remote control 'armcha:r' for total operation. All in all,anincredible arrayof features, functionsand models.All with block downconversion and at competitive prices, making it easyto multiply your profits by selling multi-receiversystemsto families with more than one TV And we'll be backing our entire top-oF theline line with the most impressive dealer support packagein the entire industry to help you do it. So contactyour local authorized Uniden distributor for more information on our complete line of satellitetelevisionsys-5360.In tems.Or call toll-free1-800-582 CanadacalI 1-800-663-0296. And start stockingUnidens top-of-the-lineline. It will do amazingthings for your bottom line, unldEft' witle Uniden in \X7in '85. 6TERM&*RC asP E, O UnideD Corporat()n ofAmerica l9u5 SATELLITE DICEST PAGE28|CSD-2/5-85 NEW PRODUCTS/continued lrom page 24 uniden' UST111 POPI(DY Dleatrorries EE=-=-trE1 UniderfSatellite Television Svstems If,e Featrrrc These Quality UNIDDN WINDGA.N.ID Cf,AIUNDL MASIDN. Lines CIIAPARn'AL DLDCTRONO![D ANIIDRSON RAIIIMDRBLOW PANASOilIC CO![.S4f, SYSIDMS. I][D. DAGLD S.{TDLLITE SYSTDIIS o 5 Locations to Serse yor . 4f87 N. Clay Strect, P.O. Box 1{81 Gr:cGenBay, WI 54a0l o 4l|,-487-d44:', n,DGDNCY GDNTDK SeraW thc Dlcctntnics Tr.adc slfurc.e lgAA DAN W. ORD has been retainedas SeniorVice Presidentot L.S. Engineering with the responsibility of creatinga nationalsales program for the firm's productline including'The Dish Crane'. NOVA Video Productions has announceda steppedup schedule of video programmingfor their weekly 'satellite Showtime' televisionprogramseenTuesdayeveningsat 10PM easternon TR22 of F4. The program, recently moved from Tuesday daytimes, is backedby Kaultronics.Underthe revisedformat,panelistsfrom various areas of TVRO expertisewill appear on the program. LUXOR North America has decidedthat the term 'TVRO' is not properlydescriptiveof the industrywe operatewithinand henceforth will call all servicesand productsin the industry 'Home STV', an abbreviationfor'home satellitetelevision'.Luxor'sHans Giner feels the new terminologymore properly describesthe type of service which the industrysuppliesto consumersand suggeststhat'TVRO' lacks the key elementwhich best describeswhat we do; 'satellite'. Acknowledging thatgettingthe entireindustryto changeits namemay be a long term project, Luxor will continue to also referenceour industryand its productsas 'TVRO'for'historicalreference'toavoida 'bluned identity'. Microwave Filter Company (EastSyracuse,Newyork) reportsa 13.5%salesimprovementfor the firstquarterof the currentfiscalyear over the same periodin 1984.Net incomeincreased17.5olo. Richard L. Jones has been promotedfrom comptrollerto Vice presidenV Treasurerof the firm. FUN Channel/ FantasyUnrestrictedNetworkhas addedt hourto their Westar 5, transponder24 telecastingday by signingon the air one hour earlier than had previouslybeen scheduled. FUN now operates6.5 hourson Fridayand Saturdaynightsfrom a new uplinkin KansasCity. lNC. has namedDominic CoppoliHEROCOMMUNICATIONS, no as their new nationalsales manager.Coppolinocomes to Hero from Dalsat Communications,and he was previouslyin the TVRO industryas Vice Presidentof Sales at the WespercomGroup. Bonnie Spence has been named as DistrictSales Managerfor Sentari Communicatlons, Inc. ol Parsons, Kansas. Ms. Spence comesto Sentarif rom BirdviewCommunications in Chanute,Kansas. SATELLITE DISH/EnergyConservation Expo is the title of a three day show scheduledfor May 31 to June 2 at the Cincinnati ConventionCenterin Ohio.Some 250 exhibitsare planned;information lrom 602/581-0188. LATE News WILSON Microwave has been acquired by Cincinnati Microwave, producerof the Earth Terminal receiver.Other malor realignmentsof OEMs expectedin the coming 30 day period as the 'great industryshake-out'of 1985 gathersspeed. CALENDAR/ ThroughJune 30th Television: May 16: M a y2 1 : May 23: May 28: 1-AOO-558-7868 NATIONAI, IOLLFn'DE r-aoo-8 4a-7a48 WTSCONSIN TOLL FRDD CST E:OO TO 5:OO - DDAI,ERS ONI,Y - May 30: June4: Boresight TVRO Magazine, F4, TR20,9PM eastern(Luxor powering systems). 'Satellite Showcase',F4,TR22, 1OPM eastern Boresight TVRO Magazine, F4, TR20, gPM eastern 'SatellitePreview85', F4,TR22,8PM eastern 'Satellite Showcase',F4,TR22, 1OPM easlern 'Boresight TVRO Magazine, F4, TR20, gPM eastern(cable programmer views of scrambling) 'SatellitePreview85', F4, TR20,8PM eastern(repeat) 'Satellite Showcase',F4,TR22, 1OPM easlern O lrnideD Corp()rJri(xroiADrc.icr 1985 /-" Iror vcltrs,n() ()nc u'ttsc1r-ritc goricl enolrgh. N o o n c s a t c l l i t cc l i s he n t c n n a cpritepossesseclthe excel)ti()uel stanclercls of perfirrnlurcc that Uniclerr rcce ir.'crsclti. So u'c hacl to create one . Introclucir.rgtltc I hriclen t iST-li0 An incrccliblv dr-rruble , lighnveight satcllitc clishanterrnu.Tlic perf-ect n'rltcl.rfirr the Uniclen linc of receivers ancl svstenrconrl]onents, 'Ihc tlS'tllb fcaturesan cxclLrin unr sir,e L.hriclen alI-extrr-rcled-alunr clesigr-rn'ith expandccl nresh pancls, a 5-stcpbaked-on [)aintecl \\'eather coating, pli.rsan ertrarigid, hcat-treuteclrib clcsignthat rraintair.rshigh parabolic accr-rrac'ur Ancl to ainr thc t lsl:l10 tl'rere i , , t t r l t t h l t r l t ' e rlli r t r ', r l ' 1 ' r r c c i s i o r t antelllla positioncrs. I-ike our ecortonricalLIST710ancl or-rr firl lv programnrable LlST730. So contact ror.rrlocal authorizecl tJniclcndistribLrtor:Or call toll frcc I tJ00'5112 53(10.In Canaclacall 1-u00-663-0296. Ard hnclout hou' \r()ucan start st()ckingthe entire line of [ ]niclcn Satclliteli:.levisior"r St'stenrs.I ncl r-rclingor-rr exceptional recciversanclour tlST110satellite alttcnna. It n'rightnot be a nratch madc in heaven.Ilut itlsckrse. uniden V i n n i t h [ ' n i c l c ni n f J 5 . qoNtLr [LMsa ot r,iSFntrE PAGE30/CSD-2/5-85 rft SATELLITE DICEST J u n e11 : S A T E L L I T ED I S H MANUFACTURERS We can supplyyou with reflectivealuminum meshfor fiberglasssprayup, several moldingtechniques and skeletondishes. Phiferaluminummeshis . . . r Flexible,easyto use. r Rust resistant. r Availablein meshesengineeredfor both 4 and 12 Ghz signals. r Designedto improveresultsandcut costs. Writeor call fora computerizedcomparison of your materialor a sample. Call toll free, 1/800-633-5955 J u n e1 3 : June18: June20: June25: June27: Shows/Meetings: May31/ June2: June1/2'. PHIFER. PIIODUCTS WI[?E June2/5: P . O .B O X 1 7 0 0 T , U S C A L O O S AA, L A B A M A 3 5 4 0 3 June2/5: . P h r l e rW r r eP r o d u c t sI.n c . 1 9 8 4 J u n e1 7 l 1 9 : - DEALERS WANTED- - AFC - June21/24: 6 ' r o ' 1 2 ' - -A#r r E r \ r \ A J A DrvrsrO Nr \ , 4 r c R o Dcy0NREp. oF - o D o M - a ' 1 0 ' 1 3 'FAIBNETREGNL A S S NAS W I R EI V E S H _ INTERSAT A N T ENNA S .5_ BABY Q tQ-170 ..M|CRO'O -KEYTRONICS#ffi SATELLITE IVlICROWAVE SYSTEMSENG Boresight TVRO Magazine, F4, TR20, gPM eastern (target marketing of TVRO in a difficult transition year) 'Satellite F4,TR22,1OPM Showcase', easlern Boresight TVRO Magazine, F4, TR20, gPM eastern (profile of August Anderson, lady TVRO executive) 'Satellite Showcase',F4,TR22, 1oPM eastern Boresight TVRO Magazine, F4, TR20, gPM eastern(through the air distribution of TVRO services) 'Satellite Showcase',F4,TR22, 1OPM eastern Boresight TVRO Magazine, F4, TR20, gPM eastern (shirt pocket TVRO receiver) SatelliteDish/EnergyConservation Expo,CincinnatiCenter:contact602/ 581-0188. National SatelliteCable Association meeting,Las Vegas; contact Mickey Gorman 2021659-2928. NationalCableTelevisionAssociation annual convention,Las Vegas; contacl 2021775-3500. International Summer Consumer Electronics Show, Chicago;conlact CompuSystems, Inc.,P.O.Box 6195, Broadview,ll. 60153. CommunityAntennaTelevisionAssociation annual convention,Nashville; conlact 703/691-8885. SPACE/STTIsummer trade show, Tulsa, Oklahoma.More than 700 exhibit booth spaces allocated:contact STTI at 405/396-2574. COOPMID-MONTH/ continuedfrom page3 Soallofthisemotion, therecenthigh-level departuresat Linkabitby theirtop management people, andthe'badpress'wearereceiving bothoutsideand insideour own industryseemsto be missingthe originalproblemtotally.And that is? The scramblingsystem createdfor HBO by Linkabitis a 'proprietaryscramblingsystem'.lt wasnotcreatedbyourindustryanditwasnotcreated withanyinputfromourindustry. To solvea problem whichHBOandLinkabit perceive as criticalto their successin the marketplace, theirabilityto address eachcustomerindividually and on a per-program (pay-per-view) basis,we arebeingtold (not'asked') to changethe way we designand sell receivers.I continue to question thatwe needHBO(ora handful of others)'so badly'thatwe shouldbe forcedto 'pay the ransom' ransom'beingdemanded demanded bv by this this private,proprietaryscrambling system.HBOand Linkabithave brought to marketa roundpegwhichtheyinsistwillfit intoour squareholesonlybecausewe should be willingto changetheshapeof our holes.'SUEEYSUEEY'! DRACO LABORATORIES, INC. 4005Woshington Street Wisconsin Grofton, 53024U.S,A, Phone: 414-377-0770 Telex:26886 DISTPIBUTORS: D€llo Solsllil6 Corporolion, Cedorburg, Wl 4,14-37t,1000, Not't 800-558-5582, Wisc 8OO-242-2m. Solellite Vid€o Services, Polenville, NY 5,18{78-9306. Von's Tolol l€l6viphitodetphio, sion Cenler, Eugene, OR 503-342-1618. Solco U.S.A.,New OH, Not't 800-362-86,19, Ohio 800-362{78'1. Unil€d Communicotlons Supply, Iompo, FL813-971-,1648. Video Link, Sott Loke Clty, UT804-278-2878. Cox Enlerprisos,Rockwood, TN 6,15-354-3471. Ground Conlrol, Concorde, Onlorio 4|6{69{366. Sqlellile SyslemsLld., Eurnoby, B.C.604-430{040.Videosot Conodo ITEE, Chorney, Ouebec 4,18-832.462,1. Morgon Sofellilo Sysl€ms,Hughes Spring, TX 214439-7517