Happening today, watch the Atlantic Bird 7 launch, read the following:

Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) announces that its ATLANTIC BIRD™ 7 satellite is set for launch on Saturday September 24. The satellite will be delivered into orbit by a Zenit-3SL rocket operated by Sea Launch AG from the ocean-based Odyssey Launch Platform in international waters of the Pacific Ocean. Lift-off is planned for 13:18 pm Pacific Daylight Time (20:18 GMT, 22:18 CET), at the opening of a 74-minute launch window.

Built for Eutelsat by Astrium, the 4.6 tonne ATLANTIC BIRD™ 7 satellite will replace ATLANTIC BIRD™ 4A at 7 degrees West and deliver additional capacity for further expansion of services. Up to 50 Ku-band transponders will be connected to two beams giving superior coverage of the Middle East, North Africa and North-West Africa for digital broadcasting services.

A live video transmission of the launch will be available in High Definition from Eutelsat's HOT BIRD™ position at 13 degrees East for viewers in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East (downlink frequency 12149 MHz, vertical polarisation, Symbol rate: 27.500 Mbaud). A webcast will also be available via[b] http://www.eutelsat.com and http://www.sea-launch.com[/b]. The launch transmission is scheduled to begin approximately 15 minutes before lift-off.

Hi Kungu,am in nairobi kenya receiving the abu dhabi sports package clearly but am having difficulties with the national geographic and fox movies and series channels.pliz advice.thanks

Paris, 24 September 2011
The ATLANTIC BIRD™ 7 satellite of Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) has been
successfully delivered into orbit by a Zenit-3SL rocket operated by Sea Launch AG from the
ocean-based Odyssey Launch Platform in international waters of the Pacific Ocean.
Lift-off of the rocket carrying the Astrium-built 4.6 tonne satellite took place on Saturday 24
September at 20:18 GMT/UTC (22:18 CET). After a 1-hour 7-minute flight, the Zenit-3SL
booster released ATLANTIC BIRD™ 7 into geosynchronous transfer orbit. Partial deployment
of the solar array, commanded by Eutelsat from its teleport in Rambouillet, was successfully
completed within three hours of separation.
ATLANTIC BIRD™ 7 is set to bring first-class resources to 7 degrees West, a key video
neighbourhood delivering Arab and international channels into almost 30 million satellite
homes across North Africa and the Middle East. Eutelsat operates at 7 degrees West in close
collaboration with the Egyptian satellite operator Nilesat which manages its own system of
three satellites at this location.
Following early orbit operations which are managed by Eutelsat and Astrium engineers, and
which include circularising the satellite’s orbit and deploying the antennas, ATLANTIC BIRD™
7 will undergo a full series of in-orbit tests. It will be moved to 7 degrees West in the second
half of October to assume broadcasting of the 370 digital and High-Definition channels already
delivered from this position by Eutelsat’s ATLANTIC BIRD™ 4A satellite. With up to 50
transponders, 11 more than ATLANTIC BIRD™ 4A, it will also open opportunities for further
business development in high-growth markets. Two beams will give superior coverage across
the Middle East, North Africa and North-West Africa.
Following ATLANTIC BIRD™ 7’s entry into service, ATLANTIC BIRD™ 4A will be redeployed
to an alternative location where it will remain in full commercial service.
Commenting after launch and the first manoeuvres, Eutelsat CEO, Michel de Rosen said: “We
are delighted to announce that ATLANTIC BIRD™ 7 is on its way to 7 degrees West, and
thank Sea Launch, Energia Logistics and RSC Energia for a precisely executed launch. This
new satellite will deliver headroom for expansion at one of Eutelsat’s fastest growing video
neighbourhoods, serving vibrant TV markets in North Africa and the Middle East. It
underscores our ambition to make a long-term commitment to digital broadcasting markets in
the region and to team with key players to deliver first-class service.
Today’s launch also represents a new step forward in Eutelsat’s significant in-orbit expansion
programme. Our W3C satellite is scheduled for launch next month, with five further satellites to
follow into space by early 2014 that will collectively increase our resources by 20%.”
Based on the Eurostar E3000 platform, and with a scheduled in-orbit lifetime exceeding 15
years, ATLANTIC BIRD™ 7 is the 20th satellite ordered by Eutelsat from Astrium.

_http://www.eutelsat.com/news/compress/en/2011/pdf/PR%205611%20AB7%20post%20launch.pdf

sathob:

Paris, 24 September 2011


Following early orbit operations which are managed by Eutelsat and Astrium engineers, and
which include circularising the satellite’s orbit and deploying the antennas, ATLANTIC BIRD™
7 will undergo a full series of in-orbit tests. It will be moved to 7 degrees West in the second
half of October to assume broadcasting of the 370 digital and High-Definition channels already
delivered from this position by Eutelsat’s ATLANTIC BIRD™4A satellite.

Good Morning sathob,

From the above statement, seems that Atlantic bird 7 will take over from Atlantic bird 4A mid October,

Pictures of the Launch of Atlantic bird 7,







Have a blessed Sunday

Hi Bro Kungu,
Greetings! You know, I watched this launch yesternight online but I missed the take off because I was dazing off behind my pc. Also, the streaming didn't start exactly the time promised by sea launch on their website.
But guys here at west coast are anitciapating better packages from this new development with a strong coverage dedicated to north-west Africa. I hope these guys won't dissapoint us by using most of the coverage for internet services as stated but give DTH services of much interest to potential customers and FTA hobbyists here.
Currently, I receive most of the TPs on AB 4a and hope the content migration to AB7 won't deny us good reception as it happened with AB4 for most hobbyists in some parts Nigeria (south-south).
I can get signal for nile201 at 52% on srt69z but red and it won't turn green on any of my recievers too. In southern Gh, precisely Accra, what we get is normaly AB4a and not Nilesat frequencies on 3.1m mesh dish.

casin:

Hi Kungu,am in nairobi kenya receiving the abu dhabi sports package clearly but am having difficulties with the national geographic and fox movies and series channels.pliz advice.thanks

Good Morning Casin,

What dish size are you using plus Lnb?

Good afternoon Kungu
I have a 6 feet (1.8metres) dish with a stargold fuji sg-900 HD lnb, i receive other channels well but nat geo and fox channels loose signal at night (but are ok during the daytime), the signal loss for the national geographic and fox movies channels is normally from around 7pm in the evening to around midnight afterwhich the channels resume showing again, thanks for your help.

casin:

Good afternoon Kungu
I have a 6 feet (1.8metres) dish with a stargold fuji sg-900 HD lnb, i receive other channels well but nat geo and fox channels loose signal at night (but are ok during the daytime), the signal loss for the national geographic and fox movies channels is normally from around 7pm in the evening to around midnight afterwhich the channels resume showing again, thanks for your help.

Good Afternoon Casin,

Try and skew your Lnb to the opposite direction.
By this i mean if Frequency 12111 H 27500 hosting the Nat Geo, Fox Movies, Lnb is set at the position shown below,

Skew your lnb with ports facing downwards,

Change frequency 12111 polarity from H to V and see if the will be any improvement on signal quality.
I would also recommend you try out a Eurostar Quad LNB. You get one from either spikes or swan satellite shop along Luthuri Avenue in Nairobi.
Happy Hunting,

Thanks Kungu
will get back to you after I have tried the options given.

well-done @KUNGU,nice post.

@KUNGU,

Keep it up,that was informative.

hi kungu, thanx i tried readjusting my lnb and tuning my dish again and got a signal of 100% n quality of 65%, can the quality also be 100? nway both the abu dhabi sports and national geographic are present throughout with no signal loss, wat signal n quality % do u get in limuru?
i also realized there are alot of test channels emergin on my receiver, mayb due to atlanticbird 7, thanx

casin:

hi kungu, thanx i tried readjusting my lnb and tuning my dish again and got a signal of 100% n quality of 65%, can the quality also be 100? nway  both the abu dhabi sports and national geographic are present throughout with no signal loss, wat signal n quality % do u get in limuru?   
i also realized there are alot of test channels emergin on my receiver, mayb due to atlanticbird 7, thanx

Good Morning  Casin,

I am using a 1.5 meter offset dish and signal quality is @ 76% for Abu Dhabi sports pack.
Frequency 12169 V 27500 with 12 channels on test mode is on Nilesat 201.
Atlantic bird 7 is undergoing orbital test runs before official  handing over to Nilesat org.
Atlantic bird 7 will most likely take over Atlantic bird 4A broadcasts come end of Oct.

Have you heard of Yahsat 1A satellite, which is set to commence broadcasts come mid Oct?
Yahsat 1A will soon be offering most of the UAE channes which include the likes of MBC2,4,action Max Persian ) Dubai One, City 7, Infinity 1 & 2, Fox Movies, Fox Series, FX, Star Movies, Star word, Dubai sports HD just to list a few,
You can follow more on yahsat 1A satellite on the following link, http://forum.paytv.ro/showthread.php?t=36090&page=409

Thanx kungu
i realize yahsat 1A will b at 58.5°E n i wonder if i culd get it on a small dish like the dstv one, will it be enough? n can i use the same abu dhabi sports receiver to get it? n i was also wondering on which satellite can i get the zee cinema 4 indian movies?
Thanx n hav a gud evening

Hey guys after almost two years I have finally tracked Nilesat in Addis Ababa with a 1.8 M dish. I am using a strong SRT LNB and a Eurobox 9700+ FTA receiver. I am getting good signal quality. It seems I am picking up Almost all of the Eutelsat 7.3W frequencies and the free Nilesat 201 and Nilesat 101 transponders.

I am not getting any of the Nilesat 102 transponders. Currently my signal quality for the transponders ranges from 45 - 70+ with most in the 60s.
I also have about 12 other unaccounted TP such as 11977, 11785 and I am receiving CNN clearly. I want to get the Nile 102 transponders such as 11938, 11919 because I want to watch MBC and abu dhabi sports, dubai sports, basically the stuff that's on arabsat, which I was using.

Any ideas I currently have over 400 channels?

@ all, pls i need nilesat on ku-beam at ibadan, wat s d require equipments and necessary parameters for a beginners. Thanks.

Shezzek: @ all, pls i need nilesat on ku-beam at ibadan, wat s d require equipments and necessary parameters for a beginners. Thanks.

hmm in Ibadan 3m fiber dish with a good lnb will do the job perfectly

@Kungu

Nice Job.. very soon i will move to your country so i can enjoy good signal quality...

im trying to locate nilesat 201 at 7w esp 11862 mhz 27500 for tfc channel, it took me time and still stucked at 40% strength and 17% quality and some frequency are having good signal. im using a universal single LNBF and some of the blogs says that a need to use a high quality lnb. my location is LIBYA and my question are: 1. are you sure about 10.25w; 2. what lnb should i use? thanks a lot and hope you can help us

obnelly: nilesat 201 is located at 10.25w and not 7w.