Hi all,
I arrived Owerri earlier yesterday after attending my company's quarterly retreat in Port Harcourt. I tried to hook up with Pitodenz but it turned out tracking W3A was child's play compared to tracking this dude in PH (Pitodenz, you still dey owe me fresh fish pepper soup).

I'm feeling in my elements. I've been missing my high-speed internet all this while (I'm posting this in my bedroom at about 3am). It afforded me the time to read through all the previous posts.

First, I'm glad Toxnaija was able to check out Adewest and confirm the guy is for real. He's taken too much flack from guys on this forum for making "unbelievable" and "impossible" claims. I'm glad a "respected" member has given him ten thumbs up. How many of the guys giving him the stick knew he was in the "khaki" profession? That surely drives home the point that members need to be courteous and respectful to one another on the forum. When you get up close and personal with most of the guys here, you wouldn't want to rile them, even if they committed a crime. I've met Twinstaiye and I know that I cannot for any reason say a word out of turn to him considering his maturity, position and place of work. So let Adewest be a shot in the arm for us to not always be quick to shoot off at the mouth but to patiently and politely prod any members we don't believe or agree with rather than "bad-mouth" them.

Like I said before, no satellite is impossible to receive as long as it lies within the range of your horizon, just get the good quality accessories, right type (and size) of dish along with some reverse and amended engineering and the trick is done.

I''l be in Lagos from Thursday to Sunday, hopefully I may run-in on some of the guys in Lagos.

@Enitan
Can I come and visit you in that your "remote" border town or are you in Lagos?

@Enigma
Text me your cell number, I might be in the UK in Jan/Feb. Text to 08098MADDOX or 08033264397. I'll then give you my vodafone UK number.

@Mr. Gem
How far with the assignment I gave you?

@Adewest
Are you sure you're not of the Army's Signal Corps? Your mastery of satellite technology might only come from such high-level, classified training.

@All
Merry Christmas in advance and Happy Sallah in arrears.

@olofofo
You're right, but you know our people know how to do the right thing the wrong way. Also, we have bigger problems than that for now. The electricity problem has now attained crisis proportions. Imagine Abuja electricity is now very terrible. Without electricity how will you enjoy the bird?
Meanwhile, include me in the mailing list. My email is maddoxoj@yahoo.co.uk

Hi all,
I can see things are moving swiftly. I surely miss tracking any bird these days. Anyone who's tracking any dishes in Abuja soon can call me (08098-maddox [623369]) to join in. I wan warm hand small!

Oh, about that Nigcomsat1 thing, I checked the tech info of the bird and confirmed that it is one of these "latest" satellites that run exclusively on solar power. They're usually equipped with dual-polar solar sensors (North and south solar sensors) for the "winged" satellites or the entire exterior is surrounded with solar sensors (for the round satellites). These designs are, of course, to maximise exposure to sunlight as the bird moves along. These kinds of birds are more efficient when they work but fail woefully when they, you know it, fail. if any of the solar sensors fails, it means the rechargeable batteries that power the entire bird would discharge without any source of recharge and that's the end. Barring that, these kinds of birds are usually less likely to explode on blast-off (which is very common) and they are lighter (no fuel and generator to carry) making it possible to carry more payload.

However, I'm still of the opinion that Nigeria should forget about this satellite business for now. It's not a simple market to operate in. It's an expensive business. You just don't own one satellite, you have to own own a fleet of them and have at least two birds in one slot. Do you think Intelsat 7/10 is one bird? or Eutelsat W4/SESAT, Nilesat, Hotbird, Eurobird, Intelsat 10-02, etc.? We should get serious. I'm appealing to all Nairaland FTA forum members (including our honorary citizens in Ghana, Ethiopia, etc) to join me in signing a protest letter demanding the government to retrieve the cost of that bird from the chinks and put it in a trust fund to be administered by members of this forum.

I'm dead serious. As soon as five people accent to this petition I'd post a url with the petition and space for people to append their signatures. Meanwhile, guys should start raising suggestions on how WE (Nairaland FTA forum members) would apply the cash when it's given to us. I'm waiting.

@all
About this premiership feeds, anyone with C-Band should try a blind scan on Intelsat 903. Between 2005 and 2006, just before World Cup, I used to receive complete football feeds (4 LIVE premiership matches and others delayed as soon as the live matches are finished, even interviews after matches, 2 La Liga matches Live, World cup qualifiers, friendlies etc, Tennis championships, every sports program you can think of) as well as Skysports News, History Channel, National Geographic, Channel 5 UK, 2 BBC Radio Radio Channels, BBC Prime and Earth TV. All of these were FTA. Just before World Cup 2006 the transponder went off. Unfortunately, I don't live in Owerri anymore cos that's where all my equipment are. I don't even have any satellite access for now. So anyone who can should try and blind scan that bird to see if it's back. I can't remember the freq. now but I'll search and post it if I find it. But Like someone said, a sat-savvy person should go and see the dish setup and the freq would be no problem for Nairalanders to decode.

Quote from: Enigma on Today at 04:06:55 PM
Well, there are several issues and I won't deal with all of them here; if any of the parties to the case needs legal assistance, I will be prepared to provide a professional legal opinion in respect of the issues. I will just raise one or two things to think about.

1. Has Metro violated HiTV's rights? Remember that Metro had Showtime card/subscription?

2. Question 1 above involves the proper interpretation of several provisions of the Copyright Act.

3. Apart from HiTV's rights, has Metro broken a law in simply receiving Showtime pictures in Nigeria?

4. Is it illegal to use a Showtime card in Nigeria to watch Showtime?

5. On the other hand, is Metro breaking the law (or someone else's copyright) by retransmitting and reselling Showtime pictures? [Interestingly, what Metro did also happens in Spain - and, similarly some 'noise' was being made about the retransmitters recently; in some Scandinavian countries, if the signal is free then you can retransmit it]

I will just leave things like that, so that readers can see that the issues are not wholly straightforward

The point really is that Metro is a terrestrial channel based in Ghana, they actually use the satellite transmission as feeds for their remote stations i.e. stations in other cities outside Accra. Their target market is Ghana, not Nigeria. The fact that "breeze" is blowing their signal into Nigerian based satellite receivers is none of their fault, especially since there is no commercial value in it for them. If HiTV no like they can jump into River Niger. If anyone can complain, it should be showtime. But if they have an agreement for Metro to be able to retransmit their signals, then no law is being broken. In Ghana broadcasters are free to retransmit foreign signals/stations unlike Nigeria, so I don't see how I can fault Metro if they hook-up to Showtime, especially if they have permission or Showtime simply no send.

On the Nigcomsat-1 issue, let me just say that I predicted it at the start that it was going to be a massive failure. However, what just happened to the bird was far from my mind when I made that “unpatriotic’ prediction. I don’t know if the Nigerian government asked questions before going into that venture. The satellite business is a closed market at the up-stream level (owning satellites and transponders). To get a communication satellite in orbit you need to build it at no less than $250 million, next you have to get a rocket to attach it to for propelling into space at another tidy sum, then you have to get them on a launch vehicle either on land or sea. All of these are in the range of tens of millions $ to get done. Being such a capital intensive venture it, therefore, forces the manufacturers and some major clients to pool resources to get the birds up and running.

Satellite client companies like Globecast, Canalsat, RRS, etc. are nominally service providers and, theoretically speaking, do not own the satellites but you find out that they have invested a lot of money in the manufacture and deployment of satellites owned by fleet operators like Intelsat, Eutelsat, New Sky Satellite (NSS), etc. Sometimes, they could inject up to half of the cost of a satellite prior to its launch and their investment is converted to ownership of a given number of transponders on the same bird (or even future birds in some instances). These companies have been in business for decades and pretty much cover every inch of ground on the planet. So, whatever your satellite need may be anywhere in the world they can handle it with ease. This scenario has made it quite impossible for any new sat owners to break into that level of the market because the big boys can offer you anything cheaper than any newcomer can attempt and most of the contracts are quite long-term. Governments normally launch military or other special purpose satellites, with the exception of India (with their Insat fleet), Pakistan (Paksat fleet) and one or two other countries that have built Communication satellites for little or no profit.

Nigcomsat was meant as a commercial (for profit) satellite which means it has to compete with this cartel that run Clarke’s belt like their private backyard. Even NTA bulked at the price Nigcomsat put on their TPs. That’s why NTA is still on Intelsat and had no plans of moving to Nigcomsat in a hurry. Every other prospective client either had a better long-term commitment elsewhere or could get the same services much cheaper elsewhere. With due diligence and consideration, Nigcomsat should never have been ventured into by the Nigerian government. Instead, they should have shared the money to Nairlanders to get larger compounds, bigger dishes and better quality receivers, LNBs, etc. to track and crack as many birds as they like.

Now, as to what happened to the bird. Launching a satellite is a very tricky business. Accidents can happen during manufacture, handling, transportation, launch and manoeuvring into orbit. Some may be noticed on time and others may be noticed too late. If the rocket has not blasted the bird into space already, repairs or damage control can be done if not, to God be the glory. Apparently, Nigcomsat’s problem is from the fuel section. To remain in geosynchronous (stationary) orbit the satellite makes use of a positioner which is run by electricity. Also the TPs (transponders) are powered by electricity in order to function properly. The electricity on satellites is usually provided by two sources: Solar power and Electric generators (yes, like that one you use when NEPA are on duty).

***NOTE*** A few satellites run exclusively on generators.

The generators are provided with enough fuel to last for 5 to 15 years (that’s how the lifespan of a satellite is calculated) depending on their intended use. During sunlight the bird is powered by solar, leaving the generator running on low power after sunlight the generator goes full-on. If anything goes wrong with the solar power section the satellite would still be ok because it would run now only on the generator but the fuel would run out quicker and that translates to a shorter life-span for the satellite. However, if anything happens to the generator, yawa don gas be that!! Every electronic component of the satellite would shut down: TPs would go off and the satellite would lose orbital integrity and stray (i.e. the satellite would depart from its assigned orbit) because the positioner would have failed also. The problem can come from anywhere, could be big or small. Ordinary carburettor or fuel pump failure can mean the end of a $300million project. This is not far from what happened to OBJbird (the baptismal name for Nigcomsat-1).

Has this type of thing happened before? Yes!!!!!!! So many times, just that many of us may not notice. That was what killed the last Insat (Indian satellite) and one other Intelsat (I think Intelsat-14 or so). Nigcomsat-1 was even lucky to have breathed for 18 months because these other birds fell back to earth like stones almost as soon as they were launched. Many Chinese and “Neo-Industrialised” countries’ made satellites are doing quite fine. However, knowing Naija people and the Chinks, anything is possible. They could have cut a few corners which has landed us here. Anyway, we are looking for volunteers to join us on a Chinese made spacecraft to go and look for our lost OBJbird. If you’re interested please contact me. We would be carrying spare parts to repair the missing satellite as well as the spacecraft (in case it develops it own fault there), me I want to return alive.

Hi All,
Sorry for not posting for sometime. Pressure from work is killing me and I don have net access at home for now. Soon I'll be able to access the net at home. I think I may be a bit free this weekend, so I guess I'dd make a few tips.

For guys in Abuja, you can hear my programs on Love FM 104.5 (Crowther Radio) Tuesdays at 11am to 12pm and 7pm to midnight, thursdays 9pm til midnight.
Ciao.

@Twinstaiye

Sorry about last Sunday. The meeting I attended took so long I couldn't make it eventually. I'll buzz you soon. Sorry once again

@All
About patching of Strong receivers, you need to note generally these facts about Set Top Box receivers (STBs): There are receivers and there are decoders. Some of the gadgets we refer to as "decoders" are really not decoders, they're plain simply satellite receivers. An ordinary STB receiver can receive “clear” signals (A.K.A. FTA signals) but cannot handle an encrypted signal. That’s why encrypted signals would always report “Scrambled” or just show you a nice dollar sign ($) on such STBs. Since it is made for FTA reception it can never decode anything, so it cannot be correctly referred to as a decoder. I would suggest forum members begin from now on to use the more technically correct term STB rather than “decoder”.

A satellite decoder is an improved receiver that has the ability to decrypt (decode) encrypted satellite signals. There are two types of decoders – CAS (Conditional Access Systems) and Card reader types (some card readers are dedicated i.e. will only accept one specific encryption like Irdeto, Conax, Nagravision, Seca, etc while others are CI [Common Interface] which handle virtually all encryption systems on the same card slot). CIs are actually CAS system with card readers.

CAS make use of keys, which you enter manually or with the aid of Conditional Access Modules (which we all love to call CAMs). This is usually the method preferred by operators of encrypted feeds, while DTH operators would normally deploy smart cards along with card readers since they won’t want to show the public their key string.

If you own an FTA STB, you can “patch” (upgrade) the firmware to CAS and extra hardware (smart card reader) can convert it further to a CI decoder

If you buy a Strong STB it normally has a smart card reader. I know they used to sell some receivers that had no card readers a while back (don’t think they still do). The ones that didn’t have a card reader were labelled as FTA while those with card readers are CI decoders. Therefore, you don’t have to talk about patching because your decoder is actually supposed to perform those functions because it has an embedded Conditional Access Module. You can only talk about a patch if the STB is actually an FTA STB. *** [However, I’ve discovered that Strong (and, I guess, some other STB manufacturers) generally ship CAS receivers into the market as FTA receivers. In fact, Strong receivers that are sold as FTA can equally be converted to CI units by simply buying a smart card reader and plugging it in. The firmware is already prepared to run the CI since it is actually a CAS.] *** PLEASE DON’T TELL THEM I TOLD YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ordinarily, you’ have to patch an FTA to become a CAS or CI, but Strong have already done that for you., all you need to do is update the keys and software (firmware or SoftCAM) to be up-to-date. Remember, if you download an official firmware, then it would downgrade your STB, turning your CAS to FTA and bust your bubble until you patch, or is it re-patch the system.

So, technically speaking, Strong don’t patch their receivers, they are actually CIs not FTAs.





@All
TIPS ON HOW TO GET BIG DISHES!!!!!!!!!
Getting really big dishes (2.4m and up) may seem difficult but if you have the space in your home for them try doing this: Go to a hotel in your town and look around, if they existed in the late 80s to early 90s there’s an 80% chance they have one or two mighty dishes they used back then to catch Arabsat or Hotbird back then before they decided to go for DSTV ku systems. Usually these dishes are no longer being used. Try talking to somebody there, they might be willing to dispose of the dish(es) for little or nothing. I know a few that have actually destroyed or thrown away theirs, but I can see that quite many still have them on their premises and thinking of them as nuisance.

You can also check some of the affluent guys around you that had them back then, chances are that the dishes might still be there without serving any use. Talk to them too, they might give/sell them to you. That’s how I obtained one fiber 1.8m dish with single polarity LNB for N5,000 and one 2.4m fiber for N10,000, both in excellent condition, in Owerri. My uncle took me to a female judge who had 3m, but I missed it by a hair’s breadth because she threw it away a couple of days earlier. These are usually prime quality fiber dishes which handle signals better than any other type of dish.

If you’re in Abuja, I can tell you where to find some. Call me on 080-98-MADDOX (08098623369) or 0702-594-5598.

@Mr Gem
Don’t send your receiver to a technician yet. It’s most likely your RF cable from the dish is not firmly connected at the back of your receiver, try re-attaching it. If possible, cut off its current end, scrape a new portion for attachment to the F-connector and then screw-on to your receiver. That should solve the problem of switching off while booting. Then, check to see that you LNB is properly connected or burnt to solve the problem of your STB giving you the “LNB” signal.

***TIP*** Always be sure your STB is switched before you attach the RF cable at the back. Otherwise it could flash, fry, toast, dice, cook, hammer, destroy, decimate, annihilate, subrogate and conflagrate LNB (or LNBs if you use Diseqc. (I don finish my entire vocab library on this last sentence!!!!!!!!!!!!!).

@Sathob
To know EIRP of any satellite beam, at Lyngsat.com, simply click on the beam icon and it will open a page showing you the footprint of the bird.  EIRP is normally measured in Decibel Watts (dBW). You would see the exponential difference according to the strength and concentration of the beam given in terms of dBW against dish size. Ranges differ for each beam. so just check the average difference for the footprint area and use that to ccalculate for your area. (try do small Math and "guestimate" your size of dish). Watch the map you see there closely.ovices

@All
For the novices and anyone that it might help, find attached some useful FTA info. Copyright, where not mine is hereby acknowledged.

@All
How una dey? I can see things are progressing nicely. I just want to to say that you can actually receive any signal on any satellite as long as you have the right size of dish, good lnb, receiver, accessories and a bit of reverse engineering in some cases. However, the catch is that the targeted bird must not be behind or beyond your horizon. Nigeria's horizon starts around Intelsat 7/10 (68°E) and ends around Intelsat 805 (55.5°W). When a bird is outside of your horizon it means your downlink equipment cannot "see" the bird so cannot communicate with it, no matter what. Bottom line is, you can track any bird all, you have to do is multiply EIRP (Beam Power) by the degrees of distance between your location and the weakest foot print of the bird to determine the size of dish that can possibly nail the bird. If you can get a 100meter dish it would pick anything you want (and you can make a nice Olympic swimming pool out of it too!!!!!).

Don't give up on any bird, just find a big dish.

@all
Thanks for the love guys, totus tus.

@Enigma
You're not too far from the mark with the North America comment though I'm chilling full-time in Naija now.(We can IM later).

@Twinstaiye, can't wait, my man. Let's kick some satellite ass!!! Is it ok if I attach Strong or other receiver firmware here? if not, then any one needs them should just PM me on maddoxoj@yahoo.co.uk.

@Salamander & captainus
Those Intelsat 703 Beams with the Nigeria channels are actually the feeds for DSTV's Nigeria channels (MCA is short for Multichoice Africa). The beam goes to Eutelsat's facilities in Europe for uplink to Eutelsat w4A for DSTV Nigeria beam. The Guy's are right, big dishes like the ones they suggested can catch those beams. Someone with up to 4m dish should give it a try and give us a feedback.

@all
Next time I'll attach some informative FTA and other elated info.

Hi guys, I feel elated making my first post here on this wonderful thread. I decided to take my time to read thru most of the earlier posts before making mine. I must say it’s been most enlightening and captivating at the same time. Some of what I’ve read has been quite hilarious too.

I happened on this thread through a Google redirect. I spend considerable time researching FTA and sats but I never came across this sight until last week. Then a few days ago I decided to join. I just wish I’d be able to make time to share info with you guys here, though I guess my knowledge is pretty high, judging from what I’ve seen you guys here know/don’t know. I must confess, though, that I’ve picked up a few tricks and tips from you guys. Most of the guys here like Enigma, Jujukemist, Enitan, Pitondez, Toxnaija, Twinstaiyae, Badaru, etc are quite knowledgeable on FTA and sat engineering as a whole. Thanks to Bigoe for starting this in the first place. Keep it up guys.

I might just add for general knowledge that the “juice” of FTA is in C-Band. The main reason is that Ku-Band is suited for and generally deployed by DTH (Direct To Home) pay TV operators like DSTV, HITV, Canalsat etc mainly because the signal is easily picked up with small dishes. Sometimes you find some FTA operators pay to “ride along” with these operators on their unused frequencies or channels. That’s why Ben TV and AIT are on Sky Digital but are free to air (independent of Sky subscription). The FTA channels you see on NSS7 Ku are either leased from Canalsat (like Direct 8, LC2, TV5 and the other Francophone Channels). GTV, TV Malawi, TPA etc. lease theirs from New Sky Satellites the owners/operators of the bird.

A few companies by up transponders from sat companies like Intelsat, Eutelsat and Nilesat and lease them for fixed terms to interested operators or rent/lease them to companies or stations seeking to use those spots as feeds or channel outlet. Such companies include Globecast, Sentech and View Africa Network (who operate in Asia As “View Asia”). Sentech carries the signals for eTV and SABC on Intelsat 7/10 Ku and Intelsat 902C while all the religious channels you see are carried by View Africa Network. Even if you want them to carry a one hour slot for you they can do that on their “always-on” feeds or their “occasional” feeds for a fee. The difference between the two can be seen in their names. Usually the frequencies of these occasional feeds are switched of when not in use, if they are on the same frequency with other Always-On channels, then their PID (Packet Identification Data are switched off when not in use). That’s what Globecast does with the La Liga feeds on NSS7 C. For occasional feeds you may not see their frequencies on any sat charts like Lyngsat.com or SatcoDx.com but a blind scan can catch them if you’re lucky or know when to scan. I usually scan once every three hours.

Sometimes, feed operators go to “crazy” lengths to hide their feeds. The most popular trick is to suppress the PIDs [you can see them under channel info as VPID (Video PID), APID (Audio PID) and PCR PID (PPID)]. Without these you receiver cannot correctly interpret the data carried on the TP frequency. However, these PIDs would be supplied through other means to the preferred downlink (receiving) stations/operators who key them in manually on their receivers. This accounts for most of those frequencies you find on blind scan but they yield no data (TV or Radio channels).

So if you ever catch a feed on blind scan which you like, if it ever goes off don’t delete it, it may still come back anytime. Usually they are used as Haulback feeds (Feeds used to integrate signals from multi-location studios or Outside Broadcast locations into live programming e.g. NTA Network Centers or CNN chatting from Atlanta Center with a correspondent in Iraq) or for live events like sports, rallies, etc

Scrambling or encoding signals cost some money, so operators prefer to use the frequencies that are least likely to be caught. Knowing that pay TV subscribers with Ku dishes can stumble on these types of feeds and enjoy them, the operators prefer to use C band because their sheer size is a no-no for many guys, as evident from the groaning of most forum members. Also very few operators are now deploying C Band for their services (a little bird told me DSTV would soon discard their C Band service on Intelsat 7/10 C) which means a any guy with a C Band equipment must be one of the real targets of these feeds or just a crazy guy, like me, with BUDs (Big Ugly Dishes) in his home. How many of us are there anyway?

So from the foregoing, you can see that the future of Ku in these parts appear really bleak. The only people willing to splash out the big bucks on Ku are usually the church guys like Pastor Chris & T.B. Joshua who have the deep pockets and are seeking for routes to spread their message (and attract followers). That’s why you’ll always keep seeing new religious channels on Intelsat 7/10 Ku everyday but hardly any premium quality channels. The few guys who transmit FTA on Ku make their money from advers and underwriting (another name for sponsorship). Good examples are the MBC channels on Nilesat. Unfortunately, not many of such services are available on small dish (90cm and under in Sub-Saharan Africa, unlike Europe and the Middle East). Pay TV operators are the only ones who can offer you advert-free movies, which means more programmes and not a dull moment.

The power still lies with C Band, especially considering their signals are more stable, reliable and easier to track than Ku signals. My prayer is that more and more guys can afford to find the space to install bigger dishes, at least 1.8m of any make. With a motor and multiple LNBs you can make a massive difference from what you have on three or four 90cm Ku Dishes.

About the forum, I suggest that a positive spirit and camaraderie should prevail. Some of the language used here can make 2pac and Eamon look like saints. This is a public forum for nice guys not the Bloods and Crips, for God’s sake. I think Tushman would appreciate this piece of advice.

As for those guys that breeze in and ask for help even though they don’t post much, I’d plead with you guys to understand that this site is for helping others, so just do it for them with a smile. Those guys are usually the beginners. Once they get hooked you’ll see that they’ll be coming back everyday. Others may be that they cannot afford to get online as much as they’d like. But I must say it would be bad for guys to just come in and grab knowledge from this forum but hoard their own knowledge, which might be of interests to other forum members. And please, no more beefs. Enitan, Jujkemist and Tushman, we’re all in this together, we can’t turn on each other. There was talk about a face-to-face get-together for forum members, where is that talk now? I’m highly interested.

I’d stop here so far. I may not be able to contribute very often but I may be making long posts (like this one) with info I may like to share with you guys as often as I can. I live in Abuja, anyone who wants to reach me for assistance or to just to say hi can holla me on 07025945598 or maddoxoj@yahoo.co.uk. The name is Maddox.

Peace, see y’all soon.