How you can downlink
the 5th Annual Homelessness Marathon
on your station
This year, we are hoping to provide several options for downlinking, in order to make the Marathon available to a greater number of stations
|
NPR
Satellite - C Band
|
Channel: A71.9 mono
Program ID: 02-000-16779
|
Streaming
mp3
|
A live mp3 stream will be available at:
http://r1.loudeye.com:8000/ourstream.mp3
If you having problems or need advice on how to set this up, please contact Lee Mandell.
Note: The stream will not be fully functional until the broadcast. Until then we will be testing.A number of the stations airing the marathon also stream audio in various formats.
|
KU
Band
|
The following instructions were prepared by Rych Withers, president of the Fresno Free College Foundation which owns the KU uplink we'll be using for the marathon. He has been kind enough to include his phone number at the end of the instructions, if any station needs technical advice.
RETUNING YOUR ABR 200 TO RECEIVE THE KFCF/KPFA FEED
What you need:
- Comsteam ABR 200 Receiver
- Straight thru modem cable (NOT a "Null" Modem Cable)
- A computer with any terminal program, including Windows Hyperterm to program the M&C port on the back of the receiver.The default terminal setting are as follows: 1200 baud, 7 data bits, 1 stop bit Odd Parity. These settings are accessible and can be changed by using a personal computer attached to the M&C port (RS-232, DB9, female) located on the rear of the ABR-200. Please consult the ABR- 200 manual for more information.
A Mac, Windows or even an old DOS computer with any type of terminal program should work.
If you have an old DOS or Windows computer, there is a program that specifcally works the the ABR 200. For ease of troubleshooting, you will want to download the ABR-200 setup program from the WEB: http://www.well.com/user/dmsml/downloads/abrterm.exe
And a note for those who use the ABRTERM program: The command line to run it is: ARBTERM C1or C2 or C3 depending on what Comm port you are using on your PC. For example if you are using com port 1 it would be ARBTERM C1 <enter> at the DOS prompt.The default password for the receivers is HOMEYD (all caps).
FIRST, LET'S WRITE DOWN YOUR CURRENT SETTINGS.
To see your current settings, enter: CC <enter> and you should receive a display like:
CC 1, 11971700,256000,1
CC 2, 11972000,128000,1These are the settings for the tuning channel.
The format is :
CC (Channel Number), (Frequency), (Bitrate), (QPSK Mode)So above shows that you are using a frequency of 11971700 at a Bitrate of 256K in QPSK Mode 1 on Channel 1. You may see anywhere from 1 to 32 channels (0 thru 31).
So, write down this information so you can always get back to where you were, should something happen.
The other important command is what is called the Format Definition.
To see that info enter: FD <enter>
You should see something like:FD 1,5,1,7
FD 2,5,2,7FD <format>, <network ID>, <Channel number>, <unit authorization>
Write down the numbers you see displayed.
Here is the info for the various Channels:
PACIFICA
Frequency: 11971700
Bitrate: 256000
QPSK Mode: 1
Network ID: 5
Unit Authorization: 7KFCF/KPFA (<------------This is the channel that the Homelessness
Marathon will be on)
Frequency: 11972000
Bitrate: 128000
QPSK Mode: 1
Network ID: 5
Unit Authorization: 7----------------------------------------------------------
How To Tune Your Ku Band Receiver to The Homelessness Marathon and Back
The Homelessness Marathon will be using an uplink which otherwise carries the signal from KPFA in Berkeley. If you are tuned to it correctly, you should be able to hear KPFA programming up to the time of the marathon. If you have been picking up the 3p.m., PST, feed of Free Speech Radio News, your dish is already tuned for the marathon.
The instructions below contain the KPFA corodinates. instructions were originally intended for the use of stations with Ku dishes tuned to Pacifica, but they should still be helpful for non-Pacifica stations.
Please note: IF YOU ARE USING A COMSTREAM ABR 202 RECEIVER, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ACQUIRE THE HOMELESSNESS MARATHON SIGNAL.What you will need to do is find a channel that is not in use. type CC and see what channels are listed (as above). Then find a channel number that is not listed and type in your settings. Replace the "X" below with the channel number you have decided to use for the KPFA feed.
CC X,11972000, 128000,1
FD X,5,X,7
FS XFS selects which frequency to tune to. So, if you had Pacifica on Channel 1 (CC) and put KFCF/KPFA on Channel 2 (CC) , you would type FS 1 to get Pacifica, then FS 2 to get KFCF/KPFA and FS 1 to go back to Pacifica.
Here are the directions from:
http://www.well.com/user/dmsml/downloads/CC is The Channel configuration and is in the format of:
CC Channel#, RF Frequency, DataRate, Modulation Type
So for example:
KFCF/KPFA: CC 1,11972000,128000,1
Pacifica: CC 2,11971700,256000,1FD defines the channel format definition for the channel.and must be done before doing the FS setting, which is frequency select.
The default password for the receivers is HOMEYD (all caps).
You can use any terminal program, including Windows Hyperterm to program the M&C port on the back of the receiver.The default terminal setting are as follows: 1200 baud, 7 data bits, 1 stop bit Odd Parity. The cable should be a "straight thru cable, NOT a null modem cable."
Pacifica Radio ABR 200 Receiver Settings
Pacifica Radio uses GE-1, KU Transponder 13 (horizontal) at 103.0 degrees west. There is both digital and analog audio and video traffic on transponder 13. NBC TV also uses GE-1 for much of it's video backhaul distribution as well, so many of the transponders on GE-1 are in use. The receiver you have has been pre-programmed by NSN to receive the Pacifica Program feed only. The following information may be helpful if you have to change or reset the receiver.
The Pacifica audio feed is currently being operated in "dual-mono" mode. The "left" channel is used for regularly scheduled feeds such as the Pacifica National Newscast. The "right" channel is currently used for re-feeds of missed programs, and also backhaul feeds to PNN from KPFA, unmixed speeches and interviews from Pacifica National Programming to the main Pacifica stations (KPFA, KPFK, KPFT, WPFW, WBAI), as well as the Pacifica affiliates.
If you are having problems locking to the signal, or have a reason to believe the programming is not correct in the ABR-200, the settings on the following page can be tried. Before you attempt to reprogram the ABR-200, make sure that your receive dish is properly aimed at GE-1 (103 degrees west). Almost all the problems reported to Pacifica have resulted from improper aiming and not a failure with the ABR-200 receiver or the uplink.
When setting up your receive dish, be sure to check with the GE Satellite Operations Center (800) 526-4214 #3 to obtain the "center of the box" forecast for GE-1. This fine alignment information is critical for a dependable signal in marginal areas and in times of heavy rain and snow.
If you have any questions concerning the KU system, please call the Pacifica Consulting Engineer: Don Mussell (831) 420-1571, via e-mail at dmsml@well.com, or NSN (800) 345-8728 before making any changes to the ABR-200 receiver.
The following settings are current as of August, 2001. These settings are accessible and can be changed by using a personal computer attached to the M&C port (RS-232, DB9, female) located on the rear of the ABR-200. Please consult the ABR-200 manual for more information. For ease of troubleshooting, you will want to download the ABR-200 setup program from the WEB:
"http://www.well.com/user/dmsml/downloads/abrterm.exe"
Using a PC connected to the M&C port, use the ABRTERM setup program to access the internal programming of the ABR-200. When you are connected to the ABR, the following data entries should be used (all entries are in BOLD type, set your computer keyboard to CAPS ON:
ABR-200/202 SETUP INSTRUCTIONS
Note: The following assume you are putting KFCF/KPFA on Channel 1
login: HOMEYD
OD(this sets the ABR to the operator debug mode)
>OPERATOR DEBUG MODE
IN 9346(this resets the unit to factory defaults)
Login again using password: HOMEYD
enter: CC 1,11971700,256000,1(Channel 1 configuration)
FD 2,5,2,7(Format definition)
OD(operator debug mode)
LC 1
OD
FS 1
AQ 2(initiates acquisition search mode)
ST 0 (means stereo lock, allow extra time if weather is cloudy,
rainy or snowing)
The ABR-200 should lock and receive the Pacifica signal within a few minutes. When the signal is acquired, RF sync and audio sync will be lit GREEN. No RED fault lights should be lit. Signal light should be on and steady with a good signal, and a marginal signal is indicated by a flashing display. Check cables and dish alignment if signal light flashes.
EB ? (EB/NO signal level query; 10.0 is good signal, 6.0 marginal)
TROUBLESHOOTING COMMANDS
AG ? (signal power, if 255 no signal present, 85 to 150 is OK)
FL ? (fault log query)
CF 0 (Clears all current faults)
NF ? (number of signal fades)
SL ? (number of sync losses between receiver and uplink)
ID ? (display the serial number of ABR unit)
DP ? (display all parameters stored in ABR unit)
LC ? 1=Enable remote switch 0=disable
AM 0 = allow unlocked frequency reception
FREQUENCY INFORMATION
Downlink Frequency: 11971.700, 256K, QPSK
The ABR can be configured to receive the Pacifica Feed as
follows:
CC 1,11971700,256000,1
(Channel Configuration for FS 1, frequency, Data Rate, QPSK)FD 2,5,2,7
(Channel number, network ID, format number, service
authorization)
Other services can be accessed via the receiver by configuring the other channels that are programmable via the computer M&C port, as follows:
KPFA Feed [THIS IS THE FEED USED BY THE HOMELESSNESS MARATHON]:
CC 2,11972000,128000,1
FD 1,5,1,7
For more information on how to access the ABR from a computer, or any other questions concerning KU system please call Rych Withers at 559-490-5828. (cell # 559-217- 9554)