ARCS TV goes down due to power outage

At approximately 10:20 AM this morning the ARCS satellite multiplex went down due to an area wide power outage at the uplink suite in Fairbanks. 

Update:  at 11:40 AM the carrier resumed operation, however the content has not yet resumed.

Update:  as of 12:00 Noon the power at the uplink suite was back up and appears to be stable.  Most services on the multiplex have resumed. 

April 2010 RMT

ARCSTV successfully received and retransmitted the April RMT at 2325 local time, April 15, 2010. The test in the recording presented here was viewed at the APBI offices in Anchorage using a 3.0 meter C-band dish and a Scientific Atlanta D9223 receiver. The recording was made using a VHS tape recorder with audio source taken from the left channel of audio output #1. 

This recording positively demonstrates the successful execution of the drill and delivery of the test material. Below the recording is the printout from the Sage ENDEC confidence decoder at the APBI offices, showing that the test signal as delivered by ARCSTV was properly distributed and relay-capable. In this case, the tape includes a reference at the end to a second viewing of the test across ARCS.  This second iteration was not generated by ARCSTV; it was simply part of the source material, in this case KTVA Television, the Anchorage CBS affiliate, runing the RMT on a delayed basis.  While viewers would have seen the test play a second time, station based equipment would have ignored it, as did the confidence decoder at APBI. 

The ARCSTV signal is available to any person or organization in possession of a properly installed and functioning C-band satellite antenna and an MPEG-II DVB satellite receiver.  ARCSTV's primary mission is to serve the residents of bush Alaska through a network of over 200 low-power analog television transmitters, but ARCSTV is also used by commercial and non-commercial broadcasters around the state as a monitored source for their EAS facilities.

March 2010 RMT & Tsunami Warning Test

ARCSTV successfully received and retransmitted the March RMT at 0949 local time, March 24, 2010.  This exercise also served as the annual statewide tsunami warning communications test.  The test in the recording presented here was viewed at the APBI offices in Anchorage using a 3.0 meter C-band dish and a Scientific Atlanta D9223 receiver. The recording was made using a VHS tape recorder with audio source taken from the left channel of audio output #1.

This recording positively demonstrates the successful execution of the drill and delivery of the test material.  Below the recording is the printout from the Sage ENDEC confidence decoder at the APBI offices, showing that the test signal as delivered by ARCSTV was properly distributed and relay-capable.  The ARCSTV signal is available to any person or organization in possession of a properly installed and functioning C-band satellite antenna and an MPEG-II DVB satellite receiver.

ARCSTV's primary mission is to serve the residents of bush Alaska through a network of over 200 low-power analog television transmitters, but ARCSTV is also used by commercial and non-commercial broadcasters around the state as a monitored source for their EAS facilities.

 Sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air. 

ARCSTV will participate in the upcoming test of the Tsunami Warning Communications System set for middle of Tsunami Awareness Week

Here's the info from NOAA's Alaska Region web page:

OFFICIALS TO CONDUCT TEST OF THE ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM
NOAA's National Weather Service and Alaska's Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, in cooperation with local emergency management offices and the Alaska Broadcasters Association, will conduct a statewide test of the tsunami warning communications system on Wednesday, March 24 at 9:45 a.m.

The test is part of Tsunami Awareness Week, proclaimed by Gov. Sean Parnell as March 21 to 27. The week coincides with the anniversary of the Good Friday Earthquake - a devastating 9.2 magnitude earthquake that triggered deadly tsunamis in Alaska on Good Friday, March 27, 1964.

The communications test will involve NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards, the emergency alert system and other state and local communication links. Radio listeners should hear the familiar alerting tone followed by an audio message describing the test, similar to the routine monthly tests of the emergency alert system. Residents of some communities may hear sirens.

It is important to note that some television systems are programmed to scroll a standard message based upon the emergency code received. In some cases, the message may not contain the word 'TEST'. An audio message will say that it is a test, but if the volume is turned down or otherwise unheard, viewers may not realize the warning is a test.

The general public can participate in the test by monitoring NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards, commercial radio, cable TV or local television for the emergency alert system message. Local emergency management may use the test to help raise awareness of the tsunami hazard. If there is excessive seismic activity on March 24, the test will be canceled.

The public can provide feedback online at http://www.tsunami.gov/test. People monitoring the test in coastal areas who do not receive the test through commercial or weather radio should inform their local National Weather Service office.

Click here for answers to frequently asked tsunami-related questions

Sun Outages this week and next affecting ARCS.

Our satellite footprint in Alaska is in the middle of Spring Sun Outages through March 4. ARCS satellite dish antennas around Alaska aimed at SES Americom's AMC-8 spacecraft (aka: Aurora III) are experiencing brief outages between 12:15 and 12:40 P.M. daily.

All services inside our multiplex on transponder 18 are affected, including ARCS, Alaska One, UATV, and the associated audio channels. Also affected are the SCPC radio channels on transponder 24.

These twice-yearly outages occur when the sun and the satellite we look at are aligned for a few minutes each day over the course of two weeks. They are not caused by sun spots.

February 2010 Required Monthly Test

ARCS TV successfully received and retransmitted the test of Alaska's EAS on Wednesday, February 3, 2010 at 0758 AST. The test in this recording was viewed at the APBI offices in Anchorage using a 3.0 meter Cband dish and a Scientific Atlanta D9223 receiver. The ARCS program service is part of a multiplex which includes several other video and audio sources. In the video you can see ARCS is in the upper left corner of the multi-monitor, and a second feed of ARCS from a separate receiver in the lower center position.



In the upper right is the statewide Alaska One PBS feed. In the lower left position is the closed circuit UATV channel from the University of Alaska. On the lower right, and on the separate monitor, is the local GCI cable service.

ARCS TV Successfully Participated in the Alaska EAN Exercise

ARCS Television, in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the State of Alaska, and the Alaska Broadcasters’ Association, participated in the statewide exercise of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) in Alaska on Wednesday, January 6, 2010, at 10:00 A.M. AST. ARCS successfully received the simulated Emergency Action Notification and relayed it via satellite across Alaska to ARCS viewers in over 200 communities, as well as to radio and television broadcast stations and cable television systems across the state.

The ARCS system is monitored, maintained, managed and operated by Alaska Public Broadcasting, Inc., from it's headquarters in Anchorage where a FEMA observer joined the ARCS team as they monitored their part in the exercise. This first video was recorded on a Canon PowerShot A540 camera stationed in front of the main ARCS multi-monitor display. In the video you can see the ARCS channel at the top left, as well as bottom center, using two separate and different models of satellite receivers for confidence. In the video you can hear the exercise being carried out via the conference call on speaker phone in the background, as well as the audio over ARCS in the foreground.



At the time of the test, ARCS was carrying the local CBS affiliate, KTVA. just before the initial header burst is heard, you can see a slide proclaiming "this is a test" put up by KTVA. A few seconds later, the "Chill, It's Just A Drill" slide provided by the Alaska Broadcasters Association and designated by the State of Alaska's Emergency Preparedness Office, was invoked by remote control of the ARCS video switcher. You can see this slide was also used by the statewide Public Television channel, Alaska One, in the upper right hand corner of the display. In the lower right hand corner is a feed from GCI Cable TV, and at lower left the University of Alaska Television channel (UATV). The time displayed at center screen is accurate to within one second.

At the end of the test, you can hear the End Of Message (EOM) bursts indicating the end of the exercise on ARCS. As our system returned to regular programming you can see that the switcher was instructed manually (in error) to go to Alaska One for a couple of seconds before being further switched (correctly) back to KTVA. Even though the exercise had run its course and was completed at this time, you can see and hear some of the video and audio still present on KTVA.

You may be able to see in the crawl at upper right that the time listed for the event is 11:02 to 11:17. This should have read 10:02 to 10:17 and was the result of a an incorrect UTC offset inside the Sage ENDEC at the ARCS uplink suite. That error has now been corrected.

Below are images of the two printouts from the ARCS ENDEC boxes. First is the tape from the unit at the ARCS switcher showing that it did indeed receive the message from KFQD and successfully relayed the message. You can also see that the time error is evident on this tape. Second is the tape from the monitoring station at APBI's office in Anchorage. Notice that the time on this tape is correct, demonstrating that the UTC offset was correctly set on this unit.

This second video was recorded on a separate receiver tuned only to ARCS and fed into a VHS recorder. It was later converted into digital format for presentation here. This is what the ARCS viewers in communities around rural Alaska would have seen.



In summary, the ARCS and APBI staff are happy to have been able to participate successfully in this exercise and would like to thank all those involved.