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Thursday, February 25, 2010

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.
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Wednesday, February 3, 2010

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.
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ARCS, Digital Television, and The Future


You have probably heard a lot about Digital Television and the upcoming February deadline when “all TV must be digital”. Well, not exactly. Even after February 2009, ARCS will still be “Analog” and your current TV will work just the same way it does now. You won’t need to make any changes to keep watching because ARCS is a “low-power” television system that is not required by the FCC to convert to digital at this time.

The FCC has required some 1,700 full-power stations nationwide to meet this conversion deadline. However there are nearly 7,000 low-power transmitters across the USA, just like ARCS, which are not yet required to convert. Most of these transmitters serve viewers in rural communities.

ARCS probably will convert to digital in the next three to five years, so eventually you will need to do something. One thing you can do right now is check out the TV Converter Box Coupon Program. Created by Congress, this program allows households to get up to two coupons, each worth $40, for use in obtaining a box that will convert over-the-air digital television signals for viewing on an analog television set. Even though you won’t need a converter to watch ARCS in the near term, you can still get your coupons, use them to purchase converters at the reduced cost, and then keep them for future use. You can find out more at http://www.dtv2009.gov/ or by calling toll free, 888-388-2009.

Meanwhile we continue to work with volunteers across the state, in more than 230 communities, to repair and maintain the ARCS system.

Would you like to help keep ARCS going in your community? Send an email to arcstv@gmail.com.