LB> People who have a C-band dish and a 286+ not in use 24 hours a day
  LB> (like, while sleeping or working) can aim them at G4/6 and get the
  LB> 9600 bps Skylink datastream on a subcarrier (listen at ~7.26 MHz)
  LB> continually streaming in the serial port. And of course this TVRO
  LB> echo is among the Fido echoes coming in that stream (and shareware,
  LB> TV Agent listings, weather, news, etc). A subscription to Skylink
  LB> (or Planet Connect, 19200-128000 bps) includes a subscription to
  LB> TV Agent.
 BL> And HOW Much is this service from Sky' and PC now ?
Same as always -- Skylink        $ 96/year         + $149 decoder
                  Planet Connect $360/year (basic) + $299 decoder
 BL> Is there still a seperate data-interface needed ??
 BL> Will it connect to the 'baseband' of my Sierra III,
Yes, I'm pretty sure, but for tech support you should ask Planet
Connect/Skylink (423) 623-8300.
 BL> so I can program the IRD to come on and switch to the
 BL> Sat/Xpndr on a daily event and have my computer exit
 BL> the mailer at a certain time and receive this info
 BL> and then go back to it's normal job ???
If you're running a BBS you probably want ALL the Fido echos, so
Planet Connect would be better (Skylink carries only about 50 of the
echos, and no USENET.) Planet Connect customers usually keep a dish
and computer dedicated to the datastream. There are semaphores and
exit flags sent to help you exit at key points (like after the Fido
mail) if you don't mind missing the next few files while you toss.
Many PC customers have a network, so a different computer watches
for the semaphore and starts tossing without interrupting the receiving
computer. I wouldn't recommend trying to switch in and out at specific
times because (with a couple of exceptions) transmission times vary
considerably, depending on how many files are sent thru the filebone
that day, how much Usenet there is, etc.
 BL> At only 9600, it seems like it would take a L-O-N-G time
 BL> to receive ALL that data from IFN and internet, plus the
 BL> TV-Agent, weather and News... ?!?
Right, that would be impossible. But TV listings, weather, and news
come many (5+?) times a day; Usenet is not carried on Skylink.
 BL> I can probably dedicate a 121 meg SCSI HD and COM Port
 BL> on my 386/33 for this, if that would be enough ...
The machine is fast enough and a COM port is what you need for Skylink
or the 19200 Planet Connect feed; better ask Planet Connect Tech
Support about the 128000 feed. You'd fill up the hard disk quickly if
you're saving the files, but if you're just after Fido mail and
Usenet, and toss daily, that would work.
 BL> I seem to recall there being a problem with downlink data
 BL> reliability from PC here a while back, has that been fixed ?
I didn't see any errors in the first Fido feed this morning, or when
it was repeated; looking back thru the log I see there was an error in
one bundle last night. (Was it my local reception problem or a
transmission error that affected everybody on 19200? I don't know.)
But the bundle was repeated without a problem this morning. Yesterday
there was one error in the second feed, but I already had the file
correct from the first feed. There was one error in the first feed
yesterday morning, but it was in a bundle that had been received
correctly the first time the night before. It's fairly rare that I
have to freq or ftp to get a missed Fido bundle, since they're usually
repeated 3+ times on 19200 (more often on 128000.) Skylink errors are
not as frequent.
There is a PLANET_CONNECT echo that may be a better place for some of
your questions; I just mentioned Planet Connect here because you get a
subscription to TV Agent included with a subscription to PC, and the
TV listings are included in the PC feed. (Ditto for Skylink.)
... TV Agent - customized display of listings from FTP - $24.95/yr 
423-623-8300
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