Apparently-to: scdx@get.pp.se
From: "George Wood" 
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  ::           MediaScan             
  ::      SWEDEN CALLING DXERS       
  ::       from Radio Sweden          
  ::    Number 2280--October 7, 1997    
  ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 
Satellite, shortwave and other electronic media news from Radio
Sweden.
This week's bulletin was written by George Wood.
Packet Radio BID SCDX2280
Updated Web edition at: http://www.sr.se/rs/english/media/
All times UTC unless otherwise noted.
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-
Part 2
LAUNCHES
ARIANE--The launch of Western Europe's second Ariane-5 rocket has been
put back again for more checks to safeguard against a recurrence of
last year's explosion of the first Ariane-5. The European Space Agency
and the French Space Agency say a new launch date in the second half
of October will be announced in early October. Ariane 5 is designed to
carry heavier satellites into orbit. (Reuters) 
The payload of the next launch includes amateur radio's AMSAT Phase 3C
satellite. As we've pointed out before, this satellite will be in an
elliptical orbit, even though the satellite costs as much as a
geo-stationary satellite. This is in keeping with amateur radio's
tradition of being an elite hobby for people with the money for
expensive equipment (like complicated antenna rotor systems), while a
geo-stationary satellite might have actually brought ham satellite
radio to ordinary people.
OTHER LAUNCHES--
ARIANE:
971030: Sirius 2 (Sweden) and Cakrawatra 1 (Indonesia) (V102)
980122: Brazilsat B3 (Brazil)
9802__: Hot Bird 4 (Eutelsat) and BSAT 1B (Japan)
PROTON:
971102: Astra 1G 
971125: Asiasat 3
ATLAS:
971006: Echostar 3 (US)
971201: Galaxy 8I (US)
980303: Sky 2 
980430: Intelsat 806
980604: Intelsat 805
970830: JCSAT 6 (Japan)
DELTA:
980609: Galaxy 10 (US)
980717: Thor 3 (Norway)
("SATCO DX")
INTELSAT--Intelsat 804 (to be launched on 16 Dec.) will surprisingly
be located at 64 degrees East, and not 29.5 West degrees! It will be
tested for about five weeks at the test location at 47 degrees East,
then move to 64 East and replace Intelsat 801. ("SATCO DX")
Instead, Intelsat 803, launched with Ariane's 100th flight on
September 24, will be placed at 27.5 degrees initially, as part of the
plan to seal with the I 605 failure. Eventually, I 803 will replace I
515 at 21.3 degrees West. Among the first users of I 803 will be:
Discovery, TV5 Afrique, MCM Africa, AB Cartoons, EuroNews, Canal Plus
Horizon, Deutsche Welle, RTP International, and RTP Africa. Only 8 of
Ariane's 100 launches have failed. (AP, Reuters, and Intelsat via Curt
Swinehart)
NILESAT--The launch of Nilesat has been moved back from November this
year to January. (Curt Swinehart)
TURKSAT--Turkey's third satellite, Turksat 2A, will be launched in
1999, and will, in conjunction with the previous satellites, extend
broadcasting range from "Western Europe to the Great Wall of China".
According to the Director-General of Turk Telekom: "Aside from Turkish
demand, we have been receiving demands from Europe, the Middle East,
North Africa, and Central Asia. We are forced to launch a third
satellite in response to increasing demands." ("Milliyet" via Curt
Swinehart) Considering that the first two Turksats put a terrible
signal into northern Europe, despite the many Turkish immigrants here,
any such promises will have to be taken with a large grain of salt.
CHINA--China is to launch the US-made ChinaSat-8 in the fourth quarter
of 1998. The 52 transponder satellite was ordered from Loral Space and
Communications Co. (AP)
SEA LAUNCH--The Sea Launch Assembly and Command Ship was formally
named at the Kvaerner Govan Shipyard in Glasgow on September 22. Sea
Launch, a multi-national sea-based commercial satellite launching
venture, comprises two unique vessels: the Assembly and Command Ship
and the Launch Platform, currently at the Kvaerner Vyborg Shipyard in
Russia, and rebuilt from an oil drilling rig at the Kvaerner Rosenberg
shipyard in Stavanger, Norway. The Sea Launch partners include
Norway's Kvaerner ASA, Boeing, Russia's RSC-Energia, and
KB-Yuzhnoye/PO-Yuzhmash from the Ukraine. The first mission will be in
the Fall of 1998 when a Hughes satellite for Panamsat will be
launched. While Sea Launch's home port will be Long Beach, California,
the company has announced that for tax reasons its headquarters will
be in the Cayman Islands. (Curt Swinehart and AP)
CYBERSPACE
MIR/ATLANTIS--The ongoing Mir-Atlantis mission can be observed and
listened to on several different Web sites. The main NASA site is at:
http://shuttle.nasa.gov/ntv/
NASA TV's Space Zone (which seems to be use the VDO viewer, only we
can't get it to work) is at:
http://www.spacezone.com/nasavid/85vid.htm
Timecast has links to RealVideo (which seems to be hard to access) and
RealAudio of NASA-TV at:
http://www.timecast.com/mars/nasa.html
RealAudio is available directly at:
http://www.chron.com/content/interactive/space/missions/live/live.ram
The United Space Alliance has an excellent relay of NASA-TV at:
http://www.unitedspacealliance.com/live/videon.htm
THE SITE--Contrary to the hopes expressed last time, MSNBC's "The
Site" will not be returning to the air. It continues as a Web site,
at:
http://www.thesite.com
IT--The television industry is underestimating the threat to its
programme making from information technology (IT), a News Corp Ltd
executive told an information technology conference in Hungary on
September 29. 
The three-day ETRE 97 conference bringing together the largest number
of chief executives of information technology (IT) companies ever
assembled in Europe is discussing new trends and issues in Internet
technology. IT companies Intel and Microsoft have recently announced
plans to go into content production in preparation for the launch next
year of personal computer television (PCTV), linking the Internet,
text data, video and real time television. 
The president of the News Technology Group of NES Corp Ltd, Greg
Clark, said that the Internet and new digital technology was about to
revolutionise the entertainment industry with PCTV allowing the
customer to choose content and integrate television with text services
and computer games. The first PCTVs will be available next year and
Microsoft has forecast there could be up to 40 million PCTVs around
the world within 18 months. 
"Television was traditionally a 'push' industry with the central
producer deciding what the viewer sees," said Clark. "With new digital
and satellite technology the customer will soon be able to choose from
300 stations -- it's now 'push and pull'." 
Clark predicted that only sport and news will keep the traditional
real- time audiences, but added that digitalization would be
expensive. He estimated the cost to News Corporation's Twentieth
Century Fox Television of conversion to digital broadcasting at USD
500 million. (Reuters)
REALAUDIO/VIDEO--As of September 26, Progressive Networks has
changed its name to RealNetworks. The company makes the RealAudio and
RealVideo software, which is used for 86 percent of the webcasting
market. (Jim Frimmel, MTST mailing list)
SCANNING IN CYBERSPACE--We've reported about the legislation in the US
Congress that would effectively ban the utility listening hobby on
both shortwave and VHF/UHF. Now you can scan via the Internet. For
some months, AudioNet, which is responsible for many of the
broadcasters on the Net, has plugged a scanner monitoring the Dallas
Police to a RealAudio server. After a few months, AudioNet added feeds
from the New York and Los Angeles Police as well. You can find them
all at a new domain:
www.policescanner.com
(Jim Frimmel, MTST mailing list)
SVT--Swedish Television has begun regular news bulletins on its Web
site, including audio and video using RealVideo. Everything is in
Swedish. See:
http://www.svt.se/svt24
("Dagens Nyheter")
-------------------------------------------------------------
Sweden Calling DXers/MediaScan is the world's oldest radio program
about international broadcasting. Radio Sweden has presented this
round- up of radio news, features, and interviews on Tuesdays since
1948. It's currently broadcast on the first and third Tuesdays of the
month.
Through October 25 Radio Sweden broadcasts in English:
Europe and Africa/Middle East: 
Satellite:
12:30 and 17:30 hrs on Eutelsat II-F1 (NBC Europe -- 10.987 GHz, audio
7.56 MHz)
19:30 hrs (21:30 CET) via the World Radio Network on Astra transponder
22 (VH-1) audio 7.38 MHz
Via WRN to Africa and the Middle East on Intelsat 707 3.9115 GHz
Right-hand circular polarization, Symbol Rate 8.022 Mbaud, FEC 3/4, in
MPEG-2, Audio Stream "WRN1", Saturdays only also at 00:30 UTC (02:30
CAT). This can also be heard in South Africa on SAfm 104-107.
The WRN relays can also be heard in South Africa on the MultiChoice
digital direct-to-home service on PanAmSat 4, 68.5 degrees West, Audio
Channel 51.
Shortwave:
17:30 hrs    1179, 6065, and 13800 kHz (Sundays 9590 and 13800)  19:30
       1179 and 6065 kHz  20:30        1179, 6065, and 13625 kHz
(weekends only) 21:30        1179, 6065, and 9430 kHz 
Asia/Pacific:
Satellite:
Via WRN on AsiaSat-2 on 4.000 GHz, Vertical polarization, MPEG-2 DVB,
Symbol Rate 28.125 Mbaud, FEC 3/4 (Select WRN1 from audio menu),
Saturdays only at 00:30 UTC (10:30 AET).
Shortwave:
12:30 hrs    13740 and 15240 kHz
13:30 hrs    13740 kHz
01:30 hrs    9435 kHz
North America:
Satellite:
Via WRN on Galaxy 5 transponder 6 (WTBS), audio 6.8 MHz at 9:30 PM
EST, 6:30 PM PST
Across Canada on CBC Overnight Monday to Friday at 2:05 AM local
time, weekends at 3:05
Shortwave:
11:30 hrs on 11650 and 15240 kHz
13:30 hrs on 11650 and 15240 kHz
02:30 hrs on 7135 kHz
03:30 hrs on 9430 kHz
Latin America:
01:30 hrs on 7290 kHz
Each program Monday to Friday, recorded at 13:30 hrs UTC, is available
in the RealAudio format at:
http://www.sr.se/rs/english/sounds/english.ram
Our World Wide Web page is at:
     http://www.sr.se/rs
An html and a RealAudio version of this bulletin can be found at:
     http://www.sr.se/rs/english/media/scdx.htm
Earlier versions of the bulletins in text and RealAudio or au-format
recordings:
     http://www.sr.se/rs/english/media/media3.htm
Contributions can be sent to DX Editor George Wood by fax to
+468-667-6283 or by e-mail to: george.wood@rs.sr.se
Reports can also be sent to: 
      Radio Sweden 
      S-105 10 Stockholm 
      Sweden 
Contributions should be NEWS about electronic media--from shortwave to
 satellites--and not loggings of information already available from
 sources 
such as the "World Radio TV Handbook". Clubs and DX publications may
reprint material as long as MediaScan/Sweden Calling DXers and the
original contributor are acknowledged. 
We welcome comments and suggestions about the electronic edition,
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And for general questions, comments, and reception reports, our e-mail
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Thanks to this week's contributors            Good Listening!
--- NetMgr 1.00.g4+
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