No TV at all?

transmitting facility is

TV.

present

antenna

ABC and

translators only

disappears from

plans to replace

satellite TV,

What about free-to-air satellite? The packages seem to be quite reasonable these days, and you get a couple of commercial channels, and about 4 discrete time zones of ABC & SBS. Once you've paid for the smart-card (approx $80), you dont pay any ongoing charges.

Most of remote Australia have had satellite dishes for television for over

12 years; no alternative to get tv. If there's a group of you, you can set up a satellite downlink at the point on the hill where your translator currently is. Many towns in outback australia did this setup a number of years ago to give everyone television.

The set-top box and the dishes are usually the same as Austar Satellite (come off the same satellite), but its got a different polarization of the feed horn in the dish.

I'd be astounded you cant set up satellite TV for under a grand all up for a personal home system. Could be a lot less if you hunt around. I've seen a few packages for as low as ~$650 some time last year. Probably a few more grand if you were re-distributing, but a lot of people have already done what you talk about with satellite, which is pretty much the same quality as a set-top box(if not re-bradcasting).

Cheers,

Rod.......Out Back

Digital translators are already being deployed.

"Hercules Smackbottom"

** Very simple matter to supply a STB type decoder to the translator site and use the video and audio it produces to drive the existing transmitter there. ** Did Henny Penny tell you the sky was falling in too ???? ** No need to replace them - normal analogue TV transmitters are used now to broadcast digitally encoded signals. Only minor modifications would be needed to a translator site to go digital.

............ Phil

Does it ??? Is there any site where analogue translaters have been turned off but digital hasnt appeared ?

I know there is no way you can add any new ones, but they didnt turn any off ??

If there is, the hitch may be that the thing has to be turned off to allow the transmission of digital at the main transmitter, but the digital hardware is not ready to go (backlog on supply of equipment due to need for repeaters all over the world ... no one is going to build a large assembly line for them !)

Sure.

and and for more info. ABA,ACA and tv stations install some, local councils and community groups have installed others, some paid for by black spot funding, others paid for by the local community somehow.

sells the optus aurora free to air satellite tv service access card. You do have to pay for the satellite equipment, but its a once of cost... Can be trouble if they say you cant get it because the area you live in isnt allowed to get aurora .... the local tv stations dont want to lose viewers to the aurora service...so the aurora service is not licensed for use in many areas that the ground tv stations claim to cover...

where?? - is there a listing somewhere? Us mugs in parts of greater western area of Sydney have to put up with installing large masts and hi-gain antennas to suck signals out of Nth Sydney or Wollongong. Go figure why we haven't had translators before.... probably a few votes in it as well but the dopey pollies can't see that.

Junee has a digital repeater

David

Hercules Smackbottom wrote:

facility is

present

only

from

to replace

satellite TV,

This web site tells all... many digital translators either operating or under test.

Click on ?reception news?

The ATA were were quick to install analog translators in our area Given the nature of our topography, they do a pretty good job. Here?s hoping the same thing goes for digital.

Passive repeaters? Simply mount an aerial on the hill pointing at the tower, and couple it to another one pointing down the hill to you. No amplification needed, this is a standard solution that gets used a bit in the country.

Yes! I have a site all picked out, but abandoned the idea when the four analog translators came into service. At this stage I have no permission to use the site but it shouldn't be too much trouble.

I don't know about you, but people say I'm dreaming when I mention passive repeaters, couldn't possibly work! I've successfully installed about four of them over the years, all in the USA.

That's because they aren't aware of how it is achieved. Any antenna that can be used as a receiver can also be used as a transmitting antenna. The only cost is in the antenna, and a bit of coax. Plus labour to install it.