143
—
07-08/2013 —
TELE-audiovision International —
全球发行量最大的数字电视杂志
from the new group of Ka band
satellite DXers who have succeed-
ed in receiving signals from Ka
band transponders in the 21.2 to
22.2 GHz range from Eutelsat 7A
(7.0°E) and Eutelsat 16A (16.0°E)
in Central Europe. Direct feeds
from African providers can be re-
ceived from those transponders.
What makes matters even more
interesting: Those transmissions
are free to air, which is great news
for people from Africa living in Eu-
rope. Channels from Angola, Sen-
egal and Congo are available this
way, among others.
Unfortunately, however, it’s not
all gold:
1) Symbol rates are consistently
low, in the 1000 to 2150 range.
This means that some receivers
may not be able to actually pro-
cess those signals. This is one of
the reasons why we always look at
receiver behaviour with low sym-
bol rates in TELE-audiovision test
reports.
2) Ka band LNBs for the 21.2
to 22.2 GHz range are currently
very hard to get. They are only
produced in small numbers for
professional applications, which
means you might have to accept
long delivery times.
One thing is for sure: The Ka
band is becoming an ever more
interesting reception range and
creates a new playground for sat-
ellite DXers who are through with
everything the C and Ku bands
have to offer.
Comparison
Ku (10.7-12.7GHz) vs
Ka (19.7-20.2GHz)
Each pair shows the respective
satellite in the Ku-Band (10.7 GHz
– 12.7 GHz) and in the Ka-Band
(19.7 GHz to 20.2 GHz). Notice that
a valid signal requires an RF level
above approximately -59 dBm.
Eutelsat 9A at 9.0E contains 4
transponders in the Ka-Band,
which belong to the TooWay
satellite based internet service.
Using the KWS VAROS 109 it
was possible to see a Ka-Band
transponder on Hotbird at 13.0E.
I received some feedback with a
satellite modem, but since I have
no valid subscription, I could not
further test the reception.
