ANIK F2 - Thy End Is Near

[Keith Brannen]

thanks for the info checked cottage life and have good signal thats relaxing me will the rest of the f1 do the same and not leave my reciever?

As far as I am aware, from what I have read, it sounds like this measure will either slow or stop the move from F2 for a while. Definitely is a step in the right direction for those south of the border, for now. Of course, once F2 goes into a more inclined orbit you may have signal loss at times, but hopefully these changes will mitigate or completely compensate for it.

What signal quality did you get on Cottage Life? On my 630 receiver, on a 60e dish, is at 95-96.

 

[modefan63]

i have signal as good i cant remember how to get the number readings on the remote i get the arrow down above the guide button on the remote

 

[Buckeye J]

Earlier I mentioned an option to stream my full shaw tv account with all my channels using Shaw's bluecurve app on my firestick. The app is available to all Shaw customers. The ExpressVPN regular service VPN is, I think, a shared Canadian ip adress amongst many users. Would a dedicated IP address from a VPN provider that is exclusive to you work or would Shaw still likely pick up that a vpn is being used?

 

[Keith Brannen]

i have signal as good i cant remember how to get the number readings on the remote i get the arrow down above the guide button on the remote

Press the red "A" button, then Settings Menu (looks like a gear), then Status (far right), then System Status, which will show the tuner Signal Levels, and then press the red "A" button (Tune in Satellite Signal).

This screen will not only show the signal quality, but also the satellite as well as whether it is PSK8 or QPSK. Type in a channel number to see the signal/modulation for that channel. Each time you enter a channel number, it switches tuners.

 

[harshness]

Having been a DISH customer when their old 129W satellite (Echostar 5?) was "wobbling", I had to install a 30" wing dish and I'm solidly in their footprint.

In any case, this new mitigation scheme may ad 2-4 months but that doesn't answer the question of what comes next.

 

[nelson61]

Having been a DISH customer when their old 129W satellite (Echostar 5?) was "wobbling", I had to install a 30" wing dish and I'm solidly in their footprint.

In any case, this new mitigation scheme may ad 2-4 months but that doesn't answer the question of what comes next.

November 29, 2022, at 1-4 AM MST: All remaining ANIK F2 transponders – with the exception of F2/T2 – will implement modulation scheme change to DVB-S QPSK 2/3 FEC. F2/T2 which will remain in Turbo 8PSK 2/3 FEC until Spring 2023.

And they are referring to their customers within Canada.
As the signal becomes weaker in the signal fringe area, customers use larger dishes.
It is counter intuitive, but as the dish get bigger to increase the receiver signal, the beam focal point becomes much smaller and any wobble in the satellite will create the intermittent signal problem as the lnb drifts in and out of focus.

 

[harshness]

November 29, 2022, at 1-4 AM MST: All remaining ANIK F2 transponders – with the exception of F2/T2 – will implement modulation scheme change to DVB-S QPSK 2/3 FEC. F2/T2 which will remain in Turbo 8PSK 2/3 FEC until Spring 2023.

Spring 2023 starts in less than four months (March 20th).

And they are referring to their customers within Canada.

I get that though I would point out that the issue that we're currently discussing is regarding the southern territory.

I was comparing what DISH did with what Shaw/Telesat is planning to do. The situations seem quite similar though I'm not familiar with what it takes to assemble a suitably large Shaw dish combination unless the 75E dish suffices and even that would be a pretty epic endeavor for many given the rather short-term need and the season.

 

[Keith Brannen]

Spring 2023 starts in less than four months (March 20th).

If you read the sentence correctly, it says that the F2/T2 transponder will remain in Turbo 8PSK 2/3 FEC until Spring 2023, suggesting that after that it may change modulation. There is nothing at all to suggest that all the transponders will shut down then, which you seem to be implying.

I was comparing what DISH did with what Shaw/Telesat is planning to do. The situations seem quite similar though I'm not familiar with what it takes to assemble a suitably large Shaw dish combination unless the 75E dish suffices and even that would be a pretty epic endeavor for many given the rather short-term need and the season.

Did DISH change the modulation of its transponders to help mitigate the situation? Stronger signal quality and a change to a modulation that allows for a greater drop in signal quality before the digital cliff kills it, is important and should, hopefully, help those in the south. Will have to wait and see once the satellite is in a more inclined orbit.

As far as dish size, I would assume that most in the south (especially those further from the border) would already be using the 75e dish rather than the 60e.

 

[Keith Brannen]

Just did a test with my system, here are the results:

The transponder which changed to DVB-S QPSK 2/3 FEC, for me, and others who checked the signal (most in Canada) saw an increase of about 10. When blocking the signal to see when it crapped out, the signal required 45 or more to remain solid, below that came pixelation and eventual loss of signal.

Checking a Turbo 8PSK 2/3 FEC transponder and blocking the signal showed that it required 60 or more to remain solid.

So, with the new modulation, not only is there an increase in signal quality of around 10 (YMMV), but probably more importantly it also could drop another 15 before it craps out. So quite a bit of additional leeway, hopefully enough for those south of the border when the satellite goes into a more inclined orbit.

 

[tkillian]

why wont this work with a good vpn:

• BlueCurve TV App - Shaw Direct​

  https://www.shawdirect.ca › english › programming › b...
  
  
  
  At the lake or on a flight, the BlueCurve TV app lets you download and stream on the go, cast with Chromecast or watch with your Amazon Fire TV device5.

 

[harshness]

why wont this work with a good vpn:

It might but someone has to test it before anyone knows for sure and even then, only for the time being.

To assume that Shaw and others who offer licensed streaming content doesn't have their eyes on VPNs is folly. As some have already noted, some VPNs are being excluded by other streaming services and it is reasonable to assume that the exclusion of VPNs is going to become an even bigger issue going forward.

 

[tkillian]

but shaw makes money from us southerners whether its by satillite or blue curve. we pay either way and i dont know why they are willing to throw away that revenue.

 

[harshness]

but shaw makes money from us southerners whether its by satillite or blue curve. we pay either way and i dont know why they are willing to throw away that revenue.

For the very simple reason that Shaw only licenses much of the content for exhibition only in Canada and casting it outside of Canada is a violation of that licensing.

 

[tkillian]

and yet all american tv is available in canada.

 

[modefan63]

sad Directv had 5 canadian stations in 1998 i i first got it now none its is unfair its a mess

 

[stecle]

and yet all american tv is available in canada.

Actually no. ESPN for example isn't available and there are many more. There are also Canadian versions of the American channels like HGTV, that have different programming.

 

[JD1003]

I am in southern Wisconsin and 260 is screaming!! Signal strength of 99, EcbNo: 11.1. MSNBC (260) is the only channel in that list that is subscribed by me. Don't watch it though since I get that on Direct. I have a 75E dish. My G1 signals average 89-92 with EcbNo's 10.1-10.6. Whatever happens I am not worried about loosing anypart of my Shaw channels.

 

[harshness]

and yet all american tv is available in canada.

You should acquaint yourself with the CRTC's Broadcasting Act that requires (with some exceptions) that a relatively large percentage (35%?) of Canadian content (content made by and for Canadians) must be present on content distributed in Canada.

 

[Buckeye J]

It might but someone has to test it before anyone knows for sure and even then, only for the time being.

To assume that Shaw and others who offer licensed streaming content doesn't have their eyes on VPNs is folly. As some have already noted, some VPNs are being excluded by other streaming services and it is reasonable to assume that the exclusion of VPNs is going to become an even bigger issue going forward.

Harshness - from my testing you're 100% accurate. Over the last couple weeks I've come to the conclusion my dish and receiver here in the Phoenix area will become useless once everything moves to the G1 satellite. I've tested the Shaw Bluecurve app on my firestick. If you try to find the app in the app store without a vpn showing your location in Canada, you won't find it. Turn on the vpn, locate your IP in Toronto, Montreal etc. and you can find Bluecurve to load on your firestick. My testing used a good vpn called ExpressVpn. I was able to get into the app but it won't play anything. Just gave me an error code. I was able to load various Canadian network apps separately (CTV, Global, Sportsnet) and they will work but to have all your channels under one Bluecurve app - no success ...

 

[stonemountain]

Harshness - from my testing you're 100% accurate. Over the last couple weeks I've come to the conclusion my dish and receiver here in the Phoenix area will become useless once everything moves to the G1 satellite. I've tested the Shaw Bluecurve app on my firestick. If you try to find the app in the app store without a vpn showing your location in Canada, you won't find it. Turn on the vpn, locate your IP in Toronto, Montreal etc. and you can find Bluecurve to load on your firestick. My testing used a good vpn called ExpressVpn. I was able to get into the app but it won't play anything. Just gave me an error code. I was able to load various Canadian network apps separately (CTV, Global, Sportsnet) and they will work but to have all your channels under one Bluecurve app - no success ...

Thanks for this observation. I've had the same problem when trying to use Shaw's FreeRange TV on a PC. My VPN appears seems to offer access and load a list of channels, but I get an error message whenever I try to view video. Until now, I wasn't sure if this was due to an idiosyncracy in my computer or browser, but it sounds like this is intentional on Shaw's part. Grrrrr....