Nice experience with FOX feed truck

[glen4cindy]

We had a tragedy this morning down the street from me. A house exploded from a so far unknown source. Thankfully, there was NO ONE home at the time, so no loss of life, and only 1 minor nearby injury.

This afternoon, a FOX truck with a large dish on top pulled down the street. I went and talked to the operator about the FOX live feeds, and he invited me into his truck and showed me all of his equipment! He is going to be uplinking to G 16 at 99 W. He told me to come down at 4:30 CST and he'll give me the uplink frequency.

I was talking to him about FTA and how much fun it is to scan for live wild feeds and he seemed really interested in talking to me.

I just thought it was cool that he was so receptive to me and even offered to give me the uplink feed satellite and the downlink frequency.

Just wanted to share that. I hate that so many homes were damaged by this awful tragedy but, there was no loss of life, and that is the main thing.

Check out St. Louis News | FOX2now.com | - KTVI if you are interested in streaming video. They had helicopters circling for hours and still have microwave news vans parked down the street. FOX is the only source so far that I have seen with a BUD uplink truck.

 

[goaliebob99]

Way cool, If i could get a job doing something like that I would dump my day job so quickly. I wonder what it takes to be an uplink operator like that for a mobile uplink truck. Cant be that hard as in the army we used GPS and the computer did it for us. Allthough im one of the only few people who could actually do it by hand.

 

[glen4cindy]

Yeah, everything was automatic.

He dialed up G 16 and the dish just raised up and pointed over to it. He showed me a scope that told him he was on G 16 and it showd the active transponders that were live feeds from other FOX feeds wherever.

This would be a terrific job! He was surprised at how much I knew about what was going on. I learned it all here, and scanning birds, and watching Lyngsat!

I'm fixing to run back down there where he is going to give me the downlink frequency and symbol rate so I can dial it up on my FTA dish.

 

[goaliebob99]

Hey if you can ask him how he got the job and what he had to do to get it.

 

[glen4cindy]

He was pretty busy, but, he gave me this:

G 16
11825 H 3979

Going to dial it in right away! He said they would be hot at 4:40 CST

 

[voomvoom]

I got this on and it's currently WFXT Boston.... just died and it was 4:2:2

 

[glen4cindy]

That's why I couldn't get it!

Our news starts at 5PM CST so, it may be live soon.

I am doing a blind scan now to see if my LNB is a little off, but, I tried a manual 5 points on either side of 11825..............

I'm sure the guy knew what he was talking about.......unless he was snowing me, but, I doubt it................

I'll chck in a few mins, because they should be using it. Since FOX leases that maybe it was in use by another FOX until just before 5 here............

 

[voomvoom]

Now you story is on KTPI, I think it disappeared before I could write it down
this one is regular video... Fox 2

 

[glen4cindy]

It's live now on the original numbers I just gave.................

 

[voomvoom]

man that house is history

 

[digiblur]

The uplink truck I saw you had to dial in the everything by hand. Then make sure you were on the right bird before you started transmitting by looking for known feeds. Still pretty cool. Start applying at TV stations if you want that job.

I also asked about the captain midnight stuff. He said it could happen in the digital world as there is nothing unique about the signal. So you double and triple check you are on the right bird.

 

[glen4cindy]

The uplink truck I saw you had to dial in the everything by hand. Then make sure you were on the right bird before you started transmitting by looking for known feeds. Still pretty cool. Start applying at TV stations if you want that job.

I also asked about the captain midnight stuff. He said it could happen in the digital world as there is nothing unique about the signal. So you double and triple check you are on the right bird.

Only kidding about Capt. Midnight!

This truck looked to be pretty automated. He had a panel where he could dial up all of the ones we would be used to, he showed me that.

What is strange, is that he is right down the street, in a straight line. His dish looks to be further west that mine is, and we are both on G 16. Must just be how it looks from two different locations, he is on the street and I am in the back yard, he is much higher, mine is much lower to the ground. I do know that my dish must need to be tweaked, the quality signal is not much above 50% and bumping the dish east/west makes no difference, so the elevation might be off a bit. The other sats seem somewhat low except for NASA on 119, but, I know that one is way more powerful than the rest of the Ku birds.

He said to do his job you have to like working very long and very strange hours. He said he was in Springfield IL yesterday, worked 21 hours, back to work today, been here much of the afternoon and will be up into the late evening, and has to work all day tomorrow because the TV station he's with are moving the facilities tomorrow. We are just outside of St. Louis, MO. So, if you like long weird hours, I guess that would be a good job.

Anyway, that house is gone and I know the one to the east is gone too. Lots of damage to all the windows, the house has no more ceilings in it, most of the garage is gone, and it has been pushed off the foundation. Just good that everyone in the blast house was gone when it happened.

 

[Larry1]

The house sounds as if there was a gas explosion. A few years ago, in the town where I live, one of the houses exploded beacuse of gas. Nobody killed or seriously injured, but there was only the framing standing 3 to 5 feet above the ground left from a 2 story house. Earlier, they had a gas dryer installed, and it was found to be the cause. One friend 5 or 6 houses up the street had about $500.00 damage to his siding. Another had his car door open and the car was covered inside with fiberglass insulation. Only very lucky there were no serious injuries.

 

[Diamond Jim]

I had an experience sorta like this years ago. I got off work and was walking to my car. When I got to Hulman Center I noticed that Indiana State had a game and there was an uplink truck setting there. I walked over and stuck my head in the door and ask what the feed location was. The guy told me it was on Telestar 4. At game time I went to T4, ran through the TPs and there was the game. This had to be around 1986 or 87.

 

[toucan-man]

The house sounds as if there was a gas explosion. A few years ago, in the town where I live, one of the houses exploded beacuse of gas. Nobody killed or seriously injured, but there was only the framing standing 3 to 5 feet above the ground left from a 2 story house. Earlier, they had a gas dryer installed, and it was found to be the cause. One friend 5 or 6 houses up the street had about $500.00 damage to his siding. Another had his car door open and the car was covered inside with fiberglass insulation. Only very lucky there were no serious injuries.

I was two blocks from a house explosion a number of years ago, the force of the sound wave creates a powerful strange sensation inside of you, one you wouldn't ever likely forget. Nerve wracking. How people survive war zones is beyond me. The explosion only cracked one window on the home where I was staying, but the houses across the street nearest to the blast sustained enough damage to make them uninhabitable.

I didn't stick around for the news trucks to arrive from the state capital. I went for a long drive that afternoon to try to put the day's event out of mind.

 

[jwgreen68]

The house sounds as if there was a gas explosion. A few years ago, in the town where I live, one of the houses exploded beacuse of gas. Nobody killed or seriously injured, but there was only the framing standing 3 to 5 feet above the ground left from a 2 story house. Earlier, they had a gas dryer installed, and it was found to be the cause. One friend 5 or 6 houses up the street had about $500.00 damage to his siding. Another had his car door open and the car was covered inside with fiberglass insulation. Only very lucky there were no serious injuries.

Or meth lab!

 

[SpiffWilkie]

Or meth lab!

Oh. I had a high school teacher who was arrested for having a meth lab in his house. The garage caught fire. Good times.

 

[glen4cindy]

The house sounds as if there was a gas explosion. A few years ago, in the town where I live, one of the houses exploded beacuse of gas. Nobody killed or seriously injured, but there was only the framing standing 3 to 5 feet above the ground left from a 2 story house. Earlier, they had a gas dryer installed, and it was found to be the cause. One friend 5 or 6 houses up the street had about $500.00 damage to his siding. Another had his car door open and the car was covered inside with fiberglass insulation. Only very lucky there were no serious injuries.

I'm about 8 houses away, and I have some damage. Probably not $500, but, that is yet to be seen when the adjuster comes by. The ceiling of my paito overhang has buckled in several places.

There are at least 2 to 3 houses right by the blast house that will probably need to be razed and rebuilt as they have significent damage and may have shifted from the foundations. Many houses 5 to 7 away have had windows, doors and garage doors blown off.

St. Louis News | FOX2now.com | - KTVI

Pontoon Beach house explosion

This is certainly a new thing to me. I've found wild feeds before, but, this is my first chance to talk to an uplink operator in his truck, and I hope the last under such circumstances.

Hope the links above are not against policy. Just wanted folks who missed the live feeds to see what we are living thru around here.

 

[Inno]

Oh. I had a high school teacher who was arrested for having a meth lab in his house. The garage caught fire. Good times.

Hmmm, you're either from Northern Minnesota or that's something common amongst high school teachers.