DVB Questions and Answers

Can you tell me the implications of everyone's moving to the DVB carrier? Specifically, what will it cost me at my stations to replace the Wegener radios I have that get Ambassador, Focus, SRN, USA etc. with the new Unity 4000 radios?... what satellite will this stuff be on? Will it be GE3?

All members of the Christian Radio Consortium (CRC) will be on the same DVB carrier. The members are Ambassador, Focus, Moody, SRN, Skylight, USA, and VCY. Further, Focus will be adding a number of ministries to their broadcast schedule. We are remaining on the GE3 satellite at 87º West. Further, Focus has added a number of ministries to their broadcast schedule.

Will there be concurrent service so we can move things over slowly, or are we going to have to do this in a short period of time (less than a week, for example)?

Yes, there is concurrent service.

Will everybody be up and running on both systems around the same time? Since I only have space for one satellite dish I have to move everything on the same day.

Since there is concurrent service, you can use a satellite-grade splitter to feed both your FM² receiver(s) and your new Unity 4000 receiver.
A new "digital-ready" LNB is included as part of the package to install on your dish. That LNB can drive both receivers just fine.

Will I need a new dish -- I have a 2.8 meter dish now?

2.8 meters (9.2 feet) is the minimum size dish for which the carrier is designed. If you have rock solid reception on your present dish, it may be adequate for the new signal. Bigger is better here. A 2.8 meter antenna 's rejection of an adjacent satellite's signal will not be as good as a 3.8 meter antenna. Some antennas more than a few years old, even though they are as large as 5 meters, were not designed for 2º satellite spacing and their rejection is poor. They need to be replaced.

I'm trying to get a budget number together for what it will cost us to move to the DVB service.

A standard receiver has 2 stereo ports (independent left and right outputs for each port) and a 14 contact Relay option card. A port can receive a stereo channel, a mono channel (program audio to both left and right outputs), or a dual mono channel (two independent audio programs, one on the left output and one on the right output). A port can also reverse its left and right outputs. The cost for the standard receiver is $2770.
An option card adds 2 more stereo ports. The cost for the expanded receiver is $3095.

Where do I get the receiver? Also, when do I need to have it?

All members of the CRC have agreed that affiliates need to order their receiver by July 15, 1999. This date was selected to accomodate the 6 to 8 week delivery time of the receiver from Wegener Communications (which accounts for the expected service date in mid-July).
To receive the discounted price quoted above the receiver must be ordered directly through Wegener Communications by calling Bobbie Farmer at (770) 814-4022 or Mike Heimberger at (770) 814-4036. You can also download an order form and get additional information about the UNITY 4000 receiver under the Products - Digital Audio section on the Wegener web site.

With the new system I'm fuzzy as to what I will need to purchase to duplicate what we have or even if I need to duplicate what we have. What would be the minimum requirements?

Any port can be programmed to receive any channel on the carrier. The programming of these ports can be done from either of two methods: the front panel of the receiver, or a serial port on the back of the receiver. While the networks can do so, the CRC members have agreed that we will not be using our control over the receivers to change channels for our affiliates. As selecting a port to receive a channel on your receiver is considered a "station resource", it will be left up to the station. Stations will control station resources.
Keep in mind that the UNITY4000 has audio ports that can operate in dual mono or stereo mode. HOWEVER, dual mono only works with common satellite channels. For instance, you cannot configure your receiver to send Ambassador 1 (AA1) on AUDIO PORT 1-LEFT and SRN 2 (SR2) on AUDIO PORT 1-RIGHT.
There are two ways to cover your stations needs.

Buy enough receivers to cover the programs you currently carry. A 4 port receiver cost just under $3100. In a previous question, they would need four receivers costing $12,400 to cover their 15 programs.
Rarely, if ever, does a station use more the three programs simultaneously. A station need only purchase a single receiver and program the receiver to pick up programs as needed. This programming may be done by one of the following:

Use a PC or automation system to execute serial commands through the RS-232 port on the UNITY4000 and change the configuration of the audio ports "on-the-fly".
Use front panel control to change the configuration of the audio ports.
Use a serial command interface to change the configuration of the audio ports from remotely mounted push buttons. The operator would press one button for instance, and a serial string would be sent to the receiver through the serial port and change the receiver configuration.

We have two stations that may have live satellite programming on at the same time and we may also want to record two other feeds at the same time. Not to mention auditioning a channel for whatever reason.

One thing to keep in mind as you decide how many receivers to purchase.

A channel can only be sent to one output port at a time.

If you share a receiver between two stations, one picking up channels on port 1 and the other on port 3, you could not send SRN News (SNN) to both ports 1 and 3. The same is true for dual mono channels.
A single receiver might be able to handle the above scenarios. But it probably would not be prudent.

... how will cue tones/closures be split between all the new providers. For example, what if I have 8 services that want to send me cue tones/closures. Will I have to buy 8 radios or can 1 radio split up tones/closures from different providers? I guess what I'm trying to figure out is how audio ports and relay contacts work with what we have.

There is a required option card that gives 14 relay contacts for automation/cue control. Tones will no longer be used. These relays are controlled over the satellite signal. You can poll the present status of the relays from the front panel or serial port. Relay contacts are assigned for the various ports.

I'm an affiliate of a full-time service network such as Moody, Salem, or Skylight. How will they possibly be able to continue with just 3 relays for the automation control?

The primary full-time service networks (Moody, Salem, and Skylight) will have 8 out of the 14 relays dedicated to their use. Because each full-time network may have a differing set of relay assignments, a receiver may only be assigned to one full-time network.

So does this mean that I have to dedicate a receiver to that full-time network?

Perhaps. If you are affiliating with a full time network, they will be using relay contacts 7 through 14. Those contacts overlay the contacts that are used for ports 1 and 4. That leaves only ports 2 and 3 available for other channels and their contact closures.

Seems to me the best way to avoid confusion as to which port gets associated with which relay at what time is to have a audio port / relay combination dedicated to every needed audio feed.

There are insufficient relay contacts to assign basic functions for each of the eight possible outputs of a receiver and accommodate the needs of the full-time networks. It would take sixteen relays just to handle the basic functions of Program Begin/End and Break Begin/End.

But you said any receiver that's affiliated with a full-time network has 8 relays dedicated to the full-time network. What relays would I get from the rest of the CRC members?

At present the relay mapping is as follows:

These relay assignments are subject to change as the CRC tests the functionality of the system.

Relay Number	Full time network affiliate	Standard affiliate
Main Chassis-1	Clock sync	Clock sync
Main Chassis-2	unassigned	unassigned
Relay Card-1	Port 3 - Pgm begin/end	Port 3 - Pgm begin/end
Relay Card-2	Port 3 - Primary cue	Port 3 - Primary cue
Relay Card-3	Port 3 - Secondary cue	Port 3 - Secondary cue
Relay Card-4	Port 2 - Left Pgm begin/end	Port 2 - Left Pgm begin/end
Relay Card-5	Port 2 - Left Primary cue	Port 2 - Left Primary cue
Relay Card-6	Port 2 - Right Primary cue	Port 2 - Right Primary cue
Relay Card-7	Relay 1*	Port 2 - Right Pgm begin/end
Relay Card-8	Relay 2*	Port 4 - Pgm begin/end
Relay Card-9	Relay 3*	Port 4 - Primary cue
Relay Card-10	Relay 4*	Port 4 - Secondary cue
Relay Card-11	Relay 5*	Port 1 - Left Pgm begin/end
Relay Card-12	Relay 6*	Port 1 - Left Primary cue
Relay Card-13	Relay 7*	Port 1 - Right Primary cue
Relay Card-14	Relay 8*	Port 1 - Right Pgm begin/end

* Function assigned by full time network

The receiver knows which program you have selected to a particular port. The commands we send to the receiver ask the receiver to fire a relay if a particular channel is on a specific port. The commands says something like this:

If USA Radio Network (US1) is on Port1 then close Relay 11.

closures automatically follows a program to the port you send it to.

In addition, there are two open collector pull downs on the receiver. The first one will be used as a time sync pulse. The sync will occur at 54:30 of each hour.
If you are an affiliate of a full-time network, 8 relays will be assigned to the full-time network. Other relays will be assigned such that you can receive other channels on port 2. Or on ports 2 and 3 if you have purchased the optional audio expansion card.

If we have two receivers, will ONE computer's RS232 port be able to control both?

No, the control port on the back of the receiver is not "addressed". That would mean you would need two serial ports to control two receivers.

Will software be supplied to control the receivers?

No software is supplied. The simplest control of the receiver is a "dumb terminal". Coming up with a program or a "black box" that automates the receiver is not difficult. There are two programs available for purchase. One is SatSked by Burl Updyke at http://www.digital-auto.com/satsked.htm. The other is by Terry Cowan at http://www.knlr.com/unity.htm.

Will the software run in the background and switch channel xxx to port A at a given time?

Yes.

Is anyone at your end and all the others talking with Automation manufacturers to let them control the RX with say, the Wizard?

We have not had much time to talk to the automation manufacturers. The control is a simple ASCII string to a serial port at 19200 baud or 9600 baud.
The command form is "SETAUDIO port route 'program name' attenuation" where:

port is the output port 1 - 4.
route is S for stereo, 1 for the left audio program on both outputs, 2 for the right audio program on both outputs, and R for reversed stereo.
program name is a three-character identifier of a channel.
attenuation a value between 0 and 14, normally 0.

An example is "SETAUDIO 1 S SR1 0<CR>"
Notes:

The command is terminated only with a <CR> (not a <CRLF>). A LF is seen by the UNITY 4000 as an "up-arrow" (WYSE 50) which will recall the last command successfully executed and await another carriage return <CR> to execute it.
That any subsequent commands have at least a 200 msec separation.
Use Serial 1 because of the increased hardware (16 bytes) and software (64 bytes) buffering.
Be aware of the one audio service port limitation. I.E., You can't get Focus 1 left on port 1 and Focus 1 right on port 2 at the same time. The audio will go to the last port assigned, leaving port 1 on a null audio location or on a default location.
Some automation systems have a serial port that can be programmed to send strings at specific times.
For automation systems that have contact closures to control external devices, Broadcast Tools makes a programmable button box (24 buttons) that sends out ASCII strings. Cost is about $300.00. That could interface with the satellite switcher of the Wizard to control the receiver.
Use a sequencer like the PSC/B Programmable Schedule Controller from Broadcast Tools to program and store scheduled events. The PSC/B will generate a serial data string based on its schedule. Unfortunately, the PSC/B would not work directly because its strings are limited to 9 characters. Maybe by sending three commands, the first being the first 9 characters "SETAUDIO ", and the second "1 S SNN" and the third " 0 (carriage return)" the PSC/B could provide up to 30 program selections. Cost is about $425.00.

I can't believe that a weekend part time operator either here or at the send end could be relied on to get any switching right every time. Also there is always the inevitable re-feed of a missed something or other. I can see somebody changing the receiver to get that while it's in the middle of doing something else or not setting it back when done.

It would be very easy to connect the Broadcast Tools button box between your automation system and the receiver to create the same functionality as having up to 24 demods. An operator simply would push a button. That's a whole lot easier than going through the button pushing on the front panel on the receiver. So for attended operation, the PBB-24 would be an excellent idea.

But for walk-away unattended operation, the PBB won't do it. It won't schedule anything. So to get a new audio channel pulled up for the automation to background record in the middle of the night or something similar, you'll need something that will send out RS-232 commands at a certain time. So far, the PSC/B looks like it would be able to generate at least 30 commands for about $425.

Say a stereo feed/channel is being run dual mono. Can one assign the left channel of one of these to the left side of port 1 and the left channel of another one of these to the right side of port 1?

No. Each port can decode a single MPEG elemental stream (what I consistently refer to as a channel in this document). You have separate programs coming out of the left and right outputs of a single port when the channel is being transmitted as dual mono. It will be up to the stations to handle the audio properly during any dual mono feeds.

Spoke to Focus and they say that they will have 3 stereo channels that they will run dual mono most of the time. In that regard I'm wondering what others will be using?

Spacecom contracts the channels in 192Kbps segments. Most networks will broadcast their channels in either stereo or dual mono mode. That is, they will broadcast a program in Stereo on one channel or broadcast two separate programs on one channel. SRN and USA will each take two of their 192kbps segments and broadcast them as four separate channels at 96kbps Mono.

Will each of the "four separate channels at 96kbps Mono" be selectable separately, or will stations need to set it up as something like

SETAUDIO 1 2 SR4 0<CR>"

When the port is decoding a mono channel (not a dual mono) the audio appears on both the left and right outputs. The same signal will always be on both outputs no matter which routing you put in the command string.

I'm still thinking that two receivers with 4 ports each gives me a total of 16 audio outputs which is more than I currently have. But... is that the way it will go or do I need to go with a stereo port per present mono feed?

No. It is a stereo port per mono feed. You would not have 16 separate audio outputs. Channels that are operated as dual mono can be operated either with two closely related programs running or two unrelated programs.
For example, a network may broadcast a commercial version of a program on the left and a non-commercial version on the right. A station would not take both versions simultaneously. The port would be configured to send either the left portion of the channel to both the left and right outputs, or the right portion of the channel to both outputs.
A station will have to wire the two outputs of a port to two separate devices when a channel has two dissimilar programs running concurrently. Otherwise, a station could not receive both programs.

Do you have a list of all the CRC members and the channels they have contracted? Do you know which will be dual mono or stereo?

The audio channels are selected on the receiver by a three character "Program Name". These names have not been finalized yet. The following chart shows what I know at this time:

Provider	Description	Program Name	Bit Rate
Ambassador	Ambassador Advertising Program Channel 1	AA1	192 kbps
	Ambassador Advertising Program Channel 2	AA2	192 kbps
Focus	Focus on the Family Program Channel 1	FN1	192 kbps
	Focus on the Family Program Channel 2	FN2	192 kbps
	Focus on the Family Program Channel 3	FN3	192 kbps
Moody	Moody Program Channel 1	MB1	192 kbps
	Moody Program Channel 2	MB2	192 kbps
Salem	SRN News	SNN	96 kbps
	Salem Radio Network Program Channel 1	SR1	96 kbps
	Salem Radio Network Program Channel 2	SR2	96 kbps
	Salem Radio Network Program Channel 3	SR3	96 kbps
	Salem Radio Network Program Channel 4	SR4	192 kbps
	Today's Christian Music (Salem)	SMA	192 kbps
	The Word in Praise	SMB	192 kbps
Skylight	Skylight Program Channel	SKY	192 kbps
USA	USA Program Channel 1	US1	96 kbps
	USA Program Channel 2	US2	96 kbps
	USA Program Channel 3	US3	96 kbps
	USA Program Channel 4	US4	96 kbps
VCY	VCY Program Channel 1	VC1	192 kbps
	VCY Program Channel 2	VC2	192 kbps

96 kbps channels are always mono - 192 kbps channels can be mono, stereo, joint stereo, or dual mono
In addition, there are the following non-CRC member channels:

Provider	Description	Program Name	Bit Rate
Songtime	Songtime	SGT	128 kbps
KVTT	Research Educational Foundation	REF	192 kbps
	Information Radio Network	IRN	128 kbps
	American Family Radio	AFR	128 kbps
	Sos Network	SOS	192 kbps

So if SRN news is 96kbps and SRN1 is 96kbps does that take two ports (4 audio outputs) or each one on a half a port?

Can you put one radio station on the left channel of your FM receiver and another on the right channel? Of course not, you only have one receiver. Think of each port being a single receiver. It does not matter whether a station is transmitting mono or stereo, you can only pick up one station at a time. It's the same thing for the ports on the Unity 4000. Each port can only receive one channel at a time. Only one channel, as represented by the three character Program Name, can be decoded by an output port. Therefore, taking SRN News (SNN) and USA 3 (US3) does require two ports (4 audio outputs).

I have two stations co-located for which I'd like to use only one receiver. Only thing is, one's a commercial station, and one's a non-com. Will this work?

No. Since many of the networks will likely be sending commands to receivers based on their commercial status, one of your stations will not get the correct relay closures. In this case, it would be best to get two separate receivers.

Why do SRN and USA operate with separate channels?

The benefit is a station does not have to worry about the proper "route" in the SETAUDIO command. Once a mono channel is selected, the same audio will come out of the port regardless of what audio program is selected with the SETAUDIO command string. Therefore, SRN and USA do not have to worry about a program not being aired because an operator put in the wrong routing information.

I'm sitting here watching the snow fall and checking our satellite feed to see if the snow is affecting it. I'm wondering if there is a squelch relay (or similar function) on the new receivers that I can incorporate into the bells and whistles around here.

Yes, there is an alarm relay contact on the main chassis of the receiver. The contact closes on several different conditions. The most important are loss of power and low or no signal.

Well, it seems from everything you say that I will be fine with one receiver for picking up programs from the various networks I use. So is there anything else I'm forgetting?

Maybe so. Remember that with just one receiver picking up all of your satellite programming, you would not have any redundancy in case your receiver were damaged. You would be "putting all your eggs in one basket", so to speak. If your station is heavily dependent on satellite programming, it would be wise to consider buying a second unit as a backup.

Okay, suppose I can't afford a second unit right now. Where will I be able to rent one while getting my unit repaired if it gets damaged?

Wegener will repair units under their standard warranty if there are problems during the warranty period. They have clearly indicated that they are not interested in renting units, or operating any kind of "loaner" program. They only want to act as the manufacturer and repairer of the Unity 4000 receivers.
At this point, we are strongly encouraging stations to purchase a second receiver for redundancy. Being a "just-in-time" manufacturer, Wegener's quoted lead time on ordering a new receiver (they do not maintain a stock of extra receivers on hand) is 6 weeks. Also, they will not sell one and then buy it back or refund your money. As such, you can see that it would not be wise to expect Wegener to provide a receiver quickly in an emergency.
Harris Broadcast has indicated an interest in providing a rental service for the Unity 4000 receivers. While details are not yet finalized, you may be able to rent a unit from them during the repair time.
All in all, a second receiver is your best bet for uninterrupted satellite service.

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