April 19-20-21 (2007) in Atlanta NOW history!!
(This page updated Otober 17, 2007 -
Pioneer story below!!!) Yes. Nearly 100 people attended the SBE2007 Pioneer Dinner assembled under the guidance of show organizer Marty Bently; video on this month's site includes a presentation by Tom Humphries, ex-SCI, ex-M/A-Com who introduced Coop during the Pioneer dinner. The overall show attendance was below expectations but the Pioneer portion, hosted and funded by Bob Taggart as the remaining original partner in Chaparral, was well attended. Video of portions of the event have been posted (at (part 1) http://www.satelliteguys.us/ sbe1.wvx and (part 2) http://www.satelliteguys .us. sbe2.wvx). The full video is not presently available - minus some interesting original satellite folk songs by Dr H. Paul Schuch and other material. We are working on making that available at a later date. You can obtain a written copy of SatFACTS Monthly magazine (FREE!) with a more extensive review of the SBE2007 "show" and observations concerning the future of SBE shows by emailing Coop as skyking@clear.net.nz - the June 2007 issue.
Note: SBE 2007 West scheduled for October 10-13 in Reno (Nevada) was cancelled by email notice October 8th catching many exhibitors and attendees in transit. It is highly unlikely Marty Bently's future shows (Kentucky was planned for April 2008) will now occur. This would appear to be the end of the last of the independent trade shows for the satellite TV industry. Any future C-Band involved shows are now pretty much a moot point; Marty leaves the show circuit owing many independent suppliers and exhibitors significant monies for services that have not been performed.
ONE of the interesting side effects from SBE2007 and the later Dayton Hamfest (in Ohio May 18-20) was the unexpected appearance of a treasure trove of mid to late 80s satellite programming recorded by enthusiasts from the K-SAT, Keith Lamonica (FMA) and Shaun Kenny broadcasts. A Canadian researcher is leading the effort to meld all of this post-scrambling era material into a book format to be called something like C-Band: The Turbulent Years . Hundreds (literally) of hours of Chuck Dawson, Keith Lamonica and Shaun Kenny have been located, creating a historical "bed" for the underway scholarly study. We will keep you advised and if you also have some of these shows on tape, we would very much like to hear from you (skykling@clear.net.nz).NOTE: Keith Lamonica (FMA) shows are in particular missing here. Note October 2007: Our Canadian friend (we will refer to him as DL ) has recreated more than thirty hours of Boresight and Greensheets at this point - which we have here in New Zealand. An additional ten-plus hours are in progress. If YOU have ANY hours of Boresight, Green Sheets, Doug Dehnert's USS Maspro on VHS tape, in the interest of creating an archival pool of the C-band history please contact us at skyking@clear.net.nz! Dehnert, by the way, remains alive and well currently in South Texas in his 40' + motor home following the 70 degree line which departed his northern Minnesota home some time ago!
Satellite Expo: What it was all about (YES - YOU missed it!)
Back in 1979, a group of more than 500 gathered in Oklahoma City to be exposed to the latest technology in satellite reception systems. Prior to this first-ever "Satellite Private Terminal Seminar," only cable TV and broadcasters were utilizing the early Westar and RCA satellites for transmission of television and radio programming in a field that launched with the telecast of a professional boxing match from the Philippines in September 1976. What made this gathering unique was its' focus on much smaller (C-band) satellite dishes which enterprising home workshop inventors were creating throughout North America. This was the start of "home dishes" - as small as 4 feet in diameter at a time when cable and broadcast users mistakenly believed a dish must be at least 14 feet in diameter to produce quality reception. Dozens, soon hundreds of small American and Canadian businesses formed to participate in this brand new industrial revolution and between 1979 and 1985, 'C-band TVRO' became a major new business activity attracting as many as 10,000 to thrice-annual trade shows while the sale and installation of home dishes peaked at around 75,000 per month in 1984. Satellite Expo 2007 honored these nearly forgotten "C-band Pioneers" April 19-20 in a special tribute woven into America's largest annual independent satellite trade show. The gathering attracted more than 100 "old-timers" including many of the technology creators who developed the hardware and reception systems, which laid the foundation for today's Ku-band small dish services.
At Atlanta a brand new book by Coop was introduced - "C-Bnd Remembered." More than 20 pioneers from the 80s nd prior have written their own short-form memoirs revealing how their individual early day entry into the world of C-band happened. Included are stories from Mark Long, Geroge Bell, Mike Kohl, Dr H. Paul Shuch, Jim Vines, Tim Alderman, Bob Behar, Doug Dehnert, Larry James, Ellen Shelburne, Clyde Washburn, Bob Taggart and dozens more. As of June 30, this book (US$20 postage paid inside USA)is available on this site - see Order Form.
"I have often wondered what happened to Coop - so good to see you alive and well in NZ! I just now found out about the Atlanta show and will be there if nothing serious comes up. David Brough stayed with us for 2 or 3 months a few years back, was working on a small swimming pool idea for exercise. In 1989 I built a new cable TV system here in Salem, my son Monty owns it and is doing OK. The main dish is a 16 foot '8-BALL'; HA! I thought this would be my last major project but in 2002 I bought 80 of the old AT&T tower sites, got the towers, land, buildings and everything in the buildings - paid scrap prices and gonna do OK on these. These are huge 175-360 foot high four legged towers - really BIG!" Haden McCullough, Salem, Arkansas
"Reunion? What a great idea! Hell yes, I will come to Atlanta next April. If nothing else, I should perform my song, 'The Satellite Rebellion' there. And, I have a few stories for the book just waiting to be set down. Everyone of us knows at least one other 'pioneer era' person and we should make it a point to send them to this site and have them register their contact details." H. Paul Shuch, N6TX, Microcomm Consulting
"I will scan and Email a picture of the very first Tracker IV with a Drake 240 (yes - interfaced!) along with the (in)famous Duck that I would take on the road with me. I will be at the reunion in Atlanta! As a note: Taylor Howard and I got thrown out of a bar in Oklahoma City for having a lively debate - the subject of which I do not recall - during the first SPTS (79)." Robert Partain CISR
Death of a pioneer. Robert M. Richardson, known worldwide by his amateur radio callsign W4UCH, has died at age 79 in Ft Lauderdale, Florida. Richardson was instrumental in pioneering 10 GHz microwave technology, authoring "The GunnPlexer Cookbook" (1981) and participating in several Coop arranged seminars dealing with this topic in the 70s. Richardson was also the motivating force behind 'DeSug', the private co-operative effort to demystify the Microwave Associations 'Videocipher' technology circa 1986-1987. He also appeared on numerous Shaun Kenny 'Boresight' TV programs of that era as a spokesman for the DeSug effort. He was planning to attend the 'C-Band Reunion' in April 2007 and will be sorely missed.
Yet another Pioneer death. David Barker, the origintor of the TVRO image cancel mixer receiver first introduced during the San Jose (California) July 1980 SPTS has died of a heart attack at his home in Washimgton state. He is survived by a son, 17, Michael. David's creative design radically altered the complexity and cost of C-band receivers; manufacturer KLM turned the design into an early best selling receiver and propelled KLM to become one of the top selling hardware firms. He wrote technical articles for Coop's Satellite Digest from time to time and our July Perspective #1 contained one of these.
Still searching for "Boresight Program" VHS videotapes - any at all but in particular one or more featuring Shaun's infamous "yellow rain" segments with the M/A Com IRDs. Can you help? Contact Coop directly at skyking@clear.net.nz. April's "Classic Video" contained an example of "Yellow Rain ; more excerpts will be featured here in future editions of this site." Update August 28: There are now slightly over 100 hours of Shaun's programming in the hands of an archiver, some of which may prove to be duplicates of other material already on hand. This project is producing real results and will be the foundation for a new book by a Canadian researcher - "C Band - The Turbulent Years".
This month's (October-November) detective work. Can you help us locate Alli Lake, Rod Wheeler, David Johnson/Paraclipse?? This page last updated 28 August 2007. We had one lead on Rod Wheeler (Norsat) but no sign of him yet! Alli Lake was the youngster who uncloaked Videocipher (video). Oh yes - we are pleased to report previous-missing-person USS Maspro's Doug Dehnert is alive, well, in extreme northern Minnesota.
This month's History Story is a reflection on the antics of ABC's Max Robinson who, in the early 80s, helped the industry sell many hundreds - nay thousands - of dish systems to bars and clubs. Max was the king of unrehearsed major network (ABC) news presentation and those who had a C-band dish in his era were seldom disappointed with his "off air" antics. The "copy" here is from an email exchange involving Coop and members of the Worldwide TV FM DX Association (WTFDA). Tim Cronin is a Chicago based long distance TV reception hobbyist.
Click Here to view "Some Old Timer Stories" and before leaving go upper left home and review the wealth of C-band historical data available exclusively on this site!