With a special thanks to PEACESAT, IEPAS' RAPIDCast broadcast and service is now operational. The broadcast has been running on GE23 via Pactel for sometime, however, we have been testing and needed to prove a ground station. PEACESAT assembled a station at their facilities in Hawaii earlier. Today we were able to confirm receipt of test files, after some minor changes to the broadcast and ground station client setup. IEPAS will be working with partners for the remainder of the calendar year to identify our first field deployments and to prepare equipment. We hope to begin deployments in early 2013.
Int'l Extension and Public Alert Systems Program
GEONETCast IS9 to IS21 Transition Complete
Intelsat transitioned from IS9 to IS21. Per earlier notifications GEONETCast Americas users should not notice any change or alteration in the broadcast, nor do users have to change antenna positions. There was a brief multi-hour data outage, however, the broadcast should have caught up with the backlog.
Photos from the Field: El Salvador Setup of GNC-A Station
IEPAS helped El Salvador's Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (MARN) install two of five GEONETCast stations, during the week of September 16, 2012. Stations will be located at field offices and the main operations center in San Salvador. MARN will use the network to deliver content to field offices, as well as provide redundancy at the main headquarters.
A MARN engineer and technician install a GEONETCast Americas dish on the roof of the Ilopango, El Salvador meteorological office. In the photograph, the dish has just been mounted and the feed horn, with LNB, is being prepared. Photo courtesy of Kelly Sponberg. (c) 2012.
Intelsat Launches IS-21: Implications for GEONETCast Americas
IS-9 C-band coverage in the Americas. Image / graphic taken from http://intelsat.com. For current information, please visit the Intelsat website and examine coverage maps and fact sheets.
Intelsat successfully launched IS-21. The press release is available from the Intelsat website. Intelsat also released a brochure / fact sheet (PDF) on IS-21, which provides some good coverage maps and other information.
IS-21 C-band coverage in the Americas. Image / graphic taken from http://intelsat.com. For current information, please visit the Intelsat website and examine coverage maps and fact sheets.
IS-21 will shortly replace IS-9. GEONETCast is broadcast on IS-9 over a C-band transponder. This transition is not expected to affect operations, nor will users need to alter station equipment or re-point dish antenna. In day-to-day operations, this transition is likely to go unnoticed by most users, and it will likely occur sometime in the 4th quarter of 2012 or early 2013.
IS-21 brings some exciting benefits to GEONETCast Americas. First, as depicted in the C-band coverage map, the signal strength is better than with IS-9 in existing coverage areas. In comparison to IS-9, the coverage area of IS-21 also extends somewhat. For existing ground stations this could mean a better quality signal. For stations that were planned in the more eastern reaches of the Caribbean or South America, the likelihood of getting a signal lock is improved.
The improved signal strength may allow some GEONETCast Americas users to setup ground stations with 1.8 meter receive dishes, as opposed to the 2.4 meter dishes currently in use. This may not seem like a huge improvement in dish size, but a 1.8 meter dish is significantly more manageable and easier to deal with logistically than a 2.4 meter dish.
IEPAS plans to test a 1.8 meter dish on IS-9, and then once the switch over to IS-21 occurs, it will conduct a comparison test. Results and a prospectus on the use of 1.8 meter dishes for GEONETCast Americas will be posted later this year.
Photos from the Field: RAPIDCast Test Setup
RAPIDCast non-penetrating roof mount constructed at PEACESAT. PEACESAT will be testing the hardware specification before shipping of units to remote sites.
Non-penetrating roof mount used by Ku-Band receive stations of RAPIDCast. Station setup by PEACESAT. Photo courtesy of Tom Okamura. (c) 2012.
Engineers with TIPG-PEACESAT put together a RAPIDCast antenna in Hawaii for initial testing of the broadcast. The dish is a Ku-Band antenna sitting on a non-penetrating roof mount. Photo courtesy of Tom Okamura. (c) 2012.