CHorus Digital MMDS Cork City

ozpass

Are there any Chorus Digital customers (Cork city) out there?

Hello?

Is anybody out there?

I'm beginning to feel very lonely here!

The problem is this: my pathetic dogger of a digital TV service has been playing up since last Sunday when there was a storm. I've called the 'knuckle-draggers' out twice to sort it out. I missed the first one, the second one called me to say:

"The problem isn't with your Aeriel......it's the one on airport hill. We've had loads of complaints and it should be fixed within THE NEXT FEW DAYS"

As I trust information from fellow boards posters over and above that of Clownus, can anybody confirm this?

The problem manifests itself as frequent (and large scale) artifacts on the screen, and corrupted sound on a cycle of approx. 5 seconds. System indicators show the BER to be all over the place too.:rolleyes:

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

ozpass

Well, the TV's still spasticated! Surely this can't be a Cork-wide problem? Would Chorus be sufficiently negligent to leave all of Cork City centre's D-MMDS subscribers with a barely functioning service?

I suspect it's possible, but I'd like to know for sure as I'm about ready to skin someone!

PLEASE, PLEASE, if there are any other poor unfortunate Chorus digital subscribers out there with a feed from Airport Hill in Cork......(takes deep breath).......experiencing problems for the past 12 days- could you let me know?

Also, are any radio experts out there who can explain BER to me and suggest possible reasons why it might be yo-yoing with my equipment?

Thanks in advance folks.:)

spongebob

bit error rate maybe?

watty

Does that with bad signal.
Also I notice on Satellite that Sky for instance uses FEC 2/3
(Forward Error Correction). I take this to mean two parts real data in every 3 parts signal.

One way to fit more channels in is reduce the FEC ratio (or get mor bandwidth on a "feed"). So feeds are often 7/8, i.e. much less resiliant to error. With 7/8 signals minor drops in signal cause HUGE fluctuations of BER.

I'd guess to fit 66 channels the Chorus folk use as low FEC as possible, as high a QAM (bits per symbol) as possible etc so fluctuations in signal will be much more dramatic than say Sky, more like a "feed" (People "meant" to pick sat feeds usually have dishes like someting out of the SETI project).
Chorus DMMDS system is not quite the same as DVBs nor UK DTT, but the priciples are the same in all three.

ozpass

Watty: I find this stuff fascinating.

I'd love to know more if you can spare the time to give us the lowdown on some of this info.

For the record (and it seems you're dead right about the QAM), here's the setting of my Sagem ITD 4000 digibox:

DECODER INFO.
Boot: BONG4003
Loader: L456 01 NT40IC13
Application: CHORUS 2.21@
Open TV: EN10033
Nagravision: 5.3.29 2.0.8
Hardware ID: 57
Serial ID: 531000763550
Usage ID: 01

OPERATING INDICATORS.
OFDM Synchro: YES
FFT Synchro: YES
TPS Synchro: YES
VITERBI Synchro: YES
BER: <1.0 E-8 This is what's currently fluctuating on my box
CENTRAL FREQ. OFFSET: -9kHz
CARRIER to NOISE: 27dB

NETWORK CONFIGURATION: (TRANSPONDER)
NETWORK NO.: 51
FREQUENCY IN kHz: 218000
OFDM MODE: 8K
MODULATION: QAM64
CODE RATE: 2/3
GUARD INTERVAL: 1/32
BANDWIDTH: 8Mhz
HIERARCHY INFO.: NONE

watty

What I need is one of the gadgets in the Monsestry in Terry Pratchett's "Thief of Time"

I'm wondering how hard it is to reprogram a Satellite PC card and connect it to an MMDS antenna/LNB instead of a KU Band LNB and dish.

I have heard it rumoured that many Chorus DMMDS are not encrypted. (Clear channels are legally there for the grabbing, it's only illegal to watch encrypted TV without paying or physically connect to cable)

ozpass

Chorus anti-support have informed me that the problem I am currently experiencing (cyclical interruptions to picture and sound) are due to Cork Airport installing a new radar system which is interfering with the signal output by the "Beam Bender" (their terminology) on Airport Hill.

As such it is affecting the picture of every Chorus DMMDS customer receiving a feed from this location. I am beginning to suspect that I may be THE ONLY customer unlucky enough to be receiving this sub-standard excuse for a television service.

Does anybody with a solid technical background (Muck Watty, ICDG, DamoDMC etc.) know if this 'excuse' holds water?

Needless to say I wont be paying them a red cent this month, and have informed CS of this fact.

I'm on the verge of launching an all-out assault against this shower of s***e and would like some technical 2X4's with which to batter them.

Any input much appreciated

spongebob

Originally posted by ozpass
Chorus have informed me that the problems I am currently experiencing are due to Cork Airport installing a new radar system which is interfering with the signal output by the "Beam Bender" (their terminology) on Airport Hill.

Christ that is the best excuse that any Irish telco has ever come with for a crap service........

Does de Paper know about this, I trust you have a contact name in Chorus so they can 'check' their 'facts' .

M

DMC

Currently listening the theme to "633 Squadron", by Ron Goodwin.

Which is also heard on the Zurich Financial ad seen on Sky Sports.

You know. The one with the pigs flying.

I really can't see how the MMDS system would be allowed to interfere with something so life and death as major airports' radar system.

"Beam Bender" my árse! Never heard of one, usless Watty and Tony know any different!

watty

It would be a fairly Insane Radar system designer to use 2.4 to 2.5 GHz band since this allocation (in places) allows:
WiFi LAN 1, 2, 11 and 22mbit standards
Analog MMDS
Digital MMDS
Amatuer usage at about 10,000 times power of Wireless LAN
Wireless FM Video senders
Wireless Security systems

I wonder is the new ATV repeater in Cork interfereing? In theory it isn't on the same channel though its not far off. More likely to conflict with A and B channel of 4 channel Wireless video Sender.

Radar I don't beleive.

There is actually a possible thing that might be called a "beam bender" . If you have big tower with a BIG dish connected directly with waveguide and horn to another similar dish pointing at a different angle, without any electronics or power you are "bending the beam" It can used to feed area near transmitter but shadowed by a hill or building. The signal loss compared witha direct path is savage unless the dishes really big. Same dish works 16 times better at Ku band (Satellite) than DMMDS band. One with a receiver and transmitter needs power but much smaller dishes. And is more likely.

watty

Actually the Radar folks get licence from OTDR (or they hand down ITU frequency)
I'm sure I have seen allocatrion list some place.

It just isn't feasible that MMDS and RADAR would overlap. it would be worse than giving Limerick Live 95 Radio frequency to RLO TV.

ozpass

"Beam Bender"!

I smelled something when he said that, and it certainly wasn't teen spirit.

I honestly wonder if Chorus wouldn't be 'better off' by outsourcing their tech. support to boards.ie. At least this way customers would be ensured informed, intelligent answers to their desperate questions.

I've attached my latest complaint to cs@chorus.ie and have sent it from my work email address for a little added clout.

BigEejit

I've attached my latest complaint to cs@chorus.ie and have sent it from my work email address for a little added clout.

The problem is that it is most likely that the same muppets who are fobbing you off over the phone are the ones who will be looking at the mails...:(

ozpass

I do distinctly recall that last time I sent an email of this nature the response involved apologies and fawning on behalf of Chorus.

Having said that, cs@chorus.ie were cc'd on a mail whose primary recipient was the ODTR.

I really resent having to go to soooooo much trouble just to get a TV service that they are contractually obliged to provide me.:mad:

icdg

Beam bender - AFAIK the term is used for MMDS relay transmitters... though where I remember that from, I couldn't tell you...

ShaneOC

We tried to warn you about Chorus

ozpass

That you did ShaneOC, that you did

KCASEY

I live in Clonakilty and have been experiencing the same problem on and off over the past few weeks - I had a service call booked for today and as the picture improved I was going to cancel - Got up this AM and picture is crap again !!!

My sense is that the problem relates to poor intallations and moisture getting into the aerial connections but we will see.

I'm one more person really waiting for UTV and C4 on Sky so we can dump CHORUS.

Just think when these channels do come on the Sky platform the exodus from CHORUS will result in them going out of business !!!!