GUIDELINES FOR PURCHASING EQUIPMENT

Target audience:  Individuals, groups, institutions and churches.

Equipment types:  All types, used for Hope Channel, such as equipment for satellite broadcast reception, video production and low power TV broadcasting, but excluding professional equipment

Application area - Worldwide

Subjects covered:  Evaluation of suppliers, support and suitability of equipment. 

General guidelines

When purchasing equipment, the user wants good quality, trouble-free, unbroken service over as long a period as possible.  Therefore:

• Price is not necessarily the most important consideration.  "Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten".
• Equipment should be purchased from and installed by a local supplier as far as possible.
• Avoid importing equipment from other countries, which may expose you to hidden costs and unforseen risks.

In order to achieve this, you need to ask yourself the following questions:

1 Is the equipment of good design and manufacture?

To answer this question you need to find out:
- Does this equipment or manufacturer have a good reputation / name for quality equipment?

2 Questions to ask the supplier

• Where warranty support will be obtained
• Time taken to repair
• Whether another receiver can be lent to you during repairs
• Whether a swop-out agreement is included
• Where spares and maintenance will be obtained
• What life can be expected from this equipment?
• In the case of projectors what is the expected life of the projection lamp and the replacement cost?

If you are unable to find answers to the above questions, you could find this information by:

• Checking telephone directories, yellow pages or business directories
• Asking local suppliers who the agents are
• Searching on the Internet for the manufacturers & agents details
• Asking the manufacturer for the name of the local agent.
  

3  Who will help us during special broadcasts? (Usually on C-band)

This is especially important in the case of Receivers, and for users who have little technical training, who may need to contact their local Help Desk or Hotline for support. Staff at most such Help Desks can only know and support a limited number of equipment types.

4 Is the equipment suitable for my country and location?

A number of factors need to be considered, including:

• Format or standards of your country - e.g. PAL, NTSC
• Power supply - Does my equipment match the local power supply - e.g. 110 or 220 volt. In many countries the voltage can fluctuate widely, which can damage sensitive equipment. You may need to obtain devices to regulate the power for your equipment.
• Electric storms / lightning - if your area is prone to such storms, you will need to protect your equipment against these.

5 Is there a warranty on the equipment?

A warranty is not much good if it can only be offered in another country, as it may cost you time and expense to return it for warranty service.

Guidelines for specific types of equipment

DOWNLINK RECEPTION EQUIPMENT

Satellite dish antenna
The size of your dish is determined by:

• The band your broadcaster uses (C or Ku bands)
• Your position in the satellite footprint or broadcast area

C-band refers to the large dish system. Sizes vary from 1.8 to over 3m. We recommend 3.0m. Minimum size of 2.3m.
Ku-band refers to the small dish system. Sizes vary from 0.9 - 1.8m.

Check with your media centre or Hope Channel technical support. It is better to have larger-than-needed dishes to ensure reception in bad weather.

LNB & Feedhorn
C-band: Digital LNBF, suitable for extended C-band [3.4 - 4.2Ghz]
Polarization: Linear*, dual frequency, S/N ratio 0.8dB or better, 17 degrees K or lower. ). L.O. stability +/- 1 MHz (*Some regions use Circular -e.g. S. America)

Ku-band: Digital LNBF, suitable for Ku-band.
Polarization: Linear, dual frequency, S/N ratio 0.8dB or better. L.O. stability +/- 1 MHz

Some good brands are: Acer, California Amplifier, Eagle Aspen, El Sat, Eurostar, Fortex Star, Zintech

*  Polarization may not be the same on different satellites - check the parameters first for type of polarization needed.  [Linear is most common, but Circular is also used at times].

Receiver / IRD
Please refer to your media centre or Hope Channel technical support, as the type of receiver will vary according to the region and the technical support available.

The minimum specification for receivers suitable for good reception of Hope Channel programs is: [Print these out and show to your supplier]
o Digital Satellite Receiver, suitable for C and Ku bands.
o MPegII & DVB compatible
o SCPC / MCPC
o Able to receive "free-to-air" programs
o The format used in your region (PAL or NTSC). PAL is used almost everywhere except for the Americas. Many receivers can handle both (multi-system).
o LNB Power: Vertical +14v, Horizontal +18v
o Input Symbol Rate 2 to 45 Msps
o FEC Decoder: 1/2, 2/3, 3/4, 5/6, 7/8 or Automatic
o Aspect ratio: 4:3 and 16:9
o Audio Mode: Stereo / Mono L/R
o Power input voltage - suitable for your country. Try get get as wide a range as possible (e.g. 100 - 240v AC)
o Output to: AV, RF

Important note: In order to assist lay installers who do not have professional equipment it is highly recommended that the Receiver have signal strength and signal quality bars which:
a) Show a percentage or number
b) Show increasing strength as the dish approaches the position of the satellite [this needs to be determined by testing, as some receivers are very insensitive, making tuning difficult].

VIDEO PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT  Please go to Mini Media Centres

LOW POWER TV EQUIPMENT -  Please go to LPTV Stations