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1999 Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association Show READ ALL ABOUT IT! PAGE 3 Workshop Pushes Better Off-Air Reception Solutions Eighty percent of dish owners should get an adequate signal from an off-air antenna, but retailers have been experiencing high return rates on antennas because they have not been ensuring they are properly installed or helping consumers chose the correct antenna, former U.S. Satellite Broadcasting Vice President of Engineering Ray Conover said yesterday at a workshop on local reception solutions. Large consumer electronics stores are particularly to blame for the bad reputation antennas have among consumers he said. They “pretty much tell people what they want to hear” about which antenna to buy in order to make a sale, said Conover, who now works for Conus Communications. Retailers should instead focus on selling the correct antennas, such as pushing outdoor antennas over indoor antennas, said Conover. Selling consumers larger antennas that are installed as close as possible to their TV also can marginally improve their reception, he said. Conover also sang the praises of the mapping program the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association and USSB initiated to educate dish owners about which antennas will perform best where they live. EchoStar-5 Launch Probably Will “Slip” to September While EchoStar Communications still hopes to launch its planned new flagship satellite, EchoStar-5, by late August, the launch might not occur until early September, EchoStar Chairman Charlie Ergen said in an uplink to retailers last week. The time frame for the launch has “slipped a little” because Lockheed Martin, which manufactures the Atlas IIAS rocket EchoStar plans to use to launch EchoStar-5, is reviewing all of its launch vehicles after a series of launch mishaps this year. Although Lockheed’s Atlas line of rockets has never experienced a failure, Lockheed still has not cleared EchoStar for launch, Ergen said. If EchoStar-5 launches into the 110-degree high-power orbital slot by early September, it probably would be operational by November, Ergen said. Until EchoStar-5 is operational, EchoStar plans to use EchoStar-4 to provide service from the slot. That bird was expected to finish its move from 148 degrees to 110 degrees over the weekend, Ergen said, adding EchoStar hopes to start using it to simulcast the programming carried on its main service at 119 degrees this week. TURN THE PAGE OTHER ISSUES TO LOOK FOR: Tuesday, July 20, 1999 Wednesday, July 21, 1999   Please direct questions about this site to general.mail@satbiznews.com q 1998 Satellite Business News Inc. All rights reserved.