FAQ: Welcome, Posting Guidelines, Acronyms
BobaBird
Subject: 1. INTRODUCTION
Welcome to alt.dbs.echostar, a Usenet newsgroup for posting news, questions,
and opinions about Echostar and Dish Network products and services.
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Subject: 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
3. POSTING GUIDELINES
4. ON-LINE RESOURCES
5. ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS GROUP
6. SOURCES OF CONVERSATIONAL AND OTHER ACRONYMS
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Subject: 3. POSTING GUIDELINES
In general, it's always good to lurk at a newsgroup and read a few hundred
messages before posting one of your own. Although there are good guides to news
group etiquette, each news group has a personality of it's own. What is proper
procedure in one, may get you flamed in another.
Discussion of alterations to Dish equipment with the purpose of obtaining a
free signal are considered *off-topic* in this group and should be directed to
alt.dbs.echostar.hack.
There is greater tolerance for discussions that stray off-topic as long as they
are allowed to end.
- Please post in PLAIN text. Since it is an alt group, alt.dbs.echostar is
defined as a place where binaries will not be posted. No attachments and no
HTML, even in those creative signature blocks. Signatures are OK, as long as
they're plain text.
- Specify sites with an http:// prefix and most news clients will make them
linkable.
- Quote effectively. Repeat only the portion of the post you are commenting
on, do not quote signature blocks.
- Separate your response from the quote with 1 blank line so it can be found.
- Make an effort to spell, capitalize, and punctuate properly.
- Start each question on a new line to make point-by-point replies easier.
For a more complete discussion see:
http://www.echostaruser.org/openfaq/general/4.html
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Subject: 4. ON-LINE RESOURCES
Echostar Users Organization http://www.echostaruser.org/euo A good starting
point, it lists many of the more useful web sites for Dish Network and
comparisons to DirecTV.
FAQ http://www.echostaruser.org/faq/ (Mostly) up to date answers for some of
the oldest FAQs from alt.dbs.echostar.
Echostar Knowledge Base http://echostar.swiki.net Over 5000 links to Echostar
news and facts, organized by category. Updated daily by several editors. Mirror
site: http://www.echostaruser.org/ekb
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Subject: 5. ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS GROUP
a.d.e. alt.dbs.echostar - this newsgroup
A/V Audio/Video
AT## America's Top 40, 100, 150
AZ Azimuth
BEV Bell ExpressVu. Canadian DBS provider.
BUD Big ugly dish
CONUS CONtinental US
CSR Customer Service Representative
D500 Dish 500 (20" elliptical dish that "sees" two satellites)
D* DirecTV
DBS Direct Broadcast Satellite
DD Dolby Digital (AC-3) sometimes Digital Dynamite
D/L Download
DMA Designated Market Area as determined by Nielsen Media.
See http://www.nielsenmedia.com/dmas.html
DP DISHPlayer
DPC DirecPC
DPL Dolby Pro-Logic
DSS Former name of combined DirecTV/USSB services.
DTH Direct-to-home
DTV Digital television. Also often used for DirecTV.
DVR Digital Video Recorder
E* Echostar
EKB Echostar Knowledge Base. See http://echostar.swiki.net/
EL Elevation
EPG Electronic Program Guide
EUO Echostar User Organization. See http://www.echostaruser.org/euo
Evu Bell ExpressVu
FTA Free-to-air
G2H Gilat-to-Home, now StarBand. 2-way satellite internet access.
GUI Graphic User Interface
HD Hard-drive, high-definition
HDR Hard-drive Recorder
HDTV High-Definition TV subset of DTV. 720p or 1080i.
HOA Home-owners association
IR Infra-red
IRD Integrated Reciever Decoder (satellite receiver)
LIL Local-into-local satellite delivery of broadcast stations.
LMB (frequent error) see LNBF
LNB short for LNBF
LNBF Low noise block filter
MDU Multi-dwelling unit
MPEG2 Motion Picture Entertainment Group.
The digital compression method utilized by Dish Network.
NAB National Association of Broadcasters
NTSC National Television Standards Committee
O&O Owned and operated network affiliate
OOM Out-of-market
OTA Over-the-air
P* Primestar
PCM Pulse Code Modulation. Digital sound like CD's.
PIP Picture In Picture
PPV Pay-per-view
PQ Picture quality
PR Press release
PTV Personal Television. Weather and headlines service bundled with
games and recording ability. DP only.
PVR Personal Video Recorder
RF Radio Frequency
RMA Return Merchandise Authorization
RPTV Rear-projection TV
RSN Regional Sports Network
SD See SDTV. Often incorrectly used to refer to NTSC
SDTV Standard-Definition TV subset of DTV. 480i or 480p
SHVIA Satellite Home Viewers Improvement Act
STB Set-top box
UHF Ultra-high Frequency
UI User Interface
USSB United States Satellite Broadcasting. Now part of DirecTV.
Y/C S-video. Luminance and chroma are separated.
YPrPb Component Video
110 Satellites at 110 West longitude
119 Satellites at 119 West longitude
148 Satellites at 148 West longitude (currently none)
61.5 Satellite at 61.5 West longitude
8VSB 8 Vestigial sideband. HDTV broadcast standard.
Available on-line with additional links at
http://echostar.swiki.net/231, "Glossary"
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Subject: 6. SOURCES OF CONVERSATIONAL AND OTHER ACRONYMS
http://www.kellywebworks.com/acronyms.htm
http://echostar.swiki.net/150, "New shorthand for a.d.e."
ElecConnec
boba...@aol.comspamfree (BobaBird) writes:
>LNB short for LNBF
>LNBF Low noise block filter
Sorry to nitpick:
LNB: Low Noise Block converter. (Actually it's "Low Noise amplified Block
downconverter.")
LNBF: LNB with integrated Feedhorn.
The "F" isn't for "filter", and LNB isn't really "short" for LNBF.
Warning! Warning! Warning! Boring technical details with superfluous history
lesson follows:
For those who care to know, a "block converter" is simply a device that
converts a block of radio frequencies (in this case the 12.2-12.7GHz DBS
satellite signals) to a different frequency- (in this case 950-1450MHz) useable
by the receiver. 12GHz signals wouldn't survive through 10 feet of RG-6, never
mind 100! The lower frequencies are much easier to work with.
To bore everyone further, LNB is not technically "short" for LNBF, since LNBs
CAN come without feedhorns, like on most C-band (big) dishes, where the C-band
(or Ku band or both) LNB bolts to the feedhorn on the dish. All DBS LNBs I've
ever seen have the feedhorn built-in, so the "F" is essentially unnecessary,
just like the "A" (all LNBs have amplifiers, yet we don't call them "LNABs"!)
In the "old days" the low-noise amplifier and downconverters were separate
units, so the amplifier was called an "LNA", which then plugged into the
downconverter with a really thick chunk of short RG-11 cable, before feeding
into the house on RG-59 (typically.)
Eventually the LNA and converter merged into one unit, which back then was
either called an LNB or LNC depending on whether you thought "Block converter"
or "Converter" deserved an initial. LNB finally stuck. Satellite "old-timers"
still often call LNBs LNAs, the same way our grandfathers still refer to
refrigerators as "ice boxes."
--
Todd Allcock, DISH/DirecTV Dealer
Electronic Connection, Lee's Summit, MO
"Under the new Usenet Home Reader's Improvement Act (UHRIA), you may only
receive this post if you are located in the Kansas City Designated Market
Area."
jbuf...@my-deja.com
elecc...@aol.comyadayada (ElecConnec) wrote:
> In article <20001011051551...@ng-cg1.aol.com>,
> boba...@aol.comspamfree (BobaBird) writes:
>
> >LNBF Low noise block filter
>
Yoinks
--jbuff
Visit the Echostar Knowledge Base http://echostar.swiki.net
Echostar and Dish News, FAQs, Bugs, Mods, Magic and More...
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Angel Antonio Suárez
<jbuf...@my-deja.com> wrote in message news:8s2ouq$2rr$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...>>::Entire history of the term LNBf snipped for brevity:::
>
> Yoinks
>
> http://echostar.swiki.net/43
LOL!
You have no idea how hard this post made me laugh!
See ya
Tony
BobaBird
>Sorry to nitpick:
>
>LNB: Low Noise Block converter. (Actually it's "Low Noise
>amplified Block downconverter.")
>
>LNBF: LNB with integrated Feedhorn.
Self-serving statement of the day: "The world needs more nitpickers." The
change was already made by jbuff in the EKB glossary
http://echostar.swiki.net/231 but I neglected to reflect it in the periodic
post. Thanks, and watch this space on 10/21.
Charles
BobaBird
Subject: 1. INTRODUCTION
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Subject: 3. POSTING GUIDELINES
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Subject: 4. ON-LINE RESOURCES
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LNB Low Noise amplified Block downconverter
LNBF LNB with integrated Feedhorn Details at
http://echostar.swiki.net/43
MDU Multi-dwelling unit
MPEG Motion Picture Experts Group
Dish Network utilizes the MPEG2 digital compression method.
Angel Antonio Suárez
PLONK!
See ya
Tony
"newsguy" <ab...@dev.nul> wrote in message
news:8st3p...@enews1.newsguy.com...
Thanks for the info, BoboBird!
We got so many people around here breaking
the posting rules it's about time somebody set 'em straight.
Maybe this will get the message across to them cyberjaywalkers.
Seth
to thank BobaBird for his diligence is to comply.
"newsguy" <ab...@dev.nul> wrote in message
news:8st3p...@enews1.newsguy.com...
Thanks for the info, BoboBird!
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We got so many people around here breaking
the posting rules it's about time somebody set 'em straight.
Maybe this will get the message across to them cyberjaywalkers.
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