New thread to try and gather more info on HD channels being moved off 82W, possibly before the death of Nimiq-4. I first noticed this a few weeks ago (Feb 2025). I gleaned some info from other threads nearby (Death of SD; Lifespan of Nimiq-4 and Nimiq-6) although they haven't been updated for a while as of this post. I had to google search and got some unsubstantiated info from the AI distillation of results.
As stated in those other threads, it seems Nimiq-4 passed its expected end-of-life in 2023; Bell renewed their contract to continue using it for 12 months twice, which brings us to later in 2025. With the discontinuation of transmitting SD channels, freeing up a lot of space on Nimiq-6 91W, it seems many/most? HD channels are now migrating to 91W.
From my own observations, it seems the channels in the 200's and 400's are now indistinguishable from their HD counterparts; and each one I checked is coming on the same transponder as their HD counterpart - which doesn't preclude that they're seperate feeds, but its highly unlikely. Scrolling thru the guide, I noticed ~ 6-8 channels in the 200-600 range were labelled "HD" which never used to be the case, while the others were not labelled as such. The SD picture format on the "SD" channels also only shows "Full Zoom" while it can be toggled between Full Zoom and Normal on the HD counterpart. Can't remember if that was the same behavior previously.
Just tonight, I checked my most commonly used channels - the 5 TSN-HD, 5 Sportsnet-HD, 10 US-networks-HD and CBC and CTV Tornoto-HD. All were coming from 91W except CBS-East HD and Sportsnet-One-HD. So at this point, some HD channels are still coming from 82W. Presumably there's others if someone has time to check!
I checked the signal strength on all transponders on a sunny clear day last weekend. As I live on the shoulder of the satellite footprints, I'm used to signal strengths well below 95-100. What struck me as unusual was that ~ half the transponders on 82W had dropped by ~ 9-12 points from my previous measurement 3 years ago under similar conditions. These were 3, 7, 11, 15, 19, 23, 27, 31; 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, 22, 26, 30. By contrast, others (notably 8, 12, 16, 20) were 3-5 points higher than previously, and higher than I had ever measured in the current location or my previous house a few miles away which had a totally unobstructed view. Is this drop-off in signal strength on certain transponders a sign the satellite is dying, or could it be controllable if those tp's are sending few/if-any channels?
Sadly for me, I have a less optimal view of 91W with a little tree obstruction. But measured under same conditions at same time of year, my signal on all tp's on 91W was ~ 6-8 points lower than 3 years ago. Seeing some of the 82W up's actually stronger was a particularly frustrating finding. Are others also seeing 91W signal strength dropping?
Any thoughts - is this what we have to live with until Nimiq-6 also passes its EOL in another 2-3 years? And if nothing is being sent from 82W in coming months, can I gain anything by repointing my 20" dish with DPP quad LNB slightly to optimize 91W signal? (It was possibly optimized for 82W in its current location as I didn't need SD channels from 91W - but that was 5 years ago and I can't remember everything!)
Thanks - and thoughts/corrections welcomed.
As stated in those other threads, it seems Nimiq-4 passed its expected end-of-life in 2023; Bell renewed their contract to continue using it for 12 months twice, which brings us to later in 2025. With the discontinuation of transmitting SD channels, freeing up a lot of space on Nimiq-6 91W, it seems many/most? HD channels are now migrating to 91W.
From my own observations, it seems the channels in the 200's and 400's are now indistinguishable from their HD counterparts; and each one I checked is coming on the same transponder as their HD counterpart - which doesn't preclude that they're seperate feeds, but its highly unlikely. Scrolling thru the guide, I noticed ~ 6-8 channels in the 200-600 range were labelled "HD" which never used to be the case, while the others were not labelled as such. The SD picture format on the "SD" channels also only shows "Full Zoom" while it can be toggled between Full Zoom and Normal on the HD counterpart. Can't remember if that was the same behavior previously.
Just tonight, I checked my most commonly used channels - the 5 TSN-HD, 5 Sportsnet-HD, 10 US-networks-HD and CBC and CTV Tornoto-HD. All were coming from 91W except CBS-East HD and Sportsnet-One-HD. So at this point, some HD channels are still coming from 82W. Presumably there's others if someone has time to check!
I checked the signal strength on all transponders on a sunny clear day last weekend. As I live on the shoulder of the satellite footprints, I'm used to signal strengths well below 95-100. What struck me as unusual was that ~ half the transponders on 82W had dropped by ~ 9-12 points from my previous measurement 3 years ago under similar conditions. These were 3, 7, 11, 15, 19, 23, 27, 31; 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, 22, 26, 30. By contrast, others (notably 8, 12, 16, 20) were 3-5 points higher than previously, and higher than I had ever measured in the current location or my previous house a few miles away which had a totally unobstructed view. Is this drop-off in signal strength on certain transponders a sign the satellite is dying, or could it be controllable if those tp's are sending few/if-any channels?
Sadly for me, I have a less optimal view of 91W with a little tree obstruction. But measured under same conditions at same time of year, my signal on all tp's on 91W was ~ 6-8 points lower than 3 years ago. Seeing some of the 82W up's actually stronger was a particularly frustrating finding. Are others also seeing 91W signal strength dropping?
Any thoughts - is this what we have to live with until Nimiq-6 also passes its EOL in another 2-3 years? And if nothing is being sent from 82W in coming months, can I gain anything by repointing my 20" dish with DPP quad LNB slightly to optimize 91W signal? (It was possibly optimized for 82W in its current location as I didn't need SD channels from 91W - but that was 5 years ago and I can't remember everything!)
Thanks - and thoughts/corrections welcomed.
