ARCS uses digital satellite technology to send programming from Anchorage to receivers across Alaska. By the time your favorite program reaches the receiver in your village it has traveled over 66,000 miles, roughly three times the distance around Earth. The receiver is where the digital signal gets turned back into pictures and sound. To do this, the signal must still be strong enough and of good enough quality for the receiver to do its job. There are many different schemes that broadcasters and manufacturers use to send and receive digital television signals. ARCS uses a simple scheme called, “MPEG-2, Free To Air”. Nearly all of the ARCS receivers are the same type; Scientific Atlanta PowerVu Commercial Digital Satellite Receiver, model D9223. There are other models out there. Contact us if you would like help programming your receiver to get the ARCS channel.
(Click here for help configuring your PowerVu D9223)
The receiver gets its signal from the coaxial cable coming from the satellite dish. This cable connects to the RF jack on receiver’s rear panel; look to the left side near the AC power input. Also near the RF Input jack there is a recessed switch labeled, LNB POWER, that controls the voltage fed back down the coaxial cable. This switch should be kept in the 19V (far left) position, towards the RF Input jack. This sends 19 Volts DC to the LNB.
The receiver puts out video signals via two BNC jacks marked, VIDEO and MONITOR. Both of these provide the video from the receiver; you should use the one marked MONITOR. Also on the rear panel are several audio outputs; find the one marked BALANCED AUDIO ONE. These are the sources of audio and video used to feed the transmitter.
If you would like more information about your ARCS receiver, call the Toll Free Technical Support Hotline: 888-840-0013.