An Update on Diospi Suyana Transmission Activities

28 January 2017

A week after arriving in Curahuasi I travelled to snowy Avon, Colorado USA (2 hours’ drive out of Denver) from 10 to 14 December to visit a key US satellite equipment supplier Satcom Resources with Dr Klaus John. The aim was to acquire a cost competitive satellite system proposal comprising 1 x uplink and 4 x downlink systems.

Klaus outside of Satcom Resources, Avon Colorado (2 hours’ drive out of Denver).

During this time away, Sandi and the rest of the family moved into the Diospi Suyana hospital accommodation so they can get familiar with the ministry and people. Also because the bridge accessing our house is not safe to cross without experience and confidence. It is one of the essential upgrades needed here.

Soon after returning from the US we placed orders for the satellite system, but from the Lima based supplier Intelect (Integraciones Electronicas S.A.C.) on 17 December 2016 having achieved a USD $40k discount from our US Satcom Resources proposal. The following a summary of our purchase;

· 5 x General Dynamics 2.4m C-Band transmit/receive capable dishes (NB all having transmit capability will allow future monitoring of each remote site by telemetry, thus saving much travel and provide needed real time security surveillance)

· Fully redundant active equipment for the uplink hub i.e. block up-converters (iBUCs), encoders, modulators and low noise blocks (LNBs)

· Non redundant downlink equipment but with on the shelf spares to enable rapid manual service restoration (as such specialised equipment lead times are lengthy in Peru)

We placed orders again with Lima based supplier Intelect (Integraciones Electronicas S.A.C.) on 5 January 2017 for the studio to transmitter site link (STL) to deliver radio and television programme to the Curahuasi site. We went to two other suppliers but Intelect offered the best price and support. This solution is based on my TCP/IP design which will future proof the STL to enable it to deliver analogue television now and for minimum cost, if any, deliver digital television when it is required in 2018 or 2019 (timing depending upon the Peru regulator MTC). A full set of spare units were included in our purchase to ensure service availability. The following is a summary of our purchase which includes a full set of spare units;

· ClearOne audio/video to TCP/IP encoders and decoders for television

· Tieline radio to TCP/IP encoders/decoders for radio

· Ubiquity Bullet M2 ti TCP/IP radios

· Yagi antennas, cables with mounting brackets, TCP/IP switches and patch cords

On Saturday 7 January I travelled with Dr Klaus John to Andahuaylas which is about 5 hours’ drive over mountains and through valleys with countless hairpin bends and steep ravines, with driving rain at times thrown in just for fun. This was to inspect the next Diospi Suyana transmission site and attend a community meeting run by the local mayor for people objecting to the proposed Diospi Suyana FM radio transmission site with health concerns. We prayed and then Klaus presented the faith story of Diospi Suyana and I contributed my knowledge of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) and international standards (WHO ICNIRP) to allay fears of any detrimental health effects. The result was extremely positive with all except one of the 65 attendees being in favour of the transmission proceeding. We arrived home after midnight absolutely exhausted but happy with the result achieved.

I officially commenced work in my new Diospi Suyana office on Monday 9 January 2017.

Here is a view from my window with a very fitting aspect of the first Diospi Suyana mast! Also on this day including the 5 resident Diospi Suyana Alpacas.

Since then I have been engaged with Diospi Suyana procedures and processes orientation, site installation, planning work including AutoCAD drawings for equipment layouts and site inspections of the Curahuasi tower construction.

We saw the completion of the new Curahuasi 30 meter free standing 4 sided tower this week on Tuesday 24 January, by the Lima based supplier ICESE SAC. This tower is some 52 metres higher than the original hospital compound guyed mast (seen from my office) and which is shaded to the majority of the Curahuasi township by a significant hill. Albeit the lightning earthing system design is sub-standard and needs further work per my specification to make it effective. The Diospi Suyana civil team are continuing working on completing the 3m compound wall and shelter out of concrete filled block. After it is secure, we will install the antenna systems and transmitter and link equipment.

I am now in discussion with Klaus about approaching the main satellite operators of the US to see if Klaus and I can meet with their president and present the Diospi Suyana story. The intention is achieving a better satellite access cost. That said we know that our current proposed operator, Argentinian based ARSAT, are giving Diospi Suyana the market rate for a single radio channel bandwidth via their ARSAT-2 satellite.

Looking Ahead…

The Diospi Suyana TV service will commence from the newly relocated Curahuasi transmission site we hope by the end of February 2017.

A 36 meter free standing 4 sided tower for Andahuaylas has been acquired and is to be installed in March 2017 along with a new transmission building and electrical services connection, but subject to community consent which is an ongoing issue with health concerns (unsubstantiated).

Further Diospi Suyana Media Centre staff are to be employed in 2017 making the total ten people. This includes me as the only expatriate volunteer broadcast engineer (which I am repeatedly assured is a most timely arrival and a needed and valued skillset for Diospi Suyana).

A third FM transmission site, Totoray is planned to service the city of Abancay comprising a population of about 80,000. The transmission lot at 4,000 metres above sea level has been acquired, but licensing approval is subject to Perú MTC negotiations and my coverage / antenna design work. Our hope is that this site can proceed before the end of 2017.

Other sites are also planned to cover the main patient catchment areas of Diospi Suyana hospital. Here is a map showing the approximate locations which will have a service area of approximately 1.3 million people with 9 transmission sites (NB red dots are current outlined in this report and the white are planned/proposed subject to licensing);