WO2000067401A2

WO2000067401A2 - Direct to home satellite broadcasting system using a limited bandwitch channel

Info

Publication number: WO2000067401A2
Application number: PCT/US2000/012401
Authority: WO
Inventors: Daniel J. Gregoire; Hossein Izadpanah; James H. Schaffner
Original assignee: Hrl Laboratories, Llc.
Priority date: 1999-05-05
Filing date: 2000-05-04
Publication date: 2000-11-09
Also published as: RU2001132730A; EP1177647A2; WO2000067401A9; WO2000067401A3; JP2002543739A; CN1355970A; AU4990400A

Abstract

A method and system for wireless Direct To Home satellite services signal distribution to a plurality of service requesting users. A multi-user transmitter is coupled to an earth satellite antenna to receive selectable satellite transponder signals. The multi-user transmitter includes a plurality of transponder selectors, each transponder selector preferably being associated with or even dedicated to a respective service-requesting user. Each service-requesting user is provided with a user-controllable channel selector for accessing the selectable satellite transponder signals. The user-controllable channel selector is coupled to a respective user display unit and to a respective user receiver unit. A responder, which may be in the user receiver unit, is responsive to a service-requesting user-selected channel signal for transmitting a transponder selection signal to the multi-user transmitter. The transponder selection signal contains information indicative of a desired satellite transponder signal, to be transmitted to the service-requesting user associated with the respective (typically user-selected) channel signal. The multi-user transmitter transmits the selected satellite transponder signals to each of the plurality of service requesting users in response to the transponder selection signals, and may do so by broadcasting. The desired satellite transponder signal is then coupled to the service-requesting user receiver (which may contain the user-controllable channel selector) for display by the respective user display unit.

Description

WIRELESS DIRECT TO HOME SERVICES DISTRIBUTION ON A LIMITED- BANDWIDTH CHANNEL

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the field of wireless television channel transmission, and more particularly, to the transparent distribution of Direct To Home (DTH) Services to multiple users on a limited-bandwidth channel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Satellites have made a significant difference in the way the world communicates. Since the late 1960's the television industry has increasingly made use of satellites to improve communications. A well-known method of television channel transmission involves the use of satellites which orbit above the Earth and are used for retransmitting signals from one location on the Earth to another. The typical satellite includes thereon multiple transponders, which are receiver- transmitter units aboard the satellite. A typical uplink signal at 17 GHz is received by the transponder from a broadcast center satellite transmitting station on Earth and is converted to a 14 GHz downlink signal which is sent from the satellite to Earth. This methodology provides the basis for the emerging Direct-To-Home systems for communication signal transmission, including television transmission from a signal transmission station to a hor-ne-or other location's user display receiver, such as a television receiver.

One such DTH system is the Hughes DirecTV(trademark) (DTV) system. While this disclosure will focus the invention's application on the DTV system, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention disclosed hereinafter is applicable to any DTH satellite broadcast system. DTN's downlink signal consists of 32 transponder signals that lie in the range between 950 and 1450 MHz. Each transponder signal comes from a 120W or 240W Traveling Wave Tube (TWT) Power Amplifier on one of the broadcast satellites. Each transponder signal is 24 MHz wide with a 5.16 MHz guard band between transponders, and contains several television channels encoded in a proprietary format. The transponders are numbered from 1 to 32. The odd numbered ones are transmitted with right-hand polarization, while the even numbered transponders are left-hand polarized.

As is known in the prior art, DTH can be distributed to multiple users using a single earth station antenna system for reception and a cable network for each user. However, the single earth station antenna is typically very large and a large amount of cabling in the cable network is required.

Alternatively, DTH can be distributed to multiple users having a receiving antenna for each user. However, there are many locations where it is undesirable to erect multiple receiving antennas, such as for apartment complexes, educational facilities, neighborhoods, etc.

Also, for the respective sites of television channel reception (e.g., at a single- family home, or an apartment unit) there are commercially available wireless systems which can transmit a small number of television channels received by a receiving antenna to television sets within the location. In these systems, each individual television channel is typically demodulated, then re-modulated and upconverted for broadcasting within the location. An Integrated Receiver Decoder (IRD) is used to access the desired transponder signals and to decode the channel information into National Television Systems Committee (NTSC) format for display on a television. However, this demodulation / re-modulation / up- conversion process is typically done in an analog fashion and is susceptible to noise and interference that will degrade the signal, and ultimately picture quality.

Another alternative method is to use one receiving antenna, upconvert the entire signal from 950 - 1950 MHz for local wireless transmission to the users, each of which have their own local wireless receiver and IRD. However, this would require 1000 MHz of local wireless bandwidth.

Therefore, there exists a need for an effective system for DTH distribution having a limited bandwidth local wireless transmission to multiple independent users in a setting where it is not possible to have a large antenna with its corresponding stringing of cable connections or where it is undesirable to erect multiple large DTH distribution antennas. Further, there is a need for an approach where the DTH signal does not need to be reformatted and exposed to noise degradation such that a high quality digital signal can be provided to the user. Also, by not decoding the signal until it reaches the TN or workstation, a variety of modulation formats (such as QPSK, FM, QAM) can be handled. Even mixed modulation formats could be utilized.

The present invention provides a solution to such problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, an enhanced method and system is provided for wireless Direct To Home satellite services signal distribution to a plurality of service requesting users. Each user controls an IRD associated with a user display receiver, such as a television set. When the user switches channels on his IRD, a control processor senses the channel change. The processor uses this information to set control signals that are sent back on a wireless connection to a multiple-user transmitter unit that is connected to an earth station (satellite dish) antenna. The multi-user transmitter processes the control signals and sends them

to a user' s (preferably dedicated) transponder selector, which filters out a single transponder signal for transmission to the user. Several transponder signals are sent forward, one for each of the users. A typical implementation of the invention would have five to ten users and the local wireless channel would accommodate a comparable number of transponders. Each user has a receiver at his location that filters the broadcast signal from the transponder signal that he requested. A much smaller bandwidth results than that which would be required to transmit signals from all 32 transponders to each user.

Key Features of the invention include:

1. There is a bi-directional information exchange between the user and the MUT, preferably on the local wireless communication channel. There is preferably a dedicated bandwidth slot for control signals from the users to reach the central transmitter. The control signals command the transmitter to select and relay the small portion of the DTH signal that each user requires to watch his desired program.

2. The width of the frequency band required for transmission to several independent users can be much smaller than the frequency bandwidth required to transmit the entire DTH signal. In the embodiment described hereinbelow, 5 users can be easily accommodated on the 200 MHz wide U- NII band at 5250 MHz as compared with the 1000-MHz wide band necessary to transmit all DTH transponders to each user.

3. A small U-NII antenna (only 3" x 3") can be used to broadcast the signal from the multi-user transmitter to the users.

More particularly, the multi-user transmitter is coupled to the earth satellite antenna to receive selectable satellite transponder signals. The multi-user transmitter includes a plurality of transponder selectors, each transponder

selector being associated with a respective service requesting user. Each service requesting user is provided with a user-controllable channel selector (IRD) for accessing the selectable satellite transponder signals. The user-controllable channel selector is coupled to a respective user display unit and to a respective user receiver unit. The user receiver unit is responsive to a service-requesting user-selected-channel signal for transmitting a transponder selection signal to the multi-user transmitter. The transponder selection signal is indicative of a desired satellite transponder signal to be transmitted to the service requesting user associated with the respective user selected channel signal. The multi-user transmitter broadcasts the selected satellite transponder signals to the plurality of service requesting users in response to the transponder selection signals. The desired satellite transponder signal is then coupled to the requesting user- controllable channel selector for display by the respective user display unit.

In essence, the present invention will enhance the capabilities of any wideband DTH satellite system and provide a wide range of applications for both defense and commercial systems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of the DTH distribution system in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a user receiver unit in accordanc-e-with the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a multi-user transmitter in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a spectrum graph showing the combination of three transponder signals and control data in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Fig. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of the invention that distributes a DTH signal to multiple independent users. A five user system is illustrated. DTH signal 10 is received at satellite Earth station antenna 14 and is provided to multi-user transmitter (MUT) 12. Inside the MUT, the DTH signal is split off to five different transponder selectors 16, one for each user, namely TS 1, TS2, TS3, TS4 and TS5 for this five-user embodiment. The transponder selectors are controlled by transponder controller 18 internal to MUT 12. Each transponder selector outputs the signal from a single transponder and downconverts it in frequency so that it is centered at an intermediate frequency for further processing. Each of the users has a dedicated intermediate frequency. The table below shows an example of frequency allocations for the five user embodiment wherein the U-NII communications band is at 5150 to 5350 MHz. However, the practice of the invention is not limited to the use of this band.

Transponder controller 18 is controlled by control signals from user responder units, one for each user at the user location, that determine which transponder the user wants to access. The user responder units operation is described in more detail hereinafter.

Transmitter 22 bundles the transponders at the intermediate frequency band and upconverts them to a higher frequency for broadcast to the users. Circulator 23 is coupled between transmitter 22 and transponder controller 18 and transmitter / controller antenna 26. Each user has a receiver unit 24 that picks up the broadcast signal from transmitter / controller antenna 26 by user antenna 28 and through circulator 27 and receiver 29, one respectively for each user, namely Rl, R2 ... R5, downconverts it and filters out the transponder signal intended for him. Each receiver 29 is coupled to an IRD 30, one for each user, namely IRD1 , IRD2 ... IRD5 which, in turn, are connected to respective display units 31, which can be television or workstation monitors, namely DUl, DU2 ... DU5. Each receiver unit 24 also has user responder 20, namely UR1, UR2 ... UR5, coupled to its respective IRD. Each user responder 20 queries its respective IRD 30 to determine the transponder requested by the user- and encodes that information for transmission back to the transponder selectors in MUT 12. The control data occupies a small band adjacent to the users' transponders in the communication channel. MUT 12 has to distinguish among the control signals from the various users and direct them to the proper transponder selectors. It does this using conventional or other multiple access techniques.

Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate, respectively, user receivers 24 and MUT 12 and for the particular five user embodiment of the invention. The embodiment depicted utilizes the U-NII communications band from 5150 to 5350 MHz. The invention, however, is not confined to using this frequency band.

Referring to Fig. 2, there is shown typical receiver unit 24. Each user has a receiver unit 24 that receives the broadcast signal from MUT 12 and provides its IRD 30 with its transponder signal. Each receiver unit 24 consists of two major integrated elements that are interfaced to the user's IRD 30, which, in turn, is coupled to a respective user display unit 31. Both of these elements are described in more detail below.

1. The Receiver

Each user has a receiver unit 24 which includes a receiver 29 coupled with antenna 28 (e.g., a 3" x 3" corner reflector U-NII user antenna or an omnidirectional antenna such as Mobile Mark N SCR14-5150) and circulator 27 (e.g., Narda Model No. 4914) that feeds the received broadcast signal to a frequency converter 50 through amplifier 52 (e.g., JCA Technology Model No. JCA048-F01). After conversion, the user's desired transponder is centered at the proper position in the DTH band. Frequency converter 50 includes local oscillator 56 (e.g., Luff Research Model No. SLSM2-38004300) coupled to down converter / mixer 54 (e.g., Mini-Circuits Laboratories Model No. ZMX- 7GLHR), low pass filter 58 (e.g., K & L Microwave Model No. 5IL41- 1500/T3000), and tunable local oscillator 62 (e.g., Luff Research Model No. SLSM2-5001500) coupled to up converter / mixer 60 (e.g., Mini-Circuits Laboratories Model No. ZLW-186MH). Local oscillator 62 is tuned to the proper frequency by control signals from the user's responder 20. In the embodiment, tunable frequency sources from Luff Research that have a standard serial port interface are used. By applying -voltage to the leads on the serial port, the frequency output can be tuned in 1 MHz increments anywhere in the operation band. That port can be connected to a standard PC with a digital to analog interface card (DAC). It is apparent that once the transponder frequency in processor 64 (e.g., a generic 486 class personal computer processor) is determined, its software can be programmed to set the voltages on the tunable local oscillator port to the correct settings. The signal is then sent from receiver 29 to the user's IRD 30 (e.g., a Sony or HNS) for decoding and display on display unit 31 (e.g., a Sony television). The IRD only needs a single transponder signal to get all of the channel guide information and the user's authorization codes. This capability is significant in making the system transparent to the user.

2. The Responder.

Responder 20 accesses information from IRD 30 as the user changes channels, and uses the information to create control signals. One control signal is sent to frequency converter 50 in the user's receiver 29. Responder 20 includes processor 64 which is coupled to modem 66 (e.g., BroadCom Corp. Model No. BCM 93133). Modem 66 is coupled to frequency converter 68 which includes up- converter / mixer 70 (e.g., Mini-Circuits Laboratories Model No. ZLW-186MH) coupled to local oscillator 72 (e.g., Luff Research Model No. SLSM2-3800-4300) for upconverting to the U-NII band. Frequency converter 68 passes the upconverted signal through bandpass filter 80 (e.g., K & L Microwave 5IB32- 5200/ T100) to amplifier 82 (e.g., JCA Technology Model Number JCA048-F01) which feeds the signal to circulator 27 for broadcast to MUT 12 by user antenna 28.

Referring still to Fig. 2, to further understand the accessing and processing of user-selected transponder information, it should be noted that selected transponder information is sent from user IRD 30 to responder 20. That information can come in two parts, for example, the first part containing the transponder number information, and the second part containing the transponder polarization. The transponder number information can be represented as a voltage. That voltage is obtained by appending a standard frequency-to-voltage converter to the IRD's internal frequency synthesized local oscillator (LO). On the other hand, the transponder polarization information is accessed as a voltage

that is applied to the satellite cable input on the back panel of typical IRD 30. When an even numbered transponder is selected, the voltage is in the range from 16 to 19 volts, and when an odd-numbered transponder is selected, the voltage is in the range from 11 to 14 volts. As the user changes channels on the IRD, its internal LO frequency is adjusted accordingly to access the appropriate transponder signal. The adjusted LO frequency signal is transmitted to its frequency-to-voltage converter and the voltage therefrom is sent to processor 64 in responder 20. Likewise, the voltage signal corresponding to the transponder polarization is received at processor 64 on a separate line (not shown). The processor receives the signals at a two-channel analog-to-digital converter that allows the voltages to be accessed by the processor's software program (or embedded hardware programming). The program determines the transponder number from the input voltages.

Alternatively, in a system such as the Hughes DTV system, if the transponder number is known, then the polarization is also known (e.g., odd number transponders are left-hand circularly polarized; even number transponders are right-hand polarized) thereby requiring only one voltage to be transmitted from the IRD to the user-responder processor.

Once processor 64 determines the selected transponder number, it sends a bit stream to modem 66. The bit stream contains the user id number and the encoded transponder number. The amount of information sent is very small, typically less than twenty bits.

Now referring to Fig. 3, MUT 12 is shown in more detail. MUT 12 can be installed in any central location where its broadcast signal can be accessed by all of the users. A convenient location would be near the Earth station antenna 14. MUT 12 consists of three major integrated elements, namely, transponder selectors 16, transmitter 22 and transponder controller 18. Each of these elements are described in more detail below. 1. The transponder selectors

There are multiple transponder selectors 16 built into MUT 12, one corresponding to each user in the distribution network. "Transponder selector" is abbreviated terminology for "transponder signal selector," for it selects the signal from a single transponder from the multiple transponder signals included in the DTH signal received from the satellite. The transponder selectors each receive DTH signal 10 from the satellite antenna 14, and downconverts it to an intermediate frequency so that the desired transponder signal is re-centered about a fixed intermediate frequency dedicated to that corresponding user. The unnecessary portion of the DTH signal is filtered out and the single transponder signal is sent to MUT transmitter 22.

Transponder selectors 16 each include an LNB selector 36 (a voltage-controlled L- band microwave switch), frequency converter 37 which has a down-converter mixer 40 coupled to tunable local oscillator 38, and a bandpass filter 41 (e.g. K&L Microwave Model 5TB32). Transponder selectors 16 are controlled by signals 34 from the MUT transponder controller 18 that determine which transponder signal should be output to the MUT transmitter for each user. Those signals go to a low- noise block (LNB) selector 36 (a voltage-controlled L-band microwave switch) and tunable local oscillator 38 (e.g., Luff Research frequency synthesizer PN SLSM2- 5501050) controls the frequency shift in mixer 40 (e.g., Mini-Circuits Laboratories Model ZMX-10G). In the five-user embodiment, for example, the intermediate frequencies for the five users could be situated at 400 MHz, 430 MHz ,460 MHz, 490 MHz and 520 MHz respectively. However, those skilled in the art can appreciate that the invention can be practiced by embodiments utilizing other sets of frequencies and accommodating other numbers of users.

2. The transmitter

Transmitter 22 bundles via multi-user combiner 43 (e.g., Narda four-way combiner Model No. 4311C-4) all of the selector signals into a reduced bandwidth package at the intermediate frequencies. It then upconverts them to the U-NII band, bandpass filters and amplifies the signal for transmission, using frequency converter 45 which includes up-converter / mixer 46 (e.g., Mini-Circuits Laboratories Model ZMX- 7GLHR) coupled to local oscillator 48 (e.g., Luff Research Model No. SLSM2- 38004300), bandpass filter 47 (e.g., K & L Microwave Model No. 51B32- 5275 T400), amplifier 49 (e.g., JCA Technology Model No. JCA048-F01), circulator 23 (e.g., Narda three port circulator Model No. 4914) and transmitter / controller antenna 26 . In an example depicted in Fig. 4, three user selected transponder signals are packaged into the U-NII band at 5150 - 5350 MHz. This is considerably smaller than the 1000 MHz necessary to transmit all the DTH transponders. Transmitter / controller antenna 26 can be a U-NII antenna, which is a small 3" x 3" corner reflector or an 18" long, 1.25"- diameter omnidirectional antenna (e.g., Mobile Mark N SCR14-5150).

The Transponder Controller

"Transponder controller" (18) is abbreviated terminology for "transponder signal- selector controller," for it controls a transponder selector (16) which in turn selects a transponder signal. Transponder controller 18 includes amplifier 90 (e.g., JCA Technology Model No. JCA048-F01), frequency converter 91 which includes a down-converter / mixer 92 (e.g., Mini-Circuits Laboratories Model No. ZLMX- 7GLHR) coupled to local oscillator 93 (e.g., Luff Research Model No. SLSM2- 38004300), low-pass filter 94 (e.g., K&L Microwave Model No. 5IB32), demodulator 95 (e.g., BroadCom Corp. Model No. BCM93180) and processor 96 (e.g., generic 486 class personal computer processor). Transponder controller 18 receives control signals from the user in a narrow frequency band that is adjacent to the users' transponder signals (See Fig. 4). Those signals are downconverted, demodulated, processed and sent as signals 34 to LNB selectors 36 and to the tunable local oscillators (frequency synthesizer) 38 in transponder selectors 16. In summary, as can be seen, the present invention provides for the transparent distribution of Direct To Home (DTH) Services to multiple users on a limited- bandwidth channel. Key features of a working embodiment of the invention include the following:

1. Multiple transponder signals can be selected from a DTH signal and sent on a wireless U-NII (5.15 - 5.35 GHz) link. (Fig. 4 shows a spectrum of 3 transponder signals.)

2. A receiver can receive those transponder signals, and convert them back to the DTH band for successful signal viewing, for example, television viewing.

3. Control data can be sent simultaneously on the same U-NII band without interfering with the DTH signals. Likewise, the control data is received intact without interference from the DTH signals. (Fig. 4 shows the spectrum wherein the 3 transponder signals are combined with control data.)

4. The desired transponder can be selected for transmission by tuning the local oscillators in the transponder selector and the receiver.

5. The user has full access to the DTH program guide and authorization codes when only a single transponder signal is received at the IRD. This is significant for the user-transparent use of this distribution system.

Those skilled in the art can appreciate that variations of the embodiments described herein can be used to practice the invention and fall within the scope of the claims set forth below.

Claims

1. A method of wireless Direct To Home satellite services signal distribution to a plurality of service-requesting users, comprising:

providing a multi-user transmitter coupled to an earth satellite antenna to receive a plurality of satellite transponder signals, the multi-user transmitter including a plurality of transponder-signal selectors;

providing each service-requesting user with a user-controllable channel selector for accessing the satellite transponder signals, the user-controllable channel selector being coupled to a respective user display unit and to a respective user receiver unit;

transmitting to the multi-user transmitter, in response to channel selections, transponder-signal selection information indicative of desired transponder signals;

transmitting transponder signals, selected according to the transponder-signal selection information, from the multi-user transmitter to respective service- requesting users associated with the channel selections; and

coupling each selected satellite-transponder signal to the requesting user-controllable channel selector for display by the respective user display unit.

2. The method of wireless Direct To Home satellite services signal distribution claimed in claim 1 wherein each transponder-signal selector is associated with a respective service-requesting user.

3. The method of wireless Direct To Home satellite services signal distribution claimed in claim 1 wherein each transponder-signal selector is dedicated to a respective service-requesting user.

4. The method of wireless Direct To Home satellite services signal distribution as claimed in any of claims 1-3 wherein the step of transmitting transponder-selection signals to the multi-user transmitter is performed by the user receiver unit.

5. The method of wireless Direct To Home satellite services signal distribution claimed in any of claims 1-4 wherein the step of providing a multi-user transmitter includes the step of coupling a transponder-signal selector controller to each of the transponder-signal selectors for controlling, in response to the transponder-signal selector information, the desired transponder signal to be transmitted to the service- requesting user.

6. The method of wireless Direct To Home satellite services signal distribution claimed in any of claims 1-5 wherein each receiver unit includes:

a responder coupled to the user-controllable channel selector for identifying the desired satellite transponder signal and transmitting the transponder-signal selection information to the multi-user transmitter, the responder including a control-signal processor; and

a receiver coupled to the user-controllable channel selector and to the control-signal processor for providing, to the user-controllable channel selector, the satellite transponder signal indicated by the transponder-signal selector information derived from channel selection of the particular user-controllable channel selector.

7. A system for wireless Direct To Home satellite services signal distribution to a plurality of service requesting users, comprising:

a multi-user transmitter coupled to an earth satellite antenna to receive selectable satellite transponder signals, the multi-user transmitter including a plurality of transponder-signal selectors, each transponder-signal selector being associated with a respective service- requesting user; and

a user-controllable channel selector for each service-requesting user for accessing the selectable satellite transponder signals, the user-controllable channel selector being associated with a respective user display unit and a respective user receiver unit coupled thereto,

a transponder-signal selection transmitter responsive to a channel selection signal for transmitting transponder-signal selection information to the multiuser transmitter, the transponder-signal selection information being indicative of a desired satellite transponder signal to be transmitted to the user receiver unit associated with the respective channel selection;

wherein the multi-user transmitter transmits selected satellite transponder signals to the plurality of service-requesting users in response to the transponder-signal selection information, and the desired satellite transponder signal is coupled to the requesting user-controllable receiver for display by the respective user display unit.

8. The system for wireless Direct To Home satellite services signal distribution as claimed in claim 7, wherein said user receiver unit is incorporated together with said channel selector as an integrated unit.

9. The system for wireless Direct To Home satellite services signal distribution as claimed in claim 7 or 8, wherein each transponder-signal selector is dedicated to a user.

10. The system for wireless Direct To Home satellite services signal distribution as claimed in any of claims 7-9 wherein the multi-user transmitter includes a transponder-selector controller coupled to each of the transponder selectors for controlling, in response to the transponder-signal selection information, the desired satellite signal to be broadcast from a respective satellite transponder to the plurality of service requesting users.

11. The system for wireless Direct To Home satellite services signal distribution as claimed in any of claims 7-10, wherein said transponder-signal selection transmitter is incorporated into said user receiver unit as an integrated unit.

12. The system for wireless Direct To Home satellite services signal distribution as claimed in any of claims 7-11, wherein each user receiver unit includes:

a responder coupled to the user-controllable channel selector for identifying the desired satellite transponder signal and transmitting the transponder selection information to the multi-user transmitter, the responder including a control signal processor; and

a receiver coupled to the user-controllable channel selector and to the control signal processor for providing to the user-controllable channel selector the desired satellite transponder signal in response to a control signal from the control signal processor derived from a service-requesting user-selected channel signal.

13. The system for wireless Direct To Home satellite services signal distribution as claimed in any of claims 7-12, wherein the multi-user transmitter includes a transmitter coupled to each of the transponder-signal selectors for combining and broadcasting each of the desired satellite signals, which are received from the transponder-signal selectors, from a transmitter / controller antenna coupled to the transmitter.