KAKE-TV Redefines “Good Faith Negotiations”

— 2008-12-31 12:00: Update: I have come to an “understanding” with KAKE’s station manager, so I will not be forced to remove Channel 10 from the lineups at midnight tonight. I agreed to pay them what they’re asking, and they agreed to extend the negotiations to remove some unduly burdensome language from the contract. The messages I documented, below — which were uncalled-for and unnecessary — have been removed from KAKE’s on-air schedule and web site.

I very much regret the confusion they caused among some of my subscribers, especially with the digital transition so close at hand. Just to be really, super, mega clear, this issue was not related to the digital transition in February, and, the digital transition will not cause you to lose any channels you currently receive.

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As I’ve discussed with customers, city council members, and others... the local television stations, realizing that they essentially hold all the cards, have decided that the mandatory carriage on cable that they’ve enjoyed for years under “must carry” is not enough… no, now they want money… from me (which really means from you, my subscribers – after all, the cable company doesn’t have any other source of income… just “subscriber revenues” – a sanitized way of saying, “your money”) for the privilege of having their signals on the cable system.

Never mind the fact that you can get them with an antenna for free.

Never mind that cable makes it more convenient for you to receive their signals.

They know they’ve got the goods and they want us to pony up the dough.

Fine. I’m not an unreasonable person. Realizing that I’m over a barrel – it’s not illegal, after all, for them to demand payment, and it doesn’t seem like I have much (if anything) in the way of alternatives… so I made it my business to attempt to negotiate the best deal possible from them, for you.

…even though I’m feeling like David, but without the benefit of the slingshot.

Fortunately, some of the stations have been somewhat reasonable in their dealings with me on this. I have arrangements with some of the stations, and although I don’t think any payment is fair or appropriate, at least the personnel involved were cordial and acted as if they were negotiating in good faith.

The same thing can’t exactly be said for KAKE-TV.

You tell me if this is negotiating in good faith. I’ve communicated with them several times, at least once including a list of questions and discussion points (hey, I thought we were negotiating) and at least once with a marked-up copy of their proposed agreement, including requests for clarification. None of these drew any cogent responses – all I ever really got was a restatement of their original proposal; no explanations, no discussion.

Responding both to the rapid approach of January 1, 2009, and a letter I received – the tone of which implied that I had not been attempting to “negotiate” all along – I spoke to the station manager yesterday – one of numerous contacts I’ve made and attempted to make – and made him an offer.

I let him know that I did not believe this to be a fair price – I believed it to be more-than-fair, but in the interest of moving ahead, this was my (most recent) counter-offer and was one that I would stand by, even though I didn’t like it. Further, I gave him a very specific, numeric explanation of how I had arrived at that offer.

Today, at 2:19pm, I received an e-mail. Because I am not a vindictive person, I have removed the contact details… but you will get the idea.

From: {administrative assistant} Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 2:19 PM To: 'Michael Ezzell [BSC]' Cc: {station manager} Just want to let you know we have received approval for {{ price }} for your retransmission agreement. {{ signature }} {{ direct phone number }}

That’s all well and good, except for the fact that the price was over 125% of the price I proposed yesterday. So they got approval… but not for what I counter-offered them. Personally, I would have preferred to at least have them say, “we’re sorry, we can’t meet your proposal, but here is our next offer.”

The problem is, they really don’t seem to see it this way. They do not appear to be interested in “negotiating.”

If this were all there was to my grief, you could probably still see both sides. But given the fact that – at least as far as I can tell – the “negotiations” are still underway, what follows is wholly inappropriate.

I received a call from one of my subscribers, saying there was a message on Channel 10 about how the station might not be available on Blue Sky Cable. At first, I thought it was a message related to the digital transition in February. But no, it wasn’t... it was quite specific.


This was tonight at 6:16pm on the 6:00 news. In case you can’t see the video, it says:

**** If you are a Blue Sky Cable subscriber, you may not receive KAKE-TV after 12/31/08. To ensure that you will continue to receive KAKE-TV’s news, weather and programming, call DirecTV at 1-888-777-2454 or DISH network at 1-888-825-2557. ****

Now this, my friends, falls outside the bounds of good faith negotiations.

If KAKE-TV is not on Blue Sky Cable after 12/31/08, it will not be because Blue Sky Cable refused to come to the table and wash their feet.

Surely I can’t be the only cable company that hasn’t acceded to their demands. Could I?

No. From the KAKE-TV web site:

“If you are a Blue Sky Cable, Epic Touch, Pioneer Communications or United Comm cable subscriber, you may not receive KAKE or KUPK after 12/31/08. To ensure that you will continue to receive KAKE/KUPK's news, weather and programming, call DirecTV at 1-888-777-2454 or DISH Network at 1-888-825-2557”

(You can click the image at the right to see what their web site looked like when this entry was posted.)

Oh… well, how about that? It appears I’m not the only cable company that they’ve failed to reach an agreement with. For whatever reason, they’ve decided I need to be made an example of, on-the-air, I suppose. The implication of the message on the screen is that they know something about Blue Sky Cable that my customers don’t know. I resent that implication.

Let’s be super, super, clear about this: one party to these negotiations – Blue Sky Cable – has been attempting to negotiate to avoid a disruption and to avoid a rate increase. The other party has been ... not. I frankly am shocked by this kind of hardball over a few dollars a month.

Also to be clear: I do not have any desire to drop Channel 10 if we can reach something resembling a fair agreement. On the other hand, I will have a technician on hand at 11:59pm in both Bentley and Marquette to flip the appropriate switches as circumstances dictate.

— 2008-12-30 22:10: ETA: Ironically, nobody in Marquette has seen these messages... not for the last several hours, anyway... Channel 10 was off the cable due to a failed demodulator. Tech went out and replaced it a few minutes ago.

Updates: ABN, TBN, and Billing

I don’t know about you, but I am thoroughly enjoying listening to ABN’s Old Time Radio programming on Channel 2 in Marquette… If you would have told me two weeks ago that I would actually postpone going to bed so I could hear the “exciting conclusion” of a radio show, I would have said you were out of your mind… but it’s true. I’ve even taken an interest in Jerry at Fair Oaks.

The way I’m carrying ABN’s audio right now is something of a “hack,” a little ingenuity spawned by drive and necessity (Jay called me “resourceful”) using software on the Access Marquette Channel 2 screen generator to play the audio stream… and the fallout from this is an occasional interruption in audio. I’ll have that remedied within a few days, with some different hardware.

I got a message yesterday from TBN that the new equipment has been shipped! So the countdown continues and TBN will be back on the air very shortly.

I’m working on cutting the “December 1” billing… hoping the bills will be in the mail within a couple of days, with payments due back on December 25th. Still not charging late fees, until I get the cycle on a good solid schedule.

New Programming in Marquette

I didn’t get any positive feedback on the C-SPAN Radio programming that I was carrying on Access Marquette Channel 2… I listened quite a bit, myself, and it was kind of – um, what’s the word – dry?

A chain of coincidences led me to discover the Antioch Broadcasting Network (ABN), from AM 1710 in Antioch, Illinois.

Without waxing too philosophical or assuming too much, this appears to be an example of chasing a dream and following a passion.

A radio enthusiast there named Jay Lichtenauer has a collection of thousands upon thousands of old-time radio programs that he has categorized by genre and organized by date – and then written computer software to automatically schedule a very well-organized 24 x 7 stream of quality programming from days gone by – categorized, organized, and apparently very listenable and enjoyable for all ages.

Access Marquette Channel 2 is now carrying the audio from ABN. It’s still in a bit of a testing phase, here, but it seems to be working quite well.

I hope to update the Channel 2 display screens to include “Now Playing” to match the audio track, but that will take me a little bit of time – or I’ll need a brilliant flash of insight in the meantime.

The ABN web site contains a complete schedule and some background information.

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In the coming weeks, I’ll be adding a new channel for kids – “Smile of a Child.”

Here is how its promoters describe it:

“Consistently gentle, faith-based children’s programs”

“Value-based programming for children 2-12”

“Smile of a Child is all about family values and wholesome entertainment ... Parents will never have to worry about their children becoming confused, upset or frightened by something they see on the network...”

If this programming lives up to these claims, I believe it will be a valuable addition to the Blue Sky Cable programming lineup.

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Also coming soon, is “JCTV” –

“JCTV’s programs consistently combine non-stop entertainment with value-driven messages.”

“JCTV features a blend of Christian music videos, teen talk and reality shows, extreme sports, comedy, concerts, and more. JCTV is currently the only faith-based entertainment network in the U.S. exclusively targeting young adults.”

“Young adults,” in this case, means 13 to twenty-something.

I’m optimistic that both of these faith-based channels will bring new value to Blue Sky Cable’s programming lineup for you and your family… and once we launch, I hope to hear your feedback.

Marquette Status Report: December

Good progress in Marquette this weekend, with Lifetime now working again on Channel 29. Woohoo! And good news ahead for Trinity Broadcasting Network’s loyal viewers: I’ve talked to Trinity and they are sending me a new digital satellite receiver so I can restore TBN on Channel 36. I hope to have this going before the end of 2008.

There are a few areas of town where the signal levels are a little bit catawampus. Yes, it turns out, that’s actually a word. For the most part, this is something that only shows up on my test equipment, but there is one small area of town with internet stability issues. All-in-all things look good. I will be going over the system with a fine-tooth comb in the coming weeks to try to pinpoint and eliminate this.

If you’re experiencing any picture quality issues or Internet issues, please let me know!

New and exciting things coming in Marquette – see the related post.

Bentley Status Report: December

Latest Word on Missing Channels:

• Fox News: I am still working with Fox News to get new equipment.
  
• HGTV: I spoke with HGTV’s representatives again on 12/5. They have two different databases – the database used by the accounting department, and the database used by the technical department. Accounting says “oh, yes, you’re a customer in good standing, and you are authorized to carry HGTV in Bentley. All you need to do is have the technical department send an “authorize” signal to your satellite receiver. The technical department, in turn, says “Sorry, nothing in the database for HGTV in Bentley. Call accounting.” As of late Friday, the two departments are finally talking to one another… so hopefully this is another light at the end of this particular tunnel.
  
• GAC (Great American Country) – Channel 9: This channel could be restored as soon as today. I will be in Bentley in a few hours to work on that system.

Internet service in Bentley seems to be going well. If you’re having any “issues,” please give me a heads-up. I still have a handful of “I wonder who this is” users on the system… probably people who gave up and switched away or just quit paying under the previous regime. Some of them even appear to have nothing but a cable modem connected – no computer. Go figure. If you happen to be a previous customer, please go ahead and turn off that cable modem and take it to Daylene at City Hall.

I am still creeping forward towards the “everything back to normal” destination.

Last weekend (11/30) was productive, in the sense of baby-steps, at least:

C-SPAN – Channel 22: the satellite receiver had rolled over and quit. It was still on, but making a nice squealing sound when I arrived, and, as several had reported, not cranking out any audio or video. I replaced the receiver and got the channel back online.

Showtime – Channel 26: this receiver was just “dark.” As it turns out, there was a problem with the power supply, which I was able to repair.

Access Bentley – Channel 2: the images on Channel 2, as you might guess, are generated by a computer. The computer’s power supply quit. Ironic, really… I tell you to “check Channel 2 for information” and then Channel 2 goes dark. Got that power supply in, and the computer is working again.

“Avast, Harrr!”— Cable Pirates

Watching “free” cable is stealing.

Even if “...the violator was not aware and had no reason to believe that his acts constituted a violation...”

The United States Congress apparently considers this a serious crime: The district court or any other court with jurisdiction can award damages to the cable company of $100 to $10,000... although the neighbor who took your $20 to hook up your cable for you... the fine for him is up to $50,000... unless he’s done it more than once, which would make it $100,000. Oh, and up to six months in jail.

It’s serious business, but I know my predecessor left a lot of things undone... so I’m not accusing anyone of theft.

To those who have already alerted me to these problems at their houses, I sincerely thank you. To the others, I realize...

Most likely:

• The cable was working when you moved in.


• You stopped paying because you were dissatisfied with the quality of service and my predecessor never cut you off.


• You signed up for one service, but you got more than that service.

If you are getting service that you are not supposed to be getting, please let me know so that I can either disconnect the unauthorized services or sign you up as a customer.

The current policy of Blue Sky Cable is that when you notify me that a condition of unauthorized signal or service delivery exists, then your notification relieves you of any past liability related to paying for the unauthorized service, as long as you either —

• Agree to begin paying for the services you wish to keep, going forward; or,


• Immediately stop using the service and permit me or my contractor with access to your premises during reasonable hours and with reasonable notice to properly disconnect or filter the unauthorized service.

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47 USC § 553. Unauthorized Reception of Cable Service

1. Unauthorized interception or receipt or assistance in intercepting or receiving service; “assist in intercepting or receiving” defined
   
   
   1. No person shall intercept or receive or assist in intercepting or receiving any communications service offered over a cable system, unless specifically authorized to do so by a cable operator or as may otherwise be specifically authorized by law.
      
   
   
   2. For the purpose of this section, the term “assist in intercepting or receiving” shall include the manufacture or distribution of equipment intended by the manufacturer or distributor (as the case may be) for unauthorized reception of any communications service offered over a cable system in violation of subparagraph (1).


2. Penalties for willful violation
   
   
   
   1. Any person who willfully violates subsection (a)(1) of this section shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than 6 months, or both.
      
   
   
   2. Any person who violates subsection (a)(1) of this section willfully and for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain shall be fined not more than $50,000 or imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both, for the first such offense and shall be fined not more than $100,000 or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both, for any subsequent offense.
      
   
   
   3. For purposes of all penalties and remedies established for violations of subsection (a)(1) of this section, the prohibited activity established herein as it applies to each such device shall be deemed a separate violation.
   
   
3. Civil action in district court; injunctions; damages; attorney’s fees and costs; regulation by States or franchising authorities
   
   
   1. Any person aggrieved by any violation of subsection (a)(1) of this section may bring a civil action in a United States district court or in any other court of competent jurisdiction.
      
   
   
   2. The court may —
      
      
      1. grant temporary and final injunctions on such terms as it may deem reasonable to prevent or restrain violations of subsection (a)(1) of this section;
         
      
      
      2. award damages as described in paragraph (3); and (C) direct the recovery of full costs, including awarding reasonable attorneys’ fees to an aggrieved party who prevails.
         
   
   
   3. —
      
      
      
      1. Damages awarded by any court under this section shall be computed in accordance with either of the following clauses:
         
         
         
         1. the party aggrieved may recover the actual damages suffered by him as a result of the violation and any profits of the violator that are attributable to the violation which are not taken into account in computing the actual damages; in determining the violator’s profits, the party aggrieved shall be required to prove only the violator’s gross revenue, and the violator shall be required to prove his deductible expenses and the elements of profit attributable to factors other than the violation; or
            
         
         
         2. the party aggrieved may recover an award of statutory damages for all violations involved in the action, in a sum of not less than $250 or more than $10,000 as the court considers just.
      
      
      2. In any case in which the court finds that the violation was committed willfully and for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain, the court in its discretion may increase the award of damages, whether actual or statutory under subparagraph (A), by an amount of not more than $50,000.
         
      
      
      3. In any case where the court finds that the violator was not aware and had no reason to believe that his acts constituted a violation of this section, the court in its discretion may reduce the award of damages to a sum of not less than $100.
         
      
      
      4. Nothing in this subchapter shall prevent any State or franchising authority from enacting or enforcing laws, consistent with this section, regarding the unauthorized interception or reception of any cable service or other communications service.

Weekend Update (11/16)

This past weekend, the migraines prevailed. I didn’t arrive in Marquette until around midnight Saturday night. I did get a few things done, the most significant of which is the fix-up on Channel 12 – looks good, no?

Other things included posting a channel lineup on Cable Channel 2, tweaking the picture quality and readability of the words on Channel 2, and installing a new Lifetime receiver in Marquette... you will notice that Lifetime now shows “No Signal” instead of just “nothing.” Hey, it’s progress. Sort of. So it’s installed... but has... uh... no signal. That is my next project, to get the Lifetime guys to activate it.

Same thing for Trinity – new satellite receiver needed, but I have one that I believe will work.

After these, I’m hoping to add a new channel in Marquette:

PBS “Create” calls itself “The TV channel for cooking, arts & crafts, gardening, home improvement, and travel.” Hmmm...

Take a look at the Create schedule. Create is on the air 24 x 7. If nothing else, it will be great on those nights that you can’t sleep. And I mean that in the nicest possible way.

And, in Marquette, I’m still working on bringing in audio programming from Wichita for Channel 2... which currently is simulcasting the sound from Storm Team 12 Weather (from Cable Channel 41). AM 1330/KNSS is already on Channel 2 in Bentley.

Irony of ironies, my Channel 2 display computer in Bentley is not working... the place to go for information on the cable system has... no information. Just a blinking yellow light... and the light is supposed to be solid green. I also appear to have lost C-SPAN in Bentley. Still pending investigation on that one.

Oh... and yes, I’ll be working on a printed channel guide.

Bills went in the mail yesterday. I believe I’ll be able to get on a normal schedule for December, mailing out the bills around the 1st, but not due until the 25th.

Test My Cable Modem!

New feature... available now in Marquette, coming soon to Bentley (some upgrades are required on the equipment there):

Visit the BlueSkyCable.com web site, and click on Test My Cable Modem.

The test will show you status about the quality and reliability of your cable modem connection, and can also make suggestions and do some troubleshooting.

I’m Not Short on Anything, Except...

...time, money, air, and opportunity!

No, really, it’s just time. A migraine can really slow a fellow down. Two in a row, even better. :(

So at this point, I’m about 24 hours behind on the things I had hoped to accomplish this weekend, which included a new PBS channel in Marquette, adding KNSS AM 1330 to Channel 2 in Marquette, and getting the channel numbers on the “Marquette Listings” page at the blueskycable.com web site updated (most are right, some are not).

If you haven’t seen the listings, check it out – pretty slick.

Also, I have cable lines to re-hang, trouble reports to investigate, and new customers who want my service, all of whom I appreciate very much.

There were some Internet issues this week that were related to trouble “upstream” – that is, things were good here locally, but “on the way” to the Internet there were some issues that were a little bit disruptive – but mostly during overnight hours.

Overall, Internet service is working very well – so if you are having any difficulty, please don’t hesitate to call. Same goes for picture quality.

Thank you to those who have called to let me know that they were receiving additional services for which they were not being billed. If you have some of that, please let me know — I can sign you up, or I can remove the unauthorized services.

I’m continuing to audit the system and remove these unauthorized connections one at a time on my own, but time, time, it all takes time, and your reports make things just that much easier for me.

Bentley City Council, System Status

I had the opportunity to attend the Bentley City Council meeting on Thursday night and I’m grateful to the council, the mayor, the city attorney, and those of you in attendance, for your courtesy and giving me an opportunity to visit with you briefly.

Blue Sky has a financial obligation to the city for some unpaid fees. I’ll be working with the city to make good on those obligations.

I hear different reports from different people on the performance of the Internet service in Bentley… so if you have cheers or jeers for me, I’d like to hear from you.

The Channel 2 system in Bentley has fallen and it can’t get up. It’s a Dell server and apparently has a bad power supply. I’m scrounging for one and will replace it as soon as I can… or replace the whole machine if it comes to that.

I will be in Bentley on Sunday, with a big ’ol list of things to do. More later.

Where’s My Cable Bill?!

Yeah, I’m still workin’ on that. :)

Like I mentioned this weekend, I’m diligently trying to make sure everybody’s bill is correct the first time. Inevitably, things will slip through, so I do request your patience just a little bit longer.

If there is any question in my mind about the accuracy of your bill, I will be including a note of explanation.

I hope to have the bills in your hands before the end of the week.

The Bentley City Council is meeting on Thursday night. I am planning to be there.

I’ve Been Kinda Quiet

’Tis the season... for winter illness, I suppose... I’ve had “one of those things” that everyone says “is going around” ... not enough to lay me out, but too much to let me go full-steam ahead. It finally put me fully out of commission on Friday.

Through the Nyquil haze, I’ve been working towards implementing the new billing system. I don’t have the old one, which is probably just as well considering how temperamental it apparently was. I’m told it was written in Access 95, required Windows 98, and had 7 “patch” CD’s, each patch rendering the database incompatible with previous versions. No thanks.

As I write this, I’m finally to the point where I’m feeling pretty good about the reliability of this new system. The invoices need a little tweaking, but it’s a relatively straightforward process.

Billing is one of those things that you only get one chance to do it right – after that, you’re entrenched, and even if you made a bad choice, now you’re stuck because of how much work would be involved to migrate over.

So this bill that I’m getting ready to mail out is the first one from the new system… and I genuinely hope that when you get yours, it’s accurate… and if it’s not, I hope you’ll let me know and be confident that I will fix it.

I am still in ongoing discussions with Fox News and Lifetime (getting replacement receivers lined up), and HGTV (sorting out a contractual mess).

Weekend Update (10/25-10/27)

I don’t know where the time goes! It certainly goes somewhere, though… I never did post an update from last weekend. Have talked with several customers, and I genuinely appreciate your continued patience…

In Marquette, I had sincerely hoped to fix Lifetime. My old satellite receiver seems to have most likely gone out during a thunderstorm… it’s got a little computer inside, so naturally, that’s going to be the first thing to roll over and quit. When you plug it in, the front panel just blips on, off, on, off. I took another digital receiver to replace it, but it turns out they use the “S” standard rather than the “M” standard for their satellite transmission… and the receiver I had with me was only for “M” signals. Trinity, naturally, uses neither “S” nor “M” for their transmission… so those two are still on hold.

I fixed channels 7 (Fox-24, Wichita) and 10 (KAKE-10, Wichita) — much better. Channel 12 is also improved, but has more work to be done. This will be completed in a few days.

I did make a lot of progress on Internet speeds, including installation of a new software platform that performs continuous monitoring on cable modems and can report back to me on signal quality and reliability at each house.

Here is a very important point: If you have Internet trouble, please call me. It seems many customers have gotten so accustomed to problems, that they sit back and wait, figuring it’s another one of those things. That’s not my way of doing business. If you have to leave a message, please be assured that I will receive it and will acknowledge it as soon as possible. If there is a widespread Internet outage, I will update TV Channel 2 if possible.

MAC Address	xxxx.xxxx.xxxx
IP Address	xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
Prim Sid	11
Interface	C5/0/U0
sysDescr	General Instrument SB3100 Cable Modem	Hardware version	2; OS	VxWorks 5.3.1; Software version	3.2.17p
Upstream Power	58.00 dBmV (SNR = 26.48 dBmV)
Downstream Power	-10.05 dBmV (SNR = 35.04 dBmV)
Timing Offset	3054
Initial Timing Offset	3054
Received Power	!-3.00
MAC Version	DOC1.0
QoS Provisioned Mode	DOC1.0
Enable DOCSIS2.0 Mode	Y
Phy Operating Mode	tdma
Capabilities	{Frag=N, Concat=N, PHS=N, Priv=BPI}
Sid/Said Limit	{Max Us Sids=0, Max Ds Saids=0}
Optional Filtering Support	{802.1P=N, 802.1Q=N}
Transmit Equalizer Support	{Taps/Symbol= 0, Num of Taps= 0}
Number of CPE IPs	0(Max CPE IPs = 5)
CFG Max-CPE	5
Flaps	11229(Oct 30 13	42	10)
Errors	0 CRCs, 0 HCSes
Stn Mtn Failures	239 aborts, 0 exhausted
Total US Flows	1(1 active)
Total DS Flows	1(1 active)
Total US Data	31564 packets, 3491163 bytes
Total US Throughput	33768 bits/sec, 16 packets/sec
Total DS Data	31612 packets, 2851211 bytes
Total DS Throughput	21382 bits/sec, 12 packets/sec
Active Classifiers	0 (Max = NO LIMIT)
DSA/DSX messages	permit all
Total Time Online	1h18m

Slick, huh?

I’ll be installing the same thing in Bentley soon.

In Bentley, still no Fox News. I’m looking at $1,500 for their downlink equipment. Will keep you posted. HGTV— another interesting development: They use “M” satellite gear, so I called up their control center to ask them to authorize my new receiver to get HGTV so I could fix that channel. “We don’t show any records that you have HGTV in Bentley.” D’oh! So despite the fact that we all know it was there, I’m having to sort that out in the contract. I’m paying for it (I have to pay a monthly charge to the programming providers for just about all of the channels), yet… well, go figure. HBO is still to be determined.

Bills are coming out soon for November. For now, I will keep the due date at the 25th of the month, but appreciate your prompt payment.

Marquette Today - Ambitious Plans

I've been at it for a couple of hours now in Marquette, planning to repair Lifetime TV, convert 7, 10, and 12 to digital clarity... no change required to your TV. Lifetime is actually still up in the air, because although I do have a new digital satellite receiver with me to replace the one that apparently took a power or lighting hit, it's not exactly identical to the original one... so all I can do is "try it and see."

I have a MAJOR Internet upgrade planned for the day... this WILL cause a disruption, though I hope it will only take a few minutes. It will be worth it for the new quality and cabilities that will come from it.

If you read this before the upgrade, I need to hear from you right away to check your cable modem's serial number and match it up in the new system. If you have friends with Internet service from Blue Sky, please call them and ask them to call me too... 546-2800.

My biggest concern with this upgrade is that since it will be disruptive, I'm hoping that there will not be people who say "I can't believe it, they're out of service again!" You might wonder why I would do this during the day... the answer is not half bad :) ... the middle of the night would theoretically be "better," but if I do that, then there's the real possibility of everbody waking up and nobody having Internet. Don't want that... would rather catch people during the day as they happen to get online and work with them individually if they have trouble from the upgrade.

I'll be in Bentley late today or early Sunday.

Weekend Preps

It seems my repair work of last weekend has held its own pretty well.

I’ll be meeting with a consultant tonight to review some of my contract arrangements with the television programming providers and learn more about the future disposition of WGN, HGTV, and Fox News in Bentley. At the moment it seems like Fox News is a receiver replacement, HGTV is a receiver reprogramming and WGN is an “I’m not sure.” Tonight’s meeting should clear that all up with a reasonable degree of certainty so that I can continue repairs.

In Marquette, I’ll be replacing the satellite receiver for Lifetime and possibly Trinity if I have one. Bigger news for Marquette is that I hope to convert some or all of the local channels to digital reception. This doesn’t impact the individual viewer’s television or home equipment – only the quality of the picture.

I’ll be in both towns this weekend.

There will be a brief Internet outage in Marquette as I replace some hardware and perform some upgrades — and it all goes according to plans, it will only take a few minutes. If you experience an outage of more than about 15 minutes, please call me at 546-2800.

Adventures in Marquette

Just arrived back in Oklahoma a few minutes ago… very productive weekend.

Things are looking up for my customers in Marquette after my visit today, with TBS (4), CNN (14), Headline News (28), and TNT (38) all restored to service.

I was able to make a significant improvement to the picture quality on Channel 12 although I have to confess I’m not sure if I did “enough” – one of those things that “I hope” continues to work well… so even though it’s better, it’s not to my standards, so I will be doing more on Channel 12.

Channels 7 and 10 also have a lot of room for improvement, so next weekend my plan is to return to Marquette to install new digital receivers on these channels along with 12. That really should get us in good shape and take care of these things once and for all.

That leaves me here: the satellite receivers for Lifetime (29) and Trinity (36) are dead… I don’t know if it was lightning, a power surge, or just what might have torched these receivers (or precisely when), but neither receiver is working, despite the fact that the signals are there… these things cost $1,000+/each… ouch… but I will order new ones and bring them up. I don’t know just when this might be, but if things to really well, I may be able to have them with me this coming weekend.

Once I get the channels in good order, I’ll be starting with the outside facilities, making sure I’m delivering these channels in good quality all the way to your house.

Bentley Progress Report – Good News

As of today in Bentley, CNN (channel 31), TBS (channel 19), and TNT (channel 29) are back in service! I also found and fixed the problem with the audio on ABC Family (channel 21) and turned up the volume on The Weather Channel (23) – it seemed to be unusually low.

Bentley still has some system-wide things that need to be improved – but overall this was good progress.

I had hoped to make it to Marquette today as well, but the best-laid plans didn’t materialize, so I spent most of the day in Bentley.

I’m posting tonight from the Swedish Country Inn in Lindsborg, where I’ll be staying, planning on a full day in Marquette on Sunday. I’m optimistic that I will be able to restore most of the missing channels in Marquette as well, and, I’m going to focus on improving the quality on Channel 12 there.

Here’s a little background information on some of the vacant channels in Bentley:

Cable Channels 3, 10, and 12 are vacant by design, because of the closeness of the Wichita broadcast transmitters and the interference problems that could result. Channel 6 says “WGN” on some of the channel guides I’ve seen, but I’m not finding a feed from WGN. Could be old information – will have to investigate this one. Right now, I have connected a closed circuit camera with a bird’s eye view inside my building. The picture needs tweaking – it’s too bright. Channel 14 looks like maybe it’s supposed to be CNN Headline News. I’m looking to see if there’s anything to back this up in my records. Channel 24 has what I would call a “herringbone” interference pattern. I’m receiving a clean signal from KSAS-TV (Fox) but there appears to be something in my building interfering there… so more research needed. If this isn’t readily fixable, I’ll move KSAS to a clean channel. A&E (channel 41) still has some kind of snowy interference, and channels 43 and 44 have nothing on them. I have some information that suggests 43 might have been “Starz” and 44 may have been “HGTV.” Again, back to the records to see if these are channels I have available. Fox News is the bad news, because I will need to purchase a new satellite receiver to get Fox News going again in Bentley. Will keep you posted on that one.

If you have any insights into what “should be” on a particular channel, please let me know.

Overall, the channels in Bentley look pretty good leaving my building… so if they don’t look good at your house, let me know and we’ll get out and inspect it.

Starting the Cleanup

It’s Saturday morning and this weekend is a big one.

I’m getting ready to leave Oklahoma. In a little while, I’ll be headed to Bentley to take the first steps toward cleaning up the systems. I plan to spend several hours there if not the entire day, and then head north to Marquette to do the same thing, this afternoon or tomorrow.

You may laugh… some of these things are funny, in a not-really-funny kind of way. Seriously.

But here’s what lies ahead for me:

First, I’ll go through the channels and figure out what channel is supposed to be where. I told you it was funny. I don’t have a channel lineup sheet, and those of you who do have probably found them to be inaccurate. So first, I need to know what goes where.

Then, I need to document my facility. My hope is to find a couple of volunteers willing to drive out to the “head end” to flip an occasional switch or restart/reboot an occasional piece of hardware. These shouldn’t happen often, but equipment and technology are never 100% bullet-proof. Proper documentation will make this process relatively easy even for a person without a lot of technical expertise, and local volunteers will make it much easier for me to restore or investigate outages more quickly.

Next, I’ll be evaluating the quality of the picture and sound on the channels that are working. Anything that’s not easy to watch will need to be fixed, whether this means checking connections, the aim of my antennas or satellite dishes, or something else. If these are relatively simple fixes, I’ll fix them today. If not, I’ll formulate a plan and tell you about it here.

If I have channels that are completely dead, there are a few things that immediately come to mind as possibilities…

• Possibly, the equipment simply needs to be reset, with nothing less obvious than a power-off/power-on sequence.
  
• Maybe, I need to call the network and have them re-enable my receiver (sometimes, they do spontaneously lose their authorization, and the satellite company has to re-authorize them).
  
• Alternately, I could have a defective satellite receiver (takes satellite signals, turns them into raw, viewable video) or a defective modulator (takes that same raw video and inserts it into the cable system on the appropriate channel).
  
• It is also possible, as appears to be the case with Fox News, that the channel may have moved to a different satellite and/or that the channel may have changed the technology they use to send the signal to me – making my equipment obsolete, and requiring that I purchase new equipment.

Whatever I find, I will repair what I can, today. Whatever else may be required, I’ll post updates on here to let you know of my progress.

Start Here

Thank you for your interest in the happenings at Blue Sky Cable.

As you have likely heard by now, Julie Hodges, the former owner, passed away unexpectedly in early October. She had been sick for a long time, but her death from an aneurism was unexpected, and only indirectly-related to her illness.

I purchased the company from Julie a very short time before her passing, but did not take active control in the operations until several days afterward. Taking on these cable systems was a big risk... but the alternative was to see two communities lose their cable television and Internet service altogether, and I did not want to see that happen.

I know that the level of customer service and technical quality that has been provided by Blue Sky Cable can perhaps only be described as “pitiful.” Calls not returned, troubles not repaired, payments not applied, bills not mailed, disconnect requests not honored... an almost surreal experience for you, as a customer, I’m sure.

I believe Blue Sky can be an asset to the Marquette and Bentley communities, but it will take me some time to return the systems to a proper operating condition and to regain your trust.

I will post updates here to give you an insider’s view of my experiences in this new venture.

If you have remained a customer, I sincerely thank you.

If you are no longer a customer, I have no hard feelings toward you; I only hope that over time I can build the systems back up, improve the quality and reliability, and regain your trust as a provider of Internet and Cable Television service.