Ionica dishes (not satellite)

Llew

cerca trova...
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My Satellite Setup
Triple Dragon, Dreambox 8000, Echostar AD3000ip, TBS6522,6925,6983 PCie cards.
Gibertini 1.25m motorised dish driven by the AD3000, with either Inverto BU Quad or Norsat / XMW Ka LNBs . SMW 1.05m + 3 other dishes. Speccy: Promax HD Ranger+
My Location
The Flatlands of East Anglia
Are there still many Ionica dishes (correct name is transponder units, I believe) perched on chimneys?
There's plenty in my area of East Anglia, upwards of half a dozen in my road alone.

They operated in the 3GHz band, and provided a wireless alternative to BT's local loop in the '90's.

Ionica went bust spectacularly, going from a billion dollar concern to bankrupcy (shares started at nearly £4, dropping to a few pence).
A major problem was maintaining a good signal to/from the base stations - test vehicles seemed to be forever in my neighbourhood checking signal levels.

The Ionica building still exists here in Cambridge, not sure who owns it now, probably some hi tech company.

Incidentally, I find it ironic that Talk Talk are using the same song (Something In The Air) that Ionica used in their TV advertising back then!

Llew
 
J

Jeff_19341

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Plenty still visible here in Ipswich Llew. That building looks like a racecourse grandstand from the distance.
Nearly went for that type of landline myself, but being from the same firm as yourself;) , thought better of it and went to cable instead..
 

Analoguesat

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Scottish Borders
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TM 5402HD
Sky+ UK.
My Location
Scottish Borders
Hi tech company Zeus took the building over in 2000 and it was renamed Zeus House

Theres a few Ionica dishes around Wolverhampton.
 

rolfw

Believe it when I see it Admin.
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Technomate 5402 HD M2 Ci, DM7000s, Transparent 80cm Dish, Moteck SG2100 DiseqC motor, lots of legacy gear. Meters: Satlook Digital NIT, Promax HD Ranger+ spectrum analyser.
My Location
Berkshire
the little square panels are still around in my area, I think Tele2 were the providers though, nearly went for one, but ADSL arrived just in time. :)
 

Llew

cerca trova...
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My Satellite Setup
Triple Dragon, Dreambox 8000, Echostar AD3000ip, TBS6522,6925,6983 PCie cards.
Gibertini 1.25m motorised dish driven by the AD3000, with either Inverto BU Quad or Norsat / XMW Ka LNBs . SMW 1.05m + 3 other dishes. Speccy: Promax HD Ranger+
My Location
The Flatlands of East Anglia
Yes Jeff, it was an award-wiining building, very innovative. Problem was, the occupants sweltered inside when the temperature rose (something to do with the window design I beleive. Would have thought they would have had some decent air - conditioning :-rofl2

Meant to put up a couple of dish pix -
 

spiney

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Pace 2200 Sky digibox with ftv card, Comag SL65 FTA sat receiver, 40cm Sky minidish, Setpal terrestrial receiver (for free uk tv only!).
My Location
Midlands
Still loads round my way, there still seems to be quite a lot.
 

2cvbloke

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No satellite stuff for the moment (aside from a 43cm minidish that was on the house already), Samsung SyncMaster T27B550 Smart TV & Monitor, and a few computers...
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Near Pontop Pike, Co. Durham
Never heard of or seen any of these things before now, they look very interesting... :D

Would thay have any use in today's world?:cool:
 

martinw01908

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I had one on my house and I was a mainly very happy customer. They undercut BT quite spectacularly, I had a nicer quieter line than on BT. The internet worked faster (closer to 56K) on the line than on BT. A few times the signal would drop out and the engineers would come and re-align the dish, but no hassle. Customer services were open 24/7 and very helpful and friendly. It was the only alternative to BT in my area due to there being no NTL digital cable with the phoneline bundled in - only analogue TV. Same situation today BTW.

NTL did a wireless broadband trial using a similar microwave dish setup last year and I had one on my house, they took down the ionica dish and its sitting behind the shed. Is there any use for it?
 

moffatt

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There are loads around my way and strangely, I've seen one ore two newer ones put up.
 

mixxmixx

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My Satellite Setup
seeking ionica information
My Location
northampton
can or does anyone have a photo of the base unit they installed in the house? i would be most greatfull to see it.
 
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