GI/Jerrold headend equipment
I'm looking for software, hardware and documentation relating to the equipment below, or any other General Instrument or Jerrold cable headend or terminal equipment (especially if used in the UK). If you have any, please email me: philpem@gmail.com.
Addressable controllers
- AH and AI series: older Jerrold addressable controllers
- Series of machines: AH-1, AH-2, AH-2E, AH-4E, AI-0, AI-0S, AH-8
- PDP-11 based (per ref)
- Minimal information available.
- Discontinued in 1990.
- ACC: Addressable Controller (Addressable Control Computer?)
- ACC-1000:
- Minimal information available
- i8086?
- ACC-2000:
- 20MHz 80486 PC with 52MB hard drive, 3.5 and 5.25in floppy drives, and 4MB RAM.
- SCO Xenix System V operating system
- Includes 8-port port multiplexer, diagnostic modem and Jerrold cable interface.
- Cable interface: 106.5 MHz or 108.5 MHz, selectable
- Supports STARFONE telephone IPPV (STARFONE modems are optional)
- Billing interface (“Wirelink”) has same format as Jerrold AH-4E or AI-O controllers.
- ACC-3000:
- Compaq PL800 (per ref)
- Listed on http://web.archive.org/web/20030225203936/http://broadband.motorola.com/noflash/analog_acc.html, minimal info
- ACC-4000:
- Digital Prioris HX6200 (200MHz Pentium Pro processor), 64MB ECC RAM, QIC tape drive.
- One (ACC-4000 Lite) or three (ACC-4000 Classic and RAID) 2GB hard drives.
- Runs SCO OSE UNIX 3.0, Unify ACCELL 2.5 GUI, and Sybase System 10 database, with ACC-4000 software.
- Three versions: ACC-4000 Lite, ACC-4000 Classic, ACC-4000 RAID
- Lite version supports up to 30,000 set-tops.
- RAID version includes a RAID controller
- Earlier versions:
- ACC-4000/400XP: applicationDEC 400xP (DECpc 400XP?) platform
- ACC-4000/433T: DECpc 433T
- Y2K info (includes info on some of the ACC series): http://web.archive.org/web/20010108065700/http://gicout60.gic.gi.com/year2k/html/product_compliance/ANS_plans.htm#ACC-1000
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- Addressable control computer for Tocom 5500 system. Standard system supports up to 32,000 terminals, but can be expanded up to 250,000.
- 200MHz Pentium, IBM 315 Server Platform. 2.1GB hard drive, 32MB RAM, 4GB tape drive.
- Photo and more details: https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Communications-Technology/80s/Communications-Technology-1986-04.pdf (page 52)
- Datasheet: (PDF)
- Vague details of the billing system interface: http://web.archive.org/web/20000414121718/http://gicout60.gic.gi.com:80/year2k/html/product_compliance/ans/acs_billing.htm
- References TOCOM Addressable Control System, Machine Interface Standard, ASCII Communication Protocol Specification, August 1998, John Richter.
- Works with HVP-III scramblers (Headend Video Processor), see below.
Addressable network interface controllers
- ANIC: PC interface card which connects a PC to the biphase data network.
- ANIC-A: Addressable Network Interface Controller. Connects an ACC-4000 to the biphase data network. Used to control scramblers and other headend equipment.
Scramblers and modulators
- DS/E: Digital Scrambler/Encoder
- An earlier (pre MVP) Jerrold RF-mode scrambler.
- HVP-III (datasheet) (Tocom system)
- Tocom 5500 series encoder
- Tocom 5507 series set-tops (datasheet)
- MVP and MVP-II Modulating Video Processor
- Jerrold baseband video scrambler and modulator.
- Capable of emulating older RF scramblers, e.g. DS/E.
- QVP (datasheet): Quad Video Processor.
- Modular rackmount video processor.
- Inserts data streams onto VBI channels. Possibly related to the CFT-2200 series boxes, which have downloadable software features.
Terminology
- STARfone: Telephone-based IPPV system, where the STB communicates with the headend using a telephone line.
- STARVUE: Also known as “two-way”. RF-based IPPV system, where the STB communicates with the headend using the Cable TV network.