The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Home Page

November 27, 2005

Dishing it out

Man beams 5,000 radio, TV channels with a dozen satellite receivers

Are 20 movie channels on demand just not enough?

Do constant reruns of “I Love the ’80s” on VH1 have you ready to gouge out your eyeballs?

Then come to Al Jessup’s house — where his 5,000-plus radio and television stations from around the world beamed in by his 12 satellite dishes are bound to keep you entertained somehow.

Since 1998, the Beckley resident has amassed a collection of 12 dishes around his James Street home. He said he first just began subscribing to Direct TV and Dish Network, but he later learned that by purchasing special satellite receivers he could receive “free to air” programming from several different satellites swirling the globe. The information on how to adjust a dish and set up a receiver to pick up programming from these stations such as Galaxy 10, AMC 2 and Telestar 5 is included with these receivers.

“Up in the sky, there’s lots of free stuff,” he said.

Over the years, the 54-year-old disabled former ice cream salesman collected more and more dishes so he could pick up more and more “free to air” channels. Neighbors, he said, never complained about his large display of dishes in front of his house. In fact, some of his dishes were hand-me-downs from his neighbors.

The last time he counted, he received more than 5,000 channels. He has stopped counting since.

Now, he picks up local stations from Wyoming, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee and Ohio, he said. Being a former resident of both Tennessee and New Orleans, he does like to watch the local news from there, just to see what is happening.

“New York, New Hampshire, New Jersey, you name it,” Jessup said. “I get everything but Alaska. But if I pointed something toward Alaska, I’d probably get Alaska.

“... I can scoot one over and see what’s going on in Ohio ... or the U.S. Virgin Islands.”

His Beckley home would likely rival most government communications centers. Not only does he pick up stations from across the country, but across the world as well. He picks up stations from Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Jerusalem and other foreign locations.

“Sometimes they speak English, and sometimes they don’t,” he said. “You never know.

“It’s just interesting to watch stations from far away.”

In his home, Jessup has three television sets, and only one gets the plethora of stations. The other two, he said, just receive his programming from his Direct TV and Dish Network subscriptions.

Because the programming is free, it changes regularly, he noted. Sometimes, a program he likes will disappear and something he dislikes will be put in its place, or vice versa. For example, he once had three ABC stations from Wyoming only to have it reduced to one.

“One day it may be here, the next day it may be gone, the next day it may be back,” he said. “You never know.”

Jessup said some programming includes things he likes, like racing or music, and some of it is, well, “weird.”

Soon, he plans to add a 13th dish to his collection, he said. He may later get a “fancy” satellite dish that is basically like 16 dishes in one. This could eliminate some of the dishes outside his house — or enable him to get even more channels.

“I could point them toward the east where there’s a bunch of satellites running around,” he said. “I don’t know what I would get there.”

Text Only
Today's Front Page
  • Pay raises, overcrowding on minds of officers

    Higher starting pay to attract new officers and a host of increases to keep them on the payroll are chief among priorities of a union representing West Virginia’s correctional officers as this session nears the midway point.
    Prison crowding is another topic of keen interest, and Elaine Harris, international representative of the Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO, says her union strongly endorses efforts to ease the congestion behind bars.

    Continued ...
    5 hours
  • Super parties

    From McBee’s Irish Pub to United Methodist Temple to Calacino’s Pizzeria, many people gathered to watch the New England Patriots battle against the New York Giants on Super Bowl Sunday.

    Continued ...
    23 hours 3 Photos
  • Lawmakers review rules for communications during sessions 23 hours
Local News

Today's Sports Front
Inside Sports
Editorials
  • Airport projects crucial

    Tom Cochran and others at the Raleigh County Memorial Airport can breathe a little easier, or at least take a deep breath and exhale, after word came from Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s office last week that a deal has been struck between the two chambers in Congress to authorize long-term funding, into 2015, for the Federal Aviation Administration.

    February 5, 2012

Life!
  • book Bonjour Barnes of Summers County

    Hers is a tale of two cities, Fredericksburg, Va., and Fréjus, France — with 239 pieces of one West Virginia county’s past carefully measured in.

    February 5, 2012 2 Photos

Money
  • hunt 1 new A hunter's paradise

    A man who has been hunting and fishing his entire life has opened a sporting goods store in Hinton.

    February 5, 2012 3 Photos

Sunday Profile
  • friends 1 Friends R Fun gives kids skills to cope with life

    Friends R Fun Child Development Center in Summersville had a humble beginning 25 years ago in a basement room with toys brought from volunteers’ homes or donated by the community.

    February 5, 2012 2 Photos

CNHI Specials

Photo Gallery

Super Bowl XLVI

Facebook
Front page
Helium debate
Helium
AP Video
US, UK Pressure on Syria; More Homs Violence Raw Video: Mass Killer Wants Medal, Freedom Few Answers in Death of Sons of Missing Utah Mom Court Strips Contador of Tour De France Title Runaway Goat Leads Police on Wild Chase And the Winner for Best Super Bowl Ad Is... Raw Video: Deadly Helicopter Crash in Australia Raw Video: Smoke, Purported Gunfire in Syria Romney Latest Poll to Join Let-me-explain Club Blast Kills Husband of Missing Utah Mom, 2 Boys Obama: US, Israel Will Work Against Iran Nukes NJ Museum Finds 19th Century Recording Snow Causes Disruptions in Much of Europe Clinton: Vetoed U.N. Syria Resolution 'travesty' Romney Picks Up Decisive Win in Nevada Caucuses Gingrich Renews Vow to Campaign Until Convention Romney Rolls to Easy Win in Nevada GOP Caucuses Raw Video: Missing Family Found Alive in Ore. Police Clear Tents From Occupy Site in DC Killer of Fla. Girl Found in Landfill Gets Life