Robert B. Cooper
Robert B. Cooper (born 1937 in Ithaca, New York) is a U.S. electronics journalist specialising in Cable television (CATV), and long distance terrestrial and satellite TVRO television reception. At age 12 he began researching the feasibility of receiving weak and/or distant television transmissions for home use, using an early-model TV receiver provided by his electronics-oriented father and aftermarket antennas provided by small entrepreneurs and researchers.
In 1954, Cooper founded the AIPA (American Ionospheric Propagation Association), which was the forerunner of the WTFDA (Worldwide TV-FM DX Association).
From 1956 onwards, Cooper wrote articles for Popular Electronics, which introduced readers to long distance television reception (TV DX). From 1956 to February 1960 he compiled and wrote the Radio-Electronics TV-FM DX Column.
In January 1960, Cooper published the first EDition of DXing HORIZONS which later broke into four parts - TV Horizons, Communication Horizons, VHF Horizons, and CB Horizons. TV Horizons was the first technical magazine for the cable TV industry.
In 1964, Cooper designed and built more than a dozen cable TV systems which were 12 channel (state of the art at the time) employing some innovative chicken wire parabolic antennas for long distance VHF and UHF television reception.
In 1968, then living in the American Virgin Islands he designed the Interdigital Preamplifier, which in the September issue of Popular Electronics attracted front cover coverage and ten interior pages for the "All American Sports Amplifier" (AASA) - the original "beat the NFL/AFL TV blackout box."
From 1971 through 1974, he founded and ran CADCO - the leading edge TV and FM reception hardware technology firm from Oklahoma City. CADCO designed, manufactured the equipment for, and turn-key installed more than 50 such "small town CATV systems" worldwide over the next decade.
From 1974 to 1979, he created and edited CATJ - Community Antenna Television Journal, which in 1976 designed and publicized the first C-band "home" satellite dish system. Published in TV Guide, his report attracted more than 10,000 inquiries from viewers who wanted their own home (C-band) dish system. He and Ted Turner held the only C-band private (home) FCC "dish licenses" ever granted from 1977 onward.
In 1990, Cooper moved to Mangonui, Far North, New Zealand, where he continues to publish several trade journals dealing with Satellite, and DVB-T (digital terrestrial) reception.
Mr. Cooper is not to be confused with Robert B. Cooper, a Professor of computer sciences at Florida Atlantic University at Boca Raton, Florida.