Bob Cooper in 1970

Robert B. "Coop" Cooper Jr. is one of the unsung heros of the CATV industry.   During his career, he has been an amateur radio operator, RF engineer, CATV equipment manufacturer, association CEO-by-default, journalist, videographer, novelist, and CATV system operator.   As an RF engineer and equipment manufacturer, he founded and ran CADCO, the Community Antenna Development Company, an early manufacturer of CATV headend and distribution equipment.   As a journalist, he has been an effective voice on behalf of small CATV operators and the home satellite community, documenting industry news with pointed political analysis and detailed technical explanations.   As a CATV operator, he built and operated several 12-channel systems in California during 1960s, at a time when solid-state amplifiers were just being introduced.   He now owns Far North Cablevision, in Mangonui, New Zealand.

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Underlying all of these activities, Coop is a writer.   He has written and published numerous journals, technical articles, novels, and memoirs.   And he's still writing today, documenting the history of the CATV and home satellite industries.   His most recent publication, C-Band Remembered: Home Satellite TV Pioneer Memories, is now in print (see ad at left).

Other publications of note are listed below.   Coop urgers readers to give "serious thought" to ordering Television's Pirates: Hiding behind your picture tube.

Periodicals     •  CATJ: Community Antenna Television Journal     •  CSD: Coop's Satellite Journal     •  CJR: Cooper James Report Coop published these journals between 1974 and 1987 for the cable TV and home satellite industries.   Scans of the complete set are available here.

CATV Operations Manuals     •  CATV System Management & Operation.   TAB Books, 1966.     •  CATV System Maintenance.   TAB Books, 1967. According to Coop, CATV System Management is apparently the first-ever "how to" book describing how to create, build, and operate a Community Antenna Television system.   It went to 5-plus printings and introduced thousands to the concept of CATV.   CATV System Maintenance expanded on keeping a system functioning (solid state was new in those days).   These books describe 12-channel CATV systems Coop had constructed in California at a time when Pacific Bell would not grant pole-attachment agreements.   As a result, Coop's Valley Vision system set more than 3,000 of their own 25- to 35-foot poles. These books are out of print, but they occasionally appear on Amazon as "used and collector" items.

Memoirs (Technology)     •  Television's Pirates: Hiding behind your picture tube.   2006. From primitive rooftop and rabbit-ear aerials through to cable and satellite TV, it's 'pirates' who have been at the forefront of pushing the technology.                 —Ken Schaffer, in a review posted at Amazon.com.     •  C-Band Remembered: Home Satellite TV Pioneer Memories.

Memoirs (Personal)     •  Portobello One.     •  Portobello Two.     •  Portobello Three. Coop's account of life in Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands, at a time of rapid development and social change.

Websites     •  http://www.bobcooper.tv   Coop's personal website, a memoir in itself.     •  http://www.portobelloonebook.com/   The backstory behind Coop's Portobello series.

For a more complete list of Coop's publications, see Coop's Bibliography.