A few questions new fta user

[Rave]

Ok so I just ordered my box online it should be here in like a week and a half it's a cheap one online to play with till I have money for a better one.

My satellite is a directv slimline oval shaped dish with 2 transponder things at the end I forget what it's called

I'm curious if I can connect to multiple satellites at the same time without moving the dish

Do I need anything else other than the box to start watching tv

I live in the country in Texas is it possible to connect to amc 11 it has my fav Channel on It


Thanks for help can't wait to start trying out this satellite stuff

 

[KE4EST]

to a SatelliteGuys!!
Those thingys are called LNBF's. You will need to replace them with a linear LNBF.
Yes,it is possible to hit more than one bird, but you will be limited with the size of that dish.
Also I don't know what channel you are after on AMC11, but that is all C-Band and will require a 10-foot dish; a whole different set-up.
Not much FTA on that bird anyway.
What receiver did you purchase.
An example of a Ku linear LNBF: http://nc-electronics.com/mk1pll.html
You will also need a way to fabricate it to work on that dish. Buy some brackets or some hardware at HD and rig up a mount.
Very critical that the new LNBF is in the same spot as the old one.
I recommend trying to get a proper dish for FTA.

 

[Rave]

Well according lyngsat discovery family is on amc 11

So I will need to replace the lnbf before I can even start playing with the dish? They seem pretty cheap

My mom has some vendetta against huge dish's so I don't think I'll be getting a big one

The receiver is a noname generic receiver
Well my plan is to get a better dish when I've gotten a little experience.

 

[KE4EST]

I am not even sure if that is still in the clear. No need to worry about it though since you will need a larger C-Band dish and a receiver capable of DC2; the one you ordered will not decode DC2.
For sure experiment and gain some experience. Main thing is to get your hands on it and read, read , read.
Lots of info on this site and lots of guys willing to help. Feel free to ask questions, no matter how trivial you may think they are.
We all were in the same place as you at one time.

 

[hank123]

Your going to have to retrofit a new lnb to your Slimline dish.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/threads/directv-hd-dish-convert-for-fta.280350/page-2

 

[Rave]

Hey is this a good lnbf to start with it even comes with a bracket

https://www.ebay.com/itm/200865816466

 

[Shicks4]

if i recall the avenger is a pretty good lnbf. you will have to build a bracket to position the lnbf in the proper place. Im attaching photos of my recent projects of converting different dishes but disregard the multiple lnbf part for now. What i did was measure the distance from the dish to the front of the factory dish network lnbf then measured the angles i needed to get to put the lnbf in the right spot and bent a bracket in my vise.

 

[hank123]

Dang shicks 3 lnbs on a dish 500! That thing is tinny.

Shicks is correct you will have to bend the bracket some to the the angle correct. With a slimline you have to drill a new hole (I think) 2 3/8 inches down from the top of the arm in the center. You can hit 97w with ease. You should be able to hit most other ku sats.

 

[Shicks4]

Dang shicks 3 lnbs on a dish 500! That thing is tinny.

Shicks is correct you will have to bend the bracket some to the the angle correct. With a slimline you have to drill a new hole (I think) 2 3/8 inches down from the top of the arm in the center. You can hit 97w with ease. You should be able to hit most other ku sats.

They all worked too, but i got little bit better signal with a oval turbohd dish so I stripped the lnbf's off the dish 500 and put em on the turbohd dish. interesting tidbit the same bracket worked for both dishes, just had to bolt it to the top of the turbohd dish instead of the bottom of the support arm. Neither dish will pick up the LPBS mux or the PBS mux. Beleive me I spent quite a bit of time trying. Its all a moot point for me really as i already have a motorized 90cm dish, im just playing around since its nice outside and work is slow. Better then sitting around eating chips and doing nothing all day.

 

[hank123]

Have you tried a slimline?

 

[Shicks4]

Have you tried a slimline?

Arent those directv? if so yes, and i have been unable to get them to work with a fta lnbf. However to be really fair all of the ones i have come across had damage so the reflector could have been damaged enough to not capture enough signal as im going to assume these small dishes need all the help they can get.

 

[Titanium]

Have used slimlines retrofitted with a universal LNBF mount for 97w before. 90% of channels locked without any problem.

 

[. Raine]

I use a Slimline on 121W, works good there. Have also used them on 97 and 95W in the past with good results. I have a Avenger PLL on mine.

 

[Shicks4]

The dishes i came across looked like they were tossed off the roof they were removed from. I did my best to straighten them out but could never lock any signals with them. I had a small collection of dish network dishes that i had personally removed from properties I owned and had stored in the overflow pen at my shop, figured they would be good for something. It is good to know that it is possible to use them though. Im probably going to have 2 slimline dishes available real soon after i cancel my directv sub.

 

[danristheman]

I used my old slimeline I called it I could do pretty decent with picked up quite a bit with it. This is before my current receivers so it was very good. Overall from 14 c band satellites I have found with my 4 footer and with my different dishes that I had up 26 to 28 satellites from my apartment.

 

[hank123]

Arent those directv? if so yes, and i have been unable to get them to work with a fta lnbf. However to be really fair all of the ones i have come across had damage so the reflector could have been damaged enough to not capture enough signal as im going to assume these small dishes need all the help they can get.

The the dish is a little warped its no good. I have re-installed dishes after roofers came, could not get a signal from directv. Dish looked straight but would not lock because of a defect not really seen by the eye caused by the roofers.