Greetings everyone. This is my first post on SatelliteGuys. My name is Tom and I very new to this hobby. I have in the past been a DirectTV subscriber and I'd probably still be with them had they not burned me. But that's another subject.
I have been researching this FTA stuff on and off for a while. My interests were re-sparked a month ago with an article in Monitoring Times magazine titled “Do-It-Yourself Satellite Radio” written by Ken Reitz, KS4ZR. I listen to a lot of radio both local and distant AM stations as well as shortwave. I know that shortwave stations such as Deutsche Welle and Radio Netherlands among others are on FTA satellite. I'm ready to explore this new world of FTA but I do have a few unanswered questions some of you fine folks might be able to answer. So here goes.
Dish size – Most sites I look at offer an 80cm dish as “standard” and 90cm an an “upgrade”. Some mention that the 90cm Ku dish is “recommended” for people living in the northeast and northwest portions of the U.S. I live in central New Mexico, Albuquerque to be precise. Would an 80cm dish perform adequately in my location? The difference in cost is only $20 or so to go with a 90cm. Cost is not an issue, my two concerns are WAF and wind loads. It can get pretty windy here especially in the spring. I will be motorizing the dish is that makes a difference in your recommendations.
NASA TV – I love watching NASA TV during shuttle missions. I usually watch on my computer but the quality isn't the best. Plus it's less comfortable then being in my recliner or on the couch in my home theater room. I understand that the Dish Networks bird @ 119W broadcasts NASA TV FTA. I also understand that being a DBS satellite the polarization is circular. I'm thinking that I need to use something like an Invacom QPH-031 LNB and a switch so I can receive linear and circular polarized signals at the same time. Am I on the right path? Also this particular model has 2 extra ports that I probably won't be using. Is there another LNB model that only has one linear and one circular output?
Sports – I love watching the NFL. In fact that was one of my main reasons for going with DirectTV due to their NFL Sunday ticket offering. Well I don't have that anymore. Are there NFL viewing opportunities on FTA?
Satellite angle – This is a curiosity question. Let's say for my location I need to angle my dish @ 45 degrees according to one of the many calculators on the web. Being that the dish uses an offset LNB is the satellite actually a little higher than that?
Re-using an old DBS dish – I have an old Sony 18” dish that I've used for many years with DirecTV. I'd like to have satellite radio hooked up to a 2 channel stereo in my home office. Can I get an inexpensive or second hand receiver, hook it up to my old 18” dish and get the music channels for my stereo? Alternatively I'd like to substitute a FTA computer card for the receiver. Do any of these PC cards work with Linux? For this home office setup I'm interested in audio only.
Too good to be true? - I'm very skeptical of “deals” I see on the internet. Usually if something seems too good to be true it usually is. I'm looking at Pansat receivers. Specifically the 3500 SD because of it's features and it has component output for my flat screen LCD. I read that there are lots of Pansat clones out there. I want to get the best deal I can but don't want to wind up with an inferior product. Any suggestions? Also, what other receivers should I be looking at that are in the same class as the Pansat 3500?
I know that there are a lot of questions here. Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated.
Tom
I have been researching this FTA stuff on and off for a while. My interests were re-sparked a month ago with an article in Monitoring Times magazine titled “Do-It-Yourself Satellite Radio” written by Ken Reitz, KS4ZR. I listen to a lot of radio both local and distant AM stations as well as shortwave. I know that shortwave stations such as Deutsche Welle and Radio Netherlands among others are on FTA satellite. I'm ready to explore this new world of FTA but I do have a few unanswered questions some of you fine folks might be able to answer. So here goes.
Dish size – Most sites I look at offer an 80cm dish as “standard” and 90cm an an “upgrade”. Some mention that the 90cm Ku dish is “recommended” for people living in the northeast and northwest portions of the U.S. I live in central New Mexico, Albuquerque to be precise. Would an 80cm dish perform adequately in my location? The difference in cost is only $20 or so to go with a 90cm. Cost is not an issue, my two concerns are WAF and wind loads. It can get pretty windy here especially in the spring. I will be motorizing the dish is that makes a difference in your recommendations.
NASA TV – I love watching NASA TV during shuttle missions. I usually watch on my computer but the quality isn't the best. Plus it's less comfortable then being in my recliner or on the couch in my home theater room. I understand that the Dish Networks bird @ 119W broadcasts NASA TV FTA. I also understand that being a DBS satellite the polarization is circular. I'm thinking that I need to use something like an Invacom QPH-031 LNB and a switch so I can receive linear and circular polarized signals at the same time. Am I on the right path? Also this particular model has 2 extra ports that I probably won't be using. Is there another LNB model that only has one linear and one circular output?
Sports – I love watching the NFL. In fact that was one of my main reasons for going with DirectTV due to their NFL Sunday ticket offering. Well I don't have that anymore. Are there NFL viewing opportunities on FTA?
Satellite angle – This is a curiosity question. Let's say for my location I need to angle my dish @ 45 degrees according to one of the many calculators on the web. Being that the dish uses an offset LNB is the satellite actually a little higher than that?
Re-using an old DBS dish – I have an old Sony 18” dish that I've used for many years with DirecTV. I'd like to have satellite radio hooked up to a 2 channel stereo in my home office. Can I get an inexpensive or second hand receiver, hook it up to my old 18” dish and get the music channels for my stereo? Alternatively I'd like to substitute a FTA computer card for the receiver. Do any of these PC cards work with Linux? For this home office setup I'm interested in audio only.
Too good to be true? - I'm very skeptical of “deals” I see on the internet. Usually if something seems too good to be true it usually is. I'm looking at Pansat receivers. Specifically the 3500 SD because of it's features and it has component output for my flat screen LCD. I read that there are lots of Pansat clones out there. I want to get the best deal I can but don't want to wind up with an inferior product. Any suggestions? Also, what other receivers should I be looking at that are in the same class as the Pansat 3500?
I know that there are a lot of questions here. Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated.
Tom
to Satelliteguys! Great to have you here 
