Back to big dish

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Original poster
Nov 27, 2022
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Colorado
Hello all, my name is Eric, I’m from Colorado and am wanting to go back to my big dish. It’s an 8’ mesh aluminum dish. My electronics are 1990’s vintage the receiver is a Huston Tracker Vlll. When we switched to the small dish I never took the big one down so it’s still mounted.

My questions are what brand of digital receiver would you recommend? I would like to view free channels but would also like to watch subscription channels, where can I get subscription packages? Also I should ask if there are any premium channels that are free?
Thank you for any and all advise and help.
 
Hello all, my name is Eric, I’m from Colorado and am wanting to go back to my big dish. It’s an 8’ mesh aluminum dish. My electronics are 1990’s vintage the receiver is a Huston Tracker Vlll. When we switched to the small dish I never took the big one down so it’s still mounted.

My questions are what brand of digital receiver would you recommend? I would like to view free channels but would also like to watch subscription channels, where can I get subscription packages? Also I should ask if there are any premium channels that are free?
Thank you for any and all advise and help.
Any of these receivers are good, and this is a good seller to buy from, though I'm partial to the Edision Mio myself: FTA Receivers

There are NO legit subscription packages available to C-band owners. There are NO permanently open "premium" channels, though sometimes some open up for a short time here and there.
 
Wow, thanks for the reply. C band has certainly changed dramatically since I was last there 20 years ago, and not in a good way. Hard to believe there are No subscription packages at all, small market im guessing?

So what sort of free to air channels are there? How many?
 
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Wow, thanks for the reply. C band has certainly changed dramatically since I was last there 20 years ago, and not in a good way. Hard to believe there are No subscription packages at all, small market im guessing?

So what sort of free to air channels are there? How many?

You can look at what is and isn't in the clear here. Doesn't include feeds that pop up. Channels come and go so... :rolleyes

 
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Wow, thanks for the reply. C band has certainly changed dramatically since I was last there 20 years ago, and not in a good way. Hard to believe there are No subscription packages at all, small market im guessing?

So what sort of free to air channels are there? How many?
There's hundreds of various channels up there. From some OTA sub-channels you might or might not already have in your area, to religious, to radio, to feeds, all sorts of stuff.

Since you already have a dish, and can use your old receiver just for moving it, you can replace the LNB's with a new style LNBF, get a new receiver, and you may be ready to go for a couple hundred $$.

Though an 8 foot dish is really small for now, and you are only going to maybe get 75% of what's available to a 10' and larger dish
 
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Growing up I envied those with a big dish. When I got my first house in 1999 it came with one. I started with analog subscription. In 2006 I switched to 4DTV subscription. Started FTA around 2010. In 2016 I got a new house and brought the dish with me, and took a year to get things settled and get it set back up. During that time I found that subscription disappeared for good. So it was FTA full time.

But as posted, it’s more of a hobby these days. Channels come and go and move without notice. Not for premium channels or must-see TV. Probably won’t find anyone local for parts and service, so buy parts online and learn to work on it yourself. Got some good folks in here to work with.

But there are those of us who love it. I enjoy things like this, that most people don’t do anymore. Scanning the skies and seeing what I find. Watching oddball things that I just won’t find on a common subscription package. I also didn’t have internet capable of streaming until recently.

Unfortunately the last analog signal disappeared awhile ago. You could get a FTA receiver and see what you can pull in. Likely have to tweak the dish after all that time. If you don’t have 5g in the area, just run with it and see what you can get. Can always upgrade the feed to a 5g resistant LNBF. Thankfully I live in the sticks and I can still use my old school C/Ku setup with no filter.

Lots of people say the Mio is great. Only reason I didn’t get one is I wanted something with built in RCA ports.
 
Xtbar,

Don’t let the size of your dish discourage you. While you might not be able to pull in everything, you’ll get more than you expected, I have a solid 8 foot dish and can “pull in” ALMOST everything listed on the satellite charts from 113w to 55w.
Trees prevent me from receiving any thing lower in either direction.
Just get a good lnbf, receiver and dish mover if need be and enjoy whats out there. There are plenty here willing to help you.

John
 
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