Brand new to FTA

bigjnsa · Dec 6, 2005

I'd like to thank the community for an excellent forum. I did a LOT of reading before I joined. I purchased a Fortec Lifetime Ultra on eBay a few days ago along with a Sat finder. Thanks to the review I read on the Fortec Star 36" I'll be ordering a motorized kit from Sadoun probably tomorrow along with the HH100 motor. Questions:
1) How does the HH100 compare to the excellently reviewed SG2100?
2) What is the preferred mounting position? On top of the roof or on the edge?
3) What kind of tools do I need to mount the motorized kit?
4) Should I not use the motor to begin with and fix mount the dish and experiment first? Or should I just fall in and setup the complete motorized system?
5) Since my house is already wired for cable, did you disconnect the outside cable and connect the coax from the dish to this hook up? Or did you run completely new cable? Is the cable in my house RG6 (I think)?
I ask #2 because my new house has a clear Southern view and if I mount it on the roof ledge in the back, I'm tall enough I can get to it without having to go up on the roof.
I'll know I'll have more questions in the coming days when my equipment arrives.
Thanks again!

PSB · Dec 6, 2005

WELCOME to the forum!

1/ Installed both, much prefer the SG2100
2/ Best installed as LOW as you can, so if the roof is the only place best on the edge.
3/ Basic hand tools
4/ Yes, I always say to find and store your true south satellite BEFORE adding a motor.
5/ I would use all new RG6 2.2GHz to be on the safe side, but the cable you have may work.

bigjnsa · Dec 6, 2005

PSB said:
WELCOME to the forum!
1/ Installed both, much prefer the SG2100
2/ Best installed as LOW as you can, so if the roof is the only place best on the edge.
3/ Basic hand tools
4/ Yes, I always say to find and store your true south satellite BEFORE adding a motor.
5/ I would use all new RG6 2.2GHz to be on the safe side, but the cable you have may work.

Thanks Pete!
1) Sadoun doesn't have a kit that includes the dish and the Sg2100. I'll just have to call them
2) As low as you can go... Hmmm.. would in the ground be better than on the edge?
3) Assumming a drill for making the holes and assorted wrenches.
4) gotcha. Play first, then hook up the motor
5) what kind/brand do you recommend?

drhydro · Dec 6, 2005

The lower the dish the easier it is to do installation and maintainence. If you can do it the best place to mount a dish is on a metal (NOT WOOD) pole in the ground. If you do have to mount to the roof, make sure to seal anywhere you penetrate the roofing material, you will be very sorry if you dont.

bigjnsa · Dec 6, 2005

drhydro said:
The lower the dish the easier it is to do installation and maintainence. If you can do it the best place to mount a dish is on a metal (NOT WOOD) pole in the ground. If you do have to mount to the roof, make sure to seal anywhere you penetrate the roofing material, you will be very sorry if you dont.

Question, what is the average degree to point the dish for FTA transmissions? Due South I have a 2 story house, so anything under 40-45 degrees would hit the house. Across the street, a guy has a DirectTV which is about 54-57 degrees which would go over the house.
By putting the dish ON the roof, regardless of degree it will be over the 2nd story house.

PSB · Dec 6, 2005

Give us your zip code and we can give you ALL the elevation angles to the satellites from your area.....

Then you can look at the below program to see if there is anything that will block your signal......

http://www.bjup.com/services/bjhomesat/tech_support/obstacle.html

bigjnsa · Dec 6, 2005

PSB said:
Give us your zip code and we can give you ALL the elevation angles to the satellites from your area.....
Then you can look at the below program to see if there is anything that will block your signal......
http://www.bjup.com/services/bjhomesat/tech_support/obstacle.html

My ZIP is 78249. Google maps shows me as:
29.564014,-98.641734
latitude longitude.... I don't which is which

PSB · Dec 6, 2005

Code:

San Antonio, TX 78249
Latitude 29° 33.672'N Longitude 98° 36.702'W

              Sat Name Sat Lng Az(t) Az(m)   El  Skew
-----------------------------------------------------
                      
          Intelsat 905   24.5W  98.0  91.6  5.1 -59.5
          Intelsat 907   27.5W  99.6  93.2  7.7 -59.1
         Hispasat 1C/D   30.0W 100.9  94.6  9.9 -58.7
          Intelsat 801   31.5W 101.8  95.4 11.2 -58.4
          Intelsat 903   34.5W 103.5  97.1 13.9 -57.8
           AMC 12/T 11   37.5W 105.2  98.9 16.5 -57.1
               NSS 806   40.5W 107.1 100.7 19.1 -56.3
             Pas 3R/6B   43.0W 108.7 102.3 21.3 -55.5
                Pas 1R   45.0W 110.0 103.6 23.1 -54.8
          Intelsat 705   50.0W 113.5 107.1 27.4 -52.9
          Intelsat 707   53.0W 115.8 109.4 29.9 -51.6
          Intelsat 805   55.5W 117.8 111.4 32.1 -50.3
                 Pas 9   58.0W 119.9 113.5 34.1 -48.9
              Amazonas   61.0W 122.6 116.3 36.6 -47.1
            EchoStar 3   61.5W 123.1 116.7 37.0 -46.8
             Rainbow 1   61.5W 123.1 116.7 37.0 -46.8
              Nahuel 1   71.8W 134.3 127.9 44.8 -38.5
             DirecTV 1   72.5W 135.2 128.8 45.2 -37.8
                 AMC 6   72.0W 134.6 128.2 44.9 -38.3
             Galaxy 12   74.0W 137.1 130.8 46.3 -36.3
                 SBS 6   74.0W 137.1 130.8 46.3 -36.3
               GOES 12   75.0W 138.5 132.1 46.9 -35.2
                 AMC 5   79.0W 144.2 137.8 49.4 -30.6
             DirecTV 3   81.8W 148.5 142.1 50.9 -27.0
               Nimiq 2   82.0W 148.8 142.5 51.0 -26.7
          Brasilsat B3   84.0W 152.1 145.8 52.0 -24.0
              AMC 2/16   85.0W 153.9 147.5 52.4 -22.5
                 AMC 3   87.0W 157.4 151.0 53.2 -19.5
                  IA-8   89.0W 161.1 154.7 53.9 -16.4
             Galaxy 11   91.0W 164.8 158.5 54.5 -13.1
             Nimiq 1/3   91.0W 164.8 158.5 54.5 -13.1
          Brasilsat B4   92.0W 166.8 160.4 54.8 -11.5
             Telstar 6   93.0W 168.7 162.4 55.0  -9.8
             Galaxy 3C   95.0W 172.7 166.3 55.3  -6.3
             Telstar 5   97.0W 176.7 170.4 55.5  -2.8
             Galaxy 4R   99.0W 180.8 174.4 55.5   0.7
       DirecTV 1R/4S/8  101.0W 184.8 178.5 55.4   4.2
                 AMC 4  101.0W 184.8 178.5 55.4   4.2
            Spaceway 1  102.0W 186.8 180.5 55.3   5.9
                 AMC 1  103.0W 188.8 182.5 55.2   7.7
                AMC 15  105.0W 192.8 186.4 54.8  11.1
           Anik F1/F1R  107.3W 197.2 190.8 54.2  14.9
             DirecTV 6  109.5W 201.3 194.9 53.5  18.4
            EchoStar 6  110.0W 202.2 195.8 53.3  19.2
            EchoStar 8  110.0W 202.2 195.8 53.3  19.2
               Anik F2  111.1W 204.2 197.8 52.9  20.9
         Solidaridad 2  113.0W 207.5 201.1 52.1  23.7
              SatMex 5  116.8W 213.7 207.3 50.2  28.8
             DirecTV 5  119.0W 217.0 210.6 48.9  31.6
            EchoStar 7  119.0W 217.0 210.6 48.9  31.6
 EchoStar 9/Telstar 13  121.0W 219.9 213.5 47.7  33.9
            Galaxy 10R  123.0W 222.6 216.2 46.4  36.1
             Galaxy 12  125.0W 225.2 218.8 45.1  38.1
         Galaxy 13/H 1  127.0W 227.6 221.2 43.6  40.0
  Telstar 7/Echostar 5  129.0W 229.9 223.6 42.2  41.7
                AMC 11  131.0W 232.1 225.8 40.7  43.4
             Galaxy 1R  133.0W 234.2 227.8 39.1  44.9
                AMC 10  135.0W 236.2 229.8 37.6  46.3
                 AMC 7  137.0W 238.1 231.7 35.9  47.6
                 AMC 8  139.0W 239.9 233.5 34.3  48.8
            EchoStar 1  148.0W 247.1 240.7 26.7  53.2
            EchoStar 2  148.0W 247.1 240.7 26.7  53.2
                      
............................................................
                      
 *** DBS SATELLITE ***
                      
         EchoStar 3/R1   61.5W 123.1 116.7 37.0 -46.8
          EchoStar 6/8  110.0W 202.2 195.8 53.3  19.2
            EchoStar 7  119.0W 217.0 210.6 48.9  31.6
 EchoStar 9/Telstar 13  121.0W 219.9 213.5 47.7  33.9
            EchoStar 5  129.0W 229.9 223.6 42.2  41.7
          EchoStar 1/2  148.0W 247.1 240.7 26.7  53.2
                      
               Nimiq 2   82.0W 148.8 142.5 51.0 -26.7
             Nimiq 1/3   91.0W 164.8 158.5 54.5 -13.1
                      
       DirecTV 1R/4S/8  101.0W 184.8 178.5 55.4   4.2
             DirecTV 5  110.0W 202.2 195.8 53.3  19.2
            DirecTV 7S  119.0W 217.0 210.6 48.9  31.6
                      

Satellite Finder is (c) Copyright 2004, P. Lutus

(These angles are without a motor)

anik · Dec 6, 2005

bigjnsa said:
Question, what is the average degree to point the dish for FTA transmissions? Due South I have a 2 story house, so anything under 40-45 degrees would hit the house. Across the street, a guy has a DirectTV which is about 54-57 degrees which would go over the house.
By putting the dish ON the roof, regardless of degree it will be over the 2nd story house.

It's been my experience that due south satellites are a lot higher in the sky than you imagine. Remember that there are specific times that the sun and/or moon is behind the satellite, if you go outside and look at one of those times you will get some idea where the bird is. But here's something you can do right now - next sunny day you have, go look and see if the sun is visible over the top of the house across the street from the location you want to put the dish. If the shadow of the house would not fall across the dish, you have PLENTY of room, since the sun is well below the Clarke Belt (where the satellites are) as viewed from any location in the United States. Even if the sun is touching the peak or just very slightly below it, you're okay, but I'm guessing that unless you have very narrow streets, the sun will still be over the top of that house, which means you're not going to have any problem.

If you're so inclined, there's a page at http://perso.numericable.fr/~gjullien/satellite.htm that has a Java applet that can show you where the sun or moon will be in relation to a satellite. Twice a month the moon will be almost directly behind the satellite, although one of those two times will likely be in the daytime when it might be hard to see the moon. Twice a year, the sun will be almost directly behind the satellite, at about the same time each day over the course of maybe 4 or 5 days. These are great times to figure out exactly where the satellites are in relation to you. The sun is much easier to use for this purpose, but it's probably not going to be behind the Clarke Belt again until March (depending on where you are).

I will say this much - I know someone who has some satellite dishes mounted on the dreaded wood poles (it really IS a bad idea, unless you enjoy re-aiming your dishes every few months), about 20 feet from his house, which is uphill from where the dishes are. I'm guessing that the peak of the roof is a good 12-15 feet higher than the dishes, and the dishes are looking right over the top of the house at the satellites, and judging from where the shadows fell during the last solar outage in October, he could have had the pole another five or ten feet closer to the house before he'd have had a problem (of course you wouldn't want to cut it quite that close, since a squirrel running across the roof could interrupt your signal). And this is in Michigan - if you were in a southern state, the satellites would be even higher in the sky.

And remember, you're dealing with offset dishes, which reflect the signal at an angle. In other words, you may wind up with the dish appearing to point right at your neighbor's second story window (in fact you, probably will!), but actually picking up a signal from much higher in the sky. First-time installers often spend a lot of time trying to locate a satellite by pointing the dish where they think the satellites are, which is actually way too high in the sky.

Now, if by chance you meant that due south is toward a neighbor that is NEXT DOOR and that's where the two-story house is, then you'll want to back your dish away from that house quite a bit. But then you probably have a whole back yard to put a pole in, so I'd hope you could get a ways back from his house in that case.

Tron · Dec 7, 2005

The satellites closest to directly south of your longitude (IA-5 at 97w, G-4 at 99w (your true south), and AMC-4 at 101w) will be highest in the sky. The arc curves lower toward the southeastern and southwestern horizons.

Being in San Antonio, you're actually a little bit (a degree) south of me (I'm in New Orleans). The satellites near your true south will be between 50-55 degrees up from the horizon.

Verk62 · Dec 7, 2005

I am new to FTA and am having a lot of trouble getting a signal for my true south satellite which is 3C. I have a 90U dish, Lifetime Classic Receiver, SM3D12 Motor, and a Universal single LNB. I have taken off the motor and started searching the 3C without the motor, but I am still having trouble. Any suggestions?

PSB · Dec 7, 2005

Welcome to the SatelliteGuys.US FTA forum.....

Good idea to remove the motor..... Here is a great STRONG TP. on the G3C satellite....

DFreq. 11780(H)

S/R 20.760

Make sure the L.O. is set for the kind of LNBF you have....

Standard 10750

Universal 9750-10600

jbar4 · Dec 8, 2005

HI Tron,
I am from New Orleans area also, River Ridge. I am very new to this. I have Sat. and an OTA antenna. I was interested in this because it is free. I would like to know what I would need to set this up, and could I use any existing equiptment I already have. I also love the HD reception I receive over the OTA and wondered if they were coming out with an FTA receiver that would handle HD.
Thanks,
Joe

Mr Tony · Dec 8, 2005

welcome

right now the easiest way for HD is a PC card...there is a receiver out that does HD but its $700 and does have limitations

Katrinasucks · Dec 8, 2005

jbar4 said:
HI Tron,
I am from New Orleans area also, River Ridge.
Joe

That's interesting. It is rare that find someone from anywhere in the New Orleans area in a discussion room on the net. Suddenly 3 poeple from the same parish.

Joe I'd welcome you to the board, but I just got here last week myself. ;-)

I wonder if the hurricane(s) will spark a mini-explosion in sat stuff down here? I know I've never seen as many DBS dishes in my life as I've seen in the last 2 weeks. I was driving past East Jeff stadium and there must have been 6-8 houses in row with shiney new DirecTV dishes. Guess Cox still hasn't getten there.

Not to mention the FEMA trailers with the tripods out front.

jbar4 · Dec 8, 2005

I have noticed the same thing and started looking into this free tv stuff, and this is what was recommended to me. I know noting about it and am just trying to find out more about FTA.
You are right, Katrina has made a mess. Most of my family is from St. Bernard, which is bad news.
Joe

jbar4 · Dec 8, 2005

Can someone give me the best place to go to in regards to setting up disk, cable, receiver, etc? I am trying to find out if I can keep and use some of the equiptment, cables etc., to install this without losing dtv and the ota I already have. If that is not possible, how to set it up from scratch on a completely separate system?
Thanks,
Joe

W_Tracy_Parnell · Dec 8, 2005

jbar4 said:
how to set it up from scratch on a completely separate system?
Thanks,
Joe

One example for a specific configuration:

http://www.pbase.com/wtracyparnell/coolsat_4000_prosg2100

Tron · Dec 9, 2005

Hi fellow Metro New Orleanian! :hatsoff

:

Whether or not you can use your existing equipment would depend on what you have. You cannot use a Dish Network or DirecTV dish for much, only some free audio channels on 119w (Dish) and 91w (Bell ExpressVu Canada), NASA on Dish, and the various subscriber information channels of both of those services. You cannot get anything at all from DirecTV (they use a different, non-standard transport stream). To pick up most FTA channels, you will need at least a 30" dish with a linear Ku LNB.

You would also need a FTA receiver such as a Pansat, Coolsat, Fortec, Viewsat, etc. A Dish or DirecTV receiver will not work. Since there are so many satellites up there that carry free channels, you might also want to consider a motor, such as the SG-2100, that will move your dish across the arc to point at the various satellites.

It is easiest to separate your FTA system from any subscribed systems, such as Dish (use separate dishes and cables).

crom · Dec 9, 2005

Hello i am new here
and i have a coolstat 5000 sat. i need to know where do i point the sat. dish
what are the settings
what do i do to set it all up
i have the dish with a motor
mounted on a 10 foot pole
my zip is 13601
closest i could find to my area Latitude: 43.98 N, Longitude: 75.91 W
please reply to rregan@nyc.rr.com
thank you

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