Completely new to FTA, need system for single satellite for single purpose

[paulm]

Greetings!

I'm here because I have a very specific need, and this forum was recommended to me as having friendly, helpful people.

My Alma Mater, the University of North Dakota, broadcasts home sporting events over FTA satellite. Here's the information about the broadcasts:


Satellite Info
Intelsat Americas 6 (Galaxy 26) Digital - 93°
K17 Slot C - 9 MHz
Ku Band - Downlink Frequency: 12031 V
L Band - Downlink Frequency: 1281 V
Symbol Rate 4.88
FEC 3/4
PMT 480
Video 481
Audio 484 (Primary L&R)

Receiver Audio Info
Left Channel - Mono Program Audio
Right Channel - Cue tones ONLY
Markets with WDAZ 102* - ON
Markets with WDAZ 102# - OFF
Markets without WDAZ 063* - ON
Markets without WDAZ 063# - OFF

What will I need in order to get this going? Got any great deals you can point me to? Any tips on installation? I installed a DirecPC Internet system for a friend about a decade back, so I have a minor bit of experience. I'm also pretty techncially minded, especially on the software side of things.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations you can provide.

-Paul

 

[lumpkin666]

What will I need in order to get this going? Got any great deals you can point me to?

For one single channel ku-band, no other frills, nothing else? You can get by pretty easily with that configuration.

I'd start by looking around for an abandoned primestar dish in your area. If you can take one of those off of someone's hands, you'll have a dish and lnbf that will work. Then it's just a matter of finding a receiver. Since you don't need motor control, scanning capabilities, etc, just about any old cheap/used/working FTA receiver will work. You should be able to find a deal somewhere on a cheap receiver for under $50 (a lot of people will tell you to go for more than you want, because you'll be hooked and want more.. but that's for you to decide)

Do some searching on the forums for deals/info. There have been posts about a decent 36" dish for $50. Add an lnb from that same company for another $15, and pick up some RG6 from wal-mart and you'll be set with the addition of just about any old FTA receiver.

 

[Mr Tony]

welcome fellow SIoux fan

for the FSSN all you need is a basic setup (dish, receiver, LNB). Setup isnt too bad. Where ya located?

As Lumpkin noted, if you can find an abondened Primestar dish those work the best. Otherwise a basic system would run around 200 bucks. Sadoun.com has the systems as do the sponsers above. Check em out

 

[Mr Tony]

Also the only info from above that you need is
Galaxy 26 (formerly IA6) at 93W
12031 freq
V
4880 symbol rate
left audio only

 

[dhageremtp]

I just struck it rich. Not meaning to highjack your thread, but we have the same common goal and I thought maybe Iceberg could help me out again, some more. I found an old primestar dish. Its roughly 50 inches wide. I have it in two parts and will mount it over the weekend. THe LNB has two outputs from it. I have not had much time to explore it, read markings and such, but I am sure that I will have some questions on what needs to be hooked where. I need to run another cable feed to my theater and then I should be ready to go. On the LNB, I beleive from my past readings, each output is a different polarity, so which side would I use?

 

[Anole]

On eBay now, there is a dealer selling Satpros 500 receivers for $50, buy-it-now.
It's actually way more than a low-end unit, but you aren't likely to find anything much cheaper.

A working used receiver from a local private party or a local yard sale would be another possibility.
...or maybe your local Craig's List, ...or the SatGuy's Classified section:
http://www.satelliteguys.us/satelliteguys-classifieds/


The dish-deal Lumpkin mentioned above, is found in this thread:
http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/102541-good-place-buy-dish.html#post973266

 

[lumpkin666]

On the LNB, I beleive from my past readings, each output is a different polarity, so which side would I use?

Each is a different polarity, so you'll probably want to use both sides, unless you're going for one specific channel, or group a channels that use the same polarity. You can combine the both into a standard old DTV-Style 3x4 multiswitch (very cheap!) and then you'll have both polarities from your LNBF and be able to connect to 4 receivers too!

 

[paulm]

thanks for all the great feedback guys! wow that was fast!

Iceberg: Lived in Grand Forks all my life until moving to southeast Idaho about 2 years ago. Watched the free stream from fightingsioux.com last year; not great but better than nothing, and it was nice to see the local flavor (will I get to see 'Home of Economy' ads on the FSSN on sat?) Before that I had a friend tivoing them off cable, recompressing, and seeding a torrent for a few of us out-of-towners). Now that they want $60/year for that poor quality stream I started looking around. I'd seen the satellite info on the the und website before, but I just assumed it was for local cable companies with gigantic dishes.... not us mere mortals. Glad I started googling around and landed here! Here's a question for you: how many away hockey games can you pick up with your system? If it's a lot, how much more am I looking at to get a system that could get them?

How hard is it to aim the dish? Should I buy one of those fancy digital signal finders?

 

[turbosat]

Originally Posted by dhageremtp
On the LNB, I beleive from my past readings, each output is a different polarity, so which side would I use?
You have to power the V side to get anything. Then, you will get vertical channels on your rec.
Find yourself a 3x4 switch, and you can get both polarities working with that type lnbf.

 

[Mr Tony]

Iceberg: Lived in Grand Forks all my life until moving to southeast Idaho about 2 years ago.

oh ok...there is a fair amount of SIoux fans in Minneapolis

Watched the free stream from fightingsioux.com last year; not great but better than nothing, and it was nice to see the local flavor (will I get to see 'Home of Economy' ads on the FSSN on sat?)

yep And Hugos, Whiteys, that Chevy dealer in Oslo MN (I forget the name), a bunch of UND commercials and the Home of Economy commercials. The FSSN feed is the same as the cable feed (the feed goes to the non Midcontinent cable companies to shoiw the game). Feed comes up 15 minutes before game time and leaves right after

I'd seen the satellite info on the the und website before, but I just assumed it was for local cable companies with gigantic dishes.... not us mere mortals.

The old Sioux Shop site use to sell the systems too. But they stopped a couple years ago when there were issues with the signal for us small dish folks (that is not the case now). I know Joe Senser's (a restaurant chain here in Minneapolis) has a 6 foot dish aimed for it and Pat Sweeney has even said hello on the air to the fans at Sensers

Glad I started googling around and landed here! Here's a question for you: how many away hockey games can you pick up with your system? If it's a lot, how much more am I looking at to get a system that could get them?

last year it was 4...the 2 away games at Bucky and the holiday Tourney. This year it might be 2 (Bucky).

How hard is it to aim the dish? Should I buy one of those fancy digital signal finders?

it really isnt that hard to do. Since its a fixed dish its just one satellite to aim at and we can help with that I use the meter on the receiver to find the signal

 

[paulm]

Do you think this system would fit my needs?
Captiveworks CW-600S. Complete Satellite FTA system. - (eBay item 320163969752 end time Oct-05-07 16:03:23 PDT)
The receiver is a captiveworks cw-600s. Iceberg, I saw in another thread you had one of these. Since I know exactly what I want to tune in, it should be good enough?

80cm dish and lbn... specs are in the listing and over my head.

Also, what direction will I be aiming this thing, west?

 

[lumpkin666]

That will work fine.. and seems to be a decent deal given the shipping costs

 

[paulm]

looking closer at the auction, the package does not appear to include a remote control. Does anyone know if I *need* one, or if the buttons on the front are sufficient

 

[Mr Tony]

I assume it includes a remote. The Captiveworks isnt the best box on the market but gets the job done. I have one and I use it for a single satellite setup too

 

[paulm]

Alright, I took the plunge!

I'll miss the Manitoba exhibition game, but I should have things up and running for the hall of fame game vs michigan state next weekend!

Now I just need to figure out where I'm going to mount this thing... I have a metal roof and I'm a bit leery of drilling holes in it, especially since I'll really only be using the dish for part of the year. Forgive the dumb newbie question, but I'm going to need a clear line of sight to the *west* for this? The front of my house faces west, so that doesn't give me a lot of backyard options. Maybe I can use a fence post or the basketball hoop (never gets used anyway). Any suggestions for a pole mount?

Thanks again for all the great help guys, this forum is fantastic!

Go Sioux!

 

[paulm]

So, about picking up any other Sioux games...

last year it was 4...the 2 away games at Bucky and the holiday Tourney. This year it might be 2 (Bucky).

I googled, but I couldn't find where the badger hockey feed is. Is is a ku band broadcast I could get with my setup? I mean, heck yes I'll re-aim my dish for the Nov 11-12 series!

Beyond that, what other (college) hockey feeds are out there?

 

[Mr Tony]

Alright, I took the plunge!

sweet. Welcome to the club

I'll miss the Manitoba exhibition game, but I should have things up and running for the hall of fame game vs michigan state next weekend!

and the fb game earlier in the day too

Now I just need to figure out where I'm going to mount this thing... I have a metal roof and I'm a bit leery of drilling holes in it, especially since I'll really only be using the dish for part of the year. Forgive the dumb newbie question, but I'm going to need a clear line of sight to the *west* for this? The front of my house faces west, so that doesn't give me a lot of backyard options. Maybe I can use a fence post or the basketball hoop (never gets used anyway). Any suggestions for a pole mount?

you will need a clear line to the SE for this. I didnt know where in SE Idaho you are so I picked Pocatello and got an azimuth of 141 for IA6/G26/T6 (the Sioux satellite) The farther west you go the more east the satellite will be. So Boise the dish is aimed at about 125
180 is south so it is SE about a 37 elevation., You could use a fence post to mount the pole on. Its always good to keep it low if possible (especially for snow) You just need the pole to be plumb.

What system did you get?

 

[Mr Tony]

I googled, but I couldn't find where the badger hockey feed is. Is is a ku band broadcast I could get with my setup? I mean, heck yes I'll re-aim my dish for the Nov 11-12 series!

FSN Wisconsin uses a multitude of satellites to show the game. Remember, we are not their intended audience. Companies have to rent space and the Sioux are smart and already book all the weekends they need it probably 2 months in advance. We honestly wont know where the Bucky game would be until a 1/2 hour before game time if its even beamed up via satellite

Beyond that, what other (college) hockey feeds are out there?

it really depends on the team and the broadcaster. Most Goofer away games and Bucky FSN games are on KU. Sioux home games. There are some CCHA games from Comcast local but other than the Sioux we really dont know until game time where they will be (again because we are not their intended audience)

 

[htownjoe]

yeah make a trip to the country and find an old primestar dish, a good cheap receiver is digiwav which at times are less than 100.00 new, you can find and scan t6 and not only find your game, but alot of wild feeds and other games. galaxy 26 or t6 as i call it is my favorite as well as many others, good luck, wish i was in your area, i would come by and help you get fixed up. i am currently aimed 99 pct on t6 with my primestar dish. hope you use it for mord than just your game!

 

[paulm]

you will need a clear line to the SE for this. I didnt know where in SE Idaho you are so I picked Pocatello and got an azimuth of 141 for IA6/G26/T6 (the Sioux satellite) The farther west you go the more east the satellite will be. So Boise the dish is aimed at about 125
180 is south so it is SE about a 37 elevation., You could use a fence post to mount the pole on. Its always good to keep it low if possible (especially for snow) You just need the pole to be plumb.

What system did you get?

I got this package off ebay:
Captiveworks CW-600S. Complete Satellite FTA system. - (eBay item 320163969752 end time Oct-05-07 16:03:23 PDT)

captiveworks 600 and a 80cm (which google tells me is about 31.5 inches) dish with linear lnb. FedEx says it'll be here sometime Friday, so hopefully I'll be able to get it up and running in time for Saturday's games. I'll probably have to go buy a spindle of coax (recommendations on where to buy it? wallyworld?) and maybe some hardware for mounting it, i'll see what it comes with.

You picked the right town, I am in Poky. How did you calculate where I gotta aim, is there an online tool for that? SE is good for me, I should be able to mount it on one of the posts for my back patio. As for pointing it, what will i need, a hand held compass? Got a link that shows a newbie how to install one of these suckers?

The last bit, i'd imagine, will be finding a tidy way of getting the coax into the tv room in the house. For this weekend i'll probably just string the cable out the back door, but hopefully I can permanently jack it into my household cable without messing up my cable modem (i don't have cabletv ,and when they hooked me up to the cloud they ran a new line from the pole -- i just need to figure out what is feeding what room)

btw - i paid $6 for the internet stream of und vs manitoba last weekend. what a RIPOFF! Barely watchable; could almost never see the puck and any fast action was one big blur of artifacting. Man am I excited to get this system up and running!

joe -- thanks for the tip about feeds on t6. i probably should have got a more expensive receiver (the consensus on this captiveworks is that the blind scan is worthless).