Im a newbie in the FTA and dish in general. I Live in Orlando Florida area and look as if my preferred satellites would be in south west direction 110 and 119. So from the online calcs I would have to point the dish in between 210 -240 degrees. I live urban area with some trees. I started scoping out my property and have this one tree that is is blocking me in that general direction. Does the dish need a point of sight aligntment or can there be a few branches in the way from a tree? I know it sound stupid but I dont want ot purchase and figure out its not goint go work unless somebody can tell me another direction I can point to.
Dish reception
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You need a clear line of site to the satellite, the 110 and 119 satellites are not FTA, they are for Dish Network subscription programing.
To see what you can receive from FTA take a look at the satellite lists that Anole has put together: Satellite Lists
To see what you can receive from FTA take a look at the satellite lists that Anole has put together: Satellite Lists
now we're talkin'
A 3ABN dish and the LNB that would normally come with it, are the perfect antenna for actual FTA reception.
Here is an aiming guide for all the birds.
Put in your zip code, then poke around and it'll give you a PDF file with aiming info for all satellites.
Be sure to use the magnetic azimuth column and a compass to see where to aim.
Some dishes have a slight error in their elevation, so be sure to give 'em a few degrees leeway when searching the sky.
And don't forget to twist that linear LNB to the correct skew!
A 3ABN dish and the LNB that would normally come with it, are the perfect antenna for actual FTA reception.
Here is an aiming guide for all the birds.
Put in your zip code, then poke around and it'll give you a PDF file with aiming info for all satellites.
Be sure to use the magnetic azimuth column and a compass to see where to aim.
Some dishes have a slight error in their elevation, so be sure to give 'em a few degrees leeway when searching the sky.
And don't forget to twist that linear LNB to the correct skew!
Ok so followup question on the above answers. I see sales for Dish 500 setups but I thought that Dish 500 is for Dishnetwork and you can only get a few FTA channels. Is there any difference between the smaller dishscompared to 3ABN . Naturally I know a bigger dish would get better reception but any difference in LNB . I see DISH500 WITH DP Plus Twin LNBF sales all the time. Would the lnb off the Dish500 work on the 3ABN?
You're prob talking about the dishnetwork hacker-sales sites, they are very bold these days about selling equipment to steal pay tv.
No, the lnb from a dish500 won't work for real fta, we don't do that here, nor discuss it. Hacking is illegal, and hurts our hobby.
No, the lnb from a dish500 won't work for real fta, we don't do that here, nor discuss it. Hacking is illegal, and hurts our hobby.
Well, the above site selling the Dish 500 equipment is actually one of our fine sponsors.
They sell only Dish equipment to Dish users, for Dish reception.
They are not at all hacker-friendly.
This forum caters to Dish and DirecTV users and sellers, as well as FTA users/sellers, so there is some overlap in the advertizing.
If you are on some web site offering FTA receivers bundled with those Dish 500 antenna, or similar, then THEY are catering to the hackers.
Above you have a list of FTA satellites with free programming.
In the FTA Shack section of this forum, there's a discussion of which one FTA satellite is everyone's favorite.
- (that's enough to get you started)
You now know the 3ABN or similar 30..36" dish is what's required.
A linear (not circular) LNB is necessary, as alluded to above.
- (whether it's Standard or Universal, is not a problem)
I'm sure from somewhere in your yard, you can find a place to sink a short pole and see some of the available FTA satellites.
- (there are discussions on this forum for balcony-, window-, yard- and other creative mounting locations)
The only thing left is to decide on a receiver.
You haven't mentioned that.
Do you have any leanings toward anything you've seen?
If not, here are two conservative (reasonable cost, yet substantial, well debugged, and popular) receiver for you to review:
- Pansat 3500sd
- Fortec Star Mercury II
There are a number more decent boxes, and a whole lot that are just hacker-bait.
Those are no-name receivers, with little or no support, often selling at or above the price of good receivers, and destined primarily for the hack market.
If you find one of those, we'll point it out for you.
Hope that gets you off 'n started in your quest for FTA.
Once you decide on particular equipment, we may even be able to steer you to good deals on those or better items.
They sell only Dish equipment to Dish users, for Dish reception.
They are not at all hacker-friendly.
This forum caters to Dish and DirecTV users and sellers, as well as FTA users/sellers, so there is some overlap in the advertizing.
If you are on some web site offering FTA receivers bundled with those Dish 500 antenna, or similar, then THEY are catering to the hackers.
Above you have a list of FTA satellites with free programming.
In the FTA Shack section of this forum, there's a discussion of which one FTA satellite is everyone's favorite.
- (that's enough to get you started)
You now know the 3ABN or similar 30..36" dish is what's required.
A linear (not circular) LNB is necessary, as alluded to above.
- (whether it's Standard or Universal, is not a problem)
I'm sure from somewhere in your yard, you can find a place to sink a short pole and see some of the available FTA satellites.
- (there are discussions on this forum for balcony-, window-, yard- and other creative mounting locations)
The only thing left is to decide on a receiver.
You haven't mentioned that.
Do you have any leanings toward anything you've seen?
If not, here are two conservative (reasonable cost, yet substantial, well debugged, and popular) receiver for you to review:
- Pansat 3500sd
- Fortec Star Mercury II
There are a number more decent boxes, and a whole lot that are just hacker-bait.
Those are no-name receivers, with little or no support, often selling at or above the price of good receivers, and destined primarily for the hack market.
If you find one of those, we'll point it out for you.
Hope that gets you off 'n started in your quest for FTA.
Once you decide on particular equipment, we may even be able to steer you to good deals on those or better items.
Thanks Anole, for clearing that up-I admit I didnot click on his link, to even see where it was. I just launch into orbit whenever I hear about these so-called FTA dealers who advertise dvb boxes with 18"antenna setups lol. I certainly don't want to malign any of our sponsors as I am always telling people to click on the links on the top page here.
Been fighting with this new computer , its 64bit mind, and my 8bit mind are both going lol
Been fighting with this new computer , its 64bit mind, and my 8bit mind are both going lol
Anole: Thank for your observation becuase that threw me off in the sponsors on this site. Its almost like dangling carrot to get you to buy and lead to a perception. Just about every FTA "package" from website are the Dish 500 setups, etc.
I was looking at the Coolsat 7000 PVR . Im not really instrested in PVR part but a co-worker has this unit and after researching around seem to be a solid unit and support. Unless you have some other recomendation. I think I have found a spot on the ground that may get me to satelite. I think my plans are to borrow my co-workers coolsat and go out in the yard and start pointing. Eventully if this works I would like to have FTA in two rooms. So I dont know how that changes my setup on the dish. Maybe you could offer some insight.
I was looking at the Coolsat 7000 PVR . Im not really instrested in PVR part but a co-worker has this unit and after researching around seem to be a solid unit and support. Unless you have some other recomendation. I think I have found a spot on the ground that may get me to satelite. I think my plans are to borrow my co-workers coolsat and go out in the yard and start pointing. Eventully if this works I would like to have FTA in two rooms. So I dont know how that changes my setup on the dish. Maybe you could offer some insight.
You can find fair discussions of the Coolsat 7000 on this forum.
Just give a search for more info.
If you are looking for a PVR, then it would probably be on the short list along with Visionsat IV-200, and Conexsat Duo or Trio.
..both of which are in our review section.
To feed two receivers, one simple way is to use an LNB with two outputs.
Here is a representative sample, not necessarily a recommendation.
And this model has two linear and two circular outputs, but costs more and would require a diseqc (or 22khz) switch for each receiver to select between the two modes.
I'm sure others would be happy to give their recommendations on similar LNBs.
If you select the Coolsat, do make -sure- you buy from an authorized dealer.
Check with coolsat directly, if necessary, to be sure.!
Warranty support is dependent on doing this right.
Well, that's still good advice with pretty much any box...
Just give a search for more info.
If you are looking for a PVR, then it would probably be on the short list along with Visionsat IV-200, and Conexsat Duo or Trio.
..both of which are in our review section.
To feed two receivers, one simple way is to use an LNB with two outputs.
Here is a representative sample, not necessarily a recommendation.
And this model has two linear and two circular outputs, but costs more and would require a diseqc (or 22khz) switch for each receiver to select between the two modes.
I'm sure others would be happy to give their recommendations on similar LNBs.
If you select the Coolsat, do make -sure- you buy from an authorized dealer.
Check with coolsat directly, if necessary, to be sure.!
Warranty support is dependent on doing this right.
Well, that's still good advice with pretty much any box...
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