Everything to Know About Those Old Dishes

[iXneonXi]

OK i know people who have an old big dish that would seem (i am clueless about all of this) like an old C BAND satellite dish.

Now I've heard if you can get a working motor and a good enough receiver you can work wonders with these things.

I have heard of broadcasts you can't get anywhere with these things and stuff like wildfeeds (don't quite know the concept), college sports etc.

I am new here and looking for answers.
a. OK what equipment do you need to start getting wildfeeds or basically any specially broadcaster stuff?
b. Umm what are the types. I've heard of Ku and C, and then some various satellites to look into. (like echostar, something com, w/e the satellite names what are they)

I want a guide for EVERYTHING. Like a lowdown on bands, satellites, wildfeeds, receiving, parts, requirements and all of that, because i may be about to get the best deal of my life.

really big nooby looking for help.

 

[Mr Tony]

Welcome!
I am going to move this to the MPEG/FTA area as the people here would be able to help a little more

 

[PSB]

http://www.geo-orbit.org/

This web site just gives and gives, everything you need to know is here!

 

[drhydro]

Well i cant give you a complete guide, but i can help point you in the right direction, as i was just given a complete older c-band system. A C-Band dish or BUD (big usefull dish) is just that, big and very usefull. With that dish, a working motor, and the proper reciever (s) a whole world of programming is available.

BUD's have several advantages to a smaller dish. One of the advantages is that you can pick up both c-band and ku band FTA programming. A listing of free channels is available at http://www.lyngsat.com/freetv/United-States.html. The listings with 4 digits in the left hand column are c band, the ones with 5 digits are ku band. This is not a complete listing but will give you a fair idea of what is out there.

With the proper receiver / descrambler you can also pick and choose your own subscription channels such as history channel, a&e and showtime etc, as single channels (not as a package deal) and at much better rates then mini dish offers. Package programming is also availble at less than mini dish.

There are a few items that most likely need to be upgraded to maximize the use of an older dish. If the feed horn is strickly a c band feed horn you will want to change it to a c/ku feedhorn to get the maximum amount of channels. Most likely you will need to pick up some type of DVB receiver, as the receiver with that comes with the dish is probably analog, and most of the good channels are DVB.

One of the biggest hassles i have ran into in setting up a BUD has been installing a good pole / mount. A 10' dish can have a LOT of wind load on it. here is a link describing what i set up for a mount for my dish.
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=32568&page=2&pp=15

Here is a link that has a ton of information on setting up BUDS, including wind loading charts / pole installation and a ton more. this site has a LOT of info, its worth your time to go thru and read the complete site.
http://www.geo-orbit.org/default.html#anchor11129

There are some items that you will need to budget just to get the dish set up, aside from a receiver and c/ku band feedhorn/lnbs. You will want new c band ribbon cable, c-band ribbon cable can be found at that auction site.

You will need a pole and a big hole with lots of concrete, or some type of pole mount system (see link above for what i did). Up here the pole I needed to fit my polar mount was 20-25.00 per foot new. So i drove around till i found a downed dish and asked the owner how much he wanted for me to get that pole out of his yard. $20 and a little bit of labor later and i was the proud owner of a 9' 4.5" OD concrete filled pole.

here is another link describing the uses and setup of BUD / trvo systems
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/Satellite-TV/TVRO/part1/

and here is a fairly complete guide to setting up a c band system
http://www.satellitehelp.com/installation_index.asp#Planting_The_ Dish

Im sure if i missed anything someone will speak up, enjoy

 

[PSB]

Nice Post! I came across this story......

http://www.nb.net/~schaefer/dish/dish.htm

 

[drhydro]

thanx psb, figured it was my turn since you folks have answered so many of those questions for me

 

[iXneonXi]

Thanks guys for all the replies. OK i didn't quite understand much on the http://www.geo-orbit.org/default.html#anchor11129 site, but I do have an idea of setting one up if i can manage to get it. Since i'm looking for the analog UPN /paramount signal does it matter if i keep the old receiver, or is it worth getting one of those MPEG/ newer digital receivers.
Could someone please sum up the price including but not limited to these items (cement for i think a 10'' dish, receiver, some stuff to get the signal from the dish to my house, new motor, possibly actuator fixes) i'm not quite sure of the concept yet, and i also am not sure of how damaged this unit is, but it sure does seem that these BUD's live up to their words.

I was at a camp in some old-timer's place, they had an old dish but unfurtunately it picked up only 2 channels because it was on an outdated position and the motor was busted (i could hear it churning outside but the poor thing couldn't move the big dish)

 

[iXneonXi]

PS could somebody please give me a lowdown on all those odd satellite names, like what about them and what do they offer. I've seen ia6, gt or something, sat this and sat that, my guess satellites in space you can aim your dish at. This topic interests me but it as if i'm like a baby trying to learn how to walk. People all over are doing it and i'm trying to figure it out. i'd be the coolest one in the neighborhood if i could pick up broadcasts commercial free before its publicly aired. :0

 

[charper1]

just so you know thats digital and analog C and Ku (and yes that includes HD with correct hardware) with the correct LNB add-on and your subscription you can run your DBS from the same dish!

 

[iXneonXi]

i wish i knew what all the lingo means. Whats DBS and LNB? :sigh: and i know all you guys are really trying to help and thank you. I can't wait till i get a good paying job for something computer, because than i will have the money to take all this on.
Another question has arisen. Is there a way go make it so i don't have to dig a hole, incase a new building goes up or some tress or something in the future will obscure my view, i'd like to be able to move the whole set, instead of refilling the hole and making a new one.

 

[drhydro]

Ok, satellites are all named, but are more commonly known by thier abreviations. Examples of satellite names are galaxy 10 (otherwise known as g10) intelsat americas 7 (otherwise known as IA7), etc. etc.

For a list of commonly used FTA satellites available for north america take a look here http://www.lyngsat.com/america.html This chart shows the name of the satellite, its position in the clark belt, and the commonly used abreviation. By clicking on a satellite name you will be taken to a chart that shows what is availble on that satellite. Channels that are marked F are Free. Take note of the encoding of these channels. If they are NTSC analog the channel will have a white background. If they are FTA DVB they will have a light yellow background.

To check if you can "see" a particular satellite go to this site
http://www.satsig.net/ssazelm.htm
input the satellite position, your latitude and your longitude, the calculator will show you where to point a compass at and also the elevation of the satellite.

Or post your zipcode and ask and im sure one of these nice people will send you a list of satellites, thier position in the clark belt, where to aim your compass at and what elevation the sat. is.

After you have that info take your trusty compass and make sure you have a clear line of sight to each of the sats you want.

As to buying a dvb receiver, i would recommend it, you will be fairly limited to what you will be able to receive without it.

Cost of supplies? well figure:

10 bags of cement (at least, i used 17)

c band cable- can be found for as low as 38.00 for a 100 foot roll (plus shipping) on that auction site

new actuator/ motor- sub $200
Make sure that you get an actuator that will handle that big of a dish, at least 2" if not thicker. These also pop up on auction sites.

POLE- see my post above, this potentially could have been my single biggest expense in setting up my BUD.

hope this helps

 

[iXneonXi]

DVB (digital video broadcast) LNB? And is there a ware for a more temporary mounting instead of in ground permanent mounting?

 

[iXneonXi]

http://www.satsig.net/ssazelm.htm < i didnt really understand how to use this. please bare with me.

 

[PSB]

http://www.satsig.net/ (Another great Scottish website )

 

[PSB]

If you give us your zip code we can tell you what to enter in the top line of boxes, in the first box you enter the satellites orbital position (e.g. 93w)
Next you enter your locations Latitude, and longitude, hit the calculate button and it displays all the satellite coordinates for you, very nice tool!

 

[iXneonXi]

so please tell me what satellites are available to view in the 70816 area and (ofcourse legally) what channels.

 

[PSB]

The above zip code does not work in my zip code finder, give us your nearest BIG town or your locations Latitude and Longitude! We will be able to give you your true south satellite and you will be able to work out what satellites you can get to the east and west.

 

[carload]

70816 is Baton Rouge LA. Latitude: 30.450N Longitude: -91.154W

To see the FTA channels you can get, try the Ku-band list:
http://www.global-cm.net/MPEGlistKuBandUS.html

and the C-band list:
http://www.global-cm.net/MPEGlistCBandUS.html

 

[iXneonXi]

WHOAH!!! for the Ku band there's like 300+ channels and tons of radio. All those local channels from around the US. Really neat and you say if i have a good setup i can get them all? CBAND has alot too. Whats the better band even though if i'm gonna get a setup i'll make sure it can get both bands. I'm gonna have2 look up what lnb and dvb is unless somebody plz explains.
Thats neat stuff.

<edit> still alot of channels, but i forgot to take out the DTV scrambled and other scrambled channels. (amc/echostar) i remember when echostar was free and everyone in my neighborhood had one... or maybe they hacked it? bad idea.

 

[iXneonXi]

umm?