Found DSX 5500's in trash - FTA?

[Armand1209]

I have been a satellite fan for years, but finances have prevented me from jumping in.

But now I have just found an old DirecTV setup in the trash. I got a dish, the LNB, and 2 DSX 5500's (with remotes!). I even got two smart cards.

I'm not really interested in DirecTV, but can I use the receivers for FTA?

 

[stogie5150]

How big is the dish? You could always ebay the recievers and use the money to get some FTA gear. I bought ALL my FTA gear doing exactly that, selling old electronic gear to get my FTA receivers and LNB's. I use Primestar dishes ( also free if you can find one).

 

[Claude Greiner]

The Directv boxes have no value (Even if it was brand new) , and maybe you can get $10 for the Dish if your luckey

 

[Tron]

You'll need at least a 30 inch dish and linear LNBF (the ones on DirecTV and Dish Network dishes are circular, and many of the new ones are not compatible with FTA receivers)... You'll also need a FTA DVB receiver as the DirecTV ones (as noted above) are useless.

 

[Armand1209]

Hardware Update

The DirecTV dish looks about 18 or so inches, oval in shape.

As luck would have it, I have an abandoned ChannelMaster dish, about 36 x 44 inches, on a non penetrating flat roof mount. It has been sitting in the weather for about 5 years now, but still looks servicable.

Can someone direct me to a tutorial about satellite technology? The discussion about linear vs circular LNB's is new to me, and what is an LNBF?

The tutorial would allow me to ask inteligent questions, and not waste everyone's time.

Thanks

 

[Remington]

Hi ,

Check this :http://www.satelliteguys.us/forumdisplay.php?f=29. It explains many things (including the linear/ circular).

 

[Tron]

The small dish services such as Dish Network and DirecTV use circular polarity instead of linear polarity to send their signals down. This allows for, among other things, the use of a smaller dish (18 inches). Unfortunately, there's not much free on those services, just a few channels such as the Muzak audio, NASA-TV, GOL-TV (soccer), and a few banner channels.

Most of the satellites we are picking up in FTA are linear polarity, and the signals are not meant for reception by people in their homes. They are usually uplinked for cable companies, broadcasters, news services, etc., and as such require a larger dish. The Channel Master dish you have will work very well, if it is in good condition. It probably already has a linear LNB on it.

By the way, the only difference between an LNB and LNBF is that the LNBF has a built-in feedhorn as part of the unit (like the DirecTV and Dish Network dishes have), whereas the LNB has a separate feedhorn that it is attached to. The Channel Master you have is most likely an example of a dish with a separate LNB and feedhorn (as opposed to an LNBF)...

 

[Armand1209]

Remington: Thanks for the link. It was very helpful.

Tron: Unfourtunately, the previous dish owner did not leave either the feed horn or the LNB. I am very encouraged by your comments. Perhaps soon, I can start in on a setup. Some of the prices I have seen for receivers are far more reasonable than I expected. (the last time I looked at this, C-band was the only option, and yikes did they charge!)

Thanks again!

 

[Tron]

The Channel Master dish you describe sounds like the 75E or similar, and the LNBs and feedhorns for these dishes are readily available. If you can post a picture of the dish, with a close-up of the LNB arm and mount, we can suggest a replacement feedhorn and LNB. They are quite common on E-Bay, and since you already have the expensive part as far as shipping goes (the dish itself), it shouldn't set you back too much.

 

[Ramy]

I have been a satellite fan for years, but finances have prevented me from jumping in.

But now I have just found an old DirecTV setup in the trash. I got a dish, the LNB, and 2 DSX 5500's (with remotes!). I even got two smart cards.

I'm not really interested in DirecTV, but can I use the receivers for FTA?

For you to pick anything up with those Directv recievers you will need to subscribe to their service.