Gathering info on FTA stuff, help please.

[murkvoice]

Greeting,
I have been trying to gather some info on FTA stuff. I been trying find a way to access the free educational and free public access channels and have heard of the so called viewsat ultra but would prefer maybe an Hd type equipment (if there is such thing as free HD channels). What do you recommend as far as equipment fitting a mid to mid-high budget?

Thanks, Murk

 

[bill190]

I have...

- a Fortec Star Mercury II FTA receiver with blind search.
- a VBox II positioner box.
- a big 12 foot C/Ku wire mesh dish with 36 inch, 36 volt actuator to move it to see different satellites.
- a BSC621-2 C/Ku LNBF for my big dish.

I am very happy with all of the above and get about 370 FTA channels.

If you buy a Mercury II, be sure to have the dealer install the most recent software for you. Mine came with version 001. The latest version is 051

 

[Mr Tony]

Greeting,
I have been trying to gather some info on FTA stuff. I been trying find a way to access the free educational and free public access channels and have heard of the so called viewsat ultra but would prefer maybe an Hd type equipment (if there is such thing as free HD channels). What do you recommend as far as equipment fitting a mid to mid-high budget?

Thanks, Murk

The free public access channels on Dish you need to use a Dish box. Just because they are "free" they are scrambled. The only channels unencrypted are NASA, Angel One, a few slate channels, Gol Tv and the audio channels. To get the free PI pack you would need to be either a Dish Network or Sky Angel sub and you would need a Dish network box. Anything else is stealing which brings me to part II 9your signature)

ATTENTION:
Questions before you are strictly for “Free To Air” research and is absolutely not intended for “any” type of illegal activity. Again, questions asked here are “ONLY” for research purposes and no attempt for intentional piracy or stealing of paid services will be attempted by any means. If you misunderstand a question here please ask for more clarification before making any rash assumptions. Thanks

which I find rather funny (and has been removed) because you were already banned here as another member (today) for posting the following when asked what you wanted to pick up.

Iceberg, I'd prefer to have hbo, showtime and channels like that. Not into the sports thing except pro football. turbosat, Wouldn't mind HD channels either...wondering if an HD rec is really expensive? Maybe something in the middle of the road compared to those two options? Thanks again for all the help

http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/98941-viewsat-recommendations-please.html

hmm...last I checked those were NOT free. Those are SUB-SCRIP-TION channels...that means you pay for them. I didnt assume...you bluntly said that's what you wanted to pick up...and subsequenctly were banned

 

[murkvoice]

Thanks for the info. Well let me get this stright so the ViewSat Eqipment is not ment to rec the Free To Air channels. I'm totally ignorant on this subject. Please educate me. What are ViewSat for and why can anyone by them? Are they not for picking up Free To Air signals stuff? Since you do know "everything" about this subject please share. Thanks

 

[Mr Tony]

no the viewsat is for free to air. However, apparently you are confused on what is free to air. Downloading illegal software into a box to defraud Dish Network encryption and steal their signal is NOT free to air. There are a few channels that are free to air on a Dish satellite and I have posted those above. Dish does not encrypt those channels (Nasa & Angel One) because per the agreement between those comapnies and Dish they have to be unencrypted. So yes you can pick them up with any free to air box.

We here enjoy free to air for what it is...wild feeds (which show up unannounced and are news feeds or sporting events), various locals fro around the country, religious or international channels and just anything weird. You would need a 30" or larger dish and a KU Band LNB. Here is a list of what is up there 24/7 on KU
http://www.global-cm.net/MPEGlistKuBandUS.html

But again, the best part of free to air is the wild feeds (news & sports feeds that show up unannounced)

 

[murkvoice]

Your right I didn't know what free to air really was. I stand corrected, so I guess my question is, I can use a Viewsat type box for the programs you stated above (news & sports feeds that show up unannounced)? yes If I were to want to watch these type of feeds would a viewsat sufice or would it be advisable to get a better model?

Thanks again for the clarification.

 

[turbosat]

I've had my Viewsat Ultra for sev months now-I like it. It is pretty quick at blind-scanning a satellite, will store hundreds of channels, and group the channels to ea satellite they came from. I haven't used a motor with mine so I can't comment on how accurate the motor-control is. It works for 90% of what I want to watch, and those few HD wildfeeds that pop up now and then I can live without. Rec that truly do HD are few right now, but more are coming. The hobby is growing, and it may make sense to wait a few more weeks and see what the new models are like (the ones that do HD signals, if that is what you need)

 

[Tron]

There's not too much up there that is in HD (except for PBS and feeds), and a few more on C-Band (you'd need at least a six foot dish for C-Band). Certainly over the coming years there will be more, but if you're looking for a receiver NOW that will do HD and SD, I would recommend waiting for the U.S. release of the Fortec Passion.

 

[magnum62]

Using the viewsat ultra
I am new to all this so bare with me please.
Will this unit work at all with a single LNB 18" dtv dish?
If so what can i expect to receive?
Thanks guys

 

[Davage]

magnum62

Take a look here , -> http://www.satelliteguys.us/fta-mpeg2-faqs/34131-what-can-i-get-18-dish-dish-500-a.html#post308435

 

[magnum62]

Is there anywhere in these forums, that will give me step by step instructions on how to set this viewsat ultra up?
I have to crawl before i can walk lol.
Thanks

 

[bill190]

It can take several weeks of reading to sort of understand the basics.

When I learn a new subject I think the key is learning what the new strange words mean. Spend a lot of time learning the words and you will understand quite a bit. So if you are not clear on what a word means, go to google.com and search for that word.

Other than that, the following links cover a lot about this subject...

Ignore the military specific stuff at the following link, but great info on the basics...
http://www.afrts.osd.mil/tech_info/handbook/pdf/handbook.pdf

http://www.geo-orbit.org/sizepgs/tuningp2.html

http://www.ftavideos.com/fortec/cd/index.html

Dish pointing calculator (lots of words to learn about)...
http://www.satellite-calculations.com/Satellite/lookangles.htm

http://www.satellitehelp.com/installation_index.asp

http://www.scatmag.com/technical/techarticle-jan06.pdf