Have I learned enough?

[garrelt1]

Bought lots of neat stuff, but don't know what I bought...Can I make a FTA system?

Hi, I have been lurking around for a few weeks now and learned enough to be dangerous with my money. Well, what little money I had. Please tell me if I screwed up!

So I was at work today and the IT people at my work were having a garage sale of sorts in their office. I bought a bunch of Pentium II computers for my family members, a Sony PVW-2600 Beta Editor (to be sold on ebay or any interested party) and then I saw the Satellite Recievers...I had been wanting to get into FTA but didn't really have the money. But I was able to buy these recievers for really cheap:

Toshiba TRX 500
Toshibba TRX 2000
Monterey 100C Plus
General Instrument DSR 4500 NTSC

I don't have remotes for any of them, but I may be able to get them if I ask around. Are any of these recievers worth my time screwing around with? Can I use them to do FTA of any sorts?

I also have come accross a big roll of RG6 and a Dish 500 dish (no reciever). The dish is bigger than 18 inches, like maybe 20 inches. It appears to have a two LBNFs under a single shrough 110/119. (I have read the sticky on this dish but thought maybe it could work somehow to give me a little fun).

So, what kind of FTA system can I put togethor? If I can scrounge up A LITTLE money what should I buy to make this system work the best? Probably a bigger dish? What would give me the most bang for my buck. My wife won't let me have a big old school C band dish in the yard otherwise I would get one from my father in law--it is so huge. (My priority is paying bills and buying xmas presents for my family, so I really don't have a lot to spend.)

I am a software guy and this hardware stuff really boggles me until I actually DO IT. I can read all day long and not get it until I see and do it.

Thanks in advance, even if you don't have a good answer for me. I appreciate reading all of the other forums!

 

[n4bbq]

Monterey 100C Plus

I have two of these and you'll never find a better picture from anything else, but you REALLY need to get a remote for it or you're dead in the water. You can wander around a few of the menus with the front panel buttons, but if you need to set up something to match your needs, you're dead.

 

[Mr Tony]

welcome

all of the receivers posted are analog receivers. They will work for some FTA, but there is more on digital (these receivers dont get digital)

but as noted above, remotes are almost a must... most of these you need the remote to set it up

 

[drhydro]

As Iceberg said, those are all analog recievers. The real bummer is that most analog is on c-band, and you need a large dish (at least 6') to reliably pick up c-band. There is some ku band(requires a dish size of at least 76cm) analog out there, but it is all "feeds". The dish 500 can be used to get a couple of digital FTA and some audio channels, but you will need a DVB reciever or a DVB card for your computer to view them.

There are some packages that can get you into a complete fixed dish FTA system for ~200, or if you want your dish to move so you can see all of the KU band FTA sattelites that are available you can count on spending around $300 and up depending on features you choose.

 

[garrelt1]

Thanks for the information. I am sad to hear that these are analog only receivers and I am doubly sad to find out that most of the analog available is on C-band. And as you say, what is available on Ku is mostly feeds. Hmm.

But I want to be a FTA guy, so it looks like I will have to bite the bullet and buy some new FTA stuff...perhaps piece by piece..but I will get it all. I just checked on ebay and the Sony 2600 Beta I picked up fetches a pretty penny (around $1,500 sometimes) --perhaps I can make a little money off of it, or at least recoup the $112 dollars I have invested in it and then use this money to buy my FTA equipment.

However, if I do this, I want to do it right. I have read too many posts on this forum (and others) where people have a hodgepodge collection of things they bought off ebay and cause themselves lots of added headache--from what I can tell it is pretty time consuming even if you have a matched set of equipment. I have hodgepodged enough computer systems to know that I don't want to trouble shoot a satellite system!

From what I can tell, the bigger the dish the more options I will have in the future. At the same time, I move around a bit and need to get a dish that is easily transported. I also want to get a reciever and LNBs that give me the most options in the future (and are easy to use/install). So, I am thinking about a 1meter or 1.2 meter dish and motor with DVB and DBS LNBs. Also, would I be able to piggy back an LNB and play with this crazy c-band frankenstein you guys are talking about? Could I get them all on one dish? I live in Michigan and am willing to drive to Ohio, or wherever I need to if I can save a buck and get a better dish.

I guess my question is this:

If you are on a budget and want to get the most possible FTA for your money (I don't want to be obsolete in two years, and I want all of Ku and to play with the C-band if I can), what components do you buy? Where do you buy them? Will my analog boxes work with such a system or should I sell them on fleabay?

 

[PSB]

You should BUY from one of our GOLD sponsors (top of the page) Support the guys that support us here at SatelliteGuys.US : )

Its VERY easy to slave one of your analog receivers to a new digital DVB receiver with a single coax run! LOADS of analog sports on weekendz!

 

[drhydro]

I would look for a used 6' dish, you will be able to get a lot of c band, and should do pretty well with ku band. The 6' dish isnt THAT large, compared to my 10' bud my 6' dish is kinda tiny, and if need be could be broken down and moved fairly easily. Of course the mount the pole rests on wont move easily (done right it wont move at all ;-) ) but the pole and dish can be moved.

 

[garrelt1]

Ok, so I posted a message the other day telling you guys about all the old analog recievers I bought and since them I came to the conclusion that I should just bite the bullet and buy a whole new digital Ku new set up. Becuase I am a newbie, I have read and read and read some more. Knowing that I will be be moving to a new house sometime, and that my wife will not want a BUD in the yard, and that 95% of things are on Ku, here is what I think I should buy. If I am wrong, feel free to tell me to keep doing research and reading!

Coolsat 4000 Pro (Should this come with a card reader? Will I really need it?)
SG 2100 motor
Invacom 0.3db LNB (or Xtreme .3db--which one is better)
1 meter Wineguard dish + ground mounting poles etc. which I haven't researched.

Should I buy a signal meter? Which one? I already a have a compas!

The way I figure it the dish is big enough that I will get a good Ku signal and can play with the C-band project that PSB and Cascade have started (if I buy a C-band LNB and some Duct tape).

I am so excited to order this stuff and my wife is already mad at me for reading this forum all the time---looks like I am off to a the typical FTA start!

So which one of our Gold Sellers will put me togethor the best package deal and give me the best service? All this should be in the $400 dollar range right?

 

[ken2400]

Oh ya get the meter. The SF-95 works ok for me. Around $20 on E-bay

Ok, so I posted a message the other day telling you guys about all the old analog recievers I bought and since them I came to the conclusion that I should just bite the bullet and buy a whole new digital Ku new set up. Becuase I am a newbie, I have read and read and read some more. Knowing that I will be be moving to a new house sometime, and that my wife will not want a BUD in the yard, and that 95% of things are on Ku, here is what I think I should buy. If I am wrong, feel free to tell me to keep doing research and reading!

Coolsat 4000 Pro (Should this come with a card reader? Will I really need it?)
SG 2100 motor
Invacom 0.3db LNB (or Xtreme .3db--which one is better)
1 meter Wineguard dish + ground mounting poles etc. which I haven't researched.

Should I buy a signal meter? Which one? I already a have a compas!

The way I figure it the dish is big enough that I will get a good Ku signal and can play with the C-band project that PSB and Cascade have started (if I buy a C-band LNB and some Duct tape).

I am so excited to order this stuff and my wife is already mad at me for reading this forum all the time---looks like I am off to a the typical FTA start!

So which one of our Gold Sellers will put me togethor the best package deal and give me the best service? All this should be in the $400 dollar range right?