Help me spend money! (General advice wanted)

[tdsp]

So I recently am getting back into the hobby. Last thing I knew about it was that piracy was a huge thing and people were using it to get free Dish and every piece of equipment seemed to be premium priced for that reason. Recently my buddy moved into a place with a C-band dish and I looked on ebay and it seems like the market has collapsed and dried up to a certain extent. I've been enjoying randomly messing with pointing his big dish and finding weird hispanic TV to watch (I am slowly absorbing the Spanish).

I'm in central Illinois, and from looking at maps it looks like I am in the right spot to get lots of cool stuff. What are my dish options? Can I get an affordable (think college student) out of the box C/Ku dish that has a motor? Can I get something that is fairly affordable to ship? Can I find something I can mount on cheap metal pipe that is mounted properly in cement? I would love to hit auctions and craigslist, but it's not very popular around here.

I also have a direcway dish sitting in my storage unit. Can I use that to get C, or is it too small? Can I retrofit on a new LNB?

What about receivers? How cheap can I get a non-junk HD receiver?

Thanks for anyone who takes the time to help!

 

[FaT Air]

to Satelliteguys

What are my dish options?

For C band at least a 6ft dish. But you'll get more if it's larger. 8 or greater IS better. 10ft is the one to get if available/affordable. Check the thread Kijiji - ebay- craigslist - - - in the C band section. You can get Ku with as little as a 30 inch but would suggest 36 inch (90cm)

direcway dish sitting in my storage unit. Can I use that to get C, or is it too small? Can I retrofit on a new LNB?

It may get some on 99W. Suggest the Titanium PLL cband LNBF with the filter and conical scalar. Member Titanium probably has a LNBF holder to use to convert it to "C" band. But it's beter utilized on Ku. Some here have purchased 10 ft C band dishes from TEK2000, although all are not without problems, check the threads here.

What about receivers? How cheap can I get a non-junk HD receiver?

Amiko HD SE is my recommendation.

 

[fred555]

Amiko HD SE is my recommendation.

What he said.

 

[barleyguy]

I hate to just waste a post agreeing, but Fat Air gave excellent advice. That 36" dish is what I have, and IMO the Mini HD SE is the receiver to get.

One thing to add: For a motor I have a Stab HH90, and that's what was recommended to me here.

As far as prices, the total should be around $300 for the 36" dish with LNB, a Mini HD SE, the Stab HH90, and some coax cable.

C-Band has way more channels than Ku-band, but everything I would personally watch on C-Band is at 101 W. So my recommendation would be to get the stuff above, and then add a stationary C-Band dish at 101, and either a switch or a second receiver.

 

[bpalone]

Agree with all said about receiver and dish for Ku band.

You said your friend moved into a place with a BUD already there. I would bet that there are other BUDs in the area setting unused. So, you might take some drives around the countryside looking for them. Then inquire if they would like it removed. You might just hit the jackpot and get a BUD for nothing more than some of your time.

 

[RT-Cat]

Well, you could just mail me a big fat check and that would get rid of the money.
You came to the right place for good info. Info above is a good start.
Welcome to Satelliteguys!!!