Hi and a little help please.

[OregonOldGuy]

Hello all. I'm a noob and unsure of myself here. Although I was once pretty good at techy/geeky stuff, I've been out of the loop for well over a decade on C band. Been mostly teaching myself PC stuff...built my own gaming PC, etc.

I have a 10' dish in very good condition. Still moves east/west, etc. Also an HTS Tracker System VIII Plus receiver and 3 RF remotes. Over a decade ago, I went with DirecTV because those broadcasting curs went and scrambled everything worthwhile.

My question is this: Should I just tear this stuff down & toss it, or is there any reason to keep it? If I keep it, what would you recommend I consider to "upgrade" it or make it useful given the current state of digital regulation? Before I spend money, I need to justify it relative to the long range future. I've no desire to approach this as a "hobbyist".

I understand that if optimized I should be able to get a better HDTV picture from a Big One, than from a typical compressed signal from DirecTV. However, I have not switched to HDTV yet and am not sure when I will. With 3 sets to replace, that could be bloody expensive....But I will eventually, possibly this year.

Thank you for any advice you can throw my way.

 

[truckracer]

There are still some special interest channels and wild feeds up there that are now digital.
Your big dish can still be used to subscribe to programming if you have a 4dtv receiver such as a motorola dsr-922, 905, 920

Lot of international and spanish language channels on c and ku bands
news feeds too.

Some things we do not post in the open area for fear of the channels getting scrambled.
there is still plenty to be seen up in the sky with a good FTA receiver.
Just to name some popular fta boxes but not all is Pansat 9200 HD , fortec ultra lifetime standard definition receiver, viewsat receiver, and many more .

One of these can be slaved to your existing system assuming your lnbs are still good and in working order and your dish is still in alignment tracking properly.
Your old analog box will move the dish and choose the polarity H or V.

 

[Anole]

You might post some pictures. That always gets everyone's interest.
And if you are here, we'll mostly try to help you choose the appropriate equipment to get it running again.
Of course, if you hear all the ideas and decide against spending money on it, I'm sure we have members in your area who'd help you take it down.
We're a full-service forum! -

And welcome. See, even at this hour, you can get help ! - :up

 

[OregonOldGuy]

Thx Truckracer. I'm a little lost already. Assuming my old HTS & dish still track properly (don't know how to test this) and my lnb is still good (don't know how to test this either), I think what you are saying is I could add a FTA device and/or a 4dtv receiver. Maybe a stupid question but is there ONE receiver I can buy that can receive ALL legal feeds AND allow me to subscribe to programming if I decide to....that REPLACES my old HTS receiver?
Also: If I did spend the $ to upgrade my 10' dish, how might it be better than DirecTV? And, can I get local channels or at least Network feeds? (I cannot get local channels over the air in my location).
btw: I'm not much interested in international broadcasts and not interested in non-english channels at all.
Thx again, all.

 

[OregonOldGuy]

Thx Anole. I'll try to catch the weather at a good time and grab some pix.

Hehe...I appreciate both the hour of response & the full service offer. (I already read the thread on Dish Hunting....)

 

[No Doubt]

What part of Oregon are you in? You maybe surprised about your local channels with a good outdoor antenna with a digital converter box, I was. Try this site too see what is available. Welcome to the forum! No Doubt.
TV TOOL

 

[Greg Mueller]

Maybe a stupid question but is there ONE receiver I can buy that can receive ALL legal feeds AND allow me to subscribe to programming if I decide to....that REPLACES my old HTS receiver?
Thx again, all.

I'm looking into a PCI card for my computer that will do all sorts of FTA.
I don't think you can subscribe with it, but I'm more into FREE anyway

 

[Anole]

overview:

.... is there ONE receiver I can buy that can receive ALL legal feeds AND allow me to subscribe to programming if I decide to....that REPLACES my old HTS receiver?
Also: If I did spend the $ to upgrade my 10' dish, how might it be better than DirecTV? And, can I get local channels or at least Network feeds? (I cannot get local channels over the air in my location).

1 receiver
No, the subscription and the FTA are two major branches of the hobby.
- for standard def FTA, you could piggy back a DVB receiver to your existing setup.
A typical receiver might include a Fortec Star brand Mercury II or Dynamic, Pansat 3500, Coolsat 5000 or 6000, Visionsat IV-200, or Traxis 3500 (to name the more popular).
That would give you immediate access to all the standard deffinition FTA programming and feeds, and is capable of both C-band and Ku-band operation.
- for subscription, one of several 4DTV receiver, most likely a 920 or 922, would open up the world of subscription TV on C-band.
That's a whole different discussion, but often you can get programming a la carte, for lower price, and in better quality than through DirecTV or Dish Network.

moving the dish
99.9% of DVB receivers will not move your BUD.
However, there is an add-on device generally known as a Gbox or Vbox, which can take commands from a DVB receiver and swing your dish to the desired satellite.

Alternately, a 4DTV 920 or 922 receiver -does- have the motor control to drive the dish.
So, one popular setup some of the guys use, is a 4DTV receiver for subscription and movement, with a DVB receiver piggy backed to it for FTA use.

Better than DirecTV
Well, if you are what we hams call an "appliance operator", then DirecTV and Dish Network are simple, immediate solutions, requiring the minimum effort.
If you were setting up something at your grandma's house, DirecTV/Dish might be a better solution.

If you like tinkering with things, if you like better quality pictures, if you like feeds of games for free, if you like lower cost subscription (4DTV), then maybe you are in the right department. -

Network and local channels
- local: I agree with No Doubt - check on a digital converter box with outdoor antenna.
My location in Los Angeles gives a surprising 20+ channels, carrying around 50 subcarriers (virtual channels) of programming.
It's like your basic cable, here.
-network: between Ku and C band, you can get all the major networks. For free!
Maybe not necessarily in your time zone, but free is free!
See post by Iceberg in this thread.

I've only touched on some of the highlights, here.
The more knowledgeable BUD owners will add additional details as you are ready to digest them.

 

[Inno]

moving the dish
99.9% of DVB receivers will not move your BUD.
However, there is an add-on device generally known as a Gbox or Vbox, which can take commands from a DVB receiver and swing your dish to the desired satellite.

Alternately, a 4DTV 920 or 922 receiver -does- have the motor control to drive the dish.
So, one popular setup some of the guys use, is a 4DTV receiver for subscription and movement, with a DVB receiver piggy backed to it for FTA use.

Another side note, if your existing analog receiver still moves the dish you could simply use it to position the dish and control polarity/skew and connect a Free to Air receiver to get all the free legal stuff.........there's quite a bit of it. That wouldn't set you back a bunch and if you found you didn't like it that much you wouldn't be out a lot of money.
If you find that it's easy (or maybe even fun ) enough and like to tinker then you could always add a 4DTV for subscription stuff at a later date and ditch the Direct TV altogether.

 

[Inno]

Oh, one more thing, to check and see if things are still working properly there are still a few analog channels on C-Band for you to test with.
Classic Arts is on G1 channel 5, swing the dish over there and see what you get. That will give you a good idea as to whether things are still working or not and may give you a starting point.

 

[truckracer]

my local tv comes from a radio shack vu120xr with a low noise pre amp split to 4 digital tv's.
use converter boxes for your locals with an outdoor antenna. usually better pic quality than small dish and cable.

any of those receivers they mentioned will get you some legal fta.
beware of buying from ebay as many of those receivers have been hacked and sometimes the bios is destroyed from botched firmware "upgrades"

 

[rv1pop]

You might post some pictures. That always gets everyone's interest.
And if you are here, we'll mostly try to help you choose the appropriate equipment to get it running again.
Of course, if you hear all the ideas and decide against spending money on it, I'm sure we have members in your area who'd help you take it down.
We're a full-service forum! -

And welcome. See, even at this hour, you can get help ! - :up

AH, yes. If you decide yoiu don't want it, I will be on my way to help you get it down and onto my trailer. I am off HWY 97 just north of the Columbia. What part of OR are you in. If really close, I could loan you a receiver for a few weeks to see if you can find whjat you want! Going across the Biggs bridge right now is a problem!

 

[OregonOldGuy]

Thanks to all, but....

You have all been very helpful. Thank you for your time & input.
Unfortunately, when I tried to test the system today I could not get the HTS receiver to power up (yes, I tried the red reset button on the back). I remember I had this same problem repaired in 2001. All worked fine several years ago, but alas this is the first time in many years I tried to use it again and it is dead again.
Given this new fact, I doubt I'd be interested in spending any more money on the system. Unless my research is flawed it looks like a minimal investment of $450 to get a good 4DTV receiver (like the 922), plus around $300 to add HDTV(HDD200). This is to say nothing of the rest of the parts, like the LNB, feedhorn, motor, etc. that may or may not be ok. Then there's FTA....which looks like another $100-200.
So...I guess I get what I need with DirecTV and, as I said, am not interested in this as a hobbyist. I'm almost 62 and tired...
If anyone is interested in carting this away and willing to travel to the Medford, OR area, please drop me an e-mail: goldhill97525@juno.com.
btw: No, there is no way to get local channels where I am....even though it's only 12-15 miles. I have a mountain range in between. I already tried everything years ago and was barely able to get one local. One of the problems DirecTV solved. Local channels/network feeds are included in every package.
Thank you all again. I felt very welcome here and learned a lot.
Chris

 

[Anole]

I fully understand.
For many the pizza dish is a solution.

I'm sure RV1pop or one of the other guys can help you remove the old timer.
The interest level is driven by the type and condition, so post those pictures.
But I'm sure someone in the area will want it! - :up

Ya know, we also have Dish Network, and DirecTV forums on this site, too.
And all the latest in off the air technology (I think that's called the HD OTA forum)
It's quite possible with a digital converter box, you might get those locals.

So, don't be a stranger! -

 

[rv1pop]

Hello all. I'm a noob and unsure of myself here. Although I was once pretty good at techy/geeky stuff, I've been out of the loop for well over a decade on C band. Been mostly teaching myself PC stuff...built my own gaming PC, etc.

I have a 10' dish in very good condition. Still moves east/west, etc. Also an HTS Tracker System VIII Plus receiver and 3 RF remotes. Over a decade ago, I went with DirecTV because those broadcasting curs went and scrambled everything worthwhile.

++++++++
Thank you for any advice you can throw my way.

With a dead receiver, you can not even test it. I have an untested HTS Tracker III, which I thought was just a mover. When I can, I will plug it in and see if it powers up. I also have several other units. Would any of these be plug and play (same hook up) in that system??? If so I could loan him one.
Several of them have the videocypher boxes >>> in them
GI 2750 R >>>
GI 650I >>>
GI VC2100E
ICA 1800 (TEE COMM ?) >>>
StarTrak 400 Solt but no box
Uniden Ultra >>>
Uniden UST 5000
Uniden UST 7000
SA Home Sat HS900
STS MBS-LSR
DMT 1000 (digital no information - might have a remote - does power up)

Comments please
POP

 

[rv1pop]

Not really wanting to bump this, but maybe i phrased it wrong. Because of the comment that the Power supplies on the HTS have a reputation for failure, I was wondering which of the others would be a good one for me to send him to try with his system... ANY ideas?

With a dead receiver, you can not even test it. I have an untested HTS Tracker III, which I thought was just a mover. When I can, I will plug it in and see if it powers up.

I also have several other units. Does anyone know if any of these be plug and play (same hook up) in that system??? If so I could loan him one.
Several of them have the videocypher boxes >>> in them
GI 2750 R >>>
GI 650I >>>
GI VC2100E
ICA 1800 (TEE COMM ?) >>>
StarTrak 400 Solt but no box
Uniden Ultra >>>
Uniden UST 5000
Uniden UST 7000
SA Home Sat HS900
STS MBS-LSR
DMT 1000 (digital no information - might have a remote - does power up)

Comments please
POP

 

[rv1pop]

I guess no one wants to commit themselves on this, but it may be moot. I turned on the HTS today and it appears to work. Came up on F 4. So OldOregonGuy, PM me with your address and lets get this going. I did not find a remote is the short time I had, But I have the unit with me and a priority mail box! CHEERS! and BLESSINGS.
POP

 

[gabshere]

the GI 2750 is the high end receiver before GI went to the 350i,450i550i & 650i series
the GI 650i is the top of the line before GI went to 4DTV Series

the GI VC2100E is just a Videocipher cage ( holding unit) i don't think these would move a dish. most of these held a black videocipher board

Uniden Ultra is a nice unit probably in the range of the 550i or 650i from GI

DMT 1000 is a entry level (before blind scan) digital receiver, won't move a motor , probably has old sat list

 

[ftaisawesome]

I guess no one wants to commit themselves on this, but it may be moot. I turned on the HTS today and it appears to work. Came up on F 4. So OldOregonGuy, PM me with your address and lets get this going. I did not find a remote is the short time I had, But I have the unit with me and a priority mail box! CHEERS! and BLESSINGS.
POP

I'd like to say, it sure is nice of POP to help out a fellow member like this.

 

[Anole]

the man has spoken

You have all been very helpful. Thank you for your time & input.
...
Given this new fact, I doubt I'd be interested in spending any more money on the system.
...
So...I guess I get what I need with DirecTV and, as I said, am not interested in this as a hobbyist.
I'm almost 62 and tired...
If anyone is interested in carting this away and willing to travel to the Medford, OR area, please drop me an e-mail:....
...
Thank you all again. I felt very welcome here and learned a lot.
Chris

And he hasn't returned to the forum since the day he posted this.
So, somebody please help him out and go get his dish. - :up