I'm back, and ready to... shop!

[CharredPC]

After spending the last 2-3 years in apartment hell, we finally bought our own land & starter home! It's not the world's biggest plot (no BUD, sadly) and there are some trees nearby to eventually contend with... but the house and shed roof are mine to devour! :

I'm hoping someone here has spotted a good package deal for me to purchase, or maybe even has one they've been considering upgrading from and selling. Or even just some free advice / kind words to someone who's been out of the game for a few years

Realistically, I'd like a motor, 90cm+ dish, a Circular/Linear polarity single LNB, and a receiver with blind scan. I still have that nifty $37 SatPros which I may use for for the kid's TV on G10 (I know, it's not called that anymore- showing my age here), but this time I want USALS and BS! I'm open to mounting suggestions and can provide pictures of candidate sites. Maybe a reinforced / braced J-pole or tripod? Some may remember my huge, crazy, temporary setups in the past- this time I'll skip the C-band miniBUDs and 10' pipe, I promise... I just want a stable, permanent mount to grab whatever Ku birds I can see, controllable inside with the comfortable AC and heat

Also, a big HI! to all the old regulars here! Missed you guys...

 

[john green]

Welcome back! I missed your avatar

 

[Mr Tony]

welcome back

 

[Anole]

Seeing your avatar in the $50 dish thread woke me up!
Glad to see you participating again.

Looks like you have things under control.
If you are still on the lookout for a blind-scan receiver, SatAV has a deal on a Fortec 5400.
...and if you don't need AC3, there's the Traxis DBS-3500.
Being no stranger, I'm sure you can decide if either is suitable for your needs.

Welcome back.
Now , get some dishes up and let's see some pictures!

 

[iafirebuff]

WELCOME back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[voomvoom]

Welcome Back! Happy Dish Hunting! And Good Luck!

Al

 

[Tron]

Welcome back, CharredPC! Nice to see you back on the board. There are a few deals floating around here, both major ones have already been mentioned (3ABN's 36" Azure Shine dish and SatAV's Fortec receiver WITH blind scan)... I'm sure you're keeping an open eye for Primestar dishes waiting to be snatched up

 

[Shawn95GT]

Hey! Nice to see you're back.

 

[CharredPC]

What I've got planned so far

I thought I'd update you all with my current shopping list... all costs listed are for new items, include shipping, and rounded up to the nearest full dollar:

$73 - DMS SG2100 motor
$54 - Invacom QPH-031 LNBF
$50 - 36" (90cm) dish w/mount
$6 - DMS Diseqc 4x1 switch

Total, I'm looking at $184 so far. I'm still torn about what receiver to get- I don't want to skimp out and go for something cheap. Might as well pay for a Rolls Royce once than get a Civic and regret it the next day The Coolsat 7000 currently looks pretty dang sweet for about $180 shipped. Everyone seems excited about the "next big thing" that will come "real soon" (4:2:2 + HD + OTA + ?) but I think I'd be waiting months or years to see results there. Opinions?

 

[Shawn95GT]

That 7000 looks like a pretty sweet box for the $$.

My next FTA box will do 4:2:2 and HD and that new Fortec is certainly looking like it's going to fit the bill. If I was buying a receiver today I'd definitely consider that 7000 box since I'm addicted to DVRs.

The shopping list looks good .

 

[iafirebuff]

Where did you find a 36" dish for $50 shipped?

 

[lumpkin666]

Where did you find a 36" dish for $50 shipped?

http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/102541-good-place-buy-dish.html

 

[iafirebuff]

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!

 

[iafirebuff]

I will order one! I was going to get a 90cm dish, but it would be about $65 + $33 shipping. So $50 is way good! THANKS again!

 

[CharredPC]

I'm hoping I get the cash scrounged up in the next week or so to nab one too before the wonderful deal disappears! I'm pretty sure 'back in the day' when I started off with a little Winegard 76cm, it cost more than $50 total. And seeing how 120cm made my last SG2100 cry, 90cm seems a perfect happy medium

I'll be sure to document where I got everything from, final total costs, seller reviews, the whole nine yards to help others just starting out.

 

[iafirebuff]

Yes, that is a great price! It would be $95 shipped for a Fortec 90cm from another source. I like the idea of the support arms, not sure if they are needed though. I just need to figure out what all I want and go from there. I don't "need" a bigger dish as my 80cm is more than fine, but you know, gotsa have bigger!

 

[CharredPC]

OK, I'm not messing around this time I ordered the DMS SG2100 motor, Invacom QPH-031 LNBF, DMS Diseqc 4x1 switch, and 36" (90cm) dish w/mount. They were all good deals, and I didn't want them to pass me by! The first three items are guaranteed to ship within 24 hours; the 3ABN dish is priced so nice I don't mind waiting a few weeks to get it. I still have to pick out and purchase a receiver, but there aren't any amazing can't-miss deals on those that I've found... yet

For those that are curious, the total (with shipping) I've spent on everything thus far comes out to $183.39. I think if anyone saw this setup (DMS motor, DMS switch, Invacom QPH-031, 90cm dish with mount) as a package deal for $135.75 with $47.64 shipping, they'd be tempted! I'll provide links and more info once I get the stuff and can responsibly recommend my sources

 

[CharredPC]

I know you'll all understand this next purchase I made- I mean, how could I wait?

To get an idea of what kind of a receiver I wanted to purchase, I checked through the Equipment Reviews section. Iceberg recently did an excellent one on the Visionsat IV200 PVR Plus that got my attention. It sounded like it had pretty much everything the Coolsat 7000 I was looking sported except the internal memory. That didn't bother me at all, since I would be using an external (much larger) USB drive if recording anyhow. In researching, the price seemed much lower as well...

I found and watched a used Visionsat IV 200 auction (one remote, no manual) for two hours until it ended at $122.16 including shipping. While I sat there thinking I should have bid, I found another Visionsat IV 200 auction for $135 (free shipping)- this one a display model. It came with all the original stuff, including the TWO remotes, manual, even another Diseqc switch. In true FTA Satellite Addict fashion, I bought it! Yay! My new setup is complete, I'm just waiting on shipping

My total final cost was $318.39. I'm pretty pleased, as what I got is (IMHO) a very, very respectable setup. Heck, my whole setup is cheaper than a Coolsat 8000!

Now in the oh-so-true words of Tom Petty, "...the waiting is the hardest part!" Expect pictures in a few weeks

 

[vurbano]

Congrats on the house!

 

[Mr Tony]

Congrats on the Visionsat

I have had mine for a little bit now and LOVE it. Use a Western Digital 320GB Hard Drive attached and have had no issues. Some HDD do not play well with the Visionsat but the WD does