Hello, I have been having trouble setting up my FTA system. I have reached a dead end with my online research for FTA. The problem is that when I go to scan a sat, it gives me 60% signal strength but 0% quality. So I figure I must have something working properly. My setup includes a Slimline dish with 1 lnb and a Sonicview 8000hd. The dish was set up by DirecTV, do I need to alter DirecTV's dish/cable setup to effectively use FTA or is it a problem with my receiver? Any help would be appreciated.
Need a Bit of Help
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the slimline dish as is is pretty much useless for FTA. You would need either a 30" dish or to rig up a KU LNB on that
The Slimline Dish and LNB are only used for DirecTV signals, which requires a subscription and their receivers.
If you want to receive Free To Air Sats, get an FTA Dish and FTA LNB, see the sponsors at the top of this Web Page.
What channels are you interested in?
If you want to receive Free To Air Sats, get an FTA Dish and FTA LNB, see the sponsors at the top of this Web Page.
What channels are you interested in?
nope. You need just a regular KU LNB like this
FREE TO AIR LNB LNBF Dual Single DSS Standard and Universal
FREE TO AIR LNB LNBF Dual Single DSS Standard and Universal
Currently I have directv working in most of my rooms. I was thinking about using FTA to supplement directv's channels so would it be possible to have both working concurrently on the same satellite? Or would it be easier to have another dish just dedicated to FTA? And the channels that I would like to get would be any that I could get without disrupting direcTV's setup.
You're talking apples and oranges here. Free to air signals use "linear polarization" where your pay-tv equipment mostly use circular, different types of signals. Free to air channels come from many other satellites, that are much weaker than the pay-services' birds. Hence the need for a bigger dish and different lnbf on it. Directv uses a proprietary form of signal, too, so only good for their service and their receivers. Some people who are new to fta may confuse the term FTA as something to "allow more channels" on existing equipment, satellite signal-hackers have stolen the phrase , to justify their illegal theft of services. Real free to air is just that, signals that are free for the watching, with the right equipment. You won't see much "cable" type stuff, but there is a world of interesting tv channels on various satellites, and no subscription or decryption is required.
Ok, when new people pop in, its good to let them know-some really think fta is a free means of watching Dishnetwork without paying. You got the answers now, just a matter of finding some equipment. Our sponsors will give you some good choices of single parts or whole systems ready to install. Some of us just grab an old primestar dish and point them at one satellite, they can be motorized with some modifications too. Check The List, top of page for some idea of channels. If you want Spanish channels, there's some of those on sev diff sats, a good one is Galaxy 18 at 123W.
Azteca America is at 93W, 3 or 4 channels there.
Give us a shout if you decide to buy some equipment, most of whats out there now has been, or is in use by some of us, we'll give you our unabashed opinions free!
Welcome to the forum, btw.
Welcome to the forum, btw.
I was looking at this lnb, it says it is capable of DSS and FTA which would work with my setup I hope.
QPH-031 Invacom 0.3dB DBS and VSAT LNBs plus VSAT Ku Band Transmitters - BUCs, Receive Satellite TV, Quad CP LP 2-way Satellite communications
QPH-031 Invacom 0.3dB DBS and VSAT LNBs plus VSAT Ku Band Transmitters - BUCs, Receive Satellite TV, Quad CP LP 2-way Satellite communications
You're not in SW Michigan, are you ? I have a 31" dish with an Invacom QPH031 on Grand Rapids Craigslist for $75, but it would be pickup only.
The QPH031 is a fine lnbf, but it's expensive compared to a standard dual linear lnbf which will do the job for you quite nicely.
The QPH031 is a fine lnbf, but it's expensive compared to a standard dual linear lnbf which will do the job for you quite nicely.
You need a bigger dish with the ability to be aimed separately from your Direct TV dish. Take a look at:
http://ftalist.com
to see which channels are available for Free To Air.
Good Luck.
Bob
A 90cm oval dish is a great all around choice, with low shipping costs. You might check out our gold sponsors at the top of the page , for deals , bundles, or specials.
A 90cm oval dish is a great all around choice, with low shipping costs. You might check out our gold sponsors at the top of the page , for deals , bundles, or specials.
Brent,
After having used the Winegard DS-2076 (76 cm) dish for several years now, I can honestly say that this is a great starter dish for anyone new to FTA who doesn't know much about what they really want just yet.
It is a good learning or training dish since it is lightweight (sort of) and exceptional in quality and pretty reasonable in price and easy to handle.
I am just now trying to familiarize myself with larger dishes and doing some experiments to learn more, but I sure do LOVE my Winegard DS-2076! I cannot complain very much about it!
For the price and ease it is a great dish to start with. But, that all depends upon many other factors. Best thing is to learn all the specifics first. I kinda jumped into this hobby haphazardly. I don't mind spending a little extra money to "play" but there is a limit to how much money anyone spends which is legitimate. Unless you are honestly interested in just fooling around and investigating in FTA.
You have to spend a lot of time researching the FTA channels just to find out what they are all about. You won't understand this overnight and you might not even like it. Yet, you should put your mind and heart into it, in order to enjoy it.
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