New and need help....

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olliec420

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Jun 4, 2007
759
187
Pensacola, FL
Ok I am just getting in to this stuff for a hobby. Used to have DirecTV but now have cable so I understand a lil bit. I want to learn about FTA 4DTV etc etc. I understand a BUD is the best way to go because it gets everything but its a little expensive. So starting out if I was to get a 30" Ku, what would you recommend as the best beginner setup? What dish, motor/no motor, reciver, and everything else one would need to get started. I plan on going BUD one day but I just want to see some stuff in action and understand more how it works before buying a buncha stuff that could turn out to be the wrong stuff. I have a DirecTV dish still monuted on my house and was hoping I could put the 30" on the same poll. If someone would take the time to explain those things to me it would be very much appreciated!!! Thanks!

Oliver
 
I would suggest starting by doing all the reading you can on the subjects. Go up to the reviews section here, and read some of the reviews of various receivers and dishes, etc. Tons of information is there. And check out the other FAQs, lots of info and links to even more. If you want to stick to free tv, you won't need a 4DTV. If you only want ku-band digital 'free tv' , pick a receiver to start out with, get it all connected to your ku dish, tinker awhile. Its a great learning hobby. Once you figure out what all is avail for free on ku, you might want to get a c=band dish to pick up the free stuff on the digital side of the c-band birds. I hardly ever watch any pay tv channels, there's so much interesting content to watch, I havent' missed showtime or cnn or any of that stuff. You can always go for the 4DTV rec later, if you decide you want it. There's a c-band section here also, that will answer lots of questions about c-band and 4DTV. Good luck!
 
FTA is a fun hobby, especially if you like to tinker :) The DirecTV mounting pole probably will not work, especially if you want to use a motor. A 30" dish is larger, and when mounted to a motor, will probably not have enough clearance when mounted to the short DirecTV pole. Then there's the weight issue, a motor and dish weigh too much for one of those small poles. Most here use either a ground-mounted 2 3/8" fence post or a non-penetrating roof mount (if they have a flat roof) for the dish and motor.

As for C-band, it might not be as expensive as you think if you can find someone who wants to get rid of their "old, unused, outdated" C-band dish from the 80s. These will work very well, and you can often get them for free if you pull them up. Pulling them up isn't as easy as it sounds, though ;)
 
With FTA, a "beginner" set-up is something which does not get all the FTA channels or something which gets poor reception because the dish is too small.

In the past I have wasted money on things which did not get me what I wanted.

I now have a system which works good and gets all FTA channels with excellent reception...

I have a 12 ft. C/Ku wire mesh dish with a C/Ku BSC621-2 LNBF, a Fortec Star Mercury II FTA receiver which has blind search, and a VBox II to move my big dish back and forth.

Here is some reading material...

Basics...
http://www.geo-orbit.org/sizepgs/tuningp2.html

BSC621-2...
http://www.sadoun.com/Sat/Products/S/BSC621-2-C-KU-LNBF.htm

PowerTech V3000 (GBOX)...
http://www.sadoun.com/Sat/Products/PowerTech/Sadoun-V3000_GBOX_VBOXIII.htm

Mercury II receiver...
http://www.sadoun.com/Sat/Products/...Star-Mercury-II-Blind-Search-receiver-New.htm
 
Thanks

Thanks guys! You may be right about the free/cheap c-band. I think i will look through local classifieds as well as put wanted ad on craigslist! I'm sure I'lll be posting more when I get it and need help getting it to work! :p
 
Craigslist is a great idea, also consider driving around and making notes of dishes that you see. Often, the dish will be facing the wrong way (such as North), or pointed toward the ground. This is a sure sign that it is not in use. Many people will gladly give you the dish if you take it away :)
 
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