Hi guys. I'm a newbie to FTA but I'm a bit tech savvy. I want to put together an FTA system. Can you guys give me some advise please. I intend to use a Captivework CW800s with a 30" Dish and Universal LNB. After purchasing the CW800s and installing it what else will I have to do to get it running? I live in Trinidad.
Newbie - Advise needed
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Ummm, anyone. I've just been told that the CW800s isn't working anymore. I'm lost guys. Help please.
Elaborate a little more: "isn't WORKING"? What do you mean? It doesn't boot up, or you can't get a particular channel on FTA?
Lay out what you have for dishes already, what sats they are pointed at, etc, and maybe we can figure it out for you.
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Thanks for your response Primestar. Ok like I said before I live in Trinidad. My country co-ordinates are 10° 27? 38? N, 61° 14? 55? W Currently I have a Direct TV subscription. Its the prepaid DIY package I installed myself. Its very limited, only 42 channels and its a lot of Spanish that's one the reason I want a FTA system.
I know how to install a system and I have an idea how to locate the Sats but I haven't bought the receiver yet but I have the 30" dish. In Trinidad a few people know about FTA systems and don't really share the knowledge. I have been told that when I purchase a receiver I will have to pay someone to program it for me in order for it to work. The say that some receivers stop working and then you will have get another brand to replace it since that brand has been blocked from accessing the Sats. They are claiming that is the case currently with the Captive Works CW800s. I want to point at 91 W,110 W and 119 W.
It doesn't make sense to me because Free To Air is suppose to be free to receive. The only setback should be firmware, which should be rectified once you update it. Maybe I have it wrong. This is the reason I was asking after I install the system what else do I have to do to the receiver box before I enjoy TV? Please clarify this and can you please recommend a few good receivers to use.
I know how to install a system and I have an idea how to locate the Sats but I haven't bought the receiver yet but I have the 30" dish. In Trinidad a few people know about FTA systems and don't really share the knowledge. I have been told that when I purchase a receiver I will have to pay someone to program it for me in order for it to work. The say that some receivers stop working and then you will have get another brand to replace it since that brand has been blocked from accessing the Sats. They are claiming that is the case currently with the Captive Works CW800s. I want to point at 91 W,110 W and 119 W.
It doesn't make sense to me because Free To Air is suppose to be free to receive. The only setback should be firmware, which should be rectified once you update it. Maybe I have it wrong. This is the reason I was asking after I install the system what else do I have to do to the receiver box before I enjoy TV? Please clarify this and can you please recommend a few good receivers to use.
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Ok, so it sounds like you are legal with your Directv sub and you are using their receiver and dish, etc to receive a special package of regular subscription channels? Is that correct?
All right now here's where the confusion comes in: TRUE FTA stands for "FREE to air", and is sort of like you putting up a normal tv antenna on a pole outside of your house, and recieving whatever broadcast channels that are receivable in your area.
Now, for years some people have used particular FTA receivers with hacked software (firmware) that allows them to receive subscription type channels (like you are paying for with your DirecTv sub) for FREE. That's NOT LEGAL, and is not really the "FTA" (free to air) that we are talking about on SatelliteGuys website. The hackers call it "FTA" to confuse the issues as to whether they are legal, and not stealing a product (they are stealing, let's be clear here).
Your confusion appears to be related to the fact that YOU are 'talking' proper legal FTA to these hacker providers, while THEY are "hearing and thinking and replying on the basis" that you are asking about the hacked FTA systems to receive pay channels for FREE.
I believe you just want to receive the truly free to receive channels that are broadcasted by satellite and that are allowed to be received legally without payment, correct? If so, you do not want satellites 91w, and 110 and 119w, as they are 99.9% pay channels and illegal to hack without using a providers receiver and paying a fee to do so.
You need a receiver that is dvb and dvb-s2 capable, and would be useful for that purpose alone. The SatelliteAv MicroHD receiver would be a good start, that does nearly everything you can hope for right off the bat. It's a mature product, and doesn't need a lot of babysitting to keep working. There are other receivers that also would work fine, but may have a much steeper learning curve and might be best to try later if you want to do so. You will also need a minimum of that 30" dish, (seperate from the one you are using for Directv) with a linear KU lnb (NOT a circular lnb, like for pay channels) to point at and receive a single satellite. You can also get a USALS motor to mount the dish on to automatically point at different sats. I'm not familiar in what it takes to do all this in Trinidad, but there are others here that are in that area and probably can advise you better for that part of it.
Here's a 'for instance' of a usable bare-bones FTA system that includes all you need (except for a motor, that can be added later): http://www.ebay.com/itm/GEOSATpro-m..._Receivers&hash=item1c304e40e7#ht_4736wt_1215
That may not be free shipping to Trinidad! The receiver is also available from many other sellers at different prices, so you are free to buy from whomever you like. I just provide the info as a visual aid. I own two MicroHD receivers, and they are nice for just TRUE FTA, and nothing else. Maybe in the future you will also want a larger C-band dish? If so, the MicroHD has you covered for that purpose also.
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Yes I am 100% legal with DirecTV. You have made everything clear now. Apart from my DirecTV dish which is an 18" or 24" round dish I have 30" dish I intend to use for the FTA. I will check out the MicroHD and the linear KU lnb. Can you please advise me as to what true FTA Sats will be available with that system since 91w, and 110 and 119w will unavailable. Anyone in the Carribean especially Trinidad if you have any advice I'd appreciate it. Thanks a lot Primestar.
What kind of programming do you want? There's 2-3dozen satellites you should be able to see ( more easily when you get a motor). Sports feeds and news feeds, public broadcasting channels, wide variety of tv. Also, to be clear, there is a non-pay satellite also located at 91degrees west. The Pay-tv satellites at 91, 110, 119 and a few other places mostly just have subscription tv and most everything on them IS scrambled anyway. You might go to SES Americom, the giant satellite fleet owner and look up the footprint maps for satellites over N America, Atlantic area and see how good the signals are in your location. From the US Southeast I watch sats from 72w-123w most of the time, all ku birds that a smaller dish can pick up.
edit: To add, since you're way further east than me , at 61w, you will be able to see several satellites that I can't. Lyngsat website can give you an idea of what some of the programming is
on the satellites, just click on the Sat tracker and a list of birds will appear.
edit: To add, since you're way further east than me , at 61w, you will be able to see several satellites that I can't. Lyngsat website can give you an idea of what some of the programming is
on the satellites, just click on the Sat tracker and a list of birds will appear.
Thanks for your response Turbosat. I'm looking for music channels like MTV,adult,movies and sports. I would love to get a motor but unfortunately because of where I live it will cost an arm and a leg to ship it here. The the largest thing I can ship is the receiver. I have the 30" dish and I'm trying to source some more gear locally, like more dishes or bigger dishes. I'll try to source a motor here too. I'm using a few apps on my phone that are showing me quite a few Sats too.
Primestar I looked at the MicroHD receiver but its not available on Amazon. I don't trust eBay because I had bad experiences so I only use Amazon. I'm looking at the X2 Premium HD PVR FTA Satellite Receiver - Special Edition, will that be a good choice? Another thing is this, since I'm going to be point at dedicated FTA Sats can I go ahead and buy the Captive Works CW800s
Also I searched for linear lnb and the ones that come up look just the Universal one I intended to buy originally. Can you tell me whats the difference, is it in specs? because I don't see any physical difference.
Primestar I looked at the MicroHD receiver but its not available on Amazon. I don't trust eBay because I had bad experiences so I only use Amazon. I'm looking at the X2 Premium HD PVR FTA Satellite Receiver - Special Edition, will that be a good choice? Another thing is this, since I'm going to be point at dedicated FTA Sats can I go ahead and buy the Captive Works CW800s
Also I searched for linear lnb and the ones that come up look just the Universal one I intended to buy originally. Can you tell me whats the difference, is it in specs? because I don't see any physical difference.
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No, I can't recommend the CW800s under any circumstances. It's ancient, and only standard definition channels. It's beyond obsolete. If somebody gave you one for free, I'd say maybe go ahead and play with it for starters. However, you will find out very quickly that you are extremely limited on what you can receive with it.
You are really limiting yourself if you only stick to what's available on Amazon in this case. The X2HD is usable and cheap, but is getting close to end of life I think, and I figure it will be abandoned shortly. However, in your case it would be a far better choice than the CW receiver. A linear lnb can be a "universal" one, they all "look" pretty much the same. The difference is the frequencies they have access to. There's very little transmitted on sats over the USA that needs a universal lnb. Considering where you are located, a universal lnb would be useful for the sats that you have access to.
The X2 receiver is supported more heavily on this site: http://www.legitfta.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?215-X2-Premium-HD-Discussions
Note: There is also an $20~ X2 Mini receiver that you do NOT want as your main receiver, it's no better than the CW one.
You are really limiting yourself if you only stick to what's available on Amazon in this case. The X2HD is usable and cheap, but is getting close to end of life I think, and I figure it will be abandoned shortly. However, in your case it would be a far better choice than the CW receiver. A linear lnb can be a "universal" one, they all "look" pretty much the same. The difference is the frequencies they have access to. There's very little transmitted on sats over the USA that needs a universal lnb. Considering where you are located, a universal lnb would be useful for the sats that you have access to.
The X2 receiver is supported more heavily on this site: http://www.legitfta.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?215-X2-Premium-HD-Discussions
Note: There is also an $20~ X2 Mini receiver that you do NOT want as your main receiver, it's no better than the CW one.
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Lol ok, I wont buy the dinosaur receivers if I get one for free though I'll play around with it. Can you recommend a supplier for the Geosat MicroHD? I will buy the universal LNB I intended to buy plus the Linear LNB and compare the results.
Ok thanks, I'll either buy it from him or I'll go through my courier and get it from ebay. Hopefully I'll have the money within a month because I still have other things to pay for including the international shipping. What will be the difference when I go to a C band system?
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You'll need a much larger dish, a c-band lnb, and a Diseqc or 22k switch to go between the KU 30" dish and the c-band dish. That's it.
p.s. That seller is also on Ebay http://stores.ebay.com/Gotcband?_trksid=p2047675.l2563 and sometimes sells cheaper there. I didn't say that right away because you said you didn't want to use Ebay. I have been on Ebay since 1997, and I've only been cheated (if you want to use that term) maybe 5 times total. I got my money back 4 of those times, and the last one was for only a couple dollars. Pay VERY close attention to their latest feedback, and if it seems bad, then go for somebody else. Here's another Ebay seller that is also a mod here: http://stores.ebay.com/Michael-Electronics?_trksid=p2047675.l2563
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A lot more usable channels for viewing than KU stuff, unless you count 97W KU which has hundreds of (mostly) foreign channels (I don't find most of them interesting in my case). I watch c-band stuff almost exclusively. There's a lot of regular broadcast channels up there, and plenty of things to keep you busy for a long time.
97W would be the ONE satellite that you could use your CW800s receiver on, and get 99% of what's broadcasted there. I am NOT exaggerating the "hundreds" of channels either on this single sat...
Here's a guide to those channels in this thread: http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/330598-Galaxy-19-(97W)-Ku-band-channel-guide-Feb-9-update
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You won't usually find cable or premium channels in the clear. Sometimes something will pop up unscrambled, but you can't count on it staying. Plenty of sports feeds though...
Ok cool. Dont get me wrong I'm not into sports but I have my moments that I get into it, especially if there is a big event taking place, such as a World Cup or Olympic tournament. The thing is we don't get much sports here. Even on Directv its on 3 channels and 2 are Spanish 50% of the time. Then since I was a kid I was no big lover of sports, the area I grew up had no boys my age, house was the only house for a mile or 2 so I had no one to play sports with and ironically the school I ended up in was the only school that didn't part take in sports much.
They focused more on academic performance and competition. They entered in a lot of Reading and Poetry competitions at which I represented the school. So at school I just focused on academics and playing Tag. At home I focused on reading and electronic devices. There was no electricity in my village but I kept playing with electronics that were powered a 12 volt battery. I was always fascinated with electronics and always tried to create something or repair something.
My love for reading got me into reading erotic novels and my love for electronics got me into watching porn lol. I guess where you grow up really determines to an extent the kinda person you become. I'm still into porn,movies,documentaries and of course music because that's my line of work. Hence the reason I wanna get that kinda programming music channels like MTV, BET, VH1, Tempo. I know I wont get those on FTA but anything similar and are there FTA porn channels?
They focused more on academic performance and competition. They entered in a lot of Reading and Poetry competitions at which I represented the school. So at school I just focused on academics and playing Tag. At home I focused on reading and electronic devices. There was no electricity in my village but I kept playing with electronics that were powered a 12 volt battery. I was always fascinated with electronics and always tried to create something or repair something.
My love for reading got me into reading erotic novels and my love for electronics got me into watching porn lol. I guess where you grow up really determines to an extent the kinda person you become. I'm still into porn,movies,documentaries and of course music because that's my line of work. Hence the reason I wanna get that kinda programming music channels like MTV, BET, VH1, Tempo. I know I wont get those on FTA but anything similar and are there FTA porn channels?
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No free porn on fta but http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWEjvCRPrCo
A few music channels on the Satmex satellites.
Think it would be advantageous to have both linear and circular LNBF's on a C Band dish. Plenty of Atlantic satellites are visible from your location. Check out Mikes info at MPEG Central Many more C band 'channels' than Ku, as it is more susceptible to 'rain fade' weather induced 'outages' so most '24/7 services' are C band. Looks like you'll see all the way to 1°W. (Wish I could- without losing the arc to 137W)
NOTE: Mike's list is what's available in N.A. so take 'with a grain of salt' as the footprints may not reach you. You can check that at www.satbeams.com.
Elaboration on "Not working"
The satellite signals have been changing. Most services are moving away from DVB-S. [the 'old standard'] The CW is incapable of the new DVB-S2 signals. The CW could be used on 97W and get 99% on that satellite only. Other satellites, it would be 'lucky' on most to see much or anything. IMHO.
A few music channels on the Satmex satellites.
Think it would be advantageous to have both linear and circular LNBF's on a C Band dish. Plenty of Atlantic satellites are visible from your location. Check out Mikes info at MPEG Central Many more C band 'channels' than Ku, as it is more susceptible to 'rain fade' weather induced 'outages' so most '24/7 services' are C band. Looks like you'll see all the way to 1°W. (Wish I could- without losing the arc to 137W)
NOTE: Mike's list is what's available in N.A. so take 'with a grain of salt' as the footprints may not reach you. You can check that at www.satbeams.com.
Elaboration on "Not working"
The satellite signals have been changing. Most services are moving away from DVB-S. [the 'old standard'] The CW is incapable of the new DVB-S2 signals. The CW could be used on 97W and get 99% on that satellite only. Other satellites, it would be 'lucky' on most to see much or anything. IMHO.
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Ok FaT Air thanks a lot. All of you here have been very helpful. I've learned so much in just one day from you all, I know I have a long way to go still but I'm grateful for a good start.
That video had me dying laughing. There is a lot of porn on the internet but its different when you have it on TV. There is less hassle to actually look for something, you just go to the channel and its there. Plus you get more full length and story-line movies in one place but I love the internet though.
How about movie channels, any american movie channels on FTA?
That video had me dying laughing. There is a lot of porn on the internet but its different when you have it on TV. There is less hassle to actually look for something, you just go to the channel and its there. Plus you get more full length and story-line movies in one place but I love the internet though.
How about movie channels, any american movie channels on FTA?
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