picked up a free complete system...have a few questions

[eewizard]

I am completely new to c-band systems so if i word anything wrong please correct me....

I came across an online ad for a free c-band system and went and picked it up today. It came with a 10 foot aluminum mesh dish (looked new), c-band/ku lnb, motor, arm (guess that's what you call it), and a HTS Tracker System V receiver. All I need to buy according to the guy who gave it to me is a new pole to mount it on and new wires to run to the house.

1st: did I do good getting this system for free? what would the "going rate" be for a working system like this?

2nd: was he correct in stating that this is all i should need to get it up and running? (i have a hurt back right now so i'm gonna be taking my time getting the dish mounted and setup)

3rd: does anyone by any chance know any details about this receiver (HTS Tracker System V) or maybe have a copy of the manual they could send me?

4th: What can i expect to receive with this setup "as is" and if I decide to will I be able to subscribe to a service with it?

5th: Does anyone have any recommended upgrades I could add to this system that would make it better?

thanks....

 

[charper1]

FREE is always good, even if it ends up not working it cost you nothing.

What feedhorn and LNBs are with it?

Does the receiver have the decoder module in it?

If yes, what color is the decoder module?

You will need clear line of sight approx SA - SW.

What do you want to pickup?

You will need to mount a 3.5" sech40 steel post / 7' - 8' tall, about 3' - 4' into the ground with a gravel drain bottom and concrete. Once the dish is mounted on that post you will need to setup the dish to track the arc of the satellites.

 

[eewizard]

there is an "empty" space you can view through the back of the receiver. Is that where a decoder module should be if one was there?

not really sure about the details of the feedhorn...havent had a chance to look and it is dark now...i will try to get more information about it tomorrow.

i currently have a fta setup: pansat 2500a, 3 foot dish with motor. I snagged this quickly before someone else did because I thought maybe I could get better programming options and lower programming costs plus could eliminate alot of rain fade. Also, I was told by someone when I got my fta setup about a year ago that more free channels were available on c-band. I like to play around with everything and try to watch live news feeds...etc...so basically i want to pick up anything i can to check it out...

thx for the pole information...i was not really sure exactly what i needed to get with a dish this much larger then my small one....

also, as far as receivers go if necessary i think i can get one (or 2) from a friend of mine who gave away his large dish a couple of years ago...he kept both of his receivers and i believe he said they had videocypher II cards in them....if that might be better.

thanks...

 

[tdti1]

You can slave the Pansat to it and get both c/ku:
http://www.dmsiusa.com/add_a_receiver.htm

Would be good to grab a 4dtv:
www.4dtv.com

A big dish system is worth about $1500-$2000 and up. Plus install cost.

Install help:
http://www.geo-orbit.org/sizepgs/tuningp2.html
http://www.satellitehelp.com/installation_index.asp
This clip is good, the first one tracking made easy:
http://boresight.ripco.com/

With a 4dtv/dvb unit on a c/ku setup you have a fullview system. And yes you need the VCII+ board, see if your buddy will give you one, just slap it inside the unit, if you upgrade to 4dtv, you will still need the VCII+ board, to sub to analog programming. Good Luck.

 

[eewizard]

i just spoke to my friend about the receivers and he said i could have both of them for free...

they are both houston tracker receivers (not sure which models..all he told me on the phone was that one was a few years older then the other) and that both had the vcII+ boards....so i guess that should save me some more money since they are free too and also gives me 3 different receivers to choose from.....

now all i should need to do is get my lazy self out in the yard and mounting the dish and everything on a pole so i can get all this hooked up and working....

since i'm having so much luck getting everything for free i think i'm just gonna keep looking and "collecting" things...maybe i'll get a free 4dtv receiver before it's over....lol

thx for all the responses.....

 

[eewizard]

now i have someone else giving me a panasonic receiver (not sure which model) with the board also...looks like i'm getting a pretty large collection of receivers to play with...now i've gotta go pick up all of them....

 

[tdti1]

Sounds good, if you do want a 4dtv, collect all the boards and IRD's and then sell them on ebay, or on the forums, then you can put the money to a 4dtv, though keep one VCII+.
Here are the best deals for 4dtv right now:
http://www.callnps.com/
http://www.skyvision.com/

 

[eewizard]

These are the totals of what I collected for free today:

4 brand new Chaparral servo motors
1 used Chaparral Corotor II C/KU FeedHorn with lnbs
2 used Von weise 24 inch heavy duty actuators
2 "blue" videocipher rs decoder modules

5 used receivers:

1. HTS Tracker Premier System 50
2. HTS Tracker System VII
3. HTS Tracker System V
4. Echostar SR-1000 w/HTS Tracker II SC Satellite Locator (both look pretty old)
5. Panasonic CRD-4100R w/separate power supply (also looks pretty old)



add the HTS Tracker System V I already had and I have a total of 6 receivers to play with.

Purchased the pole today and if the weather holds out I should be able to buy the concrete and get it in the ground by tomorrow.

then all I should need is to buy new wiring and after that is setup (and the dish is mounted on the pole) maybe I can see what works and what doesn't.

out of all 6 of these receivers which one would be considered the "best"?

also...are any of these items things I probably will never need? My garage is starting to look like a satellite equiptment storage area...lol

 

[eewizard]

now i know why i got some of the extra stuff for free....

i had 3 actuators total (the 1 that came with the dish and the 2 i got from another person) and so far from what it looks like 3 out of 3 are bad.....

they all had some rust on the outside and i thought at least 1 would be good but all 3 of them barely move and keep giving me a "motor error" message when i use them....

sometimes one of them will move all the way but it is very slow and "jumpy" and then all of a sudden it won't work at all....

guess i'm gonna have to buy a new one before i can get this up and running....

 

[tdti1]

So sorry, I forgot to tell you, before you try to move the arm, open it clean it out and grease it.

 

[eewizard]

got what i think was a deal on a brand new actuator on an online auction...it's only a 18" actuator but hopefully that will be enough for me to at least get it up and running until i can get ahold of a 24" one....

it was a superjack and i got it for 39 dollars (including shipping)....

now....if it would only arrive this week i should be able to get everything finished up by this weekend since i'm off friday, saturday, and sunday...

 

[satman1]

I'am new here so I hope I don't step on anybodys toes. I been in c-band 27 years.
O.K. before you install that pole you need to weld a flag and ground rod on it. The flag about 2 feet from bottom. the ground rod should extend 6 or 8 inches below bottom. dig a hole 2 1/2 feet deep that is 15 inches at top and 25 or so inches at the bottom. no gravel needed in bottom. shove pole down so ground rod is in dirt. fill hole with concrete that is mixed with water. use a L shaped 1 1/2 PVC pipe along side pole for your wires. Put it right in the concrete. Fill pole with concrete and keep pole plume.

 

[jerryez]

Be sure to get the pole perfectly vertical, when you cement it.

 

[eewizard]

pole has been concreted in the ground since 4-27-05 and i got my new actuator arm installed and the system has been in operation since 5-12-05. at this time it tracks the arc with up to 90+ signal on most of the sats....so i think i have the pole setup good...thx for the suggestions...