I found this on a car chat board that I have read for years:
ClubGP Message Forum troubleshooting
Makes me shake my head!
ClubGP Message Forum troubleshooting
Makes me shake my head!
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Stuff like this makes me shake my head
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If I dare to mention my dish hobby I almost always get asked if I can get dish/direct.. I usually answer yes.. which they get exicited.. then I say for 100 bux or so a month you can get the everything package like me 
Same here..... 99% of people that know what I do for a hobby they think they can get Directv/Dish for free. I don't know why people think they are entitled to get get tv for free. You have to pay for services - phone, utilities, etc. Not sure why so many people think stealing tv is ok.
A couple weeks ago I had a guy over for a sort of "site survey" for an antenna and tower to get OTA stuff from a distant city. He was confused with my setup (as any sane person would be, understandably). So I explained all of my various sources of TV signals. He and his assistant immediately recognized my Pansat 2700A as a box for getting Dish Network for free. I couldn't get it through their heads that it can actually be used to get free, unencrypted channels legally. Not that I wasted much time trying, it just wasn't worth the effort.
By the way, I never called them back and never heard from them again (thankfully). Tonight I put together a 24 foot tower that I had taken down from a house nearby. It's a bit rusted and a bit unsightly so I'm spray painting it black. The top section still needs spray painted but it's on there to keep water from going down the poles.
Sorry... a little off topic, but definitely related.
Not that I wasted much time trying, it just wasn't worth the effort.By the way, I never called them back and never heard from them again (thankfully). Tonight I put together a 24 foot tower that I had taken down from a house nearby.
It's a bit rusted and a bit unsightly so I'm spray painting it black. The top section still needs spray painted but it's on there to keep water from going down the poles.Sorry... a little off topic, but definitely related.
Yes, that sort of stuff really makes me mad. It bothers me that when people hear/see that I have numerous dishes on my property, they immediately question the motive (I can "feel" the gears turning inside their heads and they consider what devious thing I must be doing) It bothers me as a religous leader that I have to worry about people questioning my integrity over the "free satellite tv" issue since the only thing they have ever heard about such "rouge" (not dish/directv) installations is satellite hacking.
I am especially sensitive to this matter, to the point that I sometimes consider if I should give up the hobby in order to avoid the possible negative impact it will have on those seeking spiritual guidance and direction - as they intuitively look at the satellite dish as a tool of dishonesty. I seriously hate the idea of people linking the fta hobby to illegal activites since I was unjustly sued by a satellite provider (and subsequently won the case - if you call spending literally hundreds of hours learning the law, filing paperwork, and arguing with lawyers until the finally admit they made a mistake and drop the case) just because I switched from one satellite provider to another, and subsequently (approx 1.5 years later) purchased hardware required to design a card-based in-house pay system for video arcade games. This lawsuit caused me to lose valuable time, credibility, and passion for the industry in which I was working - and ended up allowing competing (and much larger) companies to introduce similar technology in the market before I was able to wrap up my design work.
Now, I am always looking at where I buy things, who I ask questions from, and how much I research and involve myself into when it comes to tinkering with things like satellite TV. I feel like I could have so much more fun with this hobby if there wasn't such a stigma about it related to idiots who see it only as a way to watch free HBO/PPV/etc. For this reason, I look forward to the day when these dang sat providers finally lock down their signal and keep the pirates at bay so that the stigma around FTA can dissolve.
I am especially sensitive to this matter, to the point that I sometimes consider if I should give up the hobby in order to avoid the possible negative impact it will have on those seeking spiritual guidance and direction - as they intuitively look at the satellite dish as a tool of dishonesty. I seriously hate the idea of people linking the fta hobby to illegal activites since I was unjustly sued by a satellite provider (and subsequently won the case - if you call spending literally hundreds of hours learning the law, filing paperwork, and arguing with lawyers until the finally admit they made a mistake and drop the case) just because I switched from one satellite provider to another, and subsequently (approx 1.5 years later) purchased hardware required to design a card-based in-house pay system for video arcade games. This lawsuit caused me to lose valuable time, credibility, and passion for the industry in which I was working - and ended up allowing competing (and much larger) companies to introduce similar technology in the market before I was able to wrap up my design work.
Now, I am always looking at where I buy things, who I ask questions from, and how much I research and involve myself into when it comes to tinkering with things like satellite TV. I feel like I could have so much more fun with this hobby if there wasn't such a stigma about it related to idiots who see it only as a way to watch free HBO/PPV/etc. For this reason, I look forward to the day when these dang sat providers finally lock down their signal and keep the pirates at bay so that the stigma around FTA can dissolve.
A couple weeks ago I had a guy over for a sort of "site survey" for an antenna and tower to get OTA stuff from a distant city. He was confused with my setup (as any sane person would be, understandably). So I explained all of my various sources of TV signals. He and his assistant immediately recognized my Pansat 2700A as a box for getting Dish Network for free. I couldn't get it through their heads that it can actually be used to get free, unencrypted channels legally.
By the way, I never called them back and never heard from them again (thankfully). Tonight I put together a 24 foot tower that I had taken down from a house nearby.
Sorry... a little off topic, but definitely related.
I had that same kind of problem when I try to explain to my friend about owning a FTA system. He swears up and down that receiving the FTA channels is illegal!
I told him if it was, I would not be watching them.
How can I convince someone about the legal use of FTA channels?
Is there a article somewhere onsite about this issue?
The way I look at it, if they think its illegal, that's THEIR problem. Those ignorant to what FTA is should not speak out until they have their facts straight. And I look forward to someone trying to sue me over legitimate FTA reception. I will countersue, and money for new FTA equipment will no longer be an issue
Another pet peeve is the idiots who think that you're somehow spying on them because of the antennas and satellite dishes on your house. I mean, come on people!
Another pet peeve is the idiots who think that you're somehow spying on them because of the antennas and satellite dishes on your house. I mean, come on people!
The only people who think that I'm getting the usual cable channels for free are the ones who remember the good old (?) days when you could put up a 10ft dish and get a lot of things in the clear.
On the other hand, I've been asked a variant of "how much porn is on that thing" way too many times.
For the others, you gotta love the "technically it's not illegal" arguments.
On the other hand, I've been asked a variant of "how much porn is on that thing" way too many times.
For the others, you gotta love the "technically it's not illegal" arguments.
I have found by telling people it is fo Ku band satellite they accept that better than Free To Air
Don't know if there is a similar link for those in the US, but for us Canadians we have this link on a government website:
Knowledge Base Document
I find it annoying that when you say you have FTA you feel you have to add "not Theft From Air" to your opening remarks. I hate the "theft" of the term FTA by the hackers (another word stolen by thieves). Of course, with the number of dishes and LNBs I have, it does make it a little easier to explain, but I wish I didn't have to explain it constantly!
I think part of the problem is the vast majority of the population is unaware that there are so many Ku satellites that broadcast TV signals (and they are very surprised when you tell them there are satellites just about all across the sky spaced 2 degrees apart). Most think there are only four: Dish, Direct TV, Star Choice, and Bell Expressvu, and therefore if you have FTA, you must be stealing. I would imagine those who have C-band have an easier time explaining FTA, as theft of signal really took off with the poorly encrypted Dish and Bell Expressvu encoding!
Don't be bothered by it... instead, if someone questions what you are doing, invite them over to watch some religious fta tv with you. If you've got T5, IA5, G25, whatever you want to call it on 97w, tune in some of the Contemporary Christian Music stuff.... you might find a new Christian Music lover!
You've hit it right on the head there. All of this perception of FTA being used to steal TV wouldn't be an issue if Dish and Bell had a secure system. They've really got to plug the holes and secure their signals.
Whenever I mention or am talking to someone about my FTA system I have got into the habbit of saying free to air, not pirate TV. So many people just know free to air as dish or bell. Dish and Bell need to do something to secure their encyption better. It is all to popular. There are very few stores that cater to true FTA, and many that cater to pirate tv.
TuxCoder, if you use a good rust paint the tower will last for many years. I just finished painting and moving my tower. I used the Home Hardware (Canadian hardware store house brand) rust paint. It is like a varathane with a colour. Works great. My tower is old and I have put in larger bolts holding the sections together as the holes have elongated, but it has no rust at all. Just as strong as the day it was purchased. I pulled a piece if foam tied on a rope to paint the inside of the pipe sections. Did not need it though, as there was no rust in the pipes. When I put mine back up, we raised the top to the side of the house and then walked the bottom in. Went up very easy.
TuxCoder, if you use a good rust paint the tower will last for many years. I just finished painting and moving my tower. I used the Home Hardware (Canadian hardware store house brand) rust paint. It is like a varathane with a colour. Works great. My tower is old and I have put in larger bolts holding the sections together as the holes have elongated, but it has no rust at all. Just as strong as the day it was purchased. I pulled a piece if foam tied on a rope to paint the inside of the pipe sections. Did not need it though, as there was no rust in the pipes. When I put mine back up, we raised the top to the side of the house and then walked the bottom in. Went up very easy.
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