Total newbie here

[RPB]

Been reading for weeks, but joined to introduce myself and ask directionn

Newbie here with 100+ channels in a 200 mile radius on OTA setup I paid $1,200 for and love, but want more
I'm open to suggestions, may some day upgrade to 4 room system like at satelliteav, but want to at least get started on the living room for now, next computer will have a card for ota reception dvr in it too.' budget for FTA under $1,000 if possible)


Would this setup get me old type programming such as This/MeTv/RTV or do I need an Azbox for 4:2:2 ?
(I have no interest in Sports, just old programs mostly)

I'm near, 60 miles north of Austin, Texas in Burnet, Texas

sadoun com
Receive both C & KU Band Free To Air signals from several satellites with this affordable C/KU-Band bundle.
MC-1 Bundled System

upgraded to a MicroHD receiver for HD and features

SD180PM: Polar Mount Style

P76: 3"dia x 39" Mast with side supporting struts

HARL-3618 18" Actuator

DMS BSC621 C/KU Band LNBF

VBox Positioner

Thanks
(I help newbies on Texas kayak fishing forums and concealed carry forums and computer forums, but just discovered FTA, so I am a total newbie on the subject)
Really ... thanks

Also I saw
FreeSat 800 HD
LimeSat HD
as HD boxes, don't know if they have any benefit over the MicroHD or if they get C-band or much at all really; I just want my old shows and don't know if I even need C-band or if i should get 4:2:2 etc to get them

 

[danristheman]

I would talk to Ice or other members for advice on this. welcome to satellite guys.

Dan Rose

 

[RPB]

thanks

I saw a post elsewhere posted in August which said
" C band dish is great NSat if for nothing else the RTV channels and NASA channels on Amc 3."

so that's why I am looking at C/Ku

currently my rotor is out on my ota setup (on one of my two big antennaes) so I can't point at Fredericksburg, Texas for RTV but get This and MeV from San Antonio and Waco, but they are weak some days, so I need a better or backup system.

 

[KE4EST]

Welcome to the site RPB!! Getting ready to crash for the night, but I will give you a little info. First no you will not need 4:2:2. I would choose the microHD or any the other you mentioned. It will do everything you want or need. Plus it has the added benefit of North American support. Those other boxes you mentioned are made for the European Market or hacking or both, and can be a real pain to deal with. All the stuff you mentioned about the dish will be fine the dish the actuator, the Vbox and the LNBF. You will later though want to find a bigger dish someone has abandoned and re-use it for yourself as it will get you more channels..10-12 footer. Welcome to FTA....and for sure don't be afraid to ask ask ask questions...we are here too help. I know I condensed this real quick and you will have more questions, but there are a lot more knowledgeable guys on here that will chime in also. Of course I can go into more detail on anything after I get some sleep..

 

[RPB]

Thanks
I'm in a small country town and prior to digital TV, people only got 1 fuzzy analog ota station (if lucky, it's hill country here and my brother gets no TV at all no cell phone service, no cable no radio stations etc except on dish/directtv since he's on the "wrong side of a mountain"), so I'm sure i can find old abandoned big dishes free or cheap.

I always wanted to hook up my old Icom radios etc to a satellite dish and play and never had time. There used to be some Ham TV stuff, I've forgotten all I used to know, but am retired now out in the country, so I needed a new hobby anyway. I still have a bedroom full of antennas to put up.

 

[Kraven]

Welcome... 1200$ OTA setup? Now am curious... Anywho I like the Sadoun deal (unfortunately international shipping wasnt worth it).
You dont need an Azbox for Me, This nor RTV. IIRC, mainly CBS uses 4:2:2 along w/ a few various feeds so go for the Geosat HD PRO (seems its tuner did quite well on a mini-bud project so you should be styling on a 6 footer).

Cheers, K

 

[migold]

I don't know your exact OTA situation, but in my case, I have stations in two directions from my house, NNW and ESE. I am able to use a high-band Yagi for VHF channels to the NNW and a UHF antenna for those ESE, both with amplifiers at the antennas and combined with splitters, then amplified and distributed throughout the house. This way, I avoid the use of a rotor and still have all the stations at all my sets. I also combine signals from the Azbox and the 4DTV into the system on unused channels in the UHF band. It is working well for me for a few years now, and the cost was not great, as I built it over time.
I've dealt with Sadoun when he was in Columbus, Ohio and he sold me good product. It sounds like you can afford to invest some $$, so find or buy at least an 8 foot dish for C-band, and at least 90CM dish for Ku. My advice based on my experience.

 

[rv1pop]

Welcome to satellite guys, also. last item first... Ham satellite needs 2 actuators and is really a totally different set of birds.
Other items --- Sadoun has been a Gold sponsor, but for some reason no longer is, and does not seem to have regular postings on the forum. Satellite AV is still a Gold sponsor and usually posts many times a day here, so you can get immediate support from him. If you pick a box that many people are happy with - you can get your questions answered, quickly -- and you will probably find answers to questions here you had not yet thought to ask... microHD is my first choice - even though with the stresses I am going through, mine is not yet working the way I want - I know it is me, not the box, or instructions.

(example - on the car water pump replacement - it has now taken 4 - 6 hour days and not done. Even on the Fords, it has been a 5 hour job before (I have had 6 to work on with mine and my kid's, all over 150,000 miles.) So this Satellite challenge is ME.

KU band minimum 39 inch dish, C band - minimum 8 foot / probably 10 foot dish. With the budget you mentioned, look at the postings HERE from Craigslist. These have been looked over well, usually. Even with a longer drive, you can get an excellent dish, free or cheap, that adding the cost of the drive will stay in your budget.

 

[RPB]

Thanks for the replies.
I'll add the Ham stuff later then

I pretty well decided microHD is the box I want now
I have a call into my local (one city over) Electronics shop guy who climbs on my roof for me asking about a big dish... Interestingly, In my back yard, used to be a wooden telephone type pole set in concrete, the pole rotted and is gone, so my hole is already dug, which is great since I'm on a hill of solid rock.
He's a 1-man shop so it may be days before he gets back to me, an elderly lady bought a house with a 45 foot tower in the back yard and she didn't want it and gave it to him and he offered to bring it over for free ... 2 years ago ... I'll remind him ... it's a really slow paced country town compared to Houston where I was before retirement lol
=======================================

My OTA setup
house atop a hill higher than 99% of the city
15 foot above ground is rooftop, mounted tripods with 15' masts on Channelmaster rotors (masts = 1-1/2" EMT using TB-105 bearings) so 30' above ground on the hilltop

Winegard HD8200 antenna and AntennaCraft HD1850 antenna

Wingard AP-8275 Preamps for each


Channel Master CM9521A TV Antenna Rotator System with Infra-Red Remote for each

Belden 1523A Single RG-11 Coax Cable - 50 Feet for each
coming indoors to an A/B switch and RG-6 Quadshield to the Samsung Flatscreen LED TV

I could set up 6 antennas, but rotors are better, these antennas are high gain but very very directional;
Houston is 225 miles East and a bit South
Bryan College Station/Baytown/Beaumont are more East SouthEast towards Louisiana from Houston
Austin is South
San Antonio is South and a bit West of me
Corpus Christi is South
Victoria is South
Houston is West/Southwest
I often watch Waco/Temple Killeen which are NorthjEast
And Dallas/Tyler which is Farther North and farther East, but only received during high pressure mornings
I rarely, but some mornings get Louisiana Stations/Often get Mexico Stations
When I go West, I get San Angelo Stations and sometimes Northwest I get Abilene
My normal channel list is about 104 to 110 channels, but I've always enjoyed Dxing
Only once did I get a Mississippi station, weather was freaky that day)

Icom IC-R71A
IC-EX309 Interface Unit for Icom R71A
Icom R-7000
TV receive adapter Icom TVR-7000 (mono)
Icom R-7100
TV receive adapter Icom TVR-7100 (stereo)
Icom Satellite Interface ct-16
Icom communication interface CT-17

various AOR scanners/Realistic scanners from Pro-2004s on up
A couple digital Data Interpreters
Microdec from Somerset Electronics for translating morse code to English
about 25 computers in a spare bedroom, and a shed full of mostly obsolete parts to keep my brother's and his kids computers running LOL I Ebay'd the old 5" floppy drives but still have like 30 new in box small floppy drives etc etc I need to either build and give to grade school kids for starter computers or donate or Ebay (I used to build them, owned a small company, and did Security and hiring/training for MSN's chat servers security staff) and other stuff

Honestly, it's been so long, I've forgotten how to hook up some of this and what it was for.
In the '60s & '70s, and early '80s I was into radio, got into computers to program the radios, got obsessed with building the computers etc ... and forgot the radios. Also worked in a law office for 25 years to pay for that lol. Retired now looking forward to hobbying again.

 

[johann12]

If you find a bigger dish for free go for it, eventually you will get a bigger dish anyhow.
A satellite dish is like a OTA system, the bigger the better. At least most at the time.
All the other stuff can be bought separately.
My first 7 1/2 foot was free and is stored right now and my 2nd 10 foot dish was $50 and the guy took it down and brought it to work, that saved me time and gasoline.
I get hundreds of channels with my c-band dish that has an C / Ku LNBF on it, even though I am limited because of trees.

I have $ 260 dollars invested for the setup, of course you can spent thousand of $'s if you want to.

There are a lot more channels out there that you mentioned.
Before you buy anything please ask us about it, so you do not get ripped off or buy anything you do not need or use.

If you look for HBO or starz with an FTA system etc. then we can stop right here, because this will not happen. However you will get shows, movies and sports etc with an FTA system.

1.)But before you do anything check with lyngsat.comhttp://www.lyngsat.com/freetv/United-States.html to see if you like the programming. 4 digit transponder are for c-band and 5 digit transponder are for ku.
Also yellow and light blue backgrounds are for free FTA and you may get these channels.
There is a youtube about lyngsat that may help you.

KU = small dish .
C = big dish / BUD

2.)Your location is critical. Remember that a insight/ inline aiming at a satellite is a must.
If you go to dishpointer.comhttp://www.dishpointer.com/you can type your address and it will tell you what direction, elevation and skew you have to use to point a dish for the satellite you want. Dishpointer incorporates google maps and it makes it easier to point your dish and you can make sure that nothing is in the way to block the aim to the sat.

And welcome to satelliteguys.

 

[RPB]

Thanks for the replies

Found 2 old mesh dishes about 12' both on tall poles above roof line, one free, one $100.00, both in cities too far away from me (Waco and Austin- I posted them on the Craigslist finds thread) .. also there's one at a house in a city 11 miles away, unknown if they'll part with it yet as I have not done the door knocking there yet.

I just ordered a 240 cm dish on a polar mount to substitute for the 6 foot Sadoun one, and also ordered a HH motor from Sadoun for the smaller KU dish/LNB setup (UPGRADE - HOBBYIST ADD DISH KIT) I ordered from SatelliteAV to use until I get a tall pole/mast to put the 2.4 dish above my Northern side of the house roof line and ordered a second MicroHD for ...

Hopefully, I'll install the KU setup (motorized) without the Vbox ...here at my house first, then the C-band stuff with Vbox, concrete/cement, hugetall pole/mast etc as I get around to it at which time I'll move the KU setup to my brother's house with the second MicroHD

If none of it works due to my errors along the way ... I'll have a better shade/umbrella for my car. (And a KU setup and my brother can buy his own)

 

[primestar31]

Where did you order a 240cm dish from?

 

[RPB]

Where did you order a 240cm dish from?

I looked and looked, called all the old Sat dish dealers/installers close to Austin Texas to see if they had one they never sold in the back etc, the only one I found, (One pharmacy that used to be a radio shack, but is now just a part time electronics section of a pharmacy with lots of neat stuff, and an electronics guy who installs all the ham towers/business/government radio towers and he had nothing ...I called, Jim at satellitedish-com in Florida said he had one in stock with polar mount for $99.00 more than the other 2.4 dish, so it was about $600.00, but I'm not in shape to go removing used 10/12 foot used dishes I found on 15 foot poles filled with concrete where they want the pole removed, get dish free, or they keep pole and sell dish for $100 (great deal, but 100 miles away) , so I ordered it. I don't know if he has another, he had to check and came back on the phone, said he had one with polar mount. Hopefully he wasn't mistaken, and I'll get it, if not, I'll try sweet talking some people 11 miles away out of their old "useless" 10/12 footer which my brother spotted.

 

[RPB]

I got my 90cm dish, HH motor all installed and aimed; mounted on a fencepost before I move it (a tree stump restricts movement to the end of the arc I want and I have to drive over the RG6 with my car; it's on the other side of the driveway) but it is good enough for now, or I may move it to old DishTV mount and add the two mast support legs until I get the C-band dish installed.

I'm sure glad I did that first time learning on a fencepost instead of the roof or my ladder would be worn out.
==============================
Anyway, next question


on the C-band dish I'm about to install, then upgrade to larger dish, currently 6 foot Sadoun, will become an 8 foot/2/4 meter ... maybe later a 10-12 footer
If I set the P76: 3"dia x 39" Mast with side supporting struts ... will that still be good for a 2.4 meter dish? Or do I have to go through all the pole

3" Dia x 48" Long mast
​

Included 3x Heavy Duty Supporting struts.
​

installing again and rip up the first pole if I no longer want 6' but want the 8'/10/12' ?

I mean, if I need a taller pole to start with, I'll recycle the scrap metal brand new too short pole before I start pouring concrete around it ...

I don't mind spending $1,200 to get RTV and MeTV but I see no reason to plant poles, rip them up throw them away a month later so I can plant bigger poles, buy bigger dishes and end up spending $5,000 in experimentation to get those channels when I could use the wasted time to be building computers/ham radio stuff etc.

I have the 6' Sadoun Dish, and have a 2.4 meter dish in a shopping cart from SatPro ($600.00) ... and may get a free/cheap 10/12 footer off craigslist later ... is my pole mount going to be ok P76: 3"dia x 39" Mast with side supporting struts (or do I need to order the taller pole

3" Dia x 48" Long
​

Included 3x Heavy Duty Supporting struts. ​

from Sadoun? for the
http://www.satpro.tv/Prime-Focus-Dish-Pole-Mount.aspx

Or ... do I just need to go to a welding shop/metal mart and buy a pole to sink in concrete in a hole in the ground that is X feet high in case I upgrade to a 15' free Craigslist dish later??
I hate doin' stuff twice. It was ok when I was young with more time, but us old folks ... lol

 

[phlatwound]

Most of the "typical" 8'-10' mesh dishes on polar mounts that I see have 3 1/2" Outside Diameter poles. I have also seen some 4" OD, and 4 1/2" OD.

Birdview dishes use a 6" OD tubing for their H-H mounts to attach to.

If the pole you are talking about purchasing now is 3" outside diameter it will not properly fit any 8-10' mesh dish I have ever seen. It is possible to use a smaller diameter pole in a larger diameter mount, but not a good idea.

Sched 40 wall thickness is commonly available, and acceptable for most applications.

 

[SatelliteAV]

Why not install the larger diameter pole now and bolt a step down pipe inside as an adapter for the current dish?

 

[Anole]

Yes, I agree with Brian of SatelliteAV.
And besides, that stump of a 3" pole is too short for an 8 or 10' dish.
(in addition to being the wrong diameter)

Additionally, I'd be thinking about TWO locations - one for your 6', and the other for an 8-10' .
Cant see taking down the 6'er, that's just silly.
Well actually, I can't see getting it all.
But you may eventually find uses for 'em all.


Edit: oh, let me be clear ...
i'm against blowing half your budget on a new 8'er, when the world is full of used BUDs!
Find an 8' free mesh - it'll be light & easy to play with
later, you might look for a 10'er, possibly a perf (even with an h-h motor!)
but those take time, and I can see you are impatient.

 

[RPB]

Yes, I agree with Brian of SatelliteAV.
And besides, that stump of a 3" pole is too short for an 8 or 10' dish.
(in addition to being the wrong diameter)

Additionally, I'd be thinking about TWO locations - one for your 6', and the other for an 8-10' .
Cant see taking down the 6'er, that's just silly.
Well actually, I can't see getting it all.
But you may eventually find uses for 'em all.


Edit: oh, let me be clear ...
i'm against blowing half your budget on a new 8'er, when the world is full of used BUDs!
Find an 8' free mesh - it'll be light & easy to play with
later, you might look for a 10'er, possibly a perf (even with an h-h motor!)
but those take time, and I can see you are impatient.

the 6' dish isn't up yet, just got it- Sadoun's C-band motorized kit ...I just took it out of the box ...
I think I will go get 6" OD and weld a 3" at the top of it and if I later buy the 2.4meter SatPro polar mount one I linked to for $600, it uses 3" pole too http://www.satpro.tv/Prime-Focus-Dish-Pole-Mount.aspx


and if I get something free needing 6" pole, then I'm all set, or if I get a free dish needing 4 or 4.5" ... I'll borrow my neighbor's welder again.

I keep finding free or cheap 10 or 12 foot mesh dishes, but they are all mounted where I'd need a crane/ get on a roof to uninstall them to get them down(that's how they installed them here in Texas) (I'm alone and too old to do that to get free/cheap dishes my arm is too short) So ... that's why I'm looking at buying a new unassembled 2.4m for $600 if I need to


Example of what I keep seeing, but do not have the height/tools/ladders/resources to actually get
It won't fit on my Toyota...
http://waco.craigslist.org/for/3301356008.html

Thanks

 

[Anole]

I think I will go get 6" OD and weld a 3" at the top of it and if I later buy the 2.4meter SatPro polar mount one I linked to for $600, it uses 3" pole too, and if I get something free needing 6" then I'm all set, or a free dish needing 4 or 4.5" ... I'll borrow my neighbor's welder again.

Sorry, but that makes NO sense at all.
But instead of explaining why, I'll let you do a little homework and figure it out.
And rereading this thread might be a good place to start.

I keep finding free or cheap 10 or 12 foot mesh dishes, but they are all mounted where I'd need a crane...

keep looking, and have patience.
Read the forum; there are plenty of stories to learn from

 

[RPB]

I re-read ...

Most of the "typical" 8'-10' mesh dishes on polar mounts that I see have 3 1/2" Outside Diameter poles. I have also seen some 4" OD, and 4 1/2" OD.

Birdview dishes use a 6" OD tubing for their H-H mounts to attach to.

If the pole you are talking about purchasing now is 3" outside diameter it will not properly fit any 8-10' mesh dish I have ever seen. It is possible to use a smaller diameter pole in a larger diameter mount, but not a good idea.

Sched 40 wall thickness is commonly available, and acceptable for most applications.

Why not install the larger diameter pole now and bolt a step down pipe inside as an adapter for the current dish?

Reducing a 6" pipe to a 3" pipe isn't tough, been doing things like that for over 45 years. In fact, a person could sink a 12" pipe into the ground, set it in concrete, and have it stick a few feet above ground, and pour concrete into that pipe and set any diameter pipe inside of that he wanted ... so I don't get what doesn't make sense about sinking a 6" pipe and then mounting a smaller diameter one in it/ to it.

...or I can weld a plate across the top of the 6" pipe and weld any size pipe on top of that plate ...

Cutting isn't tough with a welder either, so not sure what isn't making sense.

If I need a 6" mast, it's there, if it needs reducing, that's easy enough with a welder.