OTHER Totally ignorant about FTA

[ScottOK]

Hi everyone! I am totally new and uneducated about FTA. I want to become introduced inexpensively to this world at first to see if I like it, then can move up from there.

I am considering relocating to a remote area that does not have any entertainment or information services available. So I'm interested in FTA. I ordered an inexpensive DBV-S2/T2 with wifi (KII Pro Box) and will install a wifi antenna to receive (free and legal) wifi access, and a UHF antenna for the terrestrial signal. I now need to choose a satellite dish and LNBF.

I have my eye on a Winegard DS-3100 1 meter dish and an Amiko L-104 LNBF. Are these okay starter pieces in your collective opinion?

Also, there is only one coaxial cable going into my home. I would like to keep it that way, if I can. So, is there a splitter of some kind that will permit the signals from each of the three antennas to move along the one coax, then split them out once inside the home? I have not purchased the wifi antenna yet, so if there is a recommended frequency or channel for that that would work best with a splitter like that then I'm all ears.

Any advice you can render would be most helpful. Thanks in advance.

 

[Titanium]

Welcome to SatelliteGuys!

The KII receiver will be fine for FTA, but it will not receive North American OTA. T2 format is used in other regions of the world, but in North America the ATSC format is used. These formats are not compatible. If you have a flatscreen TV, it likely has a built-in ATSC tuner for OTA reception.

The Winegard 3100 is a good dish and the Amiko L-104 is a solid LNBF. Once it has been installed as a fixed dish and you become familiar with the technology, you should consider motorizing it to be able to receive programming spread across many KU band satellites. The dish mount requires a larger pole, so the Stab HH120 motor should fit and handle the larger reflector size and weight.

If possible, place the WiFi receiver as near to the antenna as possible and use Cat5 or 6 to run to the router. If the WiFi signal is weak, use a 24" or 36" grid reflector to capture as much signal as possible to increase the speed. The antenna model will be dependent on the WiFi frequency.

Running both OTA and FTA through the same coax is possible, but not advised. A diplexer may be placed at each end of the coax to merge / separate the OTA from the satellite signals, but their is significant signal loss that will wipe out weaker OTA channels. I have always found that weaker OTA channels will be able to be received if a separate coax is used and this is a must if using an inline preamp at the OTA antenna.

 

[ScottOK]

Thanks Titanium. Again, I'm totally ignorant. this is the first time I have ever heard of T2 and ATSC, but What I am getting from you is that it is best to have a separate line for each going into the home, and to run the UHF antenna cable directly to the TV, not the DVB.

Based on your advice, I just ordered the Winegard dish and Amiko LNBF. Thanks for the recommendation on the motor! Until I can get one, can you recommend a satellite that provides a good sampling of FTA programming? I am in Oklahoma.

Again, thanks!

 

[osu1991]

You can see a lot of the arc from Oklahoma as long as the trees are not in the way. Separate wires is the way to go. Depending on what local market your looking at, you might consider a channelmaster dvr+ for locals/dvr. It can populate a guide from the guide info sent out from the local stations or from online if you happen to have broadband internet. I'm guessing no broadband though, as most rural areas of the State don't have it.

 

[Titanium]

Yes, best to run separate coax drops for the OTA and FTA. The most FTA KU-band channels are on 97w, but only a few of general interest (most are international or religious, but there are a number of news stations). Everyone has their favorite satellite, but if I only had a fixed dish, probably would aim at 97w, 103W or 125w. Sathint.com com is a great resource for determining what channels are on what satellite. 11-12,000MHz transponders are KU band and 3-4,000MHz are C-band.

 

[ScottOK]

Thank you both. I guess I messed up in going with KU band. But everything I was reading online seemed to associate C band with old analog stuff and also seemed to indicate that it was falling out of use. I will play with KU for a little while as work on my wife to allow a monster dish in the yard, or wait until we move. Thanks again.

 

[Titanium]

You didn't mess up, just taking small steps in entering the hobby. Plenty to watch on a motorized KU, but even more on C-band!

We are here to help!

 

[Shicks4]

Thank you both. I guess I messed up in going with KU band. But everything I was reading online seemed to associate C band with old analog stuff and also seemed to indicate that it was falling out of use. I will play with KU for a little while as work on my wife to allow a monster dish in the yard, or wait until we move. Thanks again.

I started with a motorized Ku setup, mostly because it kinda got my feet wet with the equipment. A stationary set up is just as good to start with as you learn the basics small scale before jumping up to a c-band dish. As far as convincing the wife on a c-band dish, even I got the "I dont want you to put that ugly thing up" but she really warmed up to it once she was what it got. Of course that also was back when the good stuff was on 97w encrypted. But even after they went away when she goes to the shop to work out shes got the tv on Hallmark or Movies or H&I.

 

[Nascarken 91xg]

I have a question about the dish. can u receive with it and is thier perks .
And what is a good sistom to buy with bugit. of $200Dallas to start off
With,and witch type of LBN,do u use, 73,to you.

 

[danristheman]

I have a question about the dish. can u receive with it and is thier perks .
And what is a good sistom to buy with bugit. of $200Dallas to start off
With,and witch type of LBN,do u use, 73,to you

HUH? I am really confused what did you say? Please proofread and make sense out of your statements. You can't help someone when your sentences don't make one bit of sense.

 

[Magic Static]

I have a question about the dish. can u receive with it and is thier perks .
And what is a good sistom to buy with bugit. of $200Dallas to start off
With,and witch type of LBN,do u use, 73,to you.

Here is a guide for some of the more popular FTA channels, both KU and C Band.http://ftalistings.com/
Not much available as a complete system for $200 but there are some good prices on the parts you need.
A Ku dish. http://www.ebay.com/itm/36-Inch-90-cm-Free-To-Air-FTA-Satellite-Dish-HD-LNBF/122007810338?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIC.MBE&ao=2&asc=40130&meid=bfb0e9edcd464b58890657f97dcba31d&pid=100005&rk=1&rkt=6&mehot=pp&sd=322163399890
A receiver. I like this one. http://www.nc-electronics.com/store.html
You will want a Standard Ku LNBF not a Universal one
You may want to add a motor later or find a used C-Band dish to add to your fun.
another store for great stuff and superior customer support http://www.titaniumsatellite.com/products

 

[Nascarken 91xg]

Ok thank for the good information.
And have a good day.

 

[ScottOK]

Okay, I finally got my dish, LNB and l also sprung for a Stab HH-90 rotor. I am setting them up today, but am a lil lost.

I am trying to mate and install the rotor and dish. I have already found and set the latitude value on the rotor. Now, the rotor instructions tell me to find the "fixed" dish elevation angle for my GeosatPro 90cm dish and to set it on the dish angle bracket. The GeosatPro manual consists of one sheet of paper with assembly drawings but no elevation angle charts or information.

From what I read elsewhere, it appears I need to fix dish elevation on an existing satellite location? is that how to do it? I have not affixed it to a pole yet. Is there a standard dish elevation applying to this particular dish where it is situated in Edmond, Oklahoma at zip code 73003? I cannot find charts anywhere for this. Thanks for the help.

 

[KE4EST]

I highly recommend just mounting the dish and forget the motor for a few days until you gain some experience. Going straight to motor is a very steep learning curve.
However, if you wish to tackle the challenge, I recommend you go and read the document found here:
http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/threads/how-to-set-up-a-motorized-ku-band-dish.190527/

 

[Jim S.]

I am trying to mate and install the rotor and dish. I have already found and set the latitude value on the rotor. Now, the rotor instructions tell me to find the "fixed" dish elevation angle for my GeosatPro 90cm dish and to set it on the dish angle bracket. The GeosatPro manual consists of one sheet of paper with assembly drawings but no elevation angle charts or information.

I just did a STAB HH90 myself. The instructions aren't worded very good on that point. (I think they're better in the DiSEqC 1.2 section, but you don't want to do a 1.2 setup your first time...) There are charts in the back of the STAB manual that will show you what angle to set your dish based on your latitude. (Or, you can look it up on STAB's website, but you have to use stab-italia, stab-us is down.) Whatever value you find there is what you set your dish to. You don't need to worry about the dish's offset angle, the scale on the dish will have taken that into account for you. (Or at least it does with a GeoSat Pro, cheaper dishes aren't necessarily accurate.)

 

[ScottOK]

Thank you. I tried using your satellite dish look angle pointer calculator, and I believe I used it correctly, but I get an error that reads the calculator is only good for the north western hemisphere, which is where I am. I entered the motor info and my zip code.

 

[ScottOK]

Thanks, Jim. I saw that dish angle info in Stab book and wondered how it could be accurate, since I would think the angle could be different for dish depending on offset? May I'm just not thinking this through. I'll try it.

 

[Titanium]

The STAB dish angle calculation chart is pretty accurate. The chart dish angle is the elevation angle that you will set on the GEOSATpro 90 "A" scale.

 

[kittyhas1000legs]

I noticed in the manual that came with my motor, there were two slightly different sets of instructions for setting the motor angle in the USALS section and diseqc section. Here's the math I used for my location:

elevation of true south - (45-latitude) = setting on the dish
44.7 - (45 - 39.1) = 38.8
I had the dish aimed at true south (or as close as possible). Then I motored over to the satellite closest to true south, peaked the signal, etc

For Edmond, Oklahoma
48.6 - (45 - 35.6) = 39.2

And I just noticed that on dishpointer.com you can pick "Stab HH90" in the menu, so it does the math for you (says 39 degrees even).

Good luck!

 

[Arion]

This is where a decent satellite meter comes into play and saves you a lot of fiddling around. Make sure your pole is plumb and after you mount the motor make sure your receiver has your latitude and longitude set and set your receiver to your due south satellite and the motor will move to where it thinks it needs to be. Then put in the frequency, symbol rate and polarity of the signal on your due south satellite your hunting on your meter. After you've set your declination leave that alone and ignore the elevation. Manually elevate the dish for maximum signal strength and then slowly move the dish left and right until your meter comes alive.

Once that happens you know your on the right satellite. Adjust both your elevation and azimuth for maximum signal strength and slowly lock the bolts down on azimuth and elevation. Once that is done go to your lnb and slowly adjust the skew and your focal length in/out for maximum signal and lock back down. That is all there is to it. At that point assuming your pole is plumb all the way around you should be on the arc and your receiver should be able to hit every satellite you can see. No real need to fiddle around with the charts and all the other various steps you have to do to get the dish in the neighborhood. With a decent meter you avoid all that.