very simple question about FTA satellite

[blinky1004]

hi everyone. Over the air HD is what i have been into the last 2 years, now i see FTA satellite. very basic question i have for you guys.

If i buy a 45 dollar FTA receiver on ebay, and a dish just under 40" like everyone says, and hook it up with RG6 and aim in a particular direction, will i recieve channels, or does this require a multifunction azimuth and elevation rotor system and constant moving of the dish? what kind of stations could be expected, is this like the roku which has nothing good only Al-jazeera and bible channels streaming live? can i expect ANYTHING like Food tv network, CBS ABC discovery and/or movie channels? i understand better receiver and rotor system enable more possibilities, but im just asking, what would i expect buying a 45 dollar receiver and a dish and aiming somewhere? i hope you dont need all kinds of crazy decoders, and switches and modules to work this. thanks

 

[FaT Air]

to Satelliteguys.
FTA, is more a hobby, than a source of scheduled programming. You won't get the premium subscription channels you are used to via cable or the satellite providers, but there is a lot that they will get.

If i buy a 45 dollar FTA receiver on ebay, and a dish just under 40" like everyone says, and hook it up with RG6 and aim in a particular direction, will i recieve channels,

YES

or does this require a multifunction azimuth and elevation rotor system and constant moving of the dish?

Not necessary but makes it a whole lot more convenient to 'tune into' another satellite. There's only one satellite that has a whole lot of channels, but that's going to resemble your Roku. AJE, RT, foreign language, and religious channels.

can i expect ANYTHING like Food tv network, CBS ABC discovery and/or movie channels?

Maybe. Only if they turn off their scrambling temporarily for 'issues' or such. This is known, in the FTA hobby, as 'the hunt' This also includes breaking news and event feeds, There are some networks affiliates 24/7. Check TheList!(link above)But also be aware that most of the channels you ask about are on C band where it takes a 6 ft. dish to work, and that's a minimum*

what would i expect buying a 45 dollar receiver and a dish and aiming somewhere?

A lot of channels are now DVB-S2, HD. So if the ebay receiver is only DVB-S, you're only going to receive the DVB-S ones.**

i hope you dont need all kinds of crazy decoders, and switches and modules to work this. thanks

No decoders(descramblers), as their's no subscription. The stream decoding takes place right in the receiver. Switches only needed if running multiple dishes.
*some have experimented with Mini-BUDs(4 ft and less)on C band. Results are usually only the strongest signals are receivable.
** Receivers listed from the least capable to the most capable.
DVB-S SD (may be labeled as DVB-S only)
DVB-S HD
DVB-S2 (will also receive previous listed types)
DVB-S2 (as above but also includes 4.2.2 video, useful for the rare 4.2.2 video transmissions)
Even withing types, some may not decode some higher orders of streams, I.E. AAC or Dolby audio as an example. simple mpeg audio/video "was" the standard, today the trend is towards mp4 AAC but there's still a lot of channels that work with a DVB-S receiver.
A good DVB-S receiver is a good first step to 'test the water" with minimal investment. We'll let ya know if the one you're looking at is worth considering. Someone here has experience with it. There is a lot of them that aren't worth much, if anything.

 

[AcWxRadar]

Blinky,

Welcome to the SatelliteGuys forum!

Fat Air beat me to the welcome, so I just added a little to his comments.

You do not require a rotor / motor system. You may use a single dish pointed at a single satellite. You may be able to get two or three satellites on one dish if the dish is compatible and the satellites are adjacent to eachother. This would require some extra hardware, but it is not very expensive. You will not get much in the line of the channels that you cited on Ku band. For those types of channels you would have to move into the C-Band area with a 6 - 10 foot BUD dish.

You might enjoy what you get from the PBS stations on 125.0°W. There are several fine PBS channels there in the Ku band spectrum. Create, World, PBS HD East / West etc. You could do this with the very least of components and cost.

RADAR

 

[freezy]

You have a straight shot at 30W. Lots of non-English channels, but there are occasionally some English movies with Spanish sub-titles and a couple very good All-English channels there also.