Where is the next FTAer?

[RT-Cat]

Over the years I have driven around more than a few miles. One would think at sometime, somewhere, over all those miles, one would have spotted a dish farm. But I can honestly say that has never happened. Can there really be that few of us? Do most have their farms hidden and we just cannot see them driving by? So how many of you have just driven down the road, near home or very far from it, and seen someone's dish farm?

Ted
(RT is outside watching chipmunks)

 

[squid385]

I have never seen any dish farms other than cable companies within about 100 miles radius from my location. Seems like there's not that many of us. I think most people would rather just pay for cable or dish. Most of the people around here that I have talked to about fta don't seem to be interested. That's sad!

 

[KE4EST]

I have one friend about 10 miles from here, and that is all I've seen myself.

 

[toucan-man]

Never have seen another dish farm. Have set up someone with a single dish, and now plan to get someone else going with two dishes. The latter is an aging hippie who lives off the grid, has zero OTA television due to his terrain, and only has dial-up Internet connecting at less than 20Kbps. 125W in HD ought to blow his socks clean off, visually speaking. He's retired, I plan to buy him a small LED-LCD HD set.

Guess it's up to us to spread the word somehow. I notice Consumer Reports, which I almost never read, does not mention FTA as an option to cut television bills. They have their reasons I imagine. Maybe we're not normal and most "consumers" are.

You get what you pay for, and sometimes you get what you don't pay for. I like FTA -- a hobby for many, it's the only TV we have at the moment. If it goes dark or if I get hungry for something different I might have to buy a pizza.

 

[rv1pop]

The 10 to 15 FTA dishes I have seen within 20 miles of here are all in use.... But I do not know of anyone else on Sat-Guys!

 

[freezy]

When I was a phone guy I saw a bunch of 32" aimed at 97w

 

[cyberham]

See a dish farm...... I can drive for miles and miles without seeing a person, let alone a dish farm.

 

[Cham]

I know of three others within my 10 mile radius, but they have a single dish pointed at 97w just for the religious or foreign programming. Not really FTA I suppose...
I suspect anyone with multiple dishes might have them in a back yard and not on display especially in a community environment, but in the more rural parts who cares; but who is driving past to see them anyway other than maybe someone using google earth etc... Agreed we are spread very thin.

 

[T4Runner]

I have seven of my ten dishes not visible from the front of the house. I always notice dish installs, but never see more than two.

We are a breed all to our own. Most peeps are happy with one remote...

 

[freezy]

I shared that picture from Spain 2 years ago. We got nothing on them Ku-wise. Every C-Band I see in the States seems idle/overgrown etc..
A guy I know with a 6-footer wants me to take it . I should find him a dvb receiver to re-convince him to keep it.

 

[oceansatellite]

Over the years I have driven around more than a few miles. One would think at sometime, somewhere, over all those miles, one would have spotted a dish farm. But I can honestly say that has never happened. Can there really be that few of us? Do most have their farms hidden and we just cannot see them driving by? So how many of you have just driven down the road, near home or very far from it, and seen someone's dish farm?

Ted
(RT is outside watching chipmunks)

My farm is hidden in the backyard, u would have to be in my backyard to see anything.

Also, as far as new installations, trust me when i tell you this, a HUGE percentage of installations (like 99%) is 97w on a three footer.

 

[stanleyjohn]

well one good thing about not too many active big dishes around is that we are not much of a worry from those who dont want us peeping into the satellites without a dish or cable network.

 

[N5XZS]

Well, here in Albuquerque we have more than fair share of FTA C-band and KU band dishs. At one time I counted many as 5 dishs at one time, now of course Albuquerque is a major TV broadcast market ranked at top DMA # 44 so we do have lot's of local stations.

I would love to get my good old days of C-band TV Dxing back but stuck in the HOA townhouse areas........:

 

[freezy]

Well, here in Albuquerque we have more than fair share of FTA C-band and KU band dishs. At one time I counted many as 5 dishs at one time, now of course Albuquerque is a major TV broadcast market ranked at top DMA # 44 so we do have lot's of local stations.

I would love to get my good old days of C-band TV Dxing back but stuck in the HOA townhouse areas........:

I know lots of you guys are pretty set against any new taxes but I would pay $75/yr for what Europe has for FTA

 

[Tron]

I've never seen a residential dish farm around here, but there are the occasional 30-36" dishes aimed at 97W. I know of one home with a single 1.2 meter motorized dish on the roof.

 

[madmadworld]

My farm is hidden in the backyard, u would have to be in my backyard to see anything.

\

that is the deal. to have a easy one you need to live on the south side of the street in town.
if i lived on the other side of mine it would be ugly in the front. lol @party
when dish hunting the ones on the north side are easier to spot.

 

[FTAer0024]

None of the people I know even heard about FTA. I myself discovered FTA completely accidentally. When I tell someone they can get a dish, a receiver, point the dish to the sky and get some channels without any subscription fee, they think it's half-illegal, or I am a weirdo geek. That's the point. 99% wants to have a service, and not a hobby. Come home, turn it on, look at EPG, decide what you want to watch, go to that channel and watch it. If it goes down, the fix is just a phone call away. Simplicity and convenience is the key.

Never have seen another dish farm. Have set up someone with a single dish, and now plan to get someone else going with two dishes. The latter is an aging hippie who lives off the grid, has zero OTA television due to his terrain, and only has dial-up Internet connecting at less than 20Kbps. 125W in HD ought to blow his socks clean off, visually speaking. He's retired, I plan to buy him a small LED-LCD HD set.

Guess it's up to us to spread the word somehow. I notice Consumer Reports, which I almost never read, does not mention FTA as an option to cut television bills. They have their reasons I imagine. Maybe we're not normal and most "consumers" are.

You get what you pay for, and sometimes you get what you don't pay for. I like FTA -- a hobby for many, it's the only TV we have at the moment. If it goes dark or if I get hungry for something different I might have to buy a pizza.

 

[radio]

I just recently joined the ranks of "no subscriptions" and use only FTA, OTA and ONE subscription on a ROKU box plus the freebies. There IS, however one farm/home about 3 miles from here with multiple dishes, and someday I'll stop by and see what they enjoy! (they're not the usual pizza dishes-only, looks like FTA to me.) Friends of mine are MORE than interested when I talk about it, and if I had the time, I'd be installing for many friends....or at least the ones who understand some basic concepts we all share about satellites.

 

[freezy]

My Spanish is getting better, I am up on the cutting edge of fashion, my cooking and other DIY artsy skills are improving. Thanks FTA

As hacker servers get shut down, FTA gets a tiny little boost from the repentant.

 

[papabruski]

I keep spreading the word!
I've seen a few idle c-band dishes from the days when subscription satellite was not yet available. I haven't seen any dishes in the KU FTA range.
My neighbor thinks I'm curious and asked how many dishes I have set up now, so I set up a decommissioned pizza dish pointed at 97.0W and was able to get 3 channels. I'm waiting to "show her the new dish". That gives me 4 dishes ranging from 18" to 6' (which includes a WildBlue). She calls them "West Virginia State Flowers".
Sometimes I visit with a technician who oversees one of the PBS stations on 125.0W. He is reserved in his comments but I sense that he doesn't approve of the FTA hobby.
One young fella I know works for a local television station and has assisted in aiming the dishes atop their building. He is a likely candidate for FTA, but lacks location for a dish.
I also know a few single women with OTA only that might enjoy FTA, but not as a hobby, so would probably be best served with a fixed dish.