some suggestions for rookies thinking about FTA

[dptw27]

C&P

I am not an expert with FTA but I want to make an attempt to make things easier for people just starting out.

The 1st step is to discover if you can receive a satellite signal that you can use to put a picture on your TV. For this post I will simply refer to satellites Echo 7 and 8/10 (119 and 110). There is a post about setting up and aiming your dish on this site that is VERY useful – it is simple and it works. There is post here that has a link to a program that lets you enter your zip code and it will tell you where to aim your dish. Here is the link to download that program.
http://www.autorollbins.com/forums/f...splay.php?f=92

The azimuth is just the compass reading (or heading) that you will point your dish. Elevation is just the angle you will raise you dish skyward. Skew is not important for this part and is covered in other links. If you walk outside and look in that direction and there is nothing but trees or something else blocking a clear view to the sky, then you probably can’t use satellite TV. You need to locate the dish making sure you have a clear view of that sky but try to avoid coax runs of more than 150-200 feet. If you have a clear view then we can proceed

What equipment do you need and how much will it cost? That depends on how many TV’s you plan to watch and which receivers you buy. Let us start small and plan for the future. The 1st equipment I want to cover is the dish itself. By far, for what we are trying to do, the most popular dish is the model “Dish 500” and the mounting hardware that goes with pretty much any dish. (There are a lot of others) This dish works well and can be purchased at many on line sites for under $80 depending on which LNB (the electronic device that collects the signal and sends it to your receiver). You can save a lot of money by finding one of these dishes that someone is no longer using. (There are a LOT of them laying around or more likely still mounted on houses) Many people will give it to you or sell it to your for $5 -$10 and in most cases it will work just fine. If you are starting small and find one of these dishes then the next step is the receiver selection. If you decide to buy a new dish (old dishes work as well as new one) then the “Dish 500” model or others will be just fine. These dishes are 20-22 inches in diameter and can be mounted on the house or on a pole (a chain link fence pole found at hardware stores for about $2 is a good choice). In my opinion the “DP” model LNB’s are better than the “legacy” models for new users. If you find an old dish then the LNB will have written “DP” somewhere on it and is almost always in black. (That is the easiest way to tell the difference between DP and Legacy LNB’s) If you buy a new dish then the “LNB” becomes part of the process and you need to decide how many TV’s you plan to watch using this satellite. (You will need a receiver for each TV) If you plan to watch 3 or 4 TV’s then I think the Dish pro quad LNB is a reasonable choice and can be purchased on line for under $50 delivered. With this LNB on a dish you can watch up to 4 televisions. If you watch two or fewer TV’s then a Dish Pro Dual LNB will be ok. If you have found an old dish, you may simply change out the old LNB for the quad one (or a new DP dual) and everything should work well or you may use just what you have. Many old dishes will have a legacy LNB (requires a dsq switch that usually comes with a receiver) and you may be limited to one TV (not a bad way to start) with that switch and LNB. Putting together and mounting the dish is not difficult and requires few tools and is covered several places on this site. Here is one that is a big help and covers aiming the dish.
http://www.autorollbins.com/forums/f...play.php?f=106

I cannot stress too much the importance of aiming the dish – If you have a strong signal from a properly aimed dish you will have FAR FEWER problems and this site can help with almost 100% of any other problems that arise. WARNING! – This CAN be a frustrating experience but don’t give up – you WILL get it. That is the reason I mounted mine on a pole (NO LADDERS) A satellite finder (you don’t really need it) can be a help locating the satellites but I have not found it to be a big help with fine tuning. There are post here that have good procedures for aiming a dish. I have just a little to add. Once you think your set up is good and tightened down, then try using one finger to put pressure left – right – up – or down and see what the signal does with just a little pressure. All dishes have a little play in them that will allow you to see if a little “fine tuning” might improve your signal. Once you are convinced your dish is aimed correctly, use a pencil to mark the settings on your mounting hardware and tighten the bolts


You are going to need rg6 coax (the only logical choice starting out) run from your dish to each satellite receiver. You should not attempt to use the same coax for more than on receiver. All the hard stuff is over – on to receiver selection

Which is the best receiver? I have preferences but surely don’t know which one is best. I have learned a few things over the last few years. BUY ONLY THE MAJOR BRANDS AND MODELS. DO NOT BUY A CLONE!!! I own Viewsat and Pansat and each has pluses and at the time of my purchases it was the correct buying decisi on. SonicView has a good rep and I am sure Coolsat is ok too. Dreambox might be the best but I don’t know enough about it to comment. How do you make up your mind? This site is presently, BY FAR, the best FTA site on the net and they lean very strongly to ViewSat. Why should this matter? You will get better help, faster if you have a problem. The “bin” files posted here are known working files and tend to be posted here first and most important – you can get to the site and download the bin files when other sites are unreachable. What is a “bin” file? It is the software that makes your receiver work – it is sometimes referred to as the “fix”. In case you are not aware – from time to time changes are made to the signal that these satellites send down. When changes are made you will need to change your software and this site (and others) is where you get you new “bin” file. There is no need to pay a fee to a site for these files. ViewSat products have earned a reputation in the last year or two of being 1st with the fix. This means that ViewSat products are supported and you will be back watching TV faster. That is not to imply that other products are not being supported. There IS one little secret that many in the satellite business may “forget” to tell you. There may come a time (probably not soon) when the signal sent may have undergone changes so dramatic that there will never be a “fix” and the money you have spent on your satellite TV system is not going to produce a TV picture for you. It can happen. Because of this site and the support of Viewsat products plus the 2 year warranty – If I were buying today, I would buy a Viewsat with SonicView and Pansat being in a tie for second. All will put a good Picture on your TV. If you are new at this and don’t like “fooling around” with new technology then try not to purchase brand new models. The Viewsat extreme (around $150) or ViewSat Ultra (around $170) are both good choices. I suggest those only because I have experience with both and I know they are supported. I wrote this in the middle of Aug in 2007 and as new models come out this suggestion may change, but I wanted to let you follow my thought process. An exception would be if you have someone that has FTA and is going to help you, then by all means get the same model (unless really old) that he has – it will make things much easier on both of you. If you are going to buy 3 or 4 units then try to get the same model but that too has a drawback. If no fixes are out for your model and other brands/model have a new bin file you have no TV while others do. I don’t think that is enough negative since new bins are not far behind for the major brands. (There was an exception last year when Pansat was 2 weeks behind ViewSat with a fix). How to set up you receivers is covered in many post here and are far better than I could suggest. Read them before you turn on your receiver.

What are the rewards? You will have more TV channels, movies and events than you imagined and no monthly bill. I should make a comment or two about high def TV. Some HD receivers are out and more are coming soon. I suggest waiting a few months or longer before entering the market. There may be some difficult times as we enter the world of high definition FTA and letting things settle in and letting the pros smooth out the bumps is advised for all but the most adventurous. If cost and frustration is not an issue then go forth and help pave the road.

When you decide what you want- then shop around but try to stay with authorized dealers for your receiver. I am not a big fan of e-bay but once in a while there is just too much difference in prices to buy anywhere else. That is rarely true with name brand receivers – many times these so called brand name products are clones and my advice is to stay away from clones. If you decide to buy from e-bay then you need to learn how to tell the difference in real vs fake and be sure you buy the real brand.

This much I can tell you – after 6 months you will wonder why you waited so long. Your trips to Blockbuster will be way down and your checkbook will feel better too. I am a semi-retired business owner and probably much older than most of the people here – if I can do this – so can you. I am just a FTA user and have no connection to any mfg or site and these are my opinions and I hope I have helped a little – good luck
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All information posted is strictly for informational purposes.