exlain experience

[bert3c]

i've read extensively about fta and setting up a system. I would like anyone who was new to this to explain their experience for me. Specifically, after you hooked everything up, what were the difficulties, how did you point the satellite etc?

also, why must we know all these angles of satellites in the sky, are we to manually point towards these? I thought the motorized satellite found them on its own, or not?
Also, once they are all found, do we still have to find them again, or can we just watch everything that has been found already?

Also, I don't want to get in this hobbey if it involves more time searching for channels than watching them.
any advice please.
thanks

 

[Mr Tony]

i've read extensively about fta and setting up a system. I would like anyone who was new to this to explain their experience for me. Specifically, after you hooked everything up, what were the difficulties, how did you point the satellite etc?

Welcome
Once you set the motor up and get your true south (the satellite that is straight south of you) dialed in, the motor allows you to move to each satellite with ease.

also, why must we know all these angles of satellites in the sky, are we to manually point towards these? I thought the motorized satellite found them on its own, or not?
Also, once they are all found, do we still have to find them again, or can we just watch everything that has been found already?

All the angles listed are for fixed dishes. With a motorized, once you find your true south, you store it. Move to each satellite and store it. Once they’re stored, when you move to another satellite, the motor will automatically move to that satellite.

Also, I don't want to get in this hobbey if it involves more time searching for channels than watching them.
any advice please.
thanks

That’s what makes this hobby fun (the scanning). Once you scan in the channels, you would be set. But the “feeds” out there (the news and sports stuff that pops up) you have to scan the satellite to find them. As an example, right now I have about 200 channels programmed into my box. 95% of these are on 24/7. But at night I scan 3 or 4 satellites for the oddball news feed or sports backhaul. That’s what makes this hobby fun is when you find some small college basketball game or oddball news feed where the reporter does something funny (pick their nose, cuss, ask stupid questions to the cameraman)

 

[bert3c]

are you getting 200 channels in english? or are most of these foreign, or are you not watching foreign?
Also, is it relatively easy to find true south? and then with a motor you just give it directions or coordinates from the remote control to find the satellites and it does it?

i've heard that there are 800 channels from ftadirect and another seller told me thousands, seems not realistic

thanks alot for the advice, i think i'm going to get a coolsat5000

 

[123tim]

I don't want to get in this hobbey if it involves more time searching for channels than watching them.
thanks

Bert3C,

Setting up the System, and searching for channels is 99.99% of the fun. (In my opinion )

Good Luck!

 

[Mr Tony]

In terms of the 200, almost all of them are English. There are a few Spanish channels in there (I am not bilingual in any language…OK maybe English and Minnesotan…yah you betcha)

As for how many channels you can get, it really depends on how much of the arc you can see and what size dish you have. I have a 30” dish, so I am limited to KU band. If you have a big dish (6 foot or greater) then you have access to both C band and KU band which will give you more.

“thousands” seems a little high. 800 does seem closer. (There are over 100 foreign language channels on one satellite alone). Here is a list of most of the KU band stuff that we can see (depending on your line of sight and where you are in the US/Canada)

http://www.global-cm.net/MPEGlistKuBandUS.html


There are two ways to set up the motor. One is Diseqc 1.2, where you manually set up all your settings. This is the one I use because I’ve done this for 2 years. USALS is the other. With USALS, you put in your latitude & longitude in the receiver setup and the dish moves to the satellite you select. Its real easy to work with and if set up right, its bang on when you move satellites. Mine isn’t bang on so that is why I use 1.2 settings.

 

[Mr Tony]

Setting up the System, and searching for channels is 99.99% of the fun. (In my opinion )

so true....finding those feeds is the best part

 

[Jarhead84-90]

Welcome, I set my system up about a month ago, after reading this forum for several weeks before joining. I had previously installed both D* and E* systems for myself in the past so the general principle of finding satellites and aligning a dish was familiar to me. Setting up the motor wasn't a terrible expeiance but definately more hands on tweaking to begin with. Overall the expeiance was "pleasant" as I didn't have too much aggrevation (knock on wood). But IceBerg nailed it :

That’s what makes this hobby fun (the scanning). Once you scan in the channels, you would be set. But the “feeds” out there (the news and sports stuff that pops up) you have to scan the satellite to find them. As an example, right now I have about 200 channels programmed into my box. 95% of these are on 24/7. But at night I scan 3 or 4 satellites for the oddball news feed or sports backhaul. That’s what makes this hobby fun is when you find some small college basketball game or oddball news feed where the reporter does something funny (pick their nose, cuss, ask stupid questions to the cameraman)

I spend some time every morning after work scanning for feeds and backhauls, and my family loves the live uncensored (and most of the time quite humorous) news reporters.

 

[john green]

You both nailed it.I have spent as much time scanning as I have watching.This is not for the average tv viewer.This is more for geeks like us.

 

[Jarhead84-90]

This is more for geeks like us.

:clap LOL
Yup, There are always the "standby" channels, ie.. G-10. But the oddball stuff is where it's at.

 

[Shawn95GT]

Setting up the System, and searching for channels is 99.99% of the fun. (In my opinion )

Agreed 100%.

Where else but FTA can you find gems like the attached video:

 

[torg0]

I hate to say it, but setting up the dish was also part of the "fun" for me. After weeks of trying and failing, and climbing up and down, I set up my 36" under my *D dish and pointed eye sight to where the *D dish was. After a few more hours and a little tweaking, I picked up the Safeway Channel on 103W. I must have sat there and watched that channel for 2 hours, but I got something!! I was so excited! A little more research, and reading for help here, I found my true south and I was up and running. I'm so happy I got the motor too, cause I need my RTN!

My advise is to have patience during installation. I thought I'd have it up & running in a day, but was I in for a suprise. I rushed into setting it up, when I should have done more reading here for installation support. When it is up though, it is whole lot of fun. I'm afraid I watch it more then my *D dish

Mike

 

[Jarhead84-90]

cause I need my RTN!

Mike

Oh yeah, Hogan's Heros 3 times a day, It don't get much gooder than that:up