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taelon721
Last reply · posted in Free To Air (FTA) Discussion

FTA Box Created By Users

Time for some day dreaming. Thought about it last night. I would love to see a couple of FTA boxes with features created by the users like those people that frequent the Satelliteguys.us forums. Maybe created by either Satelliteguys.us or the big business brains at SatelliteAV. Scott and Brian, are you listening? :D

One FTA box that is SD with DVR capablility. And another HD, and either has or can add modules for the different HD formats we need like 4:2:2, etc... Boxes with alot of memory and processing power for expandability.

Besides the hardware involved, software would be upgraded regularly, as users come up with ideas for new features, and features that are changed would be voted on, in the same manner as Glorystar is looking to their viewers to find new TV and radio stations.

True FTAers would probably be more apt to buy these boxes over others, as they would have a say in the new features that come out. Not, only that but you get board with your same old box, and like to see new things. Well, with these boxes you would see new features periodically.

These boxes would take the best features (price permitting) from the other FTA boxes. Things like USB ports to add DVR capability without spending money for DVR unless you want it, MP3 capability, and small video game capability. Create an open source for the video game part so people could create freeware games like the way the Coolsat 5000 comes with 3 games. Playing a game with the remote is hard, but if you could use a USB compatible keyboard and joystick it would make the FTA box even more usable. Plus, those involved in the FTA hobby are probably 30+ so we like the older games anyway. Ok, I am old. Give me a space invader clone over a game that takes 8 Gigs of memory anyday!

I was daydreaming about this....... but does it have to be a daydream? Scott has created the best place on the net for information on the satellite industry. The idea of an Internet community takes on a new meaning, when you come to Satelliteguys.us. The guys at SatelliteAV seem to have big dreams that they are making come true as we speak..... Can something like this happen?
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taelon721
I didn't realize my post was going to be so controversial. I was just thinking that if someone made a couple of new receivers created by those that are info FTA, that is might be one step closer to changing the face of FTA.

Brian's idea of starting Glorystar was a bold move. And if he gets enough TV and radio stations on those two satellites that are for free, I believe it will make other TV stations think about going FTA.

If you look at the FTA list in the UK, you will find tons of free stations. They even have free porn over there. We can't even get free affiliate stations on American satellites. The big providers have done everything they can to crush true FTA. Even if you call up the satellite stores in a major city like Dallas or Houston, they all only sell Dish and DirecTV. No FTA receivers and dishes to be found. You basically have to buy them online. And DirecTV tries to get their employees to believe that ALL FTA is illegal. Atleast, that is what a couple of my friends that work at DirecTV call centers are telling me.
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Pepper
Pepper
yep, the big providers here have pretty much convinced 99% of the population that the only TV worth watching is what you have to pay for.

I fully support your "dream" and will do anything in my power (not much unfortunately) to help it happen.

BTW, the "ideal" receiver in my estimation would be something functionally equivalent to the E* ViP722 with the following modifications
- ability to also be subscribed to Expressvu
- ability to drive a motor
- ability to blindscan and add FTA channels to whatever you are subscribing to
- would still work for OTA and FTA even if you cancel your E* sub
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KE4EST
KE4EST
Yeah same here preach that all FTA is illegal..........Sorry I can't do that, as for one I know better and for two I love the hobby.
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Tron
Tron
taelon721 said:
And DirecTV tries to get their employees to believe that ALL FTA is illegal. Atleast, that is what a couple of my friends that work at DirecTV call centers are telling me.
Click to expand...
Well, if you're DirecTV or Dish, what else can you do to dissuade the masses from knowing that your company is only a drop in the bucket compared to what is up there in the sky... Otherwise, everyone would drop your overly compressed, outrageously priced service and put up their own dish! :D

Sorry if I digressed a bit from the OP's topic, just had to get that off my chest... ;)
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taelon721
Up To Us!

I believe it is up to us, if we want to see FTA come back in a big way. Besides what Glorystar is doing, which I think will help alot, I have a few other ideas.

1) See about getting all the true BBC stations to put up their stations on a Ku band satellite dish in the US. They could seek out adventisers in the US like English restaurants, stores, etc... to pay for their costs.

2) There is a collection of radio stations on the net called Digitally Imported. Probably over 20+ stations with music that we don't see much in Satellite radio or FM/AM broadcasts. Things like Techo, Rave, Ambient, Lounge, etc... They could pay for it three ways.
a) Go to a big provider like DirecTV, who does not have anything In The Clear, and say, we will let you broadcast our stations, but they have to be ITC.
b) Have ordering info for the CDs like some of the other radio broadcasters do. Like I believe DirecTV music channels still do.
c) Setup up a second business selling FTA equipment to get the stations, and do it underground through the dance club scenes, teen sites, etc....

3) Continue to help Glorystar bring Christian and family oriented stations to FTA.

4) Continue to get more foreign channels to come to American FTA. In fact, I am surprised that there are not more Spanish channels sitting on one American satellite. The MiddleEastern community, is already putting tons of stations on FTA, to push their agenda, wherever you live.


As you can see, there are ways to do it, and for those broadcasters that jump on the FTA band wagon, to make it financially feasable. But it will take a group of people like us to help move it along. If many of us starting sending email to these people, they might start looking seriously at it.

However, if we sit on our fingers, and done nothing, we will continue to loose FTA, because of the big providers. If we do convince several of these broadcasters to move to FTA, then others like CNN, FoxNews, CSPAN, HGTV, etc... might look at coming back to FTA.

My question is are there others around here that are ready to help and do something about changing the face of FTA in America.
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TWiT Tech Podcast Network
· posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Microsoft Defender Arriving on Linux

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mO_nW-BTlv4


Direct YouTube Link - Microsoft Defender Arriving on Linux
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
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Ham Radio 2.0
· posted in Ham Radio 2.0

LIVE!

Time for another AWESOME video from Ham Radio 2.0!


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDeuQ1SLkQU


Direct YouTube Link - LIVE!
Ham Radio 2.0 Website
Ham Radio 2.0 on Facebook
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Peter Parker
Peter Parker
Supporting Founder Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

DISH Hopper 3 Software Version 713 Is Out

No idea what improvements might be involved.
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bookworm370
bookworm370
Has anyone noticed an FF stutter with 713? I used to be able to hit FF a few times and skip smoothly. After 713 (maybe 712), when I skip forward, there is a definite stutter for as many times as I have pressed FF.

Can anyone check on this and report back? Recorded programs and then press skip forward a few times to see if it's smooth? Normally, it just jumps to the right place after the skips.
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naptime
I'm getting fabulous picture on Ch. 148 4k, but zero audio with H713. This is with a recorded show (Notre Dame game). Anyone else have this? Audio is fine on every other channel.
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reubenray
bookworm370 said:
Has anyone noticed an FF stutter with 713? I used to be able to hit FF a few times and skip smoothly. After 713 (maybe 712), when I skip forward, there is a definite stutter for as many times as I have pressed FF.

Can anyone check on this and report back? Recorded programs and then press skip forward a few times to see if it's smooth? Normally, it just jumps to the right place after the skips.
Click to expand...
My wife mentioned that her remote is acting strange this morning. She hit FF and it went to 15x FF.
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Bobby
Bobby
naptime said:
I'm getting fabulous picture on Ch. 148 4k, but zero audio with H713. This is with a recorded show (Notre Dame game). Anyone else have this? Audio is fine on every other channel.
Click to expand...
This has been an ongoing issue. A fix is coming, probably in the next software version.
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dishstaller
dishstaller
reubenray said:
My wife mentioned that her remote is acting strange this morning.
Click to expand...
Had a customer call recently saying their remote was really acting up, some buttons no longer functioned. Told them to reboot the Hopper....problem fixed.
Wife bought me a t-shirt that has "have you tried turning it off and on again?"

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cpdretired
cpdretired
dishstaller said:
Had a customer call recently saying their remote was really acting up, some buttons no longer functioned. Told them to reboot the Hopper....problem fixed.
Wife bought me a t-shirt that has "have you tried turning it off and on again?"

Click to expand...
Works every time. My wife needs one.
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Foxbat
Foxbat
dishstaller said:
Wife bought me a t-shirt that has "have you tried turning it off and on again?"
Click to expand...
Here's the one I need:
1792365258110.webp
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Ramy
Ramy
Supporting Founder
Last reply · posted in The Sports Section

2026-27 NCAA College Football

Really excited for this season with Kentucky having a new coach and some really exciting recruits. Probably won't last long, but here's hoping this season is great.
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osu1991
osu1991
Howard Simmons
Foxbat
Foxbat
osu1991 said:
IMG_1541.webp
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They ought to have fun with this… :devilish
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osu1991
osu1991
Foxbat said:
They ought to have fun with this… :devilish
Click to expand...
Was thinking same thing. It should be a good week for sec shorts and roll call
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reubenray
A lot of upsets yesterday, but my LSU Tigers won.
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Foxbat
Foxbat
Best fan sign I saw during the ND-BYU game: "Bear ate your Lucky Charms!" (Bear being the Cougars' QB). I was going to suggest, "Have you or your team been involved in a Carr crash?"
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meStevo
meStevo
Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club

AI thread

A continuation of a thread from the pub, just general discussion of AI.

Brief 60 minute clip about next gem autonomous fighters - not remote controlled, but rather collaborating with controllers and aircraft in the theater.


View: https://youtu.be/DRm0mbp_n1k


We've literally got a movie already about this ;)


View: https://youtu.be/a2PW7a9ViDc
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meStevo
meStevo
Agreed, it mostly regurgitates known solutions. That's the point. Nobody needs an innovative fix for a driver error or a creative way to format a report. Let it handle the solved problems so people can spend their time on the ones that aren't.
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harshness
harshness
meStevo said:
Agreed, it mostly regurgitates known solutions. That's the point.
Click to expand...
That's the point at which innovation ends, and there's no longer any point to software engineering other than swatting bugs that result from misapplication.
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meStevo
meStevo
harshness said:
That's the point at which innovation ends, and there's no longer any point to software engineering other than swatting bugs that result from misapplication.
Click to expand...

Addressed by what you didn't quote. This cycle is as old as computing: compilers, libraries, frameworks each automated the tedious part, and the human work moved up a level. Innovation didn't end; it shifted. And people still make new compilers, libraries or frameworks.

Nobody's forced to hand anything off. Anyone who wants to keep doing it by hand still can, and people who couldn't do it at all now can.
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harshness
harshness
meStevo said:
... and people who couldn't do it at all now can.
Click to expand...
Misapplication isn't something that the casual coder can identify. They can only discover, the hard way, that it doesn't work at some point.
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meStevo
meStevo
harshness said:
Misapplication isn't something that the casual coder can identify. They can only discover, the hard way, that it doesn't work at some point.
Click to expand...
You're not wrong, but that's part of learning. Whether from others or our own mistakes, we've all learned that lesson one way or another.
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harshness
harshness
meStevo said:
Whether from others or our own mistakes, we've all learned that lesson one way or another.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure that the school of hard knocks is the quickest or surest education to find your way.

There are many examples in the headlines of people getting burned multiple times and not wavering in their pursuit of stupidity.
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meStevo
meStevo
harshness said:
I'm not sure that the school of hard knocks is the quickest or surest education to find your way.
Click to expand...

Good thing not everyone will have to learn the hard way then. The same tools can explain why something broke.

harshness said:
There are many examples in the headlines of people getting burned multiple times and not wavering in their pursuit of stupidity.
Click to expand...

This is true of literally anything, though.

Happy to agree to disagree, but I'm already enjoying the dividends personally and helping others at work and at home do the same.
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dishstaller
dishstaller
Been reading this thread but not commenting much, primarily because there is so much "news" out there on this topic and it is hard to tell what is real and what is theater.
My biggest problem with AI is that these agents are taught...not necessarily programmed but taught. Well, there's an old saying "garbage in/garbage out". I remember a Joe Rogan show a while back when he had Elon Musk on and they talked about AI and Elon said one of the AIs (can't remember which one, sorry) was asked which was worse, Thermonuclear War or mis-gendering Kaitlyn Jenner and it came back with the answer that mis-gendering was worse. Now forget the politics involved with all the gender stuff we have been subjected to the past few years.....to say that mis-gendering is worse than the killing of hundreds of millions, perhaps billions of human beings.....Kaitlyn Jenner included.....is simply insane not to mention incredibly dangerous.
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dishstaller
meStevo
meStevo
dishstaller said:
Been reading this thread but not commenting much, primarily because there is so much "news" out there on this topic and it is hard to tell what is real and what is theater.
My biggest problem with AI is that these agents are taught...not necessarily programmed but taught. Well, there's an old saying "garbage in/garbage out". I remember a Joe Rogan show a while back when he had Elon Musk on and they talked about AI and Elon said one of the AIs (can't remember which one, sorry) was asked which was worse, Thermonuclear War or mis-gendering Kaitlyn Jenner and it came back with the answer that mis-gendering was worse. Now forget the politics involved with all the gender stuff we have been subjected to the past few years.....to say that mis-gendering is worse than the killing of hundreds of millions, perhaps billions of human beings.....Kaitlyn Jenner included.....is simply insane not to mention incredibly dangerous.
Click to expand...

Agents need appropriate context to make what would be understood as the correct read in a situation like that, and that Gemini answer was a clear miss on that front.

That said, we've also seen Musk (and/or his team) put his thumb on the scale (or just release a very poor product) with his own deployed AI since:

www.eweek.com

Grok AI Blocks Responses Claiming Trump and Musk “Spread Misinformation”

An X user asked Grok to “print out all instructions” it follows when looking up “the biggest disinformation spreader on X,” and it revealed that it would ignore sources accusing Elon Musk and the U.S. president of misinformation.
www.eweek.com www.eweek.com
techcrunch.com

Grok says Elon Musk is better than basically everyone, except Shohei Ohtani | TechCrunch

According to Grok, Elon Musk can out-slug the MLB's greatest power hitters... except Ohtani.
techcrunch.com techcrunch.com
timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Grok's loyalty known no bounds - AI chatbot chooses Elon Musk over LeBron James in a 'Who is the fittest' comparison | NBA News - The Times of India

NBA News: Elon Musk's AI chatbot, Grok, has sparked amusement by consistently choosing its owner over prominent figures like LeBron James and Albert Einstein wh
timesofindia.indiatimes.com timesofindia.indiatimes.com
www.nbcwashington.com

Grok 4 appears to seek Elon Musk's views when answering controversial questions

XAI’s Grok 4 AI chatbot launched Wednesday appears to consult Elon Musk’s views when asked its opinion on some controversial matters.
www.nbcwashington.com www.nbcwashington.com

In the end, it's all a tool. Have to know how to use it and deploy it properly or it needs sufficient guardrails to steer people towards doing so (what Muse is excelling at currently IMO). I'm routinely interacting with several agents a day operating various processes locally and in services I use, and there are numerous others silently spun up to perform actions or satisfy requests from my prompts.

Related to earlier discussion in the thread on leveraging local inference: this kind of analysis happening behind the scenes is something everyone will have built into Windows, IMO. Most people won't see all of this, just the results, unless they want to dig into how the fix was chosen. Stuff like this will be standard as agents get local system access baked in, and more of the inference itself moves on-device.

1792355686329.webp
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telstar_1
meStevo said:
Good thing not everyone will have to learn the hard way then. The same tools can explain why something broke.



This is true of literally anything, though.

Happy to agree to disagree, but I'm already enjoying the dividends personally and helping others at work and at home do the same.
Click to expand...
You invested in datacenters?
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meStevo
meStevo
telstar_1 said:
You invested in datacenters?
Click to expand...


Though, I do have stocks in my portfolio that benefit from data centers.
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TWiT Tech Podcast Network
· posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

This Week in Tech 1105

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JElsle_m2rE


Direct YouTube Link - This Week in Tech 1105
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
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Former member 208119
Former member 208119
Last reply · posted in SiriusXM Satellite Radio

SXM still giving discounts

My year was almost up and we got the new bill for a year of service for $ 360.00 insane sat radio is becoming like cable!!! i logged into my acct and hopped onto chat and told the rep that i wanted to cancel. she understood my concern and went quiet for a few minutes. i figured that she was canceling my service. she comes back and said that she seen that i have been a sub since 07 and then offers me the same package for a year for 120.00 with taxes and fee's!!! i grabbed it. after almost having a stroke :biggrin
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Bruno
What i noticed with my last renewal XM is now billing me $4.99 monthly instead of one time yearly payment.
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Jimbo
Jimbo
Bruno said:
What i noticed with my last renewal XM is now billing me $.99 monthly instead of one time yearly payment.
Click to expand...
Did you accidentally get on the wrong plan ?
I still do the once a year plans.
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EarDemon
EarDemon
I tried to do that, when I did delivery driver work (2010- 2013), we had a fleet of Freightliners. The newer trucks had headunits that were satellite compatible (XM only I think), but lacked the antenna and guts. I got a car kt for my old Roady XT and tried to use it, but at the volume levels I needed have it at to hear it over the diesel engine it sounded like crap, so I used my phone with an aux cable. When I was in the middle of nowhere with no cell service it didn't do me any good though.

At my current job, one of our new cars has the free trial of SXM active, I frequently have to go off site to a location 75 miles away in a rural area and it's nice being able to use the service off of the satellites versus using the app. There are many places on this journey where all three providers lack service.
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B
Bruno
Jimbo said:
Did you accidentally get on the wrong plan ?
I still do the once a year plans.
Click to expand...
I have to think maybe more people dont keep track of the monthly XM bill. Every time i renew i put a reminder on my calendar week before its time to renew. My wife told me the other day not to renew her and then i told her you are not going to be able to listen to XM at home. Then she changed her mind...!!
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TRG
TRG
Bruno said:
I have to think maybe more people dont keep track of the monthly XM bill. Every time i renew i put a reminder on my calendar week before its time to renew. My wife told me the other day not to renew her and then i told her you are not going to be able to listen to XM at home. Then she changed her mind...!!
Click to expand...
I get an e-mail every month reminding me that X amount will be charged to my credit card. If I see it go up I get on chat or pick up the phone. But I also remember that my year is up in December.
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Bruno
TRG said:
I get an e-mail every month reminding me that X amount will be charged to my credit card. If I see it go up I get on chat or pick up the phone. But I also remember that my year is up in December.
Click to expand...
yea i don't understand WHY, like you I get a notice each month. Mine is also up in December.
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Jimbo
Jimbo
Bruno said:
yea i don't understand WHY, like you I get a notice each month. Mine is also up in December.
Click to expand...
You get an email every month to let you know they are billing you for the next month.
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Scott Greczkowski
Scott Greczkowski
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Song Name Game Part 3!

Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!

So let the game continue!

The last song was added by Bobby who posted...

One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters

CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!

Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game

Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.

Example:

Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow

Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio

Another example:

Ride the Lightning -- Metallica

Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne


Get it?


An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
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Bobby
Bobby
Mississippi Cotton Picking Delta Town - Charley Pride
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harshness
harshness
Delta Dawn - Tanya Tucker
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dishstaller
dishstaller
Can't You See - Marshall Tucker Band
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sdfntx
sdfntx
See You in September - The Happenings
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long_time_Dish
long_time_Dish
You Look Like You Love Me - Ella Langley
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meStevo
meStevo
Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Sports Section

NFL 2026-2027 Season

Schedule drops tomorrow. Mandatory mini camps in June. Hall of Fame game August 6th.
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osu1991
osu1991
www.nbcsports.com

Troy Aikman seems to confirm he'll be leaving ESPN

Aikman says he looks forward to "where my next landing spot will be."
www.nbcsports.com www.nbcsports.com
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Mike0616
osu1991 said:
www.nbcsports.com

Troy Aikman seems to confirm he'll be leaving ESPN

Aikman says he looks forward to "where my next landing spot will be."
www.nbcsports.com www.nbcsports.com
Click to expand...
Hopefully nowhere near a microphone.
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Y
Yespage
Mike0616 said:
Hopefully nowhere near a microphone.
Click to expand...
After having experienced Gus Ferguson trying to call soccer games, I'm uncertain why NFL football analysts get hate. Even the "worst" of them are pretty good.
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meStevo
meStevo
Jalen Hurts out indefinitely as they treat and monitor a superficial blood clot in his leg.


View: https://x.com/RapSheet/status/2111074303185989663?s=20
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meStevo
meStevo
Browns lead the AFC North 🤣

Seth Meyers What GIF by Late Night with Seth Meyers
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T
TVHabit
Last reply · posted in Free To Air (FTA) Discussion

Hybrid Dish setup

Picked up a sweet directv dish, mount, twin lnbs and a short cable.
Has anyone converted one to FTA? A Frankenstein of sorts...
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Titanium
Titanium
Yes, many have hacked a DirecTV or Dish Network dish before. Quite undersized, but would receive the 97w KU stations with an LNBF swap. Make a template to set the LNBF face angle and distance from the reflector. Remove the current circular polarity LNBFs and make a bracket to hold the replacement linear LNBF in the correct centered position. Remember to set the polarity skew.
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B
Brct203
would probably also work well for NHK on 101W and possibly for PBS on 99W. I used one for a while on 30W. Just keep in mind that because it's undersized for those satellites, it might work fine in clear weather but won't have much margin to account for signal degradation during rain/snow
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one_db_compression
If you can find one, the Shaw / Star Choice 75e ellipticals are great for use on 97, 99, and 101W. They are really just rebranded ChannelMaster 75 cm reflectors and use linear LNBFs by default out of the box.

Everyone else's mileage may vary.
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T
TVHabit
I have read that some have converted this type dish but after giving it a good look, it's the lnb conversion that is the bottleneck. Does anyone have a picture of their attempt to configure the lnb? I watched a video on youtube from the save it for parts guy and he used duct tape! Guess it worked but I'm thinking something a bit more permanent!
Thanks to all for your interest and replies...
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Titanium
Titanium
Many of us have used a universal LNBF mount (or get creative with L brackets and plumbers tape - perforated metal strapping). Use a few inches of aluminum tube (or a piece of 1x2" lumber) to extend the support arm (replacing the plastic mount used by DirecTV and Dish) to place the LNBF throat opening at the correct distance from the reflector, the correct height and at the correct angle. Nothing magical... simply place the new linear LNBF in the center at the same distance, height and angle as the current combo.
www.amazon.com/Universal-Single-Bracket-Holder-FTA-US/dp/B074L85WK2
LNBF mount.webp
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