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As the saying goes Long time lurker, first time poster (almost I went feet first in a couple discussions here already.
I am not big on hellos, but I will introduce myself a bit:
I am a satellite TV hobbyist since the late 90s, and a tinkerer and scrounger (a lot of my C-band stuff was scrounged and cobbled).
I have available to me, a "farmer's" work shop to make things, and yes, have a backhoe available also. I am also a subscriber to Shaw Direct (since 2001), and an avid TiVo user and supporter.
I basically abandoned C-band in 2004 or so (dish blew over), but kept Shaw Direct, and have been receiving NASA TV and a few other things form Echo-7with a DBS LNBF strapped to my Shaw dish and an ex-sub Dish receiver. I got into full FTA a few weeks ago, when I traded the Dish receiver for a Sonicveiw 4000, and set up a 75CM Ku dish I had scrounged, and "borrowed" one of the tone switches from my Shaw Direct satellite system, to switch between Echo-7 and Ku, Ku the dish pointed to G19 for now, and get most of what it has to offer (in FTA anyways).
I intend to get a motor, maybe be a better receiver, maybe a better LNBF, a proper Diseq switch, and a coax compression kit.
I am not big on hellos, but I will introduce myself a bit:
I am a satellite TV hobbyist since the late 90s, and a tinkerer and scrounger (a lot of my C-band stuff was scrounged and cobbled).
I have available to me, a "farmer's" work shop to make things, and yes, have a backhoe available also. I am also a subscriber to Shaw Direct (since 2001), and an avid TiVo user and supporter.
I basically abandoned C-band in 2004 or so (dish blew over), but kept Shaw Direct, and have been receiving NASA TV and a few other things form Echo-7with a DBS LNBF strapped to my Shaw dish and an ex-sub Dish receiver. I got into full FTA a few weeks ago, when I traded the Dish receiver for a Sonicveiw 4000, and set up a 75CM Ku dish I had scrounged, and "borrowed" one of the tone switches from my Shaw Direct satellite system, to switch between Echo-7 and Ku, Ku the dish pointed to G19 for now, and get most of what it has to offer (in FTA anyways).
I intend to get a motor, maybe be a better receiver, maybe a better LNBF, a proper Diseq switch, and a coax compression kit.
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1810 views
- welcome:
Welcome aboard, and Happy Holidays to ya.
If you've been lurking a long time, you probably know many of the regular posters.
Chief among them our illustrious leader and forum moderator: Iceberg!
Shoot us a few pictures of your dishes before they get snow covered - we've got a thread for showing such things.
I for one always appreciate interesting home-brew projects.
So, some of the things cobbled together may prove more amusing than the regular store-bought.
As for your Coolsat 4000, I think you're off to a good start.
Glad to have another active member hangin' around! - :up
Welcome aboard, and Happy Holidays to ya.
If you've been lurking a long time, you probably know many of the regular posters.
Chief among them our illustrious leader and forum moderator: Iceberg!
Shoot us a few pictures of your dishes before they get snow covered - we've got a thread for showing such things.
I for one always appreciate interesting home-brew projects.
So, some of the things cobbled together may prove more amusing than the regular store-bought.
As for your Coolsat 4000, I think you're off to a good start.
Glad to have another active member hangin' around! - :up
Welcome! Watch out...... The addiction starts as "I'll just have one......."
Hello, I'm Brian and I'm a sataholic.
Hello, I'm Brian and I'm a sataholic.
C
Some thing I did was:
Used a 18/10 cable (I think used to remote control a crane) for the jack motor/pulse, and a3 wire thermostat cable for polarotor.
Made limit switches for my one arm (the controller had no limits), and a high/low sensor with a mercury switch strategically placed on the dish, running an indicator on the controller (the controller was 3 digits, and the whole arc was almost 2000 counts)
I had a knob tuned tuner almost work with a downconverter not made for it.
I had one I didn't have the remote for, and had the lid off tuning the trimmers to tune audio.
One the PLL didn't work, and I cobbled knobs to the amain and one of the audio tuners.
Another the motor transformer burnt out, so I used the external one form an older system, and used its 70Mhz IF tuner as an audio tuner (it had narrow), wid, MPX ,and all those modes, by splitting the IF loop on the main receiver. On that receiver, and my next, I
hard wired a trailer light plug to the actuator terminals, it weas more robust. On my last receiver, I made my own C/Ku relay from an apparent RF relay I pulled from a set of expensive looking boards with gold connectors and everything.
and I made my own UHF remote extender system, for an old satellite UHF kit, IR receivers, and hard wiring the UHF receiver in to the TiVo. I maywant to add my FTA receiver into that.
I am familiar with him. He belongs to at least one Canadian TV board I am on.Chief among them our illustrious leader and forum moderator: Iceberg!
Soon, maybe the end of the day.Shoot us a few pictures of your dishes before they get snow covered - we've got a thread for showing such things.
Analog C-band was a hoot and a breeze to cobble.
Some thing I did was:
Used a 18/10 cable (I think used to remote control a crane) for the jack motor/pulse, and a3 wire thermostat cable for polarotor.
Made limit switches for my one arm (the controller had no limits), and a high/low sensor with a mercury switch strategically placed on the dish, running an indicator on the controller (the controller was 3 digits, and the whole arc was almost 2000 counts)
I had a knob tuned tuner almost work with a downconverter not made for it.
I had one I didn't have the remote for, and had the lid off tuning the trimmers to tune audio.
One the PLL didn't work, and I cobbled knobs to the amain and one of the audio tuners.
Another the motor transformer burnt out, so I used the external one form an older system, and used its 70Mhz IF tuner as an audio tuner (it had narrow), wid, MPX ,and all those modes, by splitting the IF loop on the main receiver. On that receiver, and my next, I
hard wired a trailer light plug to the actuator terminals, it weas more robust. On my last receiver, I made my own C/Ku relay from an apparent RF relay I pulled from a set of expensive looking boards with gold connectors and everything.
and I made my own UHF remote extender system, for an old satellite UHF kit, IR receivers, and hard wiring the UHF receiver in to the TiVo. I maywant to add my FTA receiver into that.
It is a Sonicview., not Coolsat.
Welcome! Watch out...... The addiction starts as "I'll just have one......."
Hello, I'm Brian and I'm a sataholic.
They tried to make me go to rehab and I said No, No, No
...
Staff member
Pub Member / Supporter
Cutting Edge
If you are a former Cuttinge Edge member who has converted to Stream, please contact me.
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Over the past few weeks, I have had problems connecting to streaming services (Netflix, HBO et al). When I go to the TV's native Channels, I have no problem. The Dish internet troubleshooter shows I have a good internet connection. I'm wondering whether it's an issue with my internet provider or a problem with the Dish software on the Hopper Plus. Anyone else seeing this?
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Pub Member / Supporter
Pissed off at the crappy healthcare costs
My health Insurance renewal for 2027 just came in. Going from $827 a month to $1,187 a month. Deductible going up a $1k to $9,350. Max out of pocket also going up $1k to $11,000. Doctor co-pay of $40. Urgent Care co-pay $50. ER 50% coinsurance after deductible. That's all in network. Out of network is double, should it be needed.
Have to think about this. I'm really tempted to just go without now. I only go to the doctor once or twice a year. I pay out of pocket for Tirzepitide and can do without the Rosuvastatin (crestor) now. Really tired of spending over $10k a year and getting nothing out of it.
After years with Blue Cross I switched last year to Ambetter as my Blue Cross premium was going from $1200 to $1800 for a Silver plan and the Bronze plan was still going to be $1300 at BCBS. Ambetter was $827 for the same coverage with a Bronze plan. Didn't think it would jump this much so soon.
I'm guessing a Silver plan is probably over $2,000 a month for 2027.
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Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
This should hit a lot of folks with a dose of reality. I can only imagine how much more common this will get as AI progresses.
I read several stories on this and most are clear as mud. They say a lot of the stolen bitcoin has been "locked out" and that everyone will be made financially whole. I guess time will tell if either of these statements are actually true.
www.cnbc.com
I read several stories on this and most are clear as mud. They say a lot of the stolen bitcoin has been "locked out" and that everyone will be made financially whole. I guess time will tell if either of these statements are actually true.
Hackers steal $6.3 billion from Binance in biggest-ever cryptocurrency theft
The company later added it began recovering assets impacted by the breach after pledging to cover losses using its Secure Asset Fund for Users.
www.cnbc.com
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TWiT Tech Podcast Network
Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0bCOMsIK3EU
Direct YouTube Link - The Future of XBOX?
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0bCOMsIK3EU
Direct YouTube Link - The Future of XBOX?
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
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Supporting Founder
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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2793 views
TWiT Tech Podcast Network
Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAKxo3ThpI4
Direct YouTube Link - This Week in Space 234
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAKxo3ThpI4
Direct YouTube Link - This Week in Space 234
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
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4 views
Supporting Founder
Lifetime Supporter
I was reading this article
thehill.com
That said this-
Last summer, for the first time, streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime claimed the largest share of the television viewing audience, surpassing both cable and broadcast TV. Streaming captured 34.8 percent of July viewers, according to Nielsen data, compared to 34.4 percent for cable and 21.6 percent for broadcast.
And then, sometime in the second half of 2022, cord-cutters became the majority. The share of cable and satellite television subscribers dipped to 48 percent, according to a report from Samba TV, a television technology company.
Now I do not consider those with YTTV and the likes, Cord Cutters, but they still do not have Traditional Cable/Satellite delivered Live TV, so I decided to do the math.
There are, now, 129 Million Households in the United States.
In 2015, there were 100 Million Cable/Sat Subscribers , no streaming Live TV Service.
Today, there are 66 Million Live TV subscribers, including Cable, Satellite and Streaming.
Roughly, Streaming Live TV has 14 Million subs including all of them.
So that means, Cable/Satellite now has, roughly, 51 Million Households
So in just 8 years, lost 49% of their subscribers and by the end of this year, expected sub count to be, roughly, 45 million households.
That means a total loss of 55% since 2015 at the end of 2023.
But out of 129 Million households, 45 million will mean only 35% will get Cable/Satellite Delivered Live TV by the end of 2023.
Imagine what 2024 will be like.
Cable TV ‘cord-cutters’ became the majority in 2022
The steady decline of cable and broadcast television, and the rise of streaming services, reached a sort of inflection point over the past year. Last summer, for the first time, streaming ser…
thehill.com
That said this-
Last summer, for the first time, streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime claimed the largest share of the television viewing audience, surpassing both cable and broadcast TV. Streaming captured 34.8 percent of July viewers, according to Nielsen data, compared to 34.4 percent for cable and 21.6 percent for broadcast.
And then, sometime in the second half of 2022, cord-cutters became the majority. The share of cable and satellite television subscribers dipped to 48 percent, according to a report from Samba TV, a television technology company.
Now I do not consider those with YTTV and the likes, Cord Cutters, but they still do not have Traditional Cable/Satellite delivered Live TV, so I decided to do the math.
There are, now, 129 Million Households in the United States.
In 2015, there were 100 Million Cable/Sat Subscribers , no streaming Live TV Service.
Today, there are 66 Million Live TV subscribers, including Cable, Satellite and Streaming.
Roughly, Streaming Live TV has 14 Million subs including all of them.
So that means, Cable/Satellite now has, roughly, 51 Million Households
So in just 8 years, lost 49% of their subscribers and by the end of this year, expected sub count to be, roughly, 45 million households.
That means a total loss of 55% since 2015 at the end of 2023.
But out of 129 Million households, 45 million will mean only 35% will get Cable/Satellite Delivered Live TV by the end of 2023.
Imagine what 2024 will be like.
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And again, 15 months in a row, streaming wins-
Cable and Broadcast added together-36.4%
Streaming with a massive 49.6%, 13.2% higher than Broadcast/Streaming.
Cable and Broadcast added together-36.4%
Streaming with a massive 49.6%, 13.2% higher than Broadcast/Streaming.
Supporting Founder
Lifetime Supporter
Thanks to Fitch Ratings ( who gives the ratings on Credit and debt, as approved by the SEC, so they have accurate numbers) we have the totals.
DIRECTV's video subscriber base is the third-largest traditional multi-channel video programming distributor (MVPD) in the U.S. with about 8.2 million subscribers at the end of 1Q26.
The last time it was reported, it was 8.8M at the end of 2Q25, so only a 600,000 loss for 3 quarters, which is a major improvement, since for many years before that, it was losing 500,000 a quarter, 2 Million a year.
It is now losing less than Dish/Sling combined, I believe the Genre Packs are helping to retain and get subscribers.
DIRECTV's video subscriber base is the third-largest traditional multi-channel video programming distributor (MVPD) in the U.S. with about 8.2 million subscribers at the end of 1Q26.
The last time it was reported, it was 8.8M at the end of 2Q25, so only a 600,000 loss for 3 quarters, which is a major improvement, since for many years before that, it was losing 500,000 a quarter, 2 Million a year.
It is now losing less than Dish/Sling combined, I believe the Genre Packs are helping to retain and get subscribers.
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A
have you tried to call in and threaten to cancel and see how that works out??? have you tried going back onto directv.com and making a new acct for discounts posing as a new sub.. it worked for me when ATT destroyed it
I got a big discount for returning.have you tried to call in and threaten to cancel and see how that works out??? have you tried going back onto directv.com and making a new acct for discounts posing as a new sub.. it worked for me when ATT destroyed it
A
, the deal breaker was id'e be stuck with an HR-54 and not an HS-17. and there's no more wired gemini's for new subs or that's what i was told. and billing and tech support is still in the ATT eco system
they offered me the new customer deals and a 300.00 prepaid visa to leave DISH along there were going to waive the 49.00 activation fee
, the deal breaker was id'e be stuck with an HR-54 and not an HS-17. and there's no more wired gemini's for new subs or that's what i was told. and billing and tech support is still in the ATT eco system
I just got a wired Gemini a few weeks ago. Also my bill comes from DIRECTV…not AT&T though I do understand not all peoples bill have been switched back to DIRECTV yet.they offered me the new customer deals and a 300.00 prepaid visa to leave DISH along there were going to waive the 49.00 activation fee
Personally, IF I ever went back with Sat, I would definitely take the HR54 ... but each set up is different from house to house, what works for you ... in reality, I would probably go streaming instead, as my needs have changed, I no longer need a portable recvr to use while camping.they offered me the new customer deals and a 300.00 prepaid visa to leave DISH along there were going to waive the 49.00 activation fee
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Cutting Edge
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....
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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