an old guy has some questions.....

[rbig]

I moved to a town in north carolina. All that's available seems to be satellite tv.

With that being said, does FTA give us enough channels to watch the following:

english news (fox, CNBC, NBC, etc)
house hunting
sy fi
any local stations

It may be that FTA will give us plenty of channels, and that is our gain.

We have the dish that was there, and in use previously. We have several boxes, too.

Should I hook 'em up and give it the old college try?

If I have problems, is there help available out in the local community? Who would I go to?

I am not technically oriented, nor do I have the terms used yet. Will certainly appreciate any help.

 

[Anole]

You might post the names on the boxes (brand and model), as well as any name on the dish.
Maybe the size of the dish? Or a picture of the dish?
If it's DirecTV or Dish Network dish, it's unlikely to get any FTA as-is. Not 100% impossible, but not likely (99%).

For the technical part of getting the right hardware and hooking up a simple system, that info is here on the forum, and we can help.

It isn't likely there is anyone local who can help, but you never know.
If there are a lot of real FTA dishes installed in the neighborhood (as around here), it might suggest a large immigrant population, who is well served by a local installer.
Even if much of his work is for Spanish/Korean/Vietnamese/whatever customers, he might be just the ticket, if you want to have a professional install.

 

[Tron]

There's plenty of news programming available FTA. You won't get any cable channels such as SyFy on a regular basis (you might pick up occasional feeds). FTA signals are usually satellite feeds that are not meant for consumers, but rather are aimed at broadcasters and cable systems. What we receive FTA are the same signals the large dishes you see at television stations are receiving. As such, channels come and go all the time. There are many "permanent" channels, but the real fun comes in feed hunting. We can receive the transmissions from TV news trucks, live feeds of breaking news events, and many other interesting programs. There's always something to watch.

As for the equipment, Dish Network or DirecTV receivers are useless. The dishes are almost always useless, unless you happen to have a larger model such as the Dish Network Superdish or the DirecTV International dish. Receivers used by Dish and DirecTV are tailored to receive those services, and will not work other signals. Their dishes are also designed for the high-powered circular signal that DirecTV and Dish Network use. To receive FTA signals, you'll need a large dish (at least 30 inches for Ku-Band, 6 feet for C-Band) and a DVB FTA receiver.

Aiming the larger dish is a little touchier than aiming a DirecTV or Dish Network dish, but it's still not that hard to do. If you decide FTA is right for you, there are many members here to guide you through the process. Welcome to SatelliteGuys!

 

[rbig]

OK. I think it's time to get rid of what I have, and get new stuff.

What is the right package to get here, that can give me maybe more than one satellite? Motorized thing might do. If I have the equipment to get more than one satellite, that might optimize what I can get.

Is there something that tell me what general area to point the dish in, and then is there a way of "fine tuning" where it points?

Once I get started in viewing, are there master directories available that, to some extent, tell us where things are?

 

[TimLones111]

Hello rbig:
Welcome..

The best bet is to check out the sponsors listed above, especially Galaxy Marketing, Satellite AV and WS International..They are most likely to have good packages..Another company, Sadoun out of Columbus, Ohio set me up with my system a couple years ago and was very helpful to me.As far as dish-pointing, there are places for help with that..And others on here will be a big help..I still feel like a newbie here at times..Good liuck to you..

 

[hwm]

Once I get started in viewing, are there master directories available that, to some extent, tell us where things are?"

Yes. See The List linked to below.

SatelliteGuys.US_TheList - TheList

In my experience, to get enough English language FTA satellite TV channels to make it worthwhile, you will need a C-band dish (Big Ugly Dish aka BUD).

There are only a few good English language channels on Ku, and some intermittent feeds.

If you can get high-speed internet, check out the TV shows and movies available over the internet.

I have tried the Netflix service on the internet at a friends house, and if we could get high speed internet without monthly data limits where I live, I would sign up with Netflix tomorrow, or maybe even later today.

There are many other sources for TV over IP, most of them free. Check the network TV websites and hulu.com for a start.

With that being said, does FTA give us enough channels to watch the following:

english news (fox, CNBC, NBC, etc)
house hunting
sy fi
any local stations

English news, yes. Al Jazeera, CNBC and MSNBC feeds, ABC NewsNow, China, Russia, and a few other English news channels are available.

House hunting, probably not.

Sy fy channel, no.

Local stations, a few, but very unlikely they will be local to you.

 

[hd fan]

if house hunting means sporting hunting like deers and wild turkeys i think montana PBS , lousiana pbs , oaklahoma pbs on ku 125w carry at least one show on it. there was also a hunting 24/7 outdoor channel in 121w c band i think but not sure if still available.

for whats up there , then the list here as mentioned, lyngsat.com , mike khol global communication list and ricks satellite lists are usuful places. there are also others.

you did not say what you had so i assume it is dish/direct tv for your comment about getting rid off it but it could be that the dish is large enough for ku like the super dish i think. anything in the 75/80/90 cm is good for ku.

for news, 24/7 , there is al jazeera, rusia today, abc newsnow, CCTV news, press tv, others channels like nhk world , dw, some bbc news on pbs montana, pbs news show.

for syfi and even premium channels with a 6 footer you could subscribe (cheaply and even on monthly basis no contracts) to what was called 4dtv now called hits to home or W5 or X4 ,see section 4dtv on this forum.

for local tv maybe an outdoor vhf/uhf antenna for the new digital tv would be better for you depending how far from the major city you live.

for technical help and info , well , no better place than here.

for whats up there even temporary signals like feeds or backhauls then ricks satellite wildfeeds.

in any case as has been proved before once you see it your hooked for life , lol. enjoy it.

 

[freezy]

What kind of dish and box did they leave behind?