Can anyone help me with a few questions?

[Randy1]

Im new to fta. I want to order a system. But after much research on the web, I am a little confused as to what I need.

-receiver
-dish
-lnb's
-motor

I would love to be able...
- to pick up as many stations as I can
- be able to record a show while watching another
- a system that has blind scan and anything else that would make it easy for me to operate.

Thanks,

Randy

 

[Lak7]

What do you plan on watching?

 

[Randy1]

My children love american idol. I love the news and college football and my wife loves movies.

 

[turbosat]

Randy, some simple facts first. Free to air has a lot to offer, once you learn where everything is, on what satellite , etc. Secondly, all the cable stuff is scrambled, as satellite-delivery of that programming is intended for paying customers and cable systems, most of it we cannot subscribe to, even if we wanted to. That said, there are satellite receivers that will allow you to subscribe to many of the reg cable-system channels.Google "4DTV" or search our forum for it. Just depends on how bad you want to see CNN or FoxNews or Cinemax. We have access to many news feeds, and several news channels, many network channels from the US networks and others. Check out The List, link at top of page and look through some of the satellites to see what some offer. Many of us watch Galaxy 18 at 123West, there's 2 or 3 Fox channels from diff cities, My-TV network, some independents like AMG-TV, and THISTV which shows movies. (sorry, no first run movies there). All free. Just buy a dish, a receiver and dish-motor for the most variety. Even more channels are avail with a big C-band dish (6-10' dish like you saw in the 80's). Hope this helps for a start.
edited to add : And Yes, the ball games are usually up there someplace, sometimes they are scrambled, usually not, and sometimes in HD or weird formats that require special equipment to view, but the majority of sports can usually be found. Maybe not who you want to watch every time, but I'm hardly ever bored for a lack of sports programming.
2nd edit: Also, read this FAQ:
http://www.satelliteguys.us/fta-mpeg2-faqs/18652-ive-got-fta-setup-now-what-can-i-pick-up.html

 

[Randy1]

edited to add : And Yes, the ball games are usually up there someplace, sometimes they are scrambled, usually not, and sometimes in HD or weird formats that require special equipment to view, but the majority of sports can usually be found. Maybe not who you want to watch every time, but I'm hardly ever bored for a lack of sports programming.

Thanks! but what special equipment would i need for the weird formats

 

[Randy1]

What do you think about this receiver?

Hey,

I thought this would be a good receiver to start with. What do you all think? pros/cons

Viewsat 7000 PVR

 

[AcWxRadar]

Im new to fta. I want to order a system. But after much research on the web, I am a little confused as to what I need.

-receiver
-dish
-lnb's
-motor

I would love to be able...
- to pick up as many stations as I can
- be able to record a show while watching another
- a system that has blind scan and anything else that would make it easy for me to operate.

Thanks,

Randy

Randy,

I call myself AcWxRadar, but you can call me "Gordy" as that is my real name. The AcWxRadar stands for Aircraft Weather Radar. I worked as a RADAR technician for a FBO a few years back and I repaired the weather radar on many small aircraft such as Lear Jets.

Because of my past background in this area I have some neat little toys and information that helps with satellite TV. Weather RADAR used frequencies in the same realm as satellite television.

Here is some information that you will find interesting...

Weather RADAR utilizes a transmit frequency of roughly 9 GigaHerz. At this frequency, the signal won't pass through liquid water (or rain) so the signal is reflected back to the transmitter and received as an echo and can be used to map the cloud or storm.

To produce such a frequency, the RADAR system utilizes a magnetron. Which is almost the same device that is used within a microwave oven to cook your food. So do not stand in front of any aircraft while the radar unit is turned ON because it will cook your hotdog. You know what happens to a hotdog in a microwave oven, don't let this happen to your pal!

For satellite TV, if you increase the frequency to 12-18 GigaHerz, then the signal will pass through the water vapor and clouds more readily. This is Ku Band (or Kurtz Unter - German for just below the Kurtz or "K" band RADAR signal).

If you decrease the signal, to somewhere near 3 to 6 GigaHerz (C-Band), then the water vapor will not reflect the signal either. The signals will pass through the water vapor (clouds and rain) more readily, too.

I thought that you might find this information amusing.

I would like to tell you what I use for my satellite equipment and you may research it further to determine what you would like to get for yourself.

Receiver: Coolsat 5000
Motor: PowerTech DG-280
LNBF: Invacom QPH-031
Dish: Winegard DS-2076

You will not be able to get a new Coolsat 5000 because this model has been discontinued as well as the 4000 and 6000 models, but you may find anyone of these on E-Bay for a very nice price.

If you are going to buy something new, use the specs on these Coolsat models to refine your search.

The Winegard DS-2076 dish is a 76 cm dish, but don't let the size fool you. It can compare to many 90-100 cm dishes. The design makes it better. So don't compare the overall size, look at the total specifications (affective apperture and gain).

The Invacom QPH-031 LNBF is top of the line. There are lots of LNBFs available on the market today, but the QPH-031 is probably the best.

The PowerTech DG-280B motor is like a big brother to the SG-2100. I have both and several of each. There is nothing wrong with either. I just prefer the DG-280B personally.

I am very confident with my equipment and I will put it up against anything else in the same band (Ku). I still like to play with other equipment and experiment, but you just cannot beat this setup! Price, functionality and ease, it is probably the best system for a novice or a pro.

You have to do your own research on this, so do not take my words as anything Gospel. But, I think that you will find that many people agree.

Radar

 

[Randy1]

Thanks! I just needed to get a quick fix solution so I can order. You helped me so much. Btw, can I use a pvr reciever with this system? One like the viewsat 7000.

 

[AcWxRadar]

Thanks! I just needed to get a quick fix solution so I can order. You helped me so much. Btw, can I use a pvr reciever with this system? One like the viewsat 7000.

Randy,

As far as a PVR unit goes... I kinda made my own long before they ever came out with a PVR receiver for FTA. I use two Coolsat 5Ks with a mirrored system and switch setup. One 5K controls the motor and gets to search the channels on the fixed point dishes, the other 5K is set up to record what I decide onto a DVD recorder that has a HDD to store the event. I can record to the HDD and edit the movie or game later and then burn it to a DVD.

I won't recommend this recorder to you as it has crapped out on me several times and the last time it happened I got totally fed up with it and threw it against the wall! Ha Ha!

I guess I better tell you what this device was so that you don't buy one on the used market. They have discontinued them, so you won't get a new one. It was a Lite-On product, HD-A760GX.

Don't get one! They work ok for about 11 months and then something craps out in the DVD reader and so you cannot transfer your movies and shows or games to a disc. Like a dummy, I tried two of these units and both failed the same way.

Radar

 

[turbosat]

Randy1 you can benefit from reading everything on this fta forum-you need to do a lot of reading to understand the terms, the equipment used, whats reported to be working well and what isn't.(Most of us are not afraid to relate what we think is junk and what isn't, haha)
Viewsat receivers are only average for blindscanning, I've got one but not the PVR model. Some of them , I have read in places, do not work at all for the PVR function--the hardware may be there but the firmware provided doesn't make it work. Click on the sponsors above, Sadoun and SatelliteAV, GoSatellite, they all have lots of equipment for sale, or entire systems. Post back here when you find something interesting and somebody will have an opinion on it. I like Radar's idea myself, a standalone solution.
On your sports feeds, I find at least half of them lately are High def signals, these ordinary fta boxes will only give you audio on those. Their are a few HD-FTA boxes out there but few that are reliable. The Coolsats, 8000, 8100 seem to be highly favored for HD but they don't have blind-scan. So users here will have a regular SD blindscan box to find the feeds, and enter them into their HD box. You can also find computer-card fta receivers that will do HD signals, and those nasty 4.2.2 video signals, which is one of those weird signals I mentioned.

 

[Randy1]

will coolsat 8100 do the 4.4.2 signals?

 

[phlatwound]

will coolsat 8100 do the 4.4.2 signals?

Randy, the Coolsat 8100 will not do 4:2:2.

The Quali-Tv is the only settop receiver that I know of (besides high-$ commercial units) that will display 4:2:2. But it has it's own limitations, there just doesn't seem to be an all-in-one solution at this time.

As turbosat mentioned, another 4:2:2 option is the computer-based cards. There is a forum here that is devoted to FTA reception using computers, I try to follow the discussions there but that's a whole 'nother world, not recommended for greenhorns like us as a place to start.

What little I know about this great hobby I picked up here at this forum, from the wise and generous folks that hang out here, and by reading the FAQ's, equipment reviews and old threads.

I can also say, if you are purchasing new gear, that it's hard to go wrong dealing with SatAv and Sadoun, they are Sat Guys Sponsors, with links @ top of each page. I have dealt with both more than once, and they both sell equipment that is meant for true FTA use. Check their products out and you should get a feel for what might be a good place to start.

 

[Anole]

For standard definition PVRs, check our Review Department.
I have the Visionsat IV-200.
Another newer unit is the GeoSatPro DVR 1100c.

There is no one, best, ultimate receiver.
Many are very good, but they all have trade-offs.
So, I would suggest you get a decent one to start with and get your feet wet.
Only then will you be in the position to decide which higher priced unit to get...
... or a computer-based solution.

 

[Tron]

Second recommendation for the Visionsat IV-200. They have been discontinued (I believe), but many are still available on E-Bay. Pretty decent blind scan, and one little added feature that really comes in handy... They can RECORD HD channels. While you will NOT be able to VIEW them on the receiver, since its output is in standard definition only, it will record the HD stream to your attached hard drive or USB stick* for playback on your PC or other HD media player. Here is a thread with more information on the topic.

* For HD recording, a hard drive is highly recommended due to the high data rate of the HD stream. I tried recording PBS-HD on my Visionsat with a USB stick and the resulting recording was broken up (the write speed of the stick was too slow). I then tried to use a USB SDHC card reader with a Class 4 SDHC card, and that worked. Moral of the story, if you use flash memory on a PVR, use at least Class 4 speed.