Cheapest FTA receiver ever?

Toggle sidebar
Status
Please reply by conversation.
V

V_H

Well-Known SatelliteGuys Member
Original poster
Mar 19, 2006
33
1
Today I was searching Ebay to see if there is any new models of FTA receiver with OTA ATSC tuner. Did not find any but did ran across a listing of an X2 M1 for $22.75 shipped.

This is the lowest price for a new receiver that I have ever seen and the shipping is even free. I think I've paid more just for the shipping one of my previous receivers.

Note that I am definitely not recommending this for anyone since this is as bare bone a receiver as you can get. No S2, no HDMI. In fact the only output is RCA analog out, no component or even S-Video. I don't know why anyone even make a receiver without HDMI. The only reason I could think why I would even consider getting this is if I buy a stack of these to feed to modulators to redistribute in-house. But even for that purpose, it lacks the LNB loop through connector for daisy-chain them.
 
V_H said:
Today I was searching Ebay to see if there is any new models of FTA receiver with OTA ATSC tuner. Did not find any but did ran across a listing of an X2 M1 for $22.75 shipped.

This is the lowest price for a new receiver that I have ever seen and the shipping is even free. I think I've paid more just for the shipping one of my previous receivers.

Note that I am definitely not recommending this for anyone since this is as bare bone a receiver as you can get. No S2, no HDMI. In fact the only output is RCA analog out, no component or even S-Video. I don't know why anyone even make a receiver without HDMI. The only reason I could think why I would even consider getting this is if I buy a stack of these to feed to modulators to redistribute in-house. But even for that purpose, it lacks the LNB loop through connector for daisy-chain them.
Click to expand...

Lol!!

Yup that's pretty darn cheap. Some members bought the X2 S2 model for $50 and are very happy with it.
 
It's junk unless you have a PAL TV. It can support both PAL and NTSC, but you need to have a PAL TV to see the menus to change it to NTSC, which kind of defeats the purpose. I'm returning the one I bought to Amazon. All I've been able to do is use it to power a cheapo satellite finder to try to aim my dish (it's pointed at SOMETHING...)
 
There were some receivers I got years ago for free to do a review.....I think I paid too much for them for what little they did ;)
(they mainly were designed to steal so any real use of FTA was not much. Some actually had decent motor control but that was it)
 
I think the cheapest one I ever bought was a used Traxis 3500 for 35bucks. Amazing little box when there wasn't much HD out there, and faster than lightning on a scan.
But mine, even with the latest firmware was almost unusable for any scanning-anytime it scanned in a HD signal it would lock up so tight you had to unplug it.
 
Best deal ever for me?

2 Visionsat receivers for $5 & $7 respectively....

also had 3 receivers for under $50 shipped....Coolsat 5000, Pansat 2500 and a BEC 6600. This is before DVB-S2 was out (OK it was out but there werent really any channels yet)
 
Iceberg said:
Best deal ever for me?

2 Visionsat receivers for $5 & $7 respectively....
Click to expand...
Yea, those are/were outstanding receivers.
But I thought you had a Coolsat 5000 tattoo. ;)

I have a couple of each receiver.
Was thinking of combining one or the other with a too-small-dish and making a nostalgia system. :)
Possibly for some upcoming LNBF tests.

There's still plenty on 97w to entertain a lot of people without spending much. ;)
Possibly as a give-away system.
 
I won't buy any more junk. Each piece of junk has its quirks and when you add up the quirks from all the interconnected junk - you're troubleshooting instead of watching tv.
 
Iceberg said:
Best deal ever for me?

2 Visionsat receivers for $5 & $7 respectively....

also had 3 receivers for under $50 shipped....Coolsat 5000, Pansat 2500 and a BEC 6600. This is before DVB-S2 was out (OK it was out but there werent really any channels yet)
Click to expand...
But those were used. Most of us here know that periodically you can usually pick up really cheap receiver from pirates who gave up after a major Dish anti-piracy countermeasure. When I ran across that listing I tried to guess how much it cost the seller per unit to be able to sell it at that price and still receive some profit. I estimated it to be $12 and that seems amazing. I don't know anything about the shipping or ebay cost or profit margin so the guess is completely uneducated.

Later I went to Alibaba and it seems that it cost from $6.99 - $9.99 per unit with a minimum quatity of 1000 plus whatever the shipping cost and whatever other fees involved. http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/478840896/The_best_mini_free_to_air.html
 
My old Fortec dynamic wasnt cheap four years ago. I still love it for lining up a dish. The signal beep feature allowed me to line up a dish fast. Cheapest deal i got was a 30" dish, lnb,and dvb receiver for 99 bucks new..my first setup
 
I added channels to 3 x2 Low cost receivers over the last weekend and let one run for 7-10 hours. these dvb-s units are about $23 including shipping and are quirky to program. I seem to be able to get both tv and radio fta programs fine sending signal with rca cables to my LCD tv. Stephen P Harden Wenatchee. Wa.
 
I ordered one of these as a "How low $ can you go?" experiment.

For about $80, I cobbled together a new, working Galaxy 19 system:
Winegard DS 2076 $44.97 + $19.30 shipping
X2 M1 DVB-s Receiver $22.45
X2 LNB, $6.45
25' RG6 coax, $7.10

Total cost, $80.97

All parts were bought on Amazon.

The X2? Not a bad deal. So it's not HD, so is most everything on G19. It lacks fancy features, but IT WORKS. Most people that want a basic system for Galaxy 19 would be happy with it. If I had a large foreign language speaking population nearby, I could sell this setup installed for about 200+ bucks 'til the cows come home.
 
Last edited:
Some of us ham radio operators are setting up our own digital TV stations, and one relatively inexpensive way to do so is with DVB-S equipment (but on land, not through satellites). $25 a receiver means we could get a lot of people watching our signals locally.
 
What frequencies are used?

Is this broadcast service licensed?

What transmission power and antenna gain are permitted? Range? Polarity?

What is the programming source and content?
 
Any Broadcast is illegal on the ham bands!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
I thinK A5 is legal on 1296 MHz, but that's analog. (Interesting frequency, though...eh?)


Wonder where we could get a DVB-S modulator, and what band would permit enough bandwidth for a quality signal?
That slow-scan %*€£ is for the birds. :)
 
Status
Please reply by conversation.

Similar threads

R
Is FTA still a thing
Replies
8
Views
786
comfortably_numb
comfortably_numb
S
Receiver setup trouble
Replies
11
Views
728
Brct203
B
S
AMIKO FTA Receiver / Equipment Support
Replies
2
Views
1K
FTA Receiver / Equipment Support
KE4EST
KE4EST
K
FTA Satellite Channels
Replies
6
Views
2K
dael
D
T
Tips for Installing FTA Dish with GTMedia Receiver and LNB
Replies
1
Views
1K
a33
A

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 0, Members: 0, Guests: 0)

Who Read This Thread (Total Members: 1)

Share this page

Share this page
Top
Back