Dish 500 no go with Viewsat PVR7000?

[CenterFreq]

Although the local dealer assured me that this combination would work, the support tech at ViewsatUSA.com told me that there is no way I can get FTA programs this way. He told me to go back to my (former) dealer and get a dish of at least 30 inches, and a linear LNB. Will that work? Why don't I just spend some more and get a 70 inch dish... is bigger better? Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[lumpkin666]

Bigger is normally better. However, before unloading more of your cash, make sure you know what you're getting into. If you were planning on using that dish500, you may have been chasing after the wrong type of "FTA"... being the type that is illegal and not truly FTA at all. a 30 inch dish will get you tons of free programming - check out thelist.satelliteguys.us to see what you can get with that 30 inch dish. If that's what you're looking for, then go for it! If not, take that receiver back to the dealer and then call dishnetwork and report him.

 

[CenterFreq]

He is my former dealer. I went back with one of my sons and the guy seemed surprised to hear that I was trying to get FTA. He told me that he used exactly the same combination, but for "a whole other purpose". When I asked him what he uses it for, if not FTA, he repeated the same phrase, "I use it for a whole other purpose." Outside the store, my son and I agreed to cut our losses, because the receiver seemed to be working. We have never seen any TV program but something out there shows up as 77% S. No Q. Since the dish only cost us $45.00, we put it back in the car and left that bum. Some day we will figure out some way to use a Dish 500 kit, but we are at the bottom of what looks to be a long learning curve. We are still excited to figure out FTA, because we have never been on cable or satellite... just TV with an old-fashioned antenna. Thanks for pointing me to that list. I will check it out.

 

[Anole]

Well, usually 36 inch dishes don't cost much more than 30's, and generally no more to ship, I recommend those.
But everything lumpkin said above is worth repeating...

What sort of programming are you looking for?
We get a handful of new visitors every week. (right here in the FTA section)
Some are looking for foreign language for their parents, wife, or self.
Some are looking for news or sports feeds.
Some live with no local TV stations and would be happy with NBC/CBS/ABC/FOX/MY, etc.
There really lots of choices on legit FTA, that have nothing to do with stealing service from Dish Network. ("that other purpose")
If those interest you, we can help ya out. :up


While TheList lumpkin gave above will become your holy grail, this simplified site might give you a taste of what's around to be seen.
Then please check out the great old TV shows Equity Broadcasting offers their RTN stations, all on one satellie.

 

[Lak7]

A Dish 500 will not give decent, if any, reception for FTA.
It's only used for subscription services, it's a different technology.
You could try and sell the Dish 500 and recoup some of your money and reinvest it into a Linear LNB, 80 or 90 cm Dish and Motor.
You may also consider a Digital Tuner Add-On for your TV:
www.dtv2009.gov

 

[CenterFreq]

Thank you guys for your help so far.
Anole, to answer your question about what programming we are looking for: We are a family of 5 that have never had cable or satellite, even though as we have moved around the US, there always seemed to be a satellite dish left behind from some previous homeowner. Once it was a huge dish, I would guess greater than 8 feet across. Usually it's much smaller with a logo like DishNet on it. Our present home in Sin City came equipped with two dishes; one in the back yard, bigger than 8 feet across, and one on the edge of the roof, small, with the name DirectTV on it. Anyway, I stumbled across an FTA website last March, although I now believe it was more than just FTA, but I couldn't understand what was being discussed. I then looked up FTA in Wikipedia and got all excited about it. Maybe my wife could finally see the two weak stations, FOX and NBC.
I would like to see news & weather, just about any science programming, and maybe old movies. My wife is mainly looking for old TV shows like Matlock, and Perry Mason. My kids would rather watch Japanese cartoons and any kind of sports shows. That would be great for us.

 

[Anole]

Lots of choices for ya.

See link to RTN in my previous post. That should keep your wife happy with old TV series.
RTN stations are on the 123° bird.
So, you might setup a dish for 123°, then add an extra LNB to get Whitesprings on 129°.
Whitesprings has really old movies, and a pretty strong signal so aiming at it with your best dish isn't usually a priority.
Bad news is, that's the only listed FTA channel on that particular bird.

If you'll get the name off that 8' dish out back, and post some pictures of it, we might be able to talk you into getting active on C-band. -
Everything is possible, when you are a SatelliteGuy.

And don't throw away those old DirecTV and Dish Network dishes 'n LNBs.
Keep 'em in your garage, and eventually we'll get around to some NASA for your scientific interest.
Think the same satellite has one FTA religious channel, if ya care .

edit:
Eventually, you might start thinking of a motor to move the little dish.
To keep it simple and get you started, let's put off installing one, even if you buy a dish+motor kit.
I'm thinking if you and your wife share one FTA receiver in the living room, and the kids fight over another one elsewhere in the house, ya might want to plan for dual-output LNBs from the beginning.
Of course, that is also a small complication so whatever it takes to get you some TV immediately, that's the right direction to go.

 

[CenterFreq]

I can't thank you enough for all of this info. We were beginning to think that FTA was a myth, despite its being listed in Wikipedia. I will take a picture of that big dish tomorrow in the daylight and post it for your inspection. Until joining this website, I thought that those huge old dishes were no longer used... just abandonned in people's back yards.
But now back to our smaller dish problem: we have a brand new receiver in the living room, two wires running up to the edge of the roof, and a short mast with no dish. I understand now that we are dealing with what is called the "Ku Band". So what is the largest size dish I can use, and from whom do I order it?

 

[Tron]

For Ku-Band reception, a minimum 30 inch dish is required. There's no real "maximum size", many broadcasters use 6 foot and larger dishes just for Ku. The larger the dish, the more reliable the signal will be, especially in bad weather. Ku-Band is especially sensitive to bad weather, due to the high frequencies it uses. Shipping costs are very high on dishes larger than 90 CM (about 36 inches), but if you can find an old Primestar (defunct Ku satellite service) dish in your area, you can usually get them cheap or even for free.

For C-Band reception, a minimum 6 foot dish is required, the larger the better. Your 8 foot dish should work well for C-Band, if you want to use it. C-Band is not as sensitive to bad weather, so the signal will hold up better under rainy conditions.

There are lots of great things to see on both Ku and C-Band

 

[CenterFreq]

Okay, I'll get some sleep now and tomorrow I'll check around for one of those Primestar dishes. Tron, you must be way, WAY into satellite, because its probably 2:30 in the morning in your neck of the woods. I wonder if that will happen to me?
Thank you for the info... I now have a new mission!

 

[Anole]

another thought . . .

Take some pictures of those abandoned DirecTV and/or Dish Network dishes ya got.
There may be some LNBs or other parts we could rescue and reuse.

Certain models (they're generally oval) approach 36" in width, and while I'd still recommend you get a proper dish, one of these might make a good side dish for some other bird.
The more we know, the more we can help. - :up

Also, take a few hundred hours and sift through the posts here in the FTA section (and our sub forums).
Or, if you know of a specific thing you want to learn more about, you can try Advanced Search, restricting your search to the FTA forums, and maybe find something.

 

[Tron]

Tron, you must be way, WAY into satellite, because its probably 2:30 in the morning in your neck of the woods. I wonder if that will happen to me?

Ah, yes, I almost forgot:

*WARNING* FTA can be profoundly addictive

 

[CenterFreq]

I have taken 5 photos of the big dish out back. How do I insert them into a reply? (and thanks for the *warning*)

 

[turbosat]

Hit New Reply and scroll down to where it says Manage attachments. That'll let you pick them off your computer and upload them.

 

[CenterFreq]

photos of the dish out back

Thanks turbosat!

Here (attached) are 5 photos of the dish out back, requested by anole. Note the brand name Laser can clearly be seen in the 3rd photo. In the 5th, I zoomed in for some detail, but I don't have a clue what I'm looking at. It is too high up for me to measure, but I think that it is more than 6 feet wide.

 

[gabshere]

a Big Useful Dish now that will probably work for FTA
if i was to guess i would say 7 1/2 fter

what would be neat is just hook the Viewsat PVR7000 up to the coax from this big dish & setup to scan c-band freq (5150) and see if it finds any just the way it is

and welcome to the group and the world of FTA

EDIT: and if i had to guess i'ld say its pointed at 125W Galaxy 14 but thats just a guess

 

[voomvoom]

Nice looking dish. Looking at the actuator, I see it's set up for the Eastern Arc.

 

[Anole]

Nice pictures of the BUD. Thanks for posting.

I think I would suggest refocusing on the 36" dish for now.
Get some TV going for the family.

Then, as you get a better understanding of FTA (and acquaint yourself with the BUD section), maybe grow into using the big dish.
Because, getting it going as your first project is a bit daunting for a newbie.

edit: and this is in no way a discouragement from the suggestion above to hook up to it and see what you get!
If it's parked on a good bird, you might be pleased!

 

[CenterFreq]

Is that even possible?? Just hook the PVR7000 directly to that monster and maybe I can see something? I would have to figure out how to "scan c-band freq (5150)" but I did see something about scanning in the manual. First I will need to find out just where the coax goes... maybe it even reaches into the house. No telling how long ago it was abandonned.

voomvoom, does Eastern Arc refer to some satellites that are truly in the Eastern sky? East of where?? We are located in Southern Nevada, and it looks to me like this dish is aiming a little bit Southwest of here.

 

[gabshere]

i was just guessing but it also might already be configured for c & ku


there are several coaxes going to the feedhorn but i think this was a common installation method.

but if it does have both c & ku you would just need a way to move the dish

EDIT:
yes its possible

if the coax entered it probably entered into a main room or den and could be hid behind a blank outlet and should have several wires (or ribbon cable) unless it was pulled back into the attic space.
good luck