New here.. need some help please

[blackhole]

Hello.. first time here trying to learn more but have a few questions for the gurus..
what i am trying to do is... i currently have directv and can't afford the monthly payments.. looking to x the directv.. i will be giving the box back but the dish will stay.
I have a 3 lnb setup and would like to setup 2 boxes one for each room.
What receiver do i need to buy and what software.

I say i might need 2 boxes since i might need to watch 2 different programs at the same time in different rooms...
I have been reading about neosat and viewsat.. local place has both prices from 89 bucks to 400 for different models.

I don't have a hd tv just an old tv that works fine, will i need an hd receiver so i can take advantage of hd when i one day buy a flat tv hd..

I know there are alot of questions but i need to start somewhere.. i have one more..

i guess i would need to buy a motor in order to hit a different satellite for international programming corrrect? Where to buy the motor.. the local guys don't have it..

Thank you very much in advance.

 

[Anole]

beginners list

The advertizers at the top of every page, sell reliable receivers, dishes, and LNBs.
They are a good place to start shopping.

The dish left on your house is of no real use for serious FTAing.
You'd be better off with a 36" (90cm) dish equipped with a proper LNB.

The receivers you mentioned are not the ones we would recommend.
They are what the hacker community promotes.
For receivers, I'd suggest from the following:
- Mercury II
- Visionsat IV-200 *
- Traxis 3500
- Pansat 3500sd

I'd suggest you start out with a single regular receiver, and learn it.
If you buy a bundle which includes a motor (a good idea), don't plan on installing the motor 'till you've had the receiver & dish working for a few weeks.
One step at a time.

Since you want to expand to two receivers, a wise choice for the LNB would be one with two outputs.
Examples are KUL2 @ Sadoun, or maybe the Invacom QPH-031

Here's a beginner's list of what's on FTA.
Once you get beyond that, you'll want to use our own TheList, as it has much more technical info.
And this is a list of what Equity Broadcasting has on its RTN satellite channels.


* acts as a PVR with the addition of an external USB hard drive.

 

[SatPhreak]

I mostly agree with Anole, except on the Veiwsat. I used to have one and it worked fine, except it doesn't have pvr like my visionsat does(but the visionsat has a slightly faster blind scan). The dish you have is no good for FTA. Try to get a 36" dish. I've used a 30" and upgraded to a 36" and the difference on low powered transponders is well worth the few extra bucks.

With a motor only 1 reciever can control what sat you are on and the other reciever can't. That makes it a pain in my opinion for a multi reciever system since if both are being used and you change sats the other will lose signal till you change to a channel on the same sat as the first one. If you can you can set up a fixed dish for whatever sat is used the most (G18 in my case) and also use a motorized for the other sats.

Remember that the channels you are going to get are not going to be the same as you would get with DTV/Dish or cable, but they are a lot cheaper(free).

 

[techno935]

If you decide to make this move, you will love it if you are a sports fan or if you wanna catch live events, news, award shows. Lots to learn! I knew nothing in the beginning. You will do the same. You will see why it's so much fun.

 

[Cadsulfide]

Hi, FTA works great if you have the time and patience to set it up. It's not a good deal if you don't have a DIY mentality. I bought a Fortec MercII from Sadoun and I'm very pleased with it. Linear lnb's are available from multiple vendors. Old superdishes can be modified, as well as old Primestar to accecpt new style linear lnb's. If you have limited space or a picky wife a dish motor is a good investment. If you're really crazy, and have the space, a dish array allows you to fiind all kinds of FTA signals out there. Do a lot of reading before spending a lot of $$$. Good luck!

 

[blackhole]

Thank you very much for the very helpful information. Being new to the site and to what i am trying to accomplish i really appreciate the help. Just as i have helped newbies at other sites what i frequent.
I will certainly look at all the suggestions and see what will work for me best.
Thanks again.