New Member, big saelilight, lots of questions

[TKainZero]

I moved into a new house and we have a HUGE 12 foot satellight dish in the backyard. My roomate wants to scrap it, i want to use it.

Where can i go locally and talk to people to learn about these.
Where can i BUY a Free to Air Reciever?

How can i broadcast signals?
I got a newer, smaller Direct TV satellight, is this better then the 12 foot behemoth in the back yard?
Can i use the 2 dishes to send a signal, bounce it off the moon, and recieve it on the other satellight?

I feel like this think has potential, and this is why i came here.

 

[rv1pop]

Welcome to SatelliteGuys! First answer, no do NOT scrape it! You would not get enough money to pay for you labor, and there are people in your area that will remove it for you, if you do not put it back in service.

Second, the Gold sponsors, listed near the top of the page are the SAFEST places to buy a FTA receiver. SatelliteAV is just up the HWY 99 from you just North of Sacramento.

Third, unless you are an amateur radio operator that is not legal and then even if you are the equipment is not designed to do EME contacts.

And, yes, that dish has great potential. It is not a direct replacement for "pay through the nose" TV, but for me, with the few OTA (antenna) TV stations I get FTA is enough.

Ooops, I missed question 2, I am not local, but there are a lot of people on this forum that will chat with you, on the forum.

 

[FaT Air]

I moved into a new house and we have a HUGE 12 foot satellight dish in the backyard. My roomate wants to scrap it, i want to use it.

Beautiful, post some pictures. Will work great for C Band FTA. May also be good at Ku.

Where can i go locally and talk to people to learn about these.

I think you're there. I.E. right here. There are some members in the western states also, maybe they'll stop in.(the thread)

Where can i BUY a Free to Air Reciever?

ebay sometimes has some decent used equipment for sale. SatelliteAV is a sponsor of the forum. Link on the top of the pages.

How can i broadcast signals?

Get licensed by the FCC. Either commercial or amateur.

I got a newer, smaller Direct TV satellight, is this better then the 12 foot behemoth in the back yard?

Most DISH or DIRECT dishes perform marginally on Ku FTA. Not at all on C band. Those services use much higher power satellites.

Can i use the 2 dishes to send a signal, bounce it off the moon, and recieve it on the other satellight?

Yes and No. With the proper license you can send a signal to the moon, but you will receive it direct from the moon, not a satellite. Search google for 'amatuer eme'.

I feel like this think has potential, and this is why i came here

Lots of potential. FTA.
Free Television Appreciation or Free To Air, FTA, is more a hobby, than a source of scheduled programming. You won't get the premium subscription channels you are used to via cable or the satellite providers, but there is a lot that they will get. If you're interested in watching news channels from across the globe, get many of the sub-channels carried on some local tv stations along with some channels aimed at countries to our south and more. Maybe even run across an interesting itinerant feed. Get a HD DVB-S2 receiver, LNBF and mover, and use that BUD (Big Useful Dish). GEOSATPRO microHD will be released soon. From all indications, it's going to be NICE. US support and warranty alone make it worth the purchase price.
I should add, there is a subscription service for the big dishes still available. Skyvision.com has the lowdown on the packages and the basic 4DTV receiver for it.

 

[rrob311]

The 12 foot dish should get you just about anything on Cband once you get it working. I would check to see if it is wired up still (a few pictures would tell everyone on here alot) and if it has an actuator arm you can find an older analog receiver and get it hooked up and start out by finding a satellite with an analog channel on it. (there are still several left) at that point once you have caught a "bird" you can hook up a newer receiver of your choice and blind scan whatever bird you caught where you will find even more channels to watch for free!

 

[KE4EST]

to SatelliteGuys Tkain! Yeah hook that baby up and start using it you will enjoy it.

 

[melgarga]

Pictures will tell the tale. If it is a mesh type or a spun aluminum, that's a good thing. If the dish surface is still in good shape, that's a plus. If it has an LNB, not LNA (post best detailed pics of the part in the center above the dish part) that's a good thing. If it has a cover over that center part, take care removing it. I've yet to remove a cover and not found wasp/hornet nests thriving inside.

IF the actuator arm and hardware are in usable condition that's a plus too. If the mounting pole is still plumb and still planted firmly in the ground that's also a plus. If it's a fiberglass dish it may not be properly equipped to be the best starting point to get into FTA.

EME work or transmitting of any sort is beyond what you've probably come across, and definitely beyond this forum. Visit the ARRL site for info on that hobby. You will need to become a licensed HAM radio operator to transmit virtually any signal anywhere.

If Free To Air TV and radio interests you, understand it is a hobby, and fills a hobbyists needs for TV. Can it be a useful source of TV programming...YES, but it is NOT an equal substitute for Dish Network or Direct TV type programming and plug and play use. Programming considered to be just one tier above basic cable are seldom available.

A good place to start is to invest in a Set Top Box (receiver) and a motorized Ku (band that uses the smaller type dish) setup. Lots of wiggle room here, scout around and ask questions. Although C band (requires larger dish) is older tech, most newcommers to this come from interest in Ku programming and later tackle the bit more complex aspects of setting up and maintaining a C band station. A few hundred dollars invested in a motorized turnkey Ku system is a wise choice, and the C band dish can be added to the mix with relative ease, presuming it is in usable condition.

Snap some pics and post them. We can tell you much more from there, but even if that one is not a worthy candidate, and you still want to check out the FTA hobby, by all means jump in. If you "get the bug" there are dishes out there that will work and can be had with a bit of searching. There are plenty of folks here that will do everything possible to encourage you and keep you on the right path.
Welcome to the forum.