New To FTA need some help

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royamay

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Nov 21, 2013
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I'm a brand new to the satellite world well I've had directv for about 8 years. last month I got laid off I had to put my DTV on hold till I find another Job. So i was looking up to see if i can get Local channels using Satellite because I'm a techie. While searching I Found out about FTA. It sounds like Fun so far though, I've made 2 mistakes and hope to not make a 3rd. I ordered a oceansat ex-5500 FTA receiver from Oceansatellites website for $28. along with the brightek technologies ku LNB .05db for $4.79 The site looked legit at first but after some research I went back (pic of receiver dos not match the description and when you click on the pic for close up u get a whole different receiver) I have not received it yet. looks like shipping is going to be slow. I also found a new in box huth 2000 FTA reciever at goodwill for $7. looks like that was not a smart move either. I'm going to pick up a fortec star 40" dish with motor and lnb and 2 mounts tomorrow that I found on Craigslist for 45 dollars (is this good?) and would like to know what a good starter receiver would be that I don't have to spend a lot of money on.
 
Assuming you can't stop what is coming to you, I suggest you stop buying for now. Gather all together, install the dish and see what you can receive. 40" is a good-sized dish that should allow you to receive satellites if installed correctly. The good thing about picking up the Craigslist dish is you avoid shipping costs. You don't say where you are located so we can't suggest if OTA (over-the-air) TV reception is possible. OTA is how you might be able to receive local channels.
 
Welcome to the forum! As suggested, try to setup what you have, to see what works. FTA will give you lots of free channels, but not your local tv stations-your best bet for those will be an outdoor tv antenna. Depending on how close you are to the transmitters, you may not need much of an antenna. Tvfool website can help with basics. One of the cheapest receivers for fta right now is the X2 PremiumHD for about 55bucks, find those on amazon or ebay, it will control your dish motor, blind-scan for new channels, and record to USB drive if you like to record. Post any further questions, we are glad to help. And, good luck on your job search!
 
Portland has lots of OTA local TV stations. I suspect you can get several stations even with only an indoor antenna. But FTA satellite will enrich that experience by giving you access to lots more stations, in particular international channels. Forget DirecTV. You won't need it anymore if you grab the OTA and FTA channels that are all available to you at no charge other than hardware costs.
 
well I received my box from oceansatelite he shipped it with the wrong name. Did not get the LNB and shipped the wrong switch however I was able to receive Galaxy 19 253 channels and a few other satellites as well I picked up CNN on galaxy 18 I liked that. and Thank You A Raine
 
Advice to newbie

Only thing I can add to this as a recent newbie is to read. Read lots.
If at all possible don't permanently mount the dish unless you have an absolute clear view of the sky aiming southish. You will want to be sure any trees or buildings don't obstruct the satellites you intend to watch so you may have to move the dish around to get the max reception of satellites. (Had to move mine 8 ft left to avoid tall chimney inline with one I wanted). Once you get the physical setup ready, check this and other sites to get the most recent transponder frequency to search the sky for a particular satellite. You can waste hours and hours searching with the wrong LNB and/or old frequency information.
Perhaps a seasoned user here could provide a list from their STB (set top box) of the strongest transponder frequency for each FTA satellite to use for initial aiming.
 
Strong Transponders on Ku

Here's a start. This is a list of transponders that I would try to aim at for some of the satellites.
 

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Thank you for the list cyberham! So my issue with it was Im using a motorized dish and did not read the part where the pole had to be exactly level once I leveled the pole I hit about 8 satellites and lots of channels except some satellites I am only receiving about 17 to 25 percent but the receiver says locked should i worry ?
 
.....except some satellites I am only receiving about 17 to 25 percent but the receiver says locked should i worry ?
Worry - no, but you may want to improve.
You will not get a 100% Quality reading, and every device will show a different reading, but I would guess there is room for improvement.
The weaker the Quality, the quicker weather will degrade the signal.
 
The crochet hook sounds useful. In analog days, I used a dinner fork since the fork tines perfectly aligned with the screw terminals on the Antenna In connector intended for 300 ohm twin lead. If you're in the city, you probably don't need much of an antenna to receive some OTA. I agree with Manitobamike's comment about holding off on a permanent dish mounting until you know the best spot for your dish on your property. Ease of access to a motorized dish is critical to allow for tweaking in future. Difficult to access roof mounts are good for fixed subscription TV dishes, but I much prefer down on the ground on a short pole, if at all possible. Attach the dish to a stable but moveable wooden pallet and you've got a Satellite TV Laboratory.
 
I did use OTA my buddy had an old antanna lying around. I hooked it up and got all my local channels acctually about 30 channels including HSN and QVC. lol I also got got a better still not so good reciever but cheap its a sonicview sv4000 for $40 on Craigslist. which picked up more channels then ever and uses usals thats a nice feature it came with an ihub to connect my reciever to the intenret but i dont see the point of that I suposidly should be able to get msmbc acording to some satelite list but have not had success connecting to the dish even though I should be able to according to there site. and also moved my dish around i don't have much room I live an apartment lower floor 3 story and building in front of me. but my porch has view to southern sky very limited but i pick up quite a bit.
 
You may want to visit Dishpointer.com. This site will greatly help you point your dish in the right direction, show any obstructions in your line of sight etc. It actually draws a line from your location to any sat. I use it all the time.

Have fun and lots of patience goes a long way.
 
I can't get MSNBC on 15W here because of so many trees in that direction. However, it sometimes comes in over the NBC mux on 72W (they rotate what is shown on those four channels).
 
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