New to FTA satellite world!

[Hell Raider]

Hi guys,
I've always wanted to install FTA satellite but was told there are no signals available here in Phoenix AZ. is it true ?
I'm hoping it's not. So if it is not true, what do I need to get going. I'm looking for a good experience, HD channels
I've seen that ilink9800hd and some of you have recommended amiko brand hd mini. Which receiver you think is better and what do you recommend ?
What do I need on the dish side ? Is there someone who sells a kit out there ? I've read that some of you saying 10' dishes are good, I'm not sure if I want to install it in my back yard ! Isn't it too big ? I'll do it if I have to though


Thank you

 

[KE4EST]

Welcome to the site and welcome to FTA!!
There are tons of channels out there on FTA, now you want find things like Discovery, CNN, Cartoon Network etc., this maybe why someone that is not properly informed would say that.
I'll go ahead and say that sometimes you will find these channels but they will not last long and that is part of the fun to see what you can find.
Go to the top of this site and under OUR OTHER SITES go to The List!, that will give you an idea of what is there full time.
As far a equipment goes I would not fool with the ilink box, I currently recommend the Amiko Mini HD SE, you can find it for $99 bucks on eBay.
This is an excellent receiver that is very stable and is feature rich with a good blind scan.
For a starter dish I would go with GEOSATpro 90cm, for ku. Very well bulit dish, that is built to last.
From there you can go with a bigger C-Band Dish, you will find that there is more to offer on C-Band, with the exception of 97W Ku, which has over 200 channels in the clear. Most of them are foreign broadcast and religious.
If you like that then you will be set, if not you will want to eventually get a 8-12 foot dish for C-Band.
Don't be afraid to ask tons of questions, we were all in your shoes at one time in our life, and we love to help beginners.

 

[bpalone]

Since you posted your question in the C Band forum, I'm assuming that you are more interested in C Band FTA. There is a great deal available on C Band and there is on Ku Band as well. For an idea of what is available take a look at "The List" here and on Lyngsat.com for what is out there on both C and Ku.

The Amiko Mini HD SE is a good beginning receiver as is the Geosat Pro Micro HD they will do both C and Ku bands.

Now, for the reflector (what most people call the Antenna) you will want an eight (8) foot or larger to receive C band reliably. There is a newer supplier of the large dishes (sometime called "BUDs" Big Ugly Dish) called tek2000. I bought one of their 8 foot ones and have been satisfied so far, but I've only had it up for about a month or so. For Ku band, a 90cm or 36" dish will get you most of the stuff available on Ku band.

For the Ku band, which is really a much easier place to start. It has been recommended to get a Geosat Pro 90cm dish with their PLL lnb for $99 and a Amiko Mini HD SE for $99, both with free shipping. Then probably set it up on 97W as there are many channels that are FTA on that satellite. Then later add a motor so you can change satellites without going out to the dish and re-aiming it at another satellite.

Then, if you find that you still want to see or have a C band setup, you can either find one that isn't being used and get it for free or very little, or buy a new one. They are a bit harder to set up, but not a great deal so.

Hope this helps, and welcome to the forums.

edit: Looks like ke4est beat me to the reply.

 

[Hell Raider]

Thank you ke4est and bpalone, for your reply. I'll be placing an order for amiko and as you recommended I'll buy geostatpro, I'm thinking to experiment with ku brand for now.

Thank you

 

[Titanium]

Welcome to SatelliteGuys! Some excellent resources here and great members willing to help answer questions.

You will not be disappointed with your choice of this equipment. Easy for new operators to install and use, but still a quality build for years of reliable operation.

 

[Hell Raider]

ok guys
so I received the receiver and the dish, installed both but I cant seem to lock on the sat signal.
I tried using signal finder and protractor and yet cant seem to get the 97 w g 19.

What I'm missing ? I double checked the orientation of the lnbf.



Is there a detailed trouble shooting thread ? any ideas ? how hard is it to get the signal after setting up the angel ?

Thank you

 

[ray224000]

Good morning...Hell Raider.

For starters good luck on playing around with this hobby. When I first started, which was not that long ago, I easily became frustrated. Eventually I learned to be more patient which allowed the stuff to come together. Actually it is kind of therapeutic. With that being said, I should be last to advise you on what you're missing. I'm too new; just an infant in this hobby.

I would think before someone can, could you provide dish, receiver, and lnb information. I believe I missed that somewhere.

Other than that, I look forward to seeing your success. The people are good here and have provided me with information that has allowed me to enjoy the hobby as it is intended to be.

 

[Titanium]

Use dishpointer.com to find the compass reading, dish elevation angle and LNBF rotation (skew). Make sure the post is PERFECTLY plumb and level then use the elevation scale on the back of the dish to set to the approximate angle. Rotate the LNBF to the approximate skew. Identify a landmark on the horizon the is close to the approximate compass reading for G-19. This might be a tree on the horizon or a telephone pole or a water tower. This is your reference for the approximate area of the sky for the satellite position.

Notice that I say "approximate" a lot! That is because these are starting points and variances in your mounting and region can provide slight variances. Rarely will any of us set a dish only with the compass. You could get lucky, but 99% sure it won't happen this way!

Connect the satellite receiver to a small tv next to the dish so you can see the meter reading display while adjusting the dish. Connect the receiver to the LNBF.

Look on the LNBF or Giftbox for the LO frequency. Power on the receiver and in the install menu select G19 KU satellite and select the LNB type and LO frequency to match the LNB.

Now select transponder 12152 from the list. While watching the Signal QUALITY meter scale reading, slowly, slowly, slowly pan the dish 10 or 15 degrees on either side of the landmark that aligns with the compass reading. Watch for any increase in the Signal QUALITY reading. This movement is very precise and even an 1/8" can be the difference between perfect and no Quality reading!

If no signal QUALITY reading increase the dish elevation angle only 1 degree and slowly sweep either side of the landmark. Repeat until the satellite is located. Maybe 5-7 degrees above and/or below the approximate starting setting.

Once you have a signal QUALITY reading, optimize then do a Blind Scan for FTA (free to air) TV and radio channels.

Photos of the dish, LNBF and mounting will certainly help us if you have specific questions.

Good Luck!!!

 

[FaT Air]

Aiming your Ku dish

using the receiver's meters (or a digital Satellite meter).

Prerequisits:
A known active transponder, on the satellite you're aiming for, must be programmed in the receiver. This consists of Frequency, SR, and Polarity.
Check TheList at Satelliteguys, MPEG-2 Central or sathint.com for these.
LNB type and L.O. frequency also has to be programmed correctly.
The pole the dish is mounted to is perfectly vertical.
NOTE: Remove power to the receiver whenever connecting/disconnecting anything to the coax. May destroy the LNBF (or switches if/when added later on)

Lets 'do it':

Get a reference 'line' from www.dishpointer.com
Set the elevation scale on the dish mount to match elevation dishpointer.com indicates.

Adjust the LNBF skew to the angle dishpointer indicates. When looking at the face of the dish, (back of the LNBF, your back to the satellite) Twist the LNBF Clockwise if the satellite is East of your location, CCW if west.
(if imagining a clock, each hour is = to 30 degrees)

Select one of the known active transponders, That's been confirmed/or entered previously, in the receivers tune up screen. (should have transponder information, Signal Level(see below), and Quality meters.

Pan the dish across the dishpointer 'line' in small, stepped, increments and wait** a while for the receiver to "lock on" to the signal to display Quality. ** 10 seconds is not unreasonable to lock on and display Quality..
If panning both sides of the dishpointer 'line' results in no Quality reading, adjust the dish up or down no more than 1° and repeat.
Once you have 'lock' and a Quality reading. Fine tune the dish UP/DN, L/R for maximum Quality. Try improve signal with skew adjustment and LNBF fore/aft adjustment. Again, wait 10 seconds to see any change.
Once satisfied you have Quality maximized, tighten the dish mount, and Blind scan in the rest of the transponders/channels.

Signal Level reading:
Signal level shows that an operating LNBF is attached, no more, no less.
Without an LNBF attached, most receivers show 0 to 10 Level.
With an LNBF attached, and not aimed at a satellite, Level typically is 30 to 50.
Once a Quality reading is attained, Level usually increases to 80+.

 

[Hell Raider]

ok, so its not easy ! wow 1/8" makes a difference
here is the dish and lnbf specs
Amazon product ASIN B00507CJZMI'm using amiko hd se
my post is perfectly plumbed ! I'm using amiko hd se
also have purchase the rg6 quad shielded, using about length of 100'
the dish is on the roof which is about 10' high

is there an easier way to do it ? or not. is it worth it to invest in satlink finder, which one ?
I'm going to mess with it later tonight as I don't want to work in AZ sun.

Thank you guys

 

[Titanium]

You must have a Signal QUALITY meter visible at the dish while making adjustments. It will be a slim chance to move a dish about and actually find a satellite without seeing a Quality meter reading and optimizing it.

Unless you plan on spending $200 - $300 on a meter, don't bother. Anything less and it won't provide the information you need or will be shipped direct from China with zero support or North American satellites. Why introduce another price of equipment to figure out when you already have the equivalent of a $800 meter already in your Amiko HD SE? You just need to see the install screen!

If you don't have a small TV, maybe an old portable DVD player with video IN RCA jack? A trip to Goodwill will probably give a small selection of portable TVs with video IN RCA jack.

 

[analogqueen]

Hi guys,
I've always wanted to install FTA satellite but was told there are no signals available here in Phoenix AZ. is it true ?
I'm hoping it's not. So if it is not true, what do I need to get going. I'm looking for a good experience, HD channels
I've seen that ilink9800hd and some of you have recommended amiko brand hd mini. Which receiver you think is better and what do you recommend ?
What do I need on the dish side ? Is there someone who sells a kit out there ? I've read that some of you saying 10' dishes are good, I'm not sure if I want to install it in my back yard ! Isn't it too big ? I'll do it if I have to though


Thank you

Are you kidding?? I am in Phoenix- and there is LOTS to watch - completely free, if it is a non-motorized dish your best sat to aim for is Galaxy 19. http://www.lyngsat.com/Galaxy-19.html

there is your channel list. For sellers of satellite dishes and receivers, Sadoun.com seems to be the most popular. GloryStar also sells packages- they are a religiously affiliated company, but they DO sell equipment. I can't recommend the best HD box as I don't have one- and your reception of HD relies on whether the broadcasts are even IN hi def. How many channels can you get- to me, I say a "gajillion" lol but many of them are foreign language and/or religious, but not all. If you like stuff like "patriot radio" type stations, there are many of those on the radio b'casts, so you're not limited to just "tv" but get many radio stations as well.

About installing & equipment - 10' dish??? not for Ku-band free to air. You only need a 80cm or more, some are 90cm. Those are slightly bigger than your regular old Dish or DirecTV, actually mine's about same size as those "multi-language" for ethnic channel subscribers DirecTV dish.

There ARE installers, personally I have had a time finding one in my area. I would look in the yellow pages (easier than online searches really!) for satellite installers, these are usually the contractor companies that do the work for say, Dish or DirecTV. Another option is http://www.ftainstall.com/InstallerSearch.aspx some of the listings I found are out of date. Good luck. You CAN do it yourself, one person yelling from the TV screen to you while you fiddle with the dish, Ive done it and it took me an hour or more. You need to use http://www.dishpointer.com/ for your location etc. I didn't use a sat finder or anything, we just eyeballed it and yelled back and forth from the TV to my husband who jiggled and fiddled with the dish: "Worse! Worse!" and "Better! Better! Leave it! That's it!"

You need a south facing patio, balcony, or roof. No landlord can prevent you from installing a dish under the OTARD federal law.

Some of the channels on Ku FTA that you get for nothing are sold in packages for high $$$ through subscription sat services, and most of the channels aren't even offered ON cable or subscription satellite. English language Press TV out of Iran is good as it has plenty of American interviews with well known political types, etc.

Once you get it going it will take you at least 20 minutes just to scroll through all the channels! It's fun. It IS a novelty, I especially get a kick out of Arabic language game shows and their commercials. You can really get a feel for what is important to people in other countries just by their ads. Qatar TV is amazing. You just have to see it to believe it.

But to answer your original question, YES there ARE fta channels galore in Phoenix- your pointing at a Satellite, they don't come from here. The sat beam is aimed at N America so it matters not if you're in Arizona or Texas or NYC.

Good luck let us know if you got it going and are happy with it.

 

[Hell Raider]

Thank you guys for your help.
I was able to find 97w g19 and got most of the Chanel's, none of which was HD. Except couple $ paid ones.
So now I'm curious, what do u guys watch on these stats as most of them in foreign lang, luckily for me I know arabic and I was looking for all Christian channels; plenty available ; and I found them. I looked into other sats and didn't find anyone with worthy channels to watch. So why fta ?

Also is their a sticky thread for info and comparison between ku and c band ? Or any good sticky thread that gives over information?

Another important thing for me, how to setup wireless connection for amiko? Is it copatible with other USB dongles or I have to have original?

I'm willing to pass on how I was able to find the sat, for anyone new and couldn't figure it out by the time reading thread
Thank you guys

 

[Christopher Cromwell]

Hey Hell Raider! Welcome to the forum and a new hobby that I found in my research is becoming pretty popular! Like you, I am new to FTA as well, this is my very first forum post actually. You asked why FTA? I became reacquanited with FTA early last spring by doing some Google searching and looking a lots of different sites and loads of other information. I found out that FTA is available on as many as 100 North American Ku & C Band satellites in what is known as the Clarke belt, so I wanted to get everything I could possibly receive by getting a motorized dish; so I wouldn't be confined to just the Galaxy 19 satellite. By May or early June, I finally was ready to purchase the equipment I wanted. It took several phone calls to several different vendors and I spent twice as much money than I first wanted to, but I knew that once I had it all done, I would have plenty to watch and listen to. I took a 3 day weekend when I was first ready to put it all together. I did get pretty frustrated when I couldn't see or hear the signals on the TV where the satellite was at. I finally resorted to making several trips to the roof with a spare TV, extension cords, receiver, etc. and then it was a just a quick 10 minutes to lock in a signal on my true south satellite; the first image I got was the Echostar Test Card interestingly enough. By late Sunday evening, I asked my wife if she wanted to watch football from Kuwait, which shocked her. Like you, I channel surfed the Galaxy 19 TV and Radio channels and found every channel pretty interesting. Over the many weekends since then, I wanted to see what else I could get, so I have the motor turn the dish from one satellite to the next in the Clarke belt to get everything from wild network feeds to grocery store music radio channels. I still wonder what a Code 11 is that is announced to all store personnel for one store?? I learned through my research that many channels switch from one satellite to another satellite without notice, just recently, I was finally able to get NHK World from Japan on one of the Directv 11 satellites, its pretty cool to get the weather for the U.S. from Japan all in perfect English and HD. I then wanted more, and bought a high end C-Band LNB to mount on my 90cm motorized dish, as I have read some people being able to do this, but after spending another weekend on it, I couldn't make it work with my dish being too small. A 1.2m dish will be too big and heavy for the motor and roof mount to handle on a windy day or bad storm, and there's no promise I would get any good C-Band on this anyway. By this time my wife told me 3 satellite dishes is more than enough on the roof and doesn't want a huge 6 foot dish out by the side of the house; so C-Band won't be in the cards for me anytime soon sadly. In the meantime, I still have other channels to watch like Russia Today, and many others by manually putting in additional satellites into the receiver to see what else I could get as the motor turns to them. Granted FTA isn't quite as exciting as is used to be in the 80's & 90's, but I am still very happy with my system and can receive lots of different things by doing a fresh blind scan of a satellite every so often to see if anything new appears from a TV station or elsewhere. I am still new to this hobby and figuring out some things, but for me, FTA will always be my first choice when there is nothing much to watch on Directv. I am using the Manhattan RS-1933 receiver, Skyvision 90cm dish, Invacom Ku Universal LNB, Moteck H-H dish motor, 70ft of RG6 cable. If you would like to get the most out of Ku FTA, I would go the Satellite Shop website, and pick up a motor for about $90. You can bolt that on to your mount and dish within a few hours following the directions, set up the receiver for the motorized dish, realign the dish to the nearest true south satellite, and you should be good to go to get a ton more channels added on. The part I had to find out the hard way with the motorized dish, is to set the elevation on the motor to your actual Latitude found on the dishpointer sites. I spent many hours trying to get the correct information on that. Anyway, I would stick with FTA, when you are ready for more channels other than FTA, buy a dish motor, you won't be disappointed. By the way, when the receiver shows a '$' that means the channel is scrambled, not a pay channel. Enjoy!

 

[Christopher Cromwell]

Oops!! I meant I have a Skyvision 85cm dish. I forgot what size I had until I pulled out the instruction sheet.

 

[FaT Air]

Also is their a sticky thread for info and comparison between ku and c band ? Or any good sticky thread that gives over information?

Good idea but I don't know of one.
There's a few 24/7 channels on Ku. 30W for movies and US network series. 103W for COZI. 125 for PBS. etc Many more on C band. So if possible do it. 7.5 ft or greater. Preferably larger. Although, many 'got their feet wet' with a prime focus 6ft. Gets some, as does an offset 1.2 meter Ku dish, transformed into a miniBUD. Check the thread Kijiji, eBay, and Craigslist dishes for you to take a look at regularly.
Channels - Check Mikes lists at MPEG Central.
Ku is a 5 digit number - 11700 to 12200 in N.A. Some international satellites also has 10200 to 11700 which requires a Universal LNBF.
receivable in N.A. C band is 4 digits. 3700 to 4200
Ku - Minimum of a 30 inch dish. But a 36 inch is by far better.
C - Bigger IS Better. Need a 1 ft for the higher FEC transponders and S2 signals.

how to setup wireless connection for amiko?

From what I've read, it's run a wire, that's recommended.

 

[Robert Clements]

Hello everyone,

I am so new to FTA that I am only considering buying a GEO from GloryStar and installing it myself. My question is ...is it worth it if we are renting and will probably move in a year and would the equipment need to be changed out when we move. I am only interested in Christian channels and Pro sports teams if I can get them.

 

[Christopher Cromwell]

Hey Robert, welcome to SatelliteGuys! It's probably best if you repost your question under a new thread, so it will be answered better. Otherwise, if you know for sure that you are moving in a year, I might wait until after the move, then set everything up when you got yourself settled in. That's because when it's time to move, you will have to break everything back down, and set it all up again. But it's all up to what you feel is best too.

Posted Via The FREE SatelliteGuys Reader App!

 

[redwudz]

You might consider a portable mount for your Ku dish. Offset dishes usually come with tube and a bracket for mounting. You just need a piece of heavy waterproof plywood or lumber and some bricks to weight it down and keep it steady on the ground, along with a clear view south.
Most offset dishes look up at an angle of 45 degrees or so, depending on your location, so it's easy to avoid obstacles unless they are really high or really close.

If you move, you can just pack up your dish and mount and take it with you. Even rentals generally have to allow dishes.

 

[KJ6EO]

Hello Hell Raider - WELCOME! You have come to the right place! There is plenty to see! Although I have a Ku Band dish, I spend most of my time on C-Band. I've never counted them but there's a fair amount of HD Channels, especially on the big dish. I have something like 47 birds programmed into my X2 (both C & Ku). After throwing out channels that I didn't want to see, I came up with a total of around 150 channels in English, and around 150 channels in Spanish. I watch PBS allot, all of it (PBS, Montanna PBS, OETA, LPB, 360 North), MeTv, Movies, RT, DW, ABC, NBC, NHK, COZI, etc. Regarding a C Band Dish, Craigs List is a good resource of course, along with just keeping your eyes open while driving around town. My C-Band Dish is a 10' Winegard Pinnacle. I bought it just down the street for $140. It was filthy, had an old servo horn on it, and had been shot up with a BB gun by the neighborhood kids. I disassembled it, cleaned it, got all the BB dings out, put new hardware on it, installed a new Ortho Mode Feed, two Norsat 8115 LNB's, dug a hole, planted my pipe, and mounted it and aligned it. I've been watching it every night since and love it.

Putting up a Big Dish isn't easy. Digging the correctly sized hole, calculating how much concrete you'll need, the best kind of pipe to use, how much pipe to put in the ground, how to secure it and keep it straight while the mud dries. Finally, mounting and aligning the dish. It's heavy and can get away from you easily. I had 4 guys help me mount the dish on the pole. The guys here on the board are the Satellite God's. Whatever you need to know, you can get it answered here. So, take your time. Ask questions, listen, get it all working, then kick back and enjoy free TV!