New to fta

[Curious_clay]

Hello all, I am new to FTA.I would like to know how do I get started. What do I need to get started. Most of all, what cost are involved with getting started

 

[VO1ONE]

Hi Curious_clay and welcome to SatelliteGuys! Like most hobbies, FTA can be relatively inexpensive (under $50 for a whole setup if you don't mind used gear and you look in the right places) and the sky's the limit from there. There's three basic components you need: A dish, an LNB, and a receiver. For the dish, the bigger the better. I wouldn't look at anything smaller than a 30" unless you had to. The LNB is the piece at the end of the arm on the dish. This needs to be a linear LNB for FTA. It converts the really high frequencies from the satellite down to lower frequencies that travel on coax better. LNBs for DirecTV and Dish are (usually) circular so they don't work for what we want. An FTA receiver is usually DVB-S. There are newer technologies out now and getting a receiver that can do S2 will keep you ahead of the game. All depends how much money you want to sink in it. If you plan on sticking around, you'll probably end up wanting a receiver that has S2 anyway. Besides that, you need a place to mount it where you can see the southern sky well, some coax and some free time. You can get a motor to move the dish as well so you can pick up different satellites without running outside and repointing the dish manually! There are a lot of online retailers that will sell you a complete bundle of everything you need to get going, or you can piece together a setup yourself. Lots of used equipment around and dishes can often be found second hand for very cheap depending on your area and if you know where to look. Hope this helps some! I'm sure someone else will drop on in here with a better explanation maybe! Do you have any specific questions? What interests you about FTA? Are you looking for programming of a certain ethnicity or language or are you the type that wants to discover and tap into live feeds from sports events or news remotes? Maybe that can help us help you!

 

[rv1pop]

There is to be an announcement TODAY from SatelliteAV that, I expect, will blow you socks off! The microHD was designed on the forum for US. I WILL say that you will not find a better value anywhere, as this unit will have the best customer service you can find.

From what I am hearing from a branch in the rumor sewer there is a clone trying to raise its head already - but it will not be able to be supported.

Before you BUY anything ask here. The consensus will save you headaches and MONEY.

That being said, if you can tell us what you want and how much effort you are willing to put into getting it working, we will help.

And WELCOME to the best FTA forum around!

 

[KE4EST]

to SatelliteGuys Curious_clay!!!!!!!!!