Newbie Questions

[Mog]

Hi I'm thinking into getting into the fta hobby and would like to know if anyone has links to any faqs for a beginner...... absolute beginner lol. Anyways want I hope to accomplish is to understand what parts to buy , how to set it up and use it basically. Also the main reason for doing all this is to get whatever free chinese channels there are out there. Now I'm located in Toronto , Canada so I'm not sure if location plays a big part in getting all the chinese channels. I'm assuming they mostly if not all come from china. Also are there any links with info for all the free chinese channels I can get? That way I can see if it's worth it our not. Thanks for any help.

 

[Mr Tony]

moved to FTA area

 

[PSB]

Hello and WELCOME to the SatelliteGuys.US FTA forum.

There are a few GREAT Chimese channels KU band on the G3C satellite at 95w

http://www.lyngsat.com/g3c.html

KU channels use a 5 digit Frq.

C-Band (6' dish) use a 4 digit Freq.

This should help read the above chart......

http://www.dmsiusa.com/charts.htm

 

[sikma]

As far as 'links' to get info. you're on the right site. Just do A LOT of reading on this site and it should answer most, if not all of your questions. My experience, once I decided to delve into ku band, was to get my hands on an old Primestar dish ( I have found several of them in neighbors' yards (they are obsolete) and they were tickled to get rid of them (I just had to pluck them from the ground). I also found a used c/ku analog receiver (free) that another neighbor had laying around so I grabbed that..........so far, getting into FTA hadn't costed me one red cent. I did bite the bullet and buy a new Pansat 2700A receiver. It did come with a 4x1 diseqc switch so I was able to pick up four sats. at once (with 4 P* dishes of course). Bottom line, it's a very inexpensive hobby and loads of fun. BTW, Iceberg and PSB are awesome at tech. advice.

 

[Mog]

To psb that link u posted I'm assuming was to show some chinese channels. Both if i read the chart correctly aren't all of those channels originating from north america? Now using that site u gave me I got this url http://www.lyngsat.com/freetv/China.html. Are those valid fta channels i can get? I believe those are all the chinese fta channels available right? ALso u spoke of the ku band on the g3c satellite what does that mean exactly? there are different bands? if so i'm assuming gc3 is a satellite that would rest on certain bands and thats what u aim for to get the channels.

From the homework i've done so far this is what i can gather. When I make the plunge i was thinking of getting a COOLSAT 5000 for the reciever. Also for what i want to do and my location what size dish should i use and made by who? Also i read a post saying fta channels are mpeg2 and in februaury things will be mpeg4?
the reciever i was thinking about is only mpeg2. do i wait? btw thanks for the greets and current help.

 

[PSB]

That list of channels from China is one you can check, but you have to check each satellites FOOTPRINT or BEAM to see if you are within the reception area, if not there is no way to get those satellites from this country.

You will need at least a 36" dish better still a 1m in Canada. As far as I know there will be mpeg2 signals for some time to come, no mpeg4 FTA receivers yet.

Have a look at our FAQ area I just posted some info about the KU band.