Noob FTA questions

[stoopid2001]

Hello all, Pardon my noobness but I have done alot of reading on here and other Satalite forums but I still have a few questions.

I recently bought a Twinhan Vision Dtv Starbox (USB) from saudon, i got an unused DirecTV dish from one of my dads rental houses and went to town. Well I aimed at Echostar 7, no reason just picked one....I have a fair signal (or so the Twinhan software tells me) but I cant get any channels.

I read somewhere on here that the DirecTV Lnb's arent so great for FTA stuff (it says 12.2-12.7 Ghz on it). So what I was wondering is, if I get a Dish network dish/lnb are they any better than the direcTV ones? Also if they arent and I buy a LNB from saudon will it work with the direcTV dish that I have?

One more thing...can anyone recomend some software that isnt so difficult to use?

Thanks in advance....
-stoopid

 

[SatinKzo]

Welcome to satguys

What software are you using that is hard to use?
Echostar 7 or any dish sat is not going to get you much FTA as they encrypt the channels

D* and E* dishes/lnbs are not going to get you much FTA. You need a larger dish with linear LNBs.

I don't know much about the starbox, but a basic motorized or stationary FTA kit from sadoun would be my recommendation.
http://www.sadoun.com/Sat/Order/Dishes/Motorized-combo-satellite-dish.htm

 

[damaged]

Yea, you'll want a true FTA dish/lnbs, the type depends on what you're looking for (you're in the right place, lots of FTA pros here). D* dishes have some ability to get a few FTA, but I would not say they are great for FTA by any means.


Good luck, it's a hobby I would like to start someday as well.

 

[Anole]

The Dish and DirecTV LNBs are equally unsatisfying because they cover the higher band of frequencies where those companies broadcast their encrypted programming.
If you are interested in real FTA, that band of frequencies, is slightly lower.
Also, Dish and DirecTV use circular LNBs - the FTA service uses LNBs that can select vertical and horizontal signals.

If you are actually interested in real FTA service, there are three sites with lists of all the birds, frequencies, and programming.
FTAlist and GlobalCM are much easier to use than the Lyngsat site, but the latter is still very helpful for many technical details.

A good size for a dish would be 30" to 36".
Any larger is usually much higher price to ship (by a lot!)
Of course, if you pick up a 36, 39, 48" dish locally (surplus) and outfit it with a suitable LNB, that's certainly okay, too.

Iceberg has spent a lot of time preparing beginner info, which you'll find posted at the top of the FTA section.
It contains a wealth of getting started info.

A number of us have experience with Twinhan StarBox USB receivers.
The StarBox I is supported (so far as I recall) by two commercial programs, plus whatever comes with it.
Those would include MyTheatre, which though challenging to set up, may be one of the best.

The StarBox II, a slightly more recent model, has drivers that might let it run with DVBdream software.
If so, I would certainly recommend giving it a look.

The I and II are distinguished by -A at the end of the model number.
Something like 7021 for the I, vs 7021A for the II.

We have a DVB section here on the forum with more detailed info, and all the popular receiver software packages have support forums, too.

 

[stoopid2001]

ok...now what?

Ok Now i"m begining to think the whole FTA thing and satalites in general are a big government conspiricy that everybody but me is in on!!!!!

I was using the software that came with the Twinhan card, I couldnt get anything with that so I found some other program called ProgDVB, and I couldnt get anything with that either. Now I got My Theatre and still nothing.
Do I have to change the LOF or LNB settings in any of those programs? I tried "Universal", "normal" and "Custom" for the LNB. My theory was that if I aimed at a direcTV satalite with a direct TV dish I would at least get a bunch of scrambled channels, but I cant even get that.
Can anyone of you veterans out there give me a setup that will get anything, on any sat with the dish and card that I have? If I even got one scrambled channel...just one, I would be happy. That would at least tell me that the card that I have works....as for the dish, well if I can verify that the card works then I will get a new dish.

 

[turbosat]

Not sure you can get any real fta with a directv lnb/dish>using that computer setup. Im no DTV expert, but seem to remember reading somewhere that their signal is not exactly DVB, where you prob could find some unscrambled signals with a Dish Network lnb/dish. The signals are a little different but I can't explain how.
Why not find yourself a used primestar someplace (look around the area you live). Those are usually cheap/free, with an lnb already on it that will work for FTA. (provided you can put the dish up where you live)

 

[Anole]

Well, first off, this thread should probably be moved to the DVB section, as it is getting technical and pertains to DVB hardware.

Second, I recommend you acquainting yourself with the posts in the DBV section, as they will prove helpful in establishing a good foundation.
Also, read the thread there, called Please Verify.
Not a very good title, but at the end, it discusses the dish you may be trying to use.

Third, Iceberg has a thread with what you can get FTA (that is, non-scrambled signals) using an old Dish or DirecTV dish and LNB.
That's in the FAQ section, another good place to do some reading.


I know this seems like a lot of reading, but this will give you the background to succeed.
Getting started is a hurdle, but you have a lot of friends here to help you get going.
Now, go out there and get to work, mister!