noob on top of Ohio :D

[Matthew N April Tippie]

I would love to get started in all the FTA fun that you guys are into. I live on the peak of Ohio (highest point of Ohio) with a open view of southern sky( im not sure if that matters). Im checking craiglist daily for any large dishes for sale..ill find one soon, im sure. Any recommended receivers?? or dish set ups for a noob..(hope you guys are not tired of helping peeps like me ) Ive seen motorized packages for sale online..running around 350-500...smaller 90cm dishes...should i just opt for that? Any local places in Ohio doing FTA..Sadoun move out of state before i even knew what FTA was lol. Any help and info would be appreciated!!

 

[brentb636]

Hypermegasat is a dealer in SouthEast Michigan. The only one anywhere near you , as far as I know. I think it would be a good idea for you to start out with a motorized 90cm or 100cm dish setup. Add a C-band dish later , if you find a deal . A quite decent Ku setup could be had for under $350 delivered. Receiver is Openbox S9, WSI 90cm dish, SG9120B motor, Invacom qph-031 lnbf.
Welcome to Satguys !

 

[Lone Gunman]

Welcome to SatGuys. Here you will find some of the most experienced ppl in the FTA hobby!

 

[Pixl]

Welcome to Sat Guys.

Don't worry about asking entry level questions, that is a big part of what we do here. This time of the year it is a little slow in here, many are busy with outdoor activities so your questions may take a day or two to answer, but we will get to them.
I've been to Bellefontaine to watch the trains go by (I'm also a rail fan). You are in a very nice town.

 

[KE4EST]

Welcome to SatelliteGuys Matthew and April!!!! You have came to the right place.

 

[Matthew N April Tippie]

Thx for the welcome guys!!! I checked out Hypermegasat.com:

WSI WS9036 36 Inch FTA Dish
Optibox Anaconda HD PVR Ready C/Ku FTA Receiver Item # ANACOND
Invacom QPH-031 Quad Polar 0.3 dB Digital LNBF
SG9120-B Heavy Duty Dish Motor

Would run me close to $500 is that a good deal...I liked the review of that receiver I saw on this site...it looks pretty sweet!..any cons to it over a cheaper Openbox S9? Do I need that LNBF...not sure of the advantage over a cheap .2db?? Thx again guys! Awesome site..everyone is so friendly

 

[Johnson114]

You can shop on ebay. I bought a complete set on ebay and later bought openbox s10 HD and sg9120b motor. All on ebay for reasonable price.

 

[brentb636]

Thx for the welcome guys!!! I checked out Hypermegasat.com:

WSI WS9036 36 Inch FTA Dish
Optibox Anaconda HD PVR Ready C/Ku FTA Receiver Item # ANACOND
Invacom QPH-031 Quad Polar 0.3 dB Digital LNBF
SG9120-B Heavy Duty Dish Motor

Would run me close to $500 is that a good deal...I liked the review of that receiver I saw on this site...it looks pretty sweet!..any cons to it over a cheaper Openbox S9? Do I need that LNBF...not sure of the advantage over a cheap .2db?? Thx again guys! Awesome site..everyone is so friendly

If you get the Openbox S9 instead of the Optibox, you're down to about $350 . I wouldn't have the Optibox as my only receiver right now ( not for a newbie) . It's new on the market. Ebay receivers are pretty cheap, but if YOU get a lemon, you'll be driving everybody crazy, since you don't have any experience at working with these things. I'd rather that you have a "newbie safe" first system , rather than not !

 

[rrob311]

I would love to get started in all the FTA fun that you guys are into. I live on the peak of Ohio (highest point of Ohio) with a open view of southern sky( im not sure if that matters). Im checking craiglist daily for any large dishes for sale..ill find one soon, im sure. Any recommended receivers?? or dish set ups for a noob..(hope you guys are not tired of helping peeps like me ) Ive seen motorized packages for sale online..running around 350-500...smaller 90cm dishes...should i just opt for that? Any local places in Ohio doing FTA..Sadoun move out of state before i even knew what FTA was lol. Any help and info would be appreciated!!

I saw a couple large C band dishes in Michigan on Ebay. I started out with a 3' Ku dish with an sg2100 motor. Not too much to watch on Ku lately but there are a lot of feeds to be had. An Openbox S9 is a good cheap all around blind scan box for Ku. If you are going to get a motorized Cband setup(where most of the good channels are) They sell Vbox dish movers or you could use an older Analog/4dtv receiver to move the satellite. Then you could use the Openbox or equivalent to scan the satellite once you are on it.

 

[brentb636]

The Openbox S9 has no trouble handling both a Ku USALS motor, and a VBOX or GBOX controller at the same time. I ran my Solomend 800 that way for many months. A versatile little receiver.

 

[Cadsulfide]

Welcome! start small, get a good blindscanning receiver. dishes are mostly free if you shake the bushes. Read till your eyes bleed

 

[Matthew N April Tippie]

Welcome! start small, get a good blindscanning receiver. dishes are mostly free if you shake the bushes. Read till your eyes bleed

So i drove around 'shaking bushes' today.....came across many large dishes...do you just knock on their door and ask if they still use it or want to get rid of it??..and a guy here in town...whose house is quite dilapidated, has 3 large dishes...1 must be 15' across..should i bother him, the house kinda creeps me out D:

 

[FaT Air]

just knock on their door and ask if they still use it or want to get rid of it??

Yep. The worst thing that can happen is they say no.
Have your better half wait in the car, preferably in the drivers seat, when you knock. (Just for 'insurance') But, yes, knock. Find out if they want their yard 'cleaned' of the unused dishes. Get the pole also. There's a few threads about getting the concrete broken down to a managable, recoverable size. the other alternative is cutting it off flush with the cement.
Tell them you'd do it for the dish as scrap value is less than the labor to take them down break them up and transport to the scrappers..
Other than my BUD which I purchased in the early 80's, All my Ku dishes were free except for a single 1.2 meter Channel Master. They had planned to make a sign out of it. Talked them into making the sign out of plywood. I gave him 25 bucks for the wood and some paint.
Get some pictures and post them. Someone here has probably got some first hand experience with them. Let you know 'what ya found'

 

[Matthew N April Tippie]

Got +300' of RG6 cable for $5 at a garage sale!! slowly but surely I'll get there!

 

[Morbius]

Go on Craigslist Columbus at type in FTA there is something in Lancaster.

 

[Matthew N April Tippie]

yep .thx ..i saw that one!.....funny story: (Looking for a dish, found a house!) after a few unsuccessful attempts in my quest for a free dish, i came across a nice, large dish hiding in some TALL grass....found out the property has been foreclosed on and sold back to the bank at a sheriff's sale..... Love the location and the property...waiting on the bank now!!...Ill post pics if all goes well!

 

[gabshere]

to satelliteguys

you can go both ways buy a system or look around like your doing . if it was me i'ld look around and see what you can find ... a good old c band dish or even those primestar dishes are great and can usually be had for the picking just by asking.

if you decide on going the slower route i know one of the sponsors here is releasing a new receiver soon ENTER the Contest Here giving one away

i think i have a old trusty coolsat 6k sitting round here somewhere that you can have to tide you over , play with till you decide on what receiver to get just PM me your address. Its a good learner box, it just doesn't get DVB-S2 or HD

 

[Matthew N April Tippie]

Update: I picked up a (first craigslist experience)

Fortecstar 85cm dish
Invacom QPH-031 Quad LNB
Digipower SG2100 motor
Viewsat Supermini Switch
Viewsat VS200 Xtreme
250' of RG6 and Crimps

all for $70 (plus $30+ in gas and another $30 for pizza on the way back )

Good deal or not?????? It will get me started either way..
Give me some input!!!

 

[KE4EST]

Yes that was a great deal and yes it will get your feet wet. Once you get it all set-up and figured out the next step is to get a HD receiver. I think the MicroHD would suit you just fine. Keep looking for a good C-band dish.

You know something interesting about that receiver, I have never had any experience with one till the other day. Wife's Grandpa came knocking on the door said he found this in the dump. It was still in box don't look like it had been used. I hooked it up it does work...but full of hacker ware. Haven't done much more with it. I use my CS5000 and CS7100 to play with mostly. I have my S10 and Icon hooked up full time.

 

[Matthew N April Tippie]

Set up:So i have my 1 5/8 pole...ill get concrete tomorrow...and set it plumb. The motor on the dish is slightly offset...do i need to have the motor turned straight before setting it due south? the dish angle and motor angle is already set to columbus area...im not far from. ill tweak it later..Is there a way to test the motor with the receiver.....Might be entirely in over my head...should I try to find an installer??