not decided yet on box & asking for info

[wildsidehtc]

Hello everyone my names john anyway i got rid my cable that i had been paying for since the bill got to high afew months ago and i really cant aford to pay for tv anymore trying to cut back on stuff to save a lil money right now i'm just useing an old antenna and a converter box since thats gone dtv about the only thing i can get is like pbs nbc and somtimes cbs anyway i'v been reading alil bit up on fta boxes and sats right now i'm thinking of ordering maybe a sonicview elite or a captiveworks 800 since they have a pvr thing i know i gotta buy an external harddrive to use tha pvr anyway i want know if i can use either these boxes to watch this stuff also i would like know what sat i would need to point at to get the most english stations i live in west tn other than that i think i need to get at least a 30 inch or biger dish and a lnb from what i understand from reading not sure on tha lnb tho i would need.

Anyway any advice will help lol

 

[osu1991]

Look around for an old primestar dish. They are great dishes and can usually be had for free, just by asking for them.

 

[turbosat]

WElcome to satelliteguys! Sounds like you have done some research, which is good. There is a ton of abbreviations and terms used in fta, useful to learn what all this stuff means. I'll let somebody else pass opinions on those 2 boxes since I have neither one, but remember-sometimes advertised features and what actually works on the receiver is two different things. Some may advertise PVR-ready but not actually work with a hard drive in the beginning. These things get shoved out the door so fast, the bugs haven't all been discovered. And you'll want a blind-scan receiver to help find wild feeds and channels-most of the boxes have that feature now. Some work better than others. And a bigger dish is always better. 1meter dish is the usual recommended size to get good stable video reception, heavy rain will wash out fta signals just like it does the pay services' signals. Check out the sponsors at the top of page here, SatelliteAV, Sadoun, WSIA and others all sell the equipment. You can buy a package, or the individual parts to get you started.

 

[Anole]

I also agree that a 36" dish (maybe in a package from one of our sponsors) or perhaps a 1 meter surplus dish, would be a wise acquisition.

Once you get your feet wet, you might want to come back and motorize it.
The DG-380 motor from Sadoun, may be overkill for a light weight 36" stamped dish, but would be required for some of the heavier surplus commercial dishes ya might find.

Here are some FTA satellite lists. The first will let you sort by language:
FTA List
Satellite Guy's The List
Global-CM

As for Captive Works or SonicView receivers, I don't think you'll find a lot of good words for either on the forum.
Not that they don't work... but they're primarily designed and supported as hacker boxes... for which I think they're now failing.
If you'll read the review of the Visionsat IV-200 in our Review Department, I think you'll get a taste for a well supported, FTA-friendly, PVR.
I own two (one as a spare). See my signature.

 

[avg1joe]

I'm pretty happy with my sonicview 8000hd and would recommend it over the visionsat. It records local tv and many hd satellite channels on top of doing everything the visionsat will do but they are likely at least double the price.

You can probably find someone to give you a direcpc or dish network super dish for free. If you can do without the recording ability you can probably find a receiver for pretty cheap on ebay or craigslist allowing you to get started for under $50 (with a free dish).

 

[wildsidehtc]

well i was gonna go with the sonicview 360 elite or tha captive works 800s combo pakage since it was on gosatellite and thats one of the sponsors and i could get it all in one order
anyway right now i'm looking at the other fta combo pakages on gosatelite and after reading the replys and info on sites it sounds like it might not be very good at blindscaning well scaning in fta channales very good but i aint real sure people gave differnt views on it and the pvr function it has and i'm reading up on the visionsat IV-200 where would be a good place to look at if i decide to order it didnt see it listed on tha sponsor sites unless i didnt look in the right place also for the dish think i'll use the 30 or 36 would prefer 36 since saw it recomended over a 30 anyway i'm gonna try and get everything all in one order if i can also one ? will the lnb thats comes with tha pakages on that site do what i need it too or do i need to buy a certain brand i know there c and ku anyway if its like universal would that also work. As far the receivers not sure yet on that i'm looking at different ones right now i was wanting it to have at least pvr since i work during the day incase there was somthing on i wanted to watch i could set it to record while i was away and watch it latter in the day or week but i guess i can do with out pvr if there is a better box i should look at let me know.

anyway thanks sofar with the advice and anymore yall can give me will help.

 

[avg1joe]

Before you get too far, have you confirmed that you have a clear line of sight to whatever satellite you are shooting for.

Now is a good time to be looking on ebay for fta boxes. The coolsat 7100 is supposed to be nearly identical to the visionsat.

 

[wildsidehtc]

well if i'm right i should be able to get these sats since there all towards the western part of the sky i think and i'v got a clear view of the west north east and south no tree's or anything that would be in the way and anyway i looked at ftalists at the english fta sats and i was gonna try and get these sats AMC 3 AMC 4 AMC 5 AMC 6 AMC 9 AMC 21 Galaxy 18 Galaxy 19 Galaxy 28 Echo 5/Galaxy 27 Galaxy 3C. Right now i'm gonna go with a 36 inch dish with prob the Invacom lnb & motor if that 'll work anyway if there's a diff lnb i should use let me know and as for the fta box i think i might just go ahead and order both the Visionsat IV-200 and the sonicview 360 elite. i'm gonna put the sonicview in my bed room and the Visionsat in my living room and anyway for now i hope i'v got all the info and stuff i'll need to buy down now.

thanks sofar for the advice and any more you and others can give me it really helps me.

 

[Anole]

don't get caught short.

If you are hooking up two receivers, make sure you get a dual output LNB.
If the Sonicview has two tuners, then you are effectively dealing with three receivers.
Take a look at our Switches Simplified thread in the FAQ department.

For the Visionsat, keep on the lookout for a USB external hard drive.
Should be able to find 500gb for about $60, if you shop well.

 

[wildsidehtc]

well i got my boxes order now anyway right now i'm looking at this DISH - the GEOSATPRO 90cm / 36" SATELLITE OFFSET Satellite AV - Free to Air Satellite Equipment Distributors - Fortec Star, GEOSATpro, Glorystar - SatelliteAV, LLC. and for lnb i'm looking at the GEOSATpro C AND KU-BAND Satellite AV - Free to Air Satellite Equipment Distributors - Fortec Star, GEOSATpro, Glorystar - SatelliteAV, LLC.

if this will work i'm gonna order two of each so i dont gotta use both boxes on the same sat.

any more advice i need to know let me know.

 

[Anole]

The dish is fine. One we'd recommend. I have one.
The LNB is their Ck-1, designed for both Ku band and C-band.
I hope you understand that C-band reception on such a small dish is . . . problematic, at best. - (it sucks) -
So, just want you have reasonable expectations, not unreasonable ones.

Here's a link to SatAV's info. Note the link to his eBay offer.
It includes your dish, with a more appropriate Ku-only LNB.

edit:
Here's a thought. Not really that big a complication, either.
If you are pointing the two dishes at two satellites, and running two receivers....
Get the GeoSat SL2 LNBs. They have two outputs.
I'm sure your receivers come with diseqc switches.
Hook each receiver to the output of a switch, and then two of your switch inputs, one to each LNB.
See our Switches Simplified thread in the FAQ Department for more info.

The decision is yours. Do your homework, and make a wise one. - :up

 

[wildsidehtc]

ok i'v got everything now right now i'm trying to get sat Galaxy 18 at 123.0°W but i need to know what i would put the GeoSat SL2 LNB under on setings is all i need to know right now and i should be up and runing.

 

[wildsidehtc]

i really need help with geting the 123.0W bird here's what i got off dishpointer my prob is i cant seem to figur out how to set the GEOSATPRO 90cm / 36" SATELLITE OFFSET with the GeoSat SL2 LNB.

i'm going by this but i would like to know where the Azimuth and so on is on this dish. anyway sofar i'v moved the dish around and used a sat finder hooked to it best i got was 75 on signal with zero q i had lnb set single since that only thing it'd work on also i'd like to know is galaxy 10r the same sat as galaxy 18 i was looking for g18 in sats but didnt see it and i was told on fta irc room that g10r was the same sat anyway can somome please help me figur this out so i can atleast watch some tv lol.

here's what i'm going by for my location least i hope its right

Latitude: 35.8571°
Longitude: -88.1291°

Satellite: 123.0W Galaxy 12, 18
Elevation: 34.5°
Azimuth (true): 229.9°
Azimuth (magn.): 231.9°

 

[gremlin411]

with my offset dish I had to take the offset angle and subtract from the dish elevation to pickup anything.


edit: yes g10 and g18 are the same sat. make sure you have your lnb skew set right also.

 

[SatelliteAV]

We would suggest that you initially install the dish without the motor until you are comfortable with the receiver operation. Add the motor at a later date and you will be a much happier camper today!

• Assemble the GEOSATpro 90cm dish using the Elevation "A" type assembly. Make sure that the post mount is perfectly plumb. Set the white marker (to the left of the elevation setting nut) on the Elevation Scale A to approx. 34.5 degrees.
• Use a compass to aim the arm of the dish to approx. 230 degrees (SW). Sight up the arm towards the sky from behind the dish. Is the arm clearing all trees and buildings? If so, great! The arm is aimed about 6 degrees lower than the look angle of the dish, so if the arm is shooting over the top of any obstructions, you are in a perfect install location.
• Install the LNBF with the white cap facing the reflector. (Go ahead and laugh, but it happens!) Standing in front of the dish and looking at the rear of the LNBF, twist the LNBF to the left (counter-clockwise) to approx. 38 degrees. The connectors will be aiming towards the 4 o'clock position.
• Place the receiver and connected small TV next to the dish. Connect a short coax cable directly from the LNBF to the LNB input of the receiver. Power on the receiver and the TV.
• Enter the Visionsat IV-200 Dish Setting Menu and set the following:

Satellite: Galaxy 10R (G18) KU Band
Frequency: 11805
LNB Power: ON
LNBF Type: Single
LNB Frequency: (LO) 10750
LNB 22KHz: Off
DiSEqC SW: Off/Off/Off
Legacy SW: Off

• Press Menu to exit the Dish Setting Menu. Select Yes to Save Changes. Press OK. After saving, enter the Dish Setting Menu again and set or verify the Satellite and frequency to the above settings.

• Slowly pan the reflector left or right of the compass reading (azimuth) by about 10 or 15 degrees. Look for a Signal Quality reading to be displayed. Signal Level (SL) will usually only indicate if a LNBF is attached or is functioning. The Signal Level usually changes only very slightly when any satellite is received. When aiming a dish, it is all about the Signal Quality reading. If no Signal Quality (SQ) is detected, increase or decrease the elevation by one degree and slowly sweep 10 - 15 degrees on either side of the compass reading. Be very patient. It may take more than a few minutes to locate the correct satellite.
• Once the Signal Quality is detected, slowly fine tune the elevation and azimuth settings to peak the Signal Quality reading. Once the Signal Quality is peaked, lock down the dish elevation and azimuth hardware. Now peak the LNBF placement by slowly rotating the LNBF a few degrees clockwise or counter clockwise and/or slide the LNBF towards or away from the reflector to peak the Signal Quality reading.
• Once the Signal Quality is peaked, perform a Power Scan (blind search) of the G10r (G18) satellite. Power Scan settings should be FTA, 4MHz steps, Symbol Rate- ALL, Frequency Range 11.7 - 12.2 GHz or Auto. The scan may take several minutes, so go and reward yourself with a frothy adult beverage! When the scan is complete, you may have to save the new channels then sit back and enjoy!

When you feel comfortable with the operation of the receiver then follow the attached simple guide on installing a motor. The motor type is different, but the settings will be similar. This guide provides step by step receiver set-up and motor aiming for both the Fortec Star Mercury II or the Visionsat IV-200 receivers.

 

[wildsidehtc]

sofar i'v got 99 sig on boxes moved dish left right up down lnb in every possible way that i'm just bout to give up i've turned the entire dish and everything i even unbolted arm that holds the lnb and moved it one hole down since its got holes to put srews in the back on the lnb arm anyways i move it a little bit and still no luck on it i cant even get any sats looked every sat on list only thing i saw was under galaxy12 was satmex in corner it had zero q but had signal i tryed scan just see if would even give me anything only bunch useless echo channles with numbers that couldnt even watch just see if i had picture at all i just deleted those since was just black on all channles also on sv360 under sat bonu or what ever its call had sig of 99 on it q in 30s it was same even if i tryed scan echo but got stuff called galaxy 10 12 and so on as channles names but they where all black so i deleted them off the box.

anyways right now i just have no clue what in the sam hell i should do since i'v did everything i read on here and was told anyways after i'v been messing with this since 6am and its just now 1:20pm here i dont know what else to do to even get anything at all sighs.

 

[SatelliteAV]

The LNBF, dish and receiver are working as your are able to receive channels, but the dish is incorrectly aimed and receiver settings may be incorrect. Did you purchase the Visionsat IV-200? If so, forget about setting up the Sonicview for now......

It sounds like you are randomly selecting satellites and settings in the receiver. and pointing at anything and scanning..... I believe that this will prove to be very frustrating. Instead, concentrate on the one satellite using the detailed instructions that we provided yesterday.

 

[wildsidehtc]

giving up

i'v tryed my best to get galaxy 18/g10r its g10r on the boxes witch i think thats the same sat i know my setings are right i'v tried everything to get this one sat and i just cant seem to get any q heck the sig is like in the uper 70s almost 80 but still nothing i know for sure the lnb is skewed right i even barely moved it still nothing just to see if it was off alil but i still think thats skewed right barley move dish left & right up down i used a compass to make sure i was pointing the right way also i used a sat finder i also hooked a small tv and box outside right to dish lnb so i didnt have to run in & out the door to just check on q my brother and a friend even had a go at trying set up the dish and stuff and they know more than me bout seting up a dish but still had no luck and after days and hours spent on trying to get this one sat on my own the only thing i'v got was a really bad sun burn i decided just calll up satav and ask for a local sat install dealer in my area but i cant aford that at this moment since i aint got 200 bucks to spend on that at this time gotta pay bills guees i'll just do with out tv

as for now i just give up since i'm tired of messing with the dish

 

[Lak7]

Think of the Quality Meter as a Transponder Meter vs. a Satellite Meter
The Quality Meter will only light up if if the TP that is selected in the Receiver's Setup Menu.
Which Transponder do you have selected in the Setup Menu?

 

[wildsidehtc]

LNB Freq:10750 MHz. TP: 11720 i'v also tryed 1805 & 11800 and all i got was nothing it just seems to me like its not even there if i'm trying to look for it witch i just cant figur out why i cant get anything heck anything like a very weak q i would be happy just to see that least i would know its there but i never get thing but zero with how much i'v moved the dish i tryed these tps since was told these best to try and after hours and days and for hours i never get nothing.


i dont know maybe i just cant get the sat at all just got no clue anymore.