Question about FTA and Echostar.......

[lilyarbie]

I don't really want to shell out $100 dollars for a DVB receiver to receive only certain channels I want to get like the music channels off of Echostar satellites and the NASA channel. It had been mentioned on the forum somewhere that a deactivated Dish receiver would be able to pick up those channels that are in the clear. Looking over at Ebay, I see that some older receivers made by Echostar run cheaper than DVB receivers. My question is, how new of a receiver does it have to be to pick up those channels on Echostar satellites without being activated. Is there a year where they started with the current technology and any year prior to that would be a dead box? Also, is there certain updates that the earliest receivers have to have to be able to pick up those channels in the "clear." Notice: I do not want to illegal receive channels. I only want to be able to get those broadcasting on the Echostar satellites that are in the "clear" only and not "scrambled" or "encrypted."

 

[Mr Tony]

As far as I know, any box that was activated before will receive the following
-Dish 101
-NASA
-Angel One
-The knockoff shopping channels
-Sports & Movie PPV Preview screens (139, 103, 450, etc)

They WILL NOT get the audio channels…yes, they are FTA, but Dish only authorizes them with the right package.
I have an old 5000 that had them all fine and dandy…until I let the damn thing upgrade to the newest software…then they go bye bye (actually, you get "smartcard not authorized").

There are FTA boxes on Ebay for like $60 shipped…company called Middle Valley Engineering
Here is the link
https://store.middletowneng.com/index.php?cPath=21&osCsid=c7aa9d0f49623baef43d4ce2c6b2c91b

 

[PipeDream]

Now $52 shipped.
I am also getting Ch. 265 - CCTV9, Ch. 402 - NBATV, and Ch. 884 - CCEF (non-english) on my unsubscribed cardless IRD. Certainly an FTA receiver is a better deal since subscribing to Dish gets you a free system anyway. And any mismatched or cancelled card would not let you get anything at all.

 

[Mr Tony]

I know 402 is in freeview....so that's why that would be up.

But the OP wants it mostly for NASA & the audio...NASA will work but the audio ones won't