Sports Fan who is new to C-Band

[CapeFish]

Hello everyone,

My name is CapeFish and I live in Cape Coral, Florida.

I love watching sports on my Dish Network system and am interested in adding a C-Band system to watch sports backhauls like the Marlins Television Network and some college athletics throughout the year. I get FSN via Dish, but the OTA Sports Networks are not carried on Dish and I can't get cable to catch them so C-Band is my only option.

While checking schedules for college hockey, I ran into the Fighting Sioux Satellite System for sale at a price of $439.99.

My questions are:
1) Do I have to pay for a service of some sort for the programming?
2) Will this system allow me to watch the Marlins and other sports network backhauls?
3) Is this system a good value for the money?
4) Has anybody ordered this or a similar system?
5) How difficult is it to set up?

Thanks In Advanced!
CapeFish
Cape Coral, FL

 

[Mr Tony]

My questions are:
1) Do I have to pay for a service of some sort for the programming?

no. Once you buy the equipment, there are no fees

2) Will this system allow me to watch the Marlins and other sports network backhauls?

yes.If you have C-Band, the Marlins are on C-Band backhauls. I have KU (30" dish) and see tons of college games (football, basketball and hockey). C-band is a 10' dish or larger

3) Is this system a good value for the money?

yes its a good system. However, the ralph (the sioux) charge WAY TOO MUCH FOR THAT....check out this site for a better price. Pete (PSB) lurks around here. He'll treat you right

4) Has anybody ordered this or a similar system?

I have a similar setup...just different receiver

5) How difficult is it to set up?

not too hard. If your handy with tools, its pretty easy. There are a few of us who have done installs. I would suggest getting a motorized unit. it allows you to see all the satellites, and allows you to see TONS of games. Last week I saw 12 college football games for FREE!!! During hockey season (when I wasn't cheering on the Univ of MN Duluth Bulldohgs) there would be 3 or 4 games on that I could see.


By the way...welcome Capefish!

 

[Cascade]

My name is CapeFish and I live in Cape Coral, Florida.

Is that your real name?

 

[CapeFish]

Is that your real name?

lol, no that is rob. CapeFish is my handle. It is like a second name though

 

[CapeFish]

no. Once you buy the equipment, there are no fees

yes.If you have C-Band, the Marlins are on C-Band backhauls. I have KU (30" dish) and see tons of college games (football, basketball and hockey). C-band is a 10' dish or larger

yes its a good system. However, the ralph (the sioux) charge WAY TOO MUCH FOR THAT....check out this site for a better price. Pete (PSB) lurks around here. He'll treat you right

I have a similar setup...just different receiver

not too hard. If your handy with tools, its pretty easy. There are a few of us who have done installs. I would suggest getting a motorized unit. it allows you to see all the satellites, and allows you to see TONS of games. Last week I saw 12 college football games for FREE!!! During hockey season (when I wasn't cheering on the Univ of MN Duluth Bulldohgs) there would be 3 or 4 games on that I could see.


By the way...welcome Capefish!

Thank you for the clear answers and the welcome. I hope to be able to get a system after hurricane season. Charley and Frances almost blew my little Dish away so this one can wait until the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico cool down, but I am really looking into it.

 

[timmy1376]

Let's not let him get confused now. The system he posted is Ku only. He keeps refering to C-Band. Two different things. I would hate to see him order that thinking he is getting a cband system, then not get Marlins games.

Like everyone else says, don't buy it for one channels, because it could go away anytime.

 

[Cascade]

hehe, just toying with ya.
Pete will hook you up, I bought most of my gear from him and he's ultra-reliable.
Like a Volkswagen, only cheaper.

You'll love FTA, there's always something to watch, new programs appear and disappear all the time.
if you have a better view of the Clarke Belt than I do you'll find a lot of decent programming for free.

Never boring.

 

[Mr Tony]

Let's not let him get confused now. The system he posted is Ku only. He keeps refering to C-Band. Two different things. I would hate to see him order that thinking he is getting a cband system, then not get Marlins games.

Like everyone else says, don't buy it for one channels, because it could go away anytime.

understandable....but I explained both. if he has the real estate, a C-Band with KU attached is the best.

If you dont..or have a HOA like me...then KU is the only way

 

[CapeFish]

Let's not let him get confused now. The system he posted is Ku only. He keeps refering to C-Band. Two different things. I would hate to see him order that thinking he is getting a cband system, then not get Marlins games.

Like everyone else says, don't buy it for one channels, because it could go away anytime.

Ok, KU is the smaller plastic dishes while the C Band is the larger mesh dishes? What is the difference? Which one is the most commonly used for Sports Backhauls?

 

[Mr Tony]

Thank you for the clear answers and the welcome. I hope to be able to get a system after hurricane season. Charley and Frances almost blew my little Dish away so this one can wait until the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico cool down, but I am really looking into it.

Hopefully everything is OK down there

 

[CapeFish]

BTW, I live right next to a brackish water canal so it has to be plastic or else it will rust like some of my neighbor's dishes.

 

[CapeFish]

Hopefully everything is OK down there

Thankfully it is. My Dish kept the roof from peeling off during Charley because the cables held the suffit in place.

 

[Cascade]

Are you ready for Jeanne?

 

[CapeFish]

Are you ready for Jeanne?

Of course. The Native Floridian motto "The question is not if another will come, just when will it come and do I have to go to work."

 

[Cascade]

BTW, I live right next to a brackish water canal so it has to be plastic or else it will rust like some of my neighbor's dishes.

I'm in hot 'n humid VA next to the James River, near the ocean.
The steel dishes have a lot better rustproofing than the older models, especially the Winegard. That thing could take a bullet.

Yeah, you guys are getting hammered this year. We're supposed to get the tail end of Jeanne.

 

[CapeFish]

Here is my blog entry on Charley.
http://capefish.blogspot.com/2004/08/hurricane-charley.html

 

[Diamond Jim]

Hang on boys, there are very few baseball backhauls on C Band. If there is a backhaul it will be on a Saturday night (after the regular FOX games are over) or Sunday afternoon when the local stations are sending the feeds to their affiliates. The only time he would see a Marlins game is if he would stumble across another teams feed. I have never came across a Marlin local feed, I don't know if there is even a local station that do their games. The Marlins games are on FOX Sorts Net Florida, which he is in the Marlins region. The catch is that you can not buy just the "regional" that you live in, you have to buy them all. The bad part about this is that any out of region MLB, NHL, NBA games are blacked out. To make a long story short, you pay for it but you can't watch it. That is just for pro teams, tons of college sports are there for the watching.

Capefish, send me personal message, there are a few other things I can let you in on . Even thought you are a Marlin fan, I am willing to help you out. Go Yankees. There are no grudges in the satellite world.

 

[Diamond Jim]

Ok, KU is the smaller plastic dishes while the C Band is the larger mesh dishes?

I would reccommend a spun aluminian dish, they hold up a lot better. Mesh has a chance of warping, the mesh can come out and the sections can seperate. Also I hear that the spun holds the signal better. I have a Motorola 922 4dtv for C and Ku and a Satworks 3618 for DVB.

At least that's what I have seen from the mesh dishes around here. I see more abondoned mesh dishes that I do spun.

Anything to add, Pete?

 

[PSB]

Cant add much, I think a solid dish is always the way to go, although I had a 1 meter mesh dish once that worked great, spun aluminium prime focus sounds great!

 

[bwaldron]

Actually, many Marlins feeds can be found on analog C band (usually on AMC-9); these would be away broadcasts that are carried on local TV rather than Fox Sports Florida. Same for the Devil Rays.

In Florida, you really need a 10-foot BUD for reasonable C-band quality.