Starting Over

[mike_mcs]

I doubt this is new to you guys but I could use a little guidance. Back in the 90s I had several BUDs at different houses over the years. Back when "Green Sheets" was the main information show and videocypher was king. Last one was a 10' with Uniden working the C band. Never had much trouble setting them up (electronics has always been my hobby and I work on computers for a living) but lost interest for a while. I'm looking to get back in to it as a hobby and always liked the raw news fees and the "wild feeds" but have a few questions.

1. Are the news and wild feeds on the FTA channels and are they free.

2. I recently got a brand new 10' Orbitron dish still in the box from the late 90s with a H2H mount. What do I need to make this work? I suspect the feed horn is outdated and I will need a receiver. Hope to keep this adventure under $500.00 for now.

If anyone is interested I live in New Jersey and have a 10' dish with a C-band horn in good shape I'd like to give away to make room for the new one I just got from a friend.

 

[rv1pop]

If you still have the old receiver, keep it to move the dish and polorator. The microHD for near $125 is the hottest receiver right now, developed on this forum by and for FTA'ers. Yes wild feeds are still around, but I do not chase them ----- yet. Oh yes, welcome to Satellite guys

 

[Tron]

1. Are the news and wild feeds on the FTA channels and are they free.

Plenty of feeds up there. Most news feeds are on Ku-Band, so you'd want a separate Ku-Band dish (30 inches up to 1.2 meters). You could use a combo C/Ku LNBF on the big dish, but these always seem to involve a trade-off on reception of one band or the other.

Many C-Band feeds up there as well.

2. I recently got a brand new 10' Orbitron dish still in the box from the late 90s with a H2H mount. What do I need to make this work? I suspect the feed horn is outdated and I will need a receiver. Hope to keep this adventure under $500.00 for now.

If you install a newer LNBF (LNB plus feedhorn combo), you won't need to run polarotor control wires. The receiver will select H or V polarity based on the operating voltage it sends the LNBF (13V for Vertical, 18V for Horizontal). There isn't much analog left at all, so you'll want a new HD digital receiver. The microHD from SatelliteAV is only $125 and has proven to be a winner. The newer digital receivers can control a big dish using a separate G-Box or V-Box positioner.

You should be able to stay well under $500, including the receiver, G-Box, new LNBF, and even the Ku-Band dish.

Welcome to SatelliteGuys!

 

[JFOK]

Mike,

Like you my BUD history goes back to the 1990's specifically 1991, when Shaun Kenny shared his knowledge and free/wild feeds were the norm. I started off with a Radio Shack system which served me well for 11 years.
I also got away from the BUD scene for a while about 3 years ago, when I disconnected my equipment to move to my basement home theater. Well that home theater build took longer than I thought it would as I only had weekends and occasional days off to do this build. Upon completion three years later, I resurrected my BUD system and found that much had changed in just those three years...I had some catching up to do.
FTA is very much like C-Band was. There is a lot of free stuff up there including news feeds and wild feeds.
In my signature you can see the equipment I currently use, which includes a 7.5 KTI mesh dish that performs flawlessly for both C and Ku bands. So a dedicated dish while preferred by some, is not a must.
Great bunch of folks here, always willing to help...welcome aboard.

John

 

[Anole]

Here's another recipe you might consider:
- Gbox positioner; see my signature (we also have reviews)
- Ortho mode feedhorn, C-band only, two LNBs, modified multiswitch
- M1 kit from SatelliteAV: 36" dish, PLL LNBF, microHD receiver
- later, add motor for Ku dish; DG-380 @ Sadoun, or the guys can recommend others


... and do tell us which H-H mount you have.
Post a few pictures; that always gets the guys worked up!
... well, it works for me!


iPhone 4

 

[mike_mcs]

Well that was fast! Thanks to all for the info. I plan on setting up in a few weeks and I'll send photos.

Hate to scrap the old dish but haven't gotten any replys. Maybe I'll try Gregslist.

 

[kittyhas1000legs]

Well that was fast! Thanks to all for the info. I plan on setting up in a few weeks and I'll send photos.

Hate to scrap the old dish but haven't gotten any replys. Maybe I'll try Gregslist.

I'd love the 10-footer if it fit on my apartment balcony...

 

[Anole]

Well that was fast!
Thanks to all for the info.

Around here, if you don't get any replies in two days, there is something wrong.
Often, there'll be good feedback in two hours!

Oh, and getting back into it on a "new" 10 foot dish is most assuredly the way to go.
Others will have to comment on that particular dish; I'm not up on it.
Is it the one with "spintilation" adjustment for declination?
If so, maybe you can explain how it works.

 

[wallyhts]

I'd love the 10-footer if it fit on my apartment balcony...

Lol try it worst thing it won't fit. Just tell your landlord if they give you crap that you will blast them into space with your 10 foot laser.

 

[wallyhts]

I would just start with a microhd and a cheap o Cband lnbf and move the dish by hand just to make sure your into it before dropping more money. Under $150 for both.