The future of the FTA hobby

[navychop]

Well, with undersea cables being cut, I wouldn't dismiss that possibility.

 

[mr_rye89]

Worst case scenario I'll use my BUD(s) to get weather satellites, been watching saveitforparts on YT, fun stuff

 

[toucan-man]

My wife is down to watching just Azteca since the other stuff she was watching either disappeared or encrypted. There's a bit of spanish language programming on the Mexican sats but she doesn't seem to be too interested in that programming. I may have to get a streaming subscription for her in the near future.

Where is Azteca currently? Is it somewhere on C-Band?

 

[cyberham]

Where is Azteca currently? Is it somewhere on C-Band?

Azteca muxes are on C-band on 117W (Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala), 105W (Mexico) and 99W (Mexico).

 

[toucan-man]

Azteca muxes are on C-band on 117W (Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala), 105W (Mexico) and 99W (Mexico).

They appear to be gone from 99W. I'm not sure I can get 117W due to the neighbor's ever growing tree. I did find three Azteca channels at 93.1°W. Thanks for your help. Will try again tomorrow.

 

[cyberham]

They appear to be gone from 99W. I'm not sure I can get 117W due to the neighbor's ever growing tree. I did find three Azteca channels at 93.1°W. Thanks for your help. Will try again tomorrow.

Yes, I also scanned Azteca channels on 93.1W. You might try 99W at a different time of day.

 

[toucan-man]

Yes, I also scanned Azteca channels on 93.1W. You might try 99W at a different time of day.

I noticed a comment at Ricks that the 99W channels have gone missing. My system is primitive, not motorized. There's a lot of walking back and forth to move to a different satellite. 117W would probably be ideal if I can get it.

 

[WhiteBeard]

I noticed a comment at Ricks that the 99W channels have gone missing. My system is primitive, not motorized. There's a lot of walking back and forth to move to a different satellite. 117W would probably be ideal if I can get it.

It's gone from 99W. I've been told it's on 117W but it's wiped out by 5G. There is another mux on 117W at a higher freq but it's scrambled despite being scanned in as FTA.

 

[clucas]

Maybe the future is a transition from C-band to Ku. PBS migrated to Ku years ago and doesn't have a problem with rain fade but have you seen the size of the dishes they use? I would welcome using a smaller dish but I don't think you should abandon your ten footer, keep it for more reliable Ku reception. I have a stationary 10' dish with a combined C/Ku lnbf pointed at 97W. During the solar outage I noticed my Ku returned after only a few minutes instead of the 8 to 10 minutes I've experienced in the past on my smaller dish.

The reason I bring this up is an encouraging article I recently read. It's about 5G in Brazil and their solution.
For the past 30 to 40 years, free-to-air (FTA) broadcasting in Brazil has been streamed through C-band frequencies. However, this is all about to change. 5G is quickly becoming available throughout South America, and Anatel, Brazil's public telecom regulator, has stated that all FTA C-band channels must migrate to Ku-band to keep broadcasting.
Full story is on the Eutelsat website at: 5G In Brazil? Why FTA Channels Need to Migrate to Ku-Band | Eutelsat

 

[FTA4PA]

Interesting read. From that it appears KU is being forced and they are not even being given the option of trying to continue broadcasting on a smaller C Band bandwidth segment in Brazil. Perhaps, as you said, this may be our future as well. Time will tell.

 

[Titanium]

The above referenced Brazil C-band migration to KU-band of FTA (Free To Home - Direct Broadcast Services) was completed in Q4, 2024. Distribution services are being encouraged to migrate from 3600 - 4200 MHz to the 4500 - 4800MHz frequency range. Many services remain below 4200 MHz. Currently, the largest market for Titanium Satellite C138 and C238 5G filtered LNBFs is South America.