What else can a direrctv system receive

[tonydix]

I have a friend who lives in Panama for 6 months of the year and the rest of the year in his home in Rigby Idaho. Because of his reduced use he has cancelled his directv subscription. So my question is what FTA services could he receive with his existing equipment if I helped him to align the dish to another bird.
Thanks
Tony

 

[raoul5788]

Nothing. There are some Directv channels that are unscrambled, but they are information channels.

 

[The Fat Man]

Couldn't he use the Directv satellite dish with a FTA receiver to get some programming, not from Directv's satellite, but from a FTA bird? Or, would he need a big dish for that?

 

[raoul5788]

I doubt you would pick anything up. Directv sats are much higher powered than the ku birds. That's why they can use such a small dish. Even if you could, Directv uses circular polarity. I don't think the ku satellites do.

 

[Jimbo]

Tony,
To help your friend out, have him Suspend his service when he's gone, I don't think you can suspend it for 6 months at a time, but I do think 4-5 is available.

 

[Joe Diamond]

I have a friend who lives in Panama for 6 months of the year and the rest of the year in his home in Rigby Idaho. Because of his reduced use he has cancelled his directv subscription. So my question is what FTA services could he receive with his existing equipment if I helped him to align the dish to another bird.
Thanks
Tony

Ask the same question on the FTA site. For sure the Directv receiver won't pick up much more than the Directv signal. There is a whole world of satellite signals out there. Many are encrypted and many are on specific frequencies.

You friend should also ask around down in Panama. Since most sats are in orbit at the equator his elevation is going to be almost vertical and he may need to drill holes in the dish to keep it from filling with water.

Joe

 

[TigerpounceTN]

Tony,
To help your friend out, have him Suspend his service when he's gone, I don't think you can suspend it for 6 months at a time, but I do think 4-5 is available.

Actually, you can suspend two times in a 12 month period and you can do it for up to 6 months total between the two suspensions. My account just came off suspension to do a mover's connection.

http://support.directv.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2430/~/suspending-your-directv-service


There was no real need to cancel the account if only using it 6 months of the year was the reason.