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IowaWatcher

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Apr 25, 2007
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Charles City, Iowa
Hello We are moving to a place that has a old Primestar dish and I was going to buy a KU receiver to see what was out there I see alot of FTA ones on e-bay. Im curious what is actually out there anymore..I worked in a tv station for 14 years and was curious if all the news feeds and things like that are still free or what ? I dont mind going out and tuning in the dish by hand if I can find some neat stuff..
Thanks in advance

Iowa Watcher
 
Well, ask any number of people what receiver to get and you'll get pretty much a different answer everytime.
Coolsat, Pansat, and Fortec will probably be the most popular.
Check a sponsor out, that way you know you are getting a new box and one that has not been modified or loaded with 3rd party software.

I am not up on the Primestar dishes, but I know many people here use them for stationary setups and a few modify them for motors. Personally I would invest in a motorized setup from one of the sponsors. I started with a stationary setup and quickly wanted a motor as I got sick of repointing my dish.

As for what's out there, check http://www.global-cm.net/MPEGlistKuBandUS.html for most of the fairly permanent stuff. As for feeds, yeah, I find quite a few news/sports etc. For this purpose, definately get a receiver with blind scan or power scan capabilities.
 
Thanks for the reply..So what actually does the software on these receivers do ? I was curious what they mean when they talk about clones ect ?
Sorry about all the newby questions I havent messed with sat stuff since I had a old mesh dish about 13 years ago.

Thanks

IowaWatcher
 
The software runs the receiver, there are two types of software: Factory and 3rd party. Factory software is found on the manufacturers website and is the only kind guranteed to work reliably on the recevier. 3rd party is what hackers program to get programming illegally. It also voids your warranty etc.

Clones are usually made by companies who want to make a quick dollar off the people who are looking to illegally obtain programming. Sometimes they look and present themselves as the real deal, other times they just look like the original, but go by a different name. Sometimes clones are decent, but usually, poor quality.
 
Ok cool..I'll be watching some receivers and hopefully get one here soon.
Thanks for the info..Im sure I'll have many more questions if you folks dont care..

IowaWatcher
 
WELCOME! It is nice to see someone that is almost local to me! I am in Waterloo. I have a Fortec Lifetime Classic NA and a SatPros that I have had good luck with. I have some Primestar dishes and love them! I also have a motorized 80cm dish. I would recommend the Fortec as a good starter receiver. Let me know if you need help with anything. :)
 
Waterloo ! We live near Clear Lake now but are moving south of Charles City...I'll have some more questions about sat stuff in the next few months.

Thanks !
 
You think the Primestar® is too big to put a motor on ?

Thanks

Joel

Absolutely not - several folks (including myself) have Primestars running on a variety of different motors. Some use the stock mount and others fabricate lighter mounts for this purpose.

Go ahead and search the forums for "Primestar". It will list a number of different threads covering this topic in great detail.
 
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