what receiver would you guys recommend

[korsjs]

i have been saying for some time, that i am going to start working on my fta system.

with all the new recievers out there, what receiver would you recommend and why?

also, what dish and lnb?

please don't give me stuff that is expensive. looking to spend less than 400 total.

 

[thiggin2]

I was lookng into doing the same thing . I've been eyeballing the M1 system from Sadoun with the 36" dish and the Invacom Universal LNB upgrade.

 

[Mr Tony]

Fortec lifetime or the new one is a real good recever

There are 3 features that are usually requested
-Blind scan....can find the new stuff
-USALS-moves the motor
-AC-3 output for the PBS stations
This has it all

I would receommend a 36" dish over a 30 just because the signal will come in better

 

[korsjs]

hey thiggin, since we are both in tampa, do you wan't to consider splitting one of the packages from sadoun? i know it will save us some cash if more than one system is purchased. i can't get on their site until i get home to figure out the savings. my closest major landmark in tampa is citrus park mall.

 

[bigOleB]

The prices are high now but...

Coolsat is the easiest reciever I have ever used and it is super fast.

 

[hantu]

I just bought the M-1 package from Sadoun two weeks ago and I am very happy with it. Unfortunately, the motor that comes with that system (at least when I bought it) did not come with a motor that could handle USALS. The Lifetime Ultra can handle it, but the motor itself works with 1.2.

The need to manually position the dish really isn't that bad. As you "nudge" the motor arm to the East or West, it's kinda fun to watch the quality meter lock on a bird and bound up to 80-90% With the 36" dish and the .03dB universal LNBF, I am having a very easy time getting things from the sky above. I highly recommend Sadoun's package. Good hardware and great customer service!

Cheers

 

[thiggin2]

hey thiggin, since we are both in tampa, do you wan't to consider splitting one of the packages from sadoun? i know it will save us some cash if more than one system is purchased. i can't get on their site until i get home to figure out the savings. my closest major landmark in tampa is citrus park mall.

Yea sounds like a good idea :up . Looks like it would save us $35 each on the shipped because shipping is free for orders over $400. Let me know and we can work it out.
I know were that mall is, I've been to the Best Buy and Circuit City there on more than one occasion .

 

[thiggin2]

I just bought the M-1 package from Sadoun two weeks ago and I am very happy with it. Unfortunately, the motor that comes with that system (at least when I bought it) did not come with a motor that could handle USALS. The Lifetime Ultra can handle it, but the motor itself works with 1.2.

The need to manually position the dish really isn't that bad. As you "nudge" the motor arm to the East or West, it's kinda fun to watch the quality meter lock on a bird and bound up to 80-90% With the 36" dish and the .03dB universal LNBF, I am having a very easy time getting things from the sky above. I highly recommend Sadoun's package. Good hardware and great customer service!

Cheers

They offer 2 dirrerent types of motors of that system I believe. Which motor did you get??

 

[Shawn95GT]

FWIW, double check that the free shipping applies. They exclude the dishes from the free shipping offer.

When I saw that I thought - WOW! Killer deal on a motorized 1.2M dish setup! I did a 1.2M fortec, HH120, and a USB DB tuner for just over $400 shipped - at least that's what the cart said .

While it does apply the no shipping in the cart I'm sure you'd get a call saying 'sorry can't do it' after you order.

 

[hantu]

I picked up the Satcontrol SM3D12 Motor. I didn't read closely enough to the specs. If I had, I would have switched over to one of the STAB motors. If I am wrong and USALS can handle this motor, please forgive me. After reading the documentation that came with the motor and making the attempt to use USALS to scan the arc, I basically figured out that the motor is the older 1.2 style. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

 

[thiggin2]

FWIW, double check that the free shipping applies. They exclude the dishes from the free shipping offer.

When I saw that I thought - WOW! Killer deal on a motorized 1.2M dish setup! I did a 1.2M fortec, HH120, and a USB DB tuner for just over $400 shipped - at least that's what the cart said .

While it does apply the no shipping in the cart I'm sure you'd get a call saying 'sorry can't do it' after you order.

If you buy 2 or more systems it cost $5 more and has free shipping.(at least the systems I'm looking at)

 

[Shawn95GT]

I picked up the Satcontrol SM3D12 Motor. I didn't read closely enough to the specs. If I had, I would have switched over to one of the STAB motors. If I am wrong and USALS can handle this motor, please forgive me. After reading the documentation that came with the motor and making the attempt to use USALS to scan the arc, I basically figured out that the motor is the older 1.2 style. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

Accordign to their site:

The Satcontrol SM3D12 is a powerful motor designed for rotating a satellite dish. The satellite receiver has full automatic control using the DiSEqC 1.2, DiSEqC 1.3 and "Go To X" commands to operate this motor.

I haven't setup a Lifetiem Ultra but many on here have. Likely your reference position is messed up. E instead of W or something. Does the dish just not move at all when you set it up for USALS? If this is the case, I'd suspect this problem.

Shawn

 

[hantu]

With the Fortec, I will set the motor at 0 (ref position) and then tell it to use USALS based on my lat & long. When I do that, the motor goes nowhere and I get an "out of range" message on the screen. To add to that, I would figure that a manufacturer like Satcontrol would put in their documentation that they supported USALS as a marketing feature. There is no mention of it anywhere. Maybe I overlooked it, but I don't think so. I don't really mind, though. I set up each satellite that I want to look at and when I go to a channel I want to see, the dish moves for me just fine. I just had to set up all of the positions myself. No big deal.

 

[Marcyjok]

I like dreambox , most popular fta receiver in EU
it is expensive but has RGB out so it beats Svideo as we speak about video quality

 

[Shawn95GT]

With the Fortec, I will set the motor at 0 (ref position) and then tell it to use USALS based on my lat & long. When I do that, the motor goes nowhere and I get an "out of range" message on the screen. To add to that, I would figure that a manufacturer like Satcontrol would put in their documentation that they supported USALS as a marketing feature. There is no mention of it anywhere. Maybe I overlooked it, but I don't think so. I don't really mind, though. I set up each satellite that I want to look at and when I go to a channel I want to see, the dish moves for me just fine. I just had to set up all of the positions myself. No big deal.

If it's saying out of range then something is wrong with your lat / long. It is pretty common for people to either reverse the numbers or get the E or W wrong.

DiSEqC 1.3 = USALS

Shawn

 

[digiblur]

With the Fortec, I will set the motor at 0 (ref position) and then tell it to use USALS based on my lat & long. When I do that, the motor goes nowhere and I get an "out of range" message on the screen. To add to that, I would figure that a manufacturer like Satcontrol would put in their documentation that they supported USALS as a marketing feature. There is no mention of it anywhere. Maybe I overlooked it, but I don't think so. I don't really mind, though. I set up each satellite that I want to look at and when I go to a channel I want to see, the dish moves for me just fine. I just had to set up all of the positions myself. No big deal.

That motor works fine with USALS. Check your settings.

 

[Sadoun]

Most likely you have an E after your longitude. Change it to W by clicking the right arrow key on the remote. The Satcontrol is compatible with the USALS commands in the Fortec. USALS is a TM owned by STAB. So other motor manufacturers don't use that name. They call it GOTO X or DiSEqC 1.3. I have even saw a new term in the latest Tele-Satellite magazine. I can't remember it now.

FREE SHIPPING calrification: You will get free shipping with our standard motorized or stationary satellite systems if your order go over $400. However, if you only buy the dishes separately, or upgrade the dish to 100CM or 120CM, then we will have to charge shipping on the dish part of the order.

FedEX and all the shipping company (including ocean carriers) keep adding the fuel surcharges on us, it is getting rediculus. Also, steel prices went up and now our cost for anything metal (i.e dishes) has gone up again.

The good old days when a gallon of gas was less than $1.50 are badly missed.

 

[hantu]

Thanks for the info. The E vs. W thing isn't listed anywhere in the documentation anywhere. It absolutely makes sense that "Out of Range" was rearing it's ugly head. Now that I have the satellites programmed, the point is a bit moot, but if I ever have to do a "Factory Reset" in the future, I will definitely use USALS, GOTO X, DiSEqC 1.3, or whatever else they want to call it. Like I said earlier, Sadoun: Great customer service!

Cheers