Free To Air Satelites

[Smith]

Does anyone here have one? Just wondering so I can pm you with questions.

[suprafreak6]

i do, PM away

[Smith]

Will do.

[WHOPPER82]

Have any links on how to get started using free to air satellites or how much the startup cost is?

[kaffeine]

I found good info on this and this site to start.

[C-mos]

th second one doesn;t work for me

[kaffeine]

Works fine for me. Do you not get the blueish banner?

[lynx]

Have any links on how to get started using free to air satellites or how much the startup cost is?

Before you even start you should find out what FTA channels you want to receive, which satellites they are on, and how big a dish you need. You may find that the ones you particularly want are spread over more than one satellite.

Basic setup on one satellite is fairly simple, you just need a dish (and mount), LNB (that's the lump in front of the dish), cabling and a receiver. Wire it all up, point the dish at the satellite (more difficult than it sounds, but not much), and away you go. You can probably do that for about £250-300 ($500-600) depending on the size of dish you need.

If you need to see 2 or 3 satellites and they are fairly close together you can use a single dish with multiple LNBs. You may also need a slightly larger dish since at best only one LNB will be on the prime focus of a satellite. This sort of setup can handle multiple satellites with a total spread of about 12 degrees. Depending on your needs this could cost £10-50 ($20-100) extra. You also need to make sure the receiver can control the switch, but most can these days. You will find setup a little harder too.

If you decide you need to see more satellites, or the ones you want to see are spread too far apart, then you need a moveable dish. Surprisingly, the cost isn't really any higher than a multiple LNB system. The mount is different, but not much more expensive. The dish is the same as a static one, as is the LNB. However, you also need a motor, that comes in from about £75 ($150), depending on yhe size of dish you need to move. You need to be able to control the motor so you need a receiver with that capability. Setup is a whole different story, you can do it yourself but it needs careful preparation to ensure the mount is exactly vertical, and more than a little patience.

[WHOPPER82]

Thanks for the links and detailed post. It seems like a lot of work. I used to card flash back in High School but my cards started to get nuked after 10 mins. I never heard of FTA but its something I could get into.