Wave Frontier Toroidal Antennas w/ FTA & DirecTV LBNF's

[JakeMarley]

DISCLAIMER: i AM NOT TRYING TO STEAL ANYTHING FROM ANYBODY. I JUST WANT THE MOST ELEGANT SYSTEM WITH THE FEWEST NUMBER OF DISHES ON MY ROOF AS POSSIBLE. THE RULES AND STICKIES SAY I CANNOT USE A SINGLE RECEIVER FOR FTA AND DIRECTV. THEY SAY NOTHING ABOUT A SINGLE DISH WITH MULTIPLE LBNF'S AND TWO RECEIVERS. THIS IS WHAT MY QUESTIONS PERTAIN TO.

Sorry for the yelling. I just want to make that clear. I currently have cable TV and high-speed Internet. I disconnect the cable service when the SciFi Channel's friday night prime time channel is in rerun's. Then I reconnect when new season shows air. Since I have service with the cable company on a continuing basis with my Internet connection, they charge me no reconnect fees. Everybody is happy.

However, I have become interested in satellite as a hobby. The cable company's customer service and technical support is horrible. I don't expect DirecTV to be any better. On the other hand, if I own my own satellite system and learn the ropes, at least I can dispense with everything but the customer service for billing issues.

Furthermore, since I cannot get ANY signal via my amplified rabbit-ears (none/zip/zero/zilch), I would at least like an FTA system for the re-run season. I am strongly favoring the Wave Frontier Toroidal T90. Some questions:

1) These dishes permit multiple LBNF's. Can I mix FTA and DirecTV LBNF's on this dish as long as I use two receivers?

1a) I doubt a satellite ISP would allow me to just put an extra LBNF on this dish to receive high-speed Internet, but I can see that coming. Is there something unique about the Internet dishes that would make this impossible?

2) It is not motorized. Can it be? Should it be?

3) I am assuming it can be used to receive local stations, both normal and HDTV. Am I wrong? Do I need an off-air antenna like the Winegard SquareShooter for this?

4) Is this grey market? Will DirecTV have a problem with this?

[kevision]

I can't answer all of this so i'll try on a few points:

DISCLAIMER: i AM NOT TRYING TO STEAL ANYTHING FROM ANYBODY. I JUST WANT THE MOST ELEGANT SYSTEM WITH THE FEWEST NUMBER OF DISHES ON MY ROOF AS POSSIBLE. THE RULES AND STICKIES SAY I CANNOT USE A SINGLE RECEIVER FOR FTA AND DIRECTV. THEY SAY NOTHING ABOUT A SINGLE DISH WITH MULTIPLE LBNF'S AND TWO RECEIVERS. THIS IS WHAT MY QUESTIONS PERTAIN TO.

Excellent work

1) These dishes permit multiple LBNF's. Can I mix FTA and DirecTV LBNF's on this dish as long as I use two receivers?

Yes, but I do not know what kind of LNB would be required for the DTV side. Torodial dishes require 'reversed' LNBs, so I'm not sure where you might find one for DTV.
You will be limited by the Torodial dish's "view" to the east and west of the DTV satellites. There may or may not be FTA within range of the dish. And what is there may not be what you want.

1a) I doubt a satellite ISP would allow me to just put an extra LBNF on this dish to receive high-speed Internet, but I can see that coming. Is there something unique about the Internet dishes that would make this impossible?

The main issue is that satellite internet requires a return transmission to space (does anyone still use the phone uplink connection?). So the installer, FCC, and internet company will not allow anything but very specific hardware to do the task. A LNB for data connected to the Torodial dish won't provide the power and direction requirements for a return path anyway.

2) It is not motorized. Can it be? Should it be?

I'm going to offer probably not. To motorize a Torodial dish means messing up the dish's view everytime the motor moves. You'd need to go out and readjust all the LNBs on the arm.

3) I am assuming it can be used to receive local stations, both normal and HDTV. Am I wrong? Do I need an off-air antenna like the Winegard SquareShooter for this?

"off air" and satellite are 2 different things. You mentioned that you cannot get any signal off of indoor rabbit ears. You may have better luck with an outdoor yagi beam antenna. This would get you (hopefully) your local digital/HD stations. Having a dish will not improve your over the air reception.

4) Is this grey market? Will DirecTV have a problem with this?

DirecTV will have a problem installing this. It has been my experience that they are the least tolerant of DIY people. They will likely require one of their installers to come out just to get your service activated. I suppose you could take their dish down later and try something else. But if you have any problems and need the DTV fixed, they will charge you $$ to do it.
Attempting DBS and FTA on the same dish is difficult. you are very much limited to what you can see because the DBS side always needs to stay in one spot, and there might not be alot around it.

Anyway, I'm not sure I helped. Im suggesting a motorized FTA dish, a separate DTV dish, and a yagi beam antenna. So much for an "elegant" system.
:mozilla_laughing: