As a rule, all new FTA mpeg receivers are digital.
As a rule, all old BUD (Big Ugly Dish) receivers were analog.
With a dish, you can have a
C band LNB, a Ku band LNB, or both. These LNB's will receive analog or digital satellite signals.
As a rule, just about every satellite signal these days is digital. You can not receive digital satellite signals with an old analog receiver. Just like satellite radio, you can't receive this with your old analog car radio, you need a new digital satellite radio.
Then there are encrypted (crypt, cipher) signals which are paid, or open Free to Air satellite signals. The paid signals can be analog or digital. The Free to Air signals can be analog or digital. The signals can be C or Ku.
Then there are new satellites and old satellites up in space. Maybe 30 or 40 satellites which can be pointed to from North America depending on your location. Some satellites have weak signals, some satellites have strong signals.
As a rule, you need a larger dish for C band, but a smaller dish will work for Ku band.
If it is a satellite with a strong signal and you are just pointing a fixed dish at that satellite and it is Ku band, then a very small dish will work (as they use for paid satellite TV).
To get the weaker satellites, you need a larger dish. The communications companies which use these satellites use very large dishes. Like these monsters...
Earth Stations. Ground station antennas and systems for HUB's
If you are using a motorized dish, it is very difficult to set it up so it points exactly dead center at each and every satellite as it rotates back and forth across the sky. The arc can be a little too high or low, or the arc may not be exactly aligned with the arc the satellites are at in space. If you are using a smaller dish and your arc is ever so slightly off when pointing to a weaker satellite, then you are not going to get anything from that satellite. A larger dish is more forgiving. You are pointing to an object 30,000 miles up in space. If your
aiming is off just a hair, you may be pointing 100 miles away from the satellite by the time that line of aim is 30,000 miles away from earth! But this is ok for the stronger satellites.
Due to the precise aiming required for weak satellites, I installed a "turn buckle" on my small motorized dish. Then when aiming, I can turn the turn buckle maybe a quarter turn and raise the dish up just a hair. Or lower it just a hair. I do this while using a satellite signal meter and making the dish go back and forth across the sky. It can take a lot of patience and several days to get the arc just right so you get dead on for all satellites.
Some satellite FTA channels use Dolby for sound and you can not hear the sound with some mpeg receivers. I just bought a Fortec
Mercury II and this has an S/PDIF optical cable connection (Dolby pass-through) which I connect to my new Sony DG-500 surround sound amplifier with optical connection, then I can hear the sound on all channels.
My goal is to get as many channels as I can. This means largest dish possible, C and Ku, and a receiver with Dolby "pass through".
But you can use a smaller dish and get just Ku from just the stronger satellites.
Also there is the "maintenance" aspect of owning an FTA mpeg receiver. Satellites change their frequencies. What works today may not work tomorrow because they changed the frequency. With my old mpeg receiver, I would need to go to lyngsat.com or satcodx.com and find the new frequency. Then manually enter it in my receiver. The satellite in my post above has 36 different frequencies. Multiply this by 30 or 40 satellites and you have a lot of frequencies to keep up to date! My new Mercury II receiver has what is called "blind search". I just turn it lose on a satellite and it goes to work - searching for every possible frequency, and adding new frequencies to the receiver list. Then searching for FTA channels on all the frequencies in the list.
No mess, no fuss! Saves a ton of work.
Anyway it took me a long time to understand FTA. So feel free to ask more questions.
.jpg){kind=avatar}
Linear Mode
