Channel Subscriptions...

[Powrline]

Hi,
I am going to buy a FTA satellite system and I have a few questions. Is there any way to purchase (ala carte) just a few channels from a satellite provider? I am not interested in most of whats on my Directv system, but I would like to subscribe to Boomerang and maybe the AMC movie channel or a Starz?

I think I saw a Fortec Star Platnum II with a card slot (slots) but I could be mistaken.

I missed the glory days of owning a 10' C-Band dish and all of the free stuff that you could get with those BUDs. I am hoping that one day I can subscribe to maybe 10 channels and not have to pay over $50.00 a month to enjoy TV on my side of the mountain.

Thanks!!!
Powrline

[elgemcdlf]

At present the only subs available in the US via the CI receivers are on Hispasat @ 30 from a provider in FL. For the channels you are talking about you should easily be able to get them for less than $50.00 / month. Of course this means going back to the big dish and a 4DTV receiver I sub to Startz/Encore (24 channels) for roughly $172.00 / yr. Maybe it was $125.00 do not remember exactly. Even at the higher figure it works out to $14.33 a month which is just over $.50 a month per channel.

[rainman]

welcome to the forum powrline. the only ones doing ala-carte that i know of is c band and 4 DTV. don't think any of the little dish companys are doing it yet.

[Powrline]

Thank you all Very Much for the Info. Some people have said that FTA Tv is more of a hobby than an actual replacement for Directv or Dish Net. Where I live you can get NO (Zero) TV Channels without an outside Antenna, and the local (Town) Ordinance says, "No Outside Antennas".

Many here are Cable Subscribers. All others (like me) have a small Sat Dish in their yard. I am going to buy the FTA system.

On some Satellites, I see there are "feeds". Does FTA allow you to see these feeds?

Will my son be able to watch NHL?

Is there Sports on the feeds, or other Channels?

Thank you for your time and answers.

Powrline

[rainman]

yep some of the feeds are in the clear. as for sports you will have to scan and see if anything comes up alot of times they do.

[wejones]

Originally Posted by Powrline

Thank you all Very Much for the Info. Some people have said that FTA Tv is more of a hobby than an actual replacement for Directv or Dish Net. Where I live you can get NO (Zero) TV Channels without an outside Antenna, and the local (Town) Ordinance says, "No Outside Antennas".

....

Unless you live in some very special historical district or something, I don't think it is legal for a town to make a blanket ban of antennas like that. If I lived there, I would ignore it. Now, if it's one of those planned communities with a restrictive covenant or something, and you've signed into the rules, then that's different. If it IS an odinance, then, the simplest way to make that ordinance mean nothing is to take the test and become a ham. Let them try to tell a ham not to put up an antenna, or what kind of antenna. Towns pass ordinances like that all the time, but they usually don't hold up.
My town tried to restrict the height of antennas, until they did a bit of research.

[elgemcdlf]

Will Bill on this one. Antenna's are governed by the FCC and local ordinances mean nothing almost all the time. One of the most famous battles was in MI over a big dish. City had a ban and the guy put one in. They fined him and he appealed. Took years and tons of money but the city lost and had to pay all his legal fees along with (if I remember correctly) something like $5,000,000 for damages.

Because he lived in a tight neighborhood he had the dish mounted on a tall pole. There is one like this near where I work. They tried everything to make him take it down but height was another issue the city had no jurisdiction over.

FTA is not a replacement for DTV or DN but 4DTV is a definite alternative. If you check LyngSat - Lyngemark Satellite and look at the sats and channels offered in North America I believe you can find most of what you are looking for. May not be ESPN but there are sports channels. No Starz, Encore, HBO but there are movie channels. Some with commercials, some without. I think all major networks are available.

Even if it does not offer everything you desire the small initial investment coupled with no monthly fees and channel availability makes it a very good investment.

[Powrline]

FTA is not a replacement for DTV or DN but 4DTV is a definite alternative. If you check LyngSat - Lyngemark Satellite and look at the sats and channels offered in North America I believe you can find most of what you are looking for. May not be ESPN but there are sports channels. No Starz, Encore, HBO but there are movie channels. Some with commercials, some without. I think all major networks are available.

Even if it does not offer everything you desire the small initial investment coupled with no monthly fees and channel availability makes it a very good investment.

Thanks for all of the input.
I have Dtv scheduled for "turn-off" at the end of my billing cycle, (May 8, 2007).
I will probably go a few weeks without TV while I decide (and OK with my wife) which system that we will buy. We live in the mountains of western Maryland, bordering West Virginia. (We live 100 miles from Pittsburgh, which is our nearest TV Market). We get no TV without any Cable or Satellite assistance.

Fortec Star, Coolsat, etc. Which is a good receiver for someone who wants ease of use, on screen program guide, blind scan, something that my wife will use without a lot of problem tuning to channels?

80cm, 90cm, 100cm? Will I do well with the 90cm dish, or should I spring forth with the additonal $100.00 for the 100cm dish? I have a (mostly) clear view of the southern sky with the exception of one or two tall trees that may interupt the view of the arc. I would like to see as many east and west (US & Canadian) Satellites as I can. I would love to see Alaska TV, but being located at 79.39W, I don't know how much western US Satellites that I will be able to receive. (Will I need 100cm dish?)

4DTV sounds wonderful, but it is mainly finances that have me in the position that I am in. $52.00/month for DirecTv is to expensive right now for me with one income and a load of monthly bills. My Wife said there is "no way" that she will allow me to put a 7' dish in the yard for C-band. I couldn't afford it right now anyhow. I am just looking for an inexpensive solution to not having a TV signal, (in about 4 days).

Thank you all very much.
Powrline

[elgemcdlf]

You can probably get a C Band dish for free. At least that is what I have been paying for them You have the cost of the concrete which is negligable, cable (can get costly just depends on length), the 4DTV receiver (not cheap about $550.00 when all said and done, new). Feedhorn area can get costly. Expect no on screen guide. The receivers are capable with everything in place but most channels are not broadcasting the information.

[Powrline]

Originally Posted by elgemcdlf

You can probably get a C Band dish for free. At least that is what I have been paying for them You have the cost of the concrete which is negligable, cable (can get costly just depends on length), the 4DTV receiver (not cheap about $550.00 when all said and done, new). Feedhorn area can get costly. Expect no on screen guide. The receivers are capable with everything in place but most channels are not broadcasting the information.

I had a free c band dish (7') that was laying in my yard waiting for installation. The new Homeowners insurer said that it is a hazard (in that condition) so I had to dismantle it.

Mom says, (my wife) No BUDs!

I have 2 receivers for c+ku band sitting on her dining room chairs that I value like gold. (sigh) Maybe one day I will have the 1984 technology of the C Band.

Thank You Very Much
powrline

[elgemcdlf]

Originally Posted by Powrline

I had a free c band dish (7') that was laying in my yard waiting for installation. The new Homeowners insurer said that it is a hazard (in that condition) so I had to dismantle it.

Mom says, (my wife) No BUDs!

I have 2 receivers for c+ku band sitting on her dining room chairs that I value like gold. (sigh) Maybe one day I will have the 1984 technology of the C Band.

Thank You Very Much
powrline

Could not resist this one. My GF says nothing about my hobbies. Then one day out of the blue she tells me that before she met me she had always thought of the big dish as being ugly and definitely preferred the little dishes (must be cuteness) of DTV or DN. She told me this as her mind had changed on the matter and now would not trade any of the big dishes. She learned that with the big dish storms just do not have near the same effect as they do on the small dishes. She learned that with a small dish you can have "this" but with the big dish you can have everything the small dish can do plus.

She is very proud of the 2 big dishes in the back yard and patiently waiting for the third to be installed. She has as much fun with it as I do. We have a truly unrealistic number of channels but whatever it takes to get a couple more we are on it. She has fun with family members that live in CA. She get's channels they don't and might be from right there where they are. Has an uncle in Tijuana and for a bit we had a channel out of Tijuana. She would call him up and have fun telling him what was on. At first he thought she was kidding until he tuned in and watched exactly what she said was happening.

What if you paint the dish to look like a smiley face or big flower? I know the dish would be embarrassed but it might get a nod from the wife.

[rainman]

pull up lyngsat and show her all the channels you can get on c band fta she may just change her mind.

[Powrline]

Originally Posted by elgemcdlf

What if you paint the dish to look like a smiley face or big flower? I know the dish would be embarrassed but it might get a nod from the wife.

I left this thread on the computer for my wife to read, and she laughed out loud at the thought of the painted dish. On the other hand, it seemed that she was concidering the benefits of having more channels for free by installing the big 7 footer.

Thanks for the GF input. I have hope that maybe I will get to fire up one of my 2 receivers that are made for big dishes.

(Uniden UST4900, and a General Instrument 2400 R)

Cheers
powrline

[Powrline]

Joyous Cinco de Mayo,

Yesterday I logged onto Sadoun's Web Site and Purchased a Fortec Star Mercury II, 90 cm dish and a STAB 90 Motor.

I am hoping that the shipping doesn't take to long, as I am looking forward to be getting up to speed on the FTA Hobby.

In my last post, I mentioned that I have a couple of older receivers.

The General Instrument 2400 R is capable of receiving C Band and Ku Band Satellites. Could I connect this receiver to the 90cm dish and receive a watchable signal on the Ku Band?

How about connecting it to the Directv 18" Dish and pointing it at the sky? Would it receive anything, since it is able to receive Ku Band. I think that it will only handle 24 transponders, so in todays technology, it may not work at all on Ku Band.

Thanks for any help that you can give me....
powrline

[wejones]

Originally Posted by Powrline

....

In my last post, I mentioned that I have a couple of older receivers.

The General Instrument 2400 R is capable of receiving C Band and Ku Band Satellites. Could I connect this receiver to the 90cm dish and receive a watchable signal on the Ku Band?

How about connecting it to the Directv 18" Dish and pointing it at the sky? Would it receive anything, since it is able to receive Ku Band. I think that it will only handle 24 transponders, so in todays technology, it may not work at all on Ku Band.
...

I'm not specifically familiar with that receiver, but if it does C/Ku, you should be able to connect it to the 90 CM. There aren't that many analog Ku signals anymore, but there are a few, particularly sports feeds.
The only problem I'd see would be that not all analog receivers can change polarity easily on an lnbf like you'd have on the 90cm dish. I'm sure it can be done, but maybe not automatically. After you get the Mercury, you can connect the GI receiver to the passthrough of the Mercury (I advise getting a DC block {used to be available from RS}), but in meantime, it can't hurt to try. Best chance to find analog would be on the sats between G26 and SBS6. Last time I looked, I found half a dozen channels down there, but none are 24/7, most are just occasional video.