# Another Newbie



## Mister B (Feb 19, 2007)

Actually, I have been reading this section on and off for several years. I am a retired teacher who at this time can not get far from home as the sole caretaker of my elderly mother. I have been interested in antennas since I was a kid and can easily install my own Directv dish.
I would like to get started with FTA both as a hobby and an alternative to the ever increasing cost of Directv for some additional programming to compliment my local analog antenna. 
I would like to begin with one stationary dish aimed at the G10 satellite. I have added several of the Retro and MyTv channels as well as WMQF to the TitanTv guide and would be very pleased with this programming. I am of an age that I like those Retro shows and I have never been able to get a good picture on the local Fox affiliate.
The equipment that I am considering from Sadoun is the Fortec MercuryII receiver, a 90cm dish and the Invacom SNH-031 LNB. I would mount the dish on a 1 and 5/8" fence pole which is sturdy and plumb. My goal is to have the best possible picture and sound with an easy set up. I am in no position to say that cost is no object but would not want to save a few dollars at the expense of quality or a reputable dealer.
I would appreciate it very much if those of you with experience in this field would look over my proposed goals and set up and let me know if other equipment or dealers would be prefferable. 
Thank you, I will be checking back daily for any suggestions and no doubt have more questions later.


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## loghaus (Dec 21, 2006)

That sound fine. Just jump in and go for it. You shouldnt have much trouble if you do somebody can help you. Loghaus


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

Yup, that all sounds good to me. FTA makes a superb supplement to free OTA programming, and a stationary dish pointed at G10R is a great start. If you want to save a few bucks, you use a 0.5 dB LNBF instead of the pricier SNH-031; the downside would be that you'd be a little more susceptible to rain fade. And Mercury II is the receiver I'm using now - no problems.

When you choose your dish mount site, try to find a spot with a view of the entire southern arc. Then you can add a motor as Phase 2 of your project and pick up even more channels. Feel free to ask any questions as they come up.:welcome_s


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## Mister B (Feb 19, 2007)

Thank you for the encouragement. I am in the process of getting set up with PayPal and then will place my order to Sadoun. In the mean time I can get that fence pole into some cement in the backyard. I have chosen a place that has access to all of the southern arc except for the far western edge which would never be possibe due to a line of Pine trees (meant to protect us from that strong West Texas Wind).


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

Mister B said:


> In the mean time I can get that fence pole into some cement in the backyard.


This is the most important step in the entire process. As you mentioned earlier, that pole needs to be sturdy and plumb. Be sure to check it with a bubble level before the concrete sets, and make sure that it stays plumb.

A perfect pole makes everything else so much easier. But trying to install a dish on a leaning pole is a nightmare that can go on and on. Good luck!


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## stogie5150 (Feb 21, 2006)

Tell me about it. I just put my second post in because the fence post I used did not stay plumb when I hung the 1m dish and sg2100 motor on it.
The second post is a 3" piece of schedule 40 drill stem.  I'm going to cut off the first post low enough to mount up a P* oval parked on G10 to save wear on the motor. 
My suggestion is if you're going to use a motor and a bigger dish get something heavier than a fence post. My .02.


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## Mister B (Feb 19, 2007)

I have ordered the equipment described in my initial post. The pole is in cement and perfectly plumb. I calculated my Azimuth, Elevation and Skew using Sadoun's charts and maps. I have downloaded Sadoun's quick set up guide as well as the receiver's owner's manual and a very helpful slide show from ftavideos.com
After all of that I still have some questions. 1. During antenna set up, which transponder should I choose on Galaxy 10R? 2. During dish pointing would the signal meter respond to the wrong satellite? They are only 2 degrees apart! 3. After the dish is secured, should I do a Auto Scan or Power Scan? If it is the Power Scan I do not know the proper frequency step in MHZ's or the proper locking speed. The shipment is scheduled to arrive March 1rst, any input in the mean time would be greatly appreciated.


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

1. I'd pick 11805-H SR 4580, home of the Research Channel and University of Washington TV. It seems just a little stronger than 11799-V, and the channels are very dependable.

2. Depends on what you mean by "signal meter". If you mean that handheld device that goes between the dish and the receiver, then yes, it'll respond to anything, including brick walls. If you mean the signal quality display from your receiver, it'll only show quality matching the transponder you set it to find, so that answer is no.

3. Run a Power Scan and use the default settings. It'll probably pick up everything. If it skips over anything, then add the overlooked transponder with the numbers you find online and then make it scan just that new transponder. It'll probably take less work than it took to type your questions.

Let us know when you're up and running. Have fun!


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## Mister B (Feb 19, 2007)

Well, it took DHL 8 days to deliver but I received my FTA system yesterday and got it up and running. I had a couple of anxious hours getting the dish aimed(everyone is right, it is much more sensitive than the pay services) and then the real fun came inside while adding missed transponders, skipping unwanted channels and correcting channel names based on this site and lyngsat information. The picture is really quite good, KTWO is probably the most over-compressed but I get a great channel 7 from El Paso for ABC. KWBF did not have any sound, however I added it as a new channel with Audio PID information from lyngsat and fixed that. This really is a great addition to OTA television and the best part is not having to call a customer service representative to set up service. Thanks again for the helpful information, I am sure I will be back in a few days with more questions.


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

Thanks for the note. Glad to hear that everything went well.

Yes, KTWO uses a very low signal rate, and I suspect that's the reason for its picture quality. You could try its sister station from Cheyenne WY. It's sometimes called KKTU, sometimes KDEV. Whatever you call it, it's on the same transponder (with the same compression?) as WNGS, KFDF and some others.

Now that you've mastered the art of mounting and pointing a dish, maybe you're ready to add a motor? Check http://www.ftalist.com/english.htm for all the English-language channels that are up there now. Or use the TitanTV codes from that page to build your own grid of TV listings for the channels you're enjoying already. Have fun!


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