# Are these two channels on 88 West?



## Diatheke (Jan 29, 2008)

I am looking for TVU Music Television and Spirit TV?

One list I found says they are on 88 West. ( I cannot link to the list until I have 5 posts)

but I do not see it on the FTA master list, can someone tell me if these are actually on 88 West, these two channels are the primary reason I am considering buying an FTA system.

Thanks!


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

:welcome_s 
First, according to LyngSat, the channels are on AMC 3 at 87 degrees west, not 88.

Second, they're on C-band. You'll need at least a one-meter dish, possibly larger.

Third, I cringe whenever anyone says that they're buying a FTA setup just to watch one particular channel. You never know when channels will come or go. There are hundreds of interesting channels out there, especially with a Ku/C setup, but any single channel might be gone tomorrow.


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## Diatheke (Jan 29, 2008)

Thanks for the information, although these two channels are the primary reason I would still like to check out whatever else is up there so no worries.
If those two channels go away then oh well, there is still lots of similar programming.


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## Diatheke (Jan 29, 2008)

I found the lygsat list, thanks for posting that.


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## Diatheke (Jan 29, 2008)

The list I was going by is:

http://www.sadoun.com/Sat/Channels/Channels-FTA-free-to-air-Satellite-TV.htm

It does say 87 West but I thought it was FTA not C - Band.


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## unclehonkey (Jan 3, 2008)

spirit TV is gone. They are no longer on satellite.

you would need a 6 foot or larger dish for TVU. Another option is a KU system on 97W for JCTV. They also have videos

here is some more info. Found this at Satelliteguys



> Spirit's website is still up and the webstream is still up so it looks like they just stopped the Cband transmission at this time. Probally cheaper for them to send an internet feed to skyangel for the new iptv service.


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

JCTV and AlJazeera are strong. They come in great on my 24" dish. Surprisingly, JCTV isn't dolby, but sounds good.

Keep coming up with new channels I'm gonna have to buy a motor drive and a chain saw.


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## unclehonkey (Jan 3, 2008)

chainsaw....a FTA'ers best friend


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

I can get sats from 72 to 101W with a motorized dish, but have to use a stationary dish for G10.

Can I use a HH disq motor drive hooked to port 2 of a disq switch and keep G10 on port 1, or will the motor not work with a 4 sat switch? Hate to buy a motor and lose G10.


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## bruin95 (Apr 23, 2006)

Diatheke said:


> The list I was going by is:
> 
> http://www.sadoun.com/Sat/Channels/Channels-FTA-free-to-air-Satellite-TV.htm
> 
> It does say 87 West but I thought it was FTA not C - Band.


FTA also includes C-band, not just Ku.


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

Davenlr said:


> I can get sats from 72 to 101W with a motorized dish, but have to use a stationary dish for G10.
> 
> Can I use a HH disq motor drive hooked to port 2 of a disq switch and keep G10 on port 1, or will the motor not work with a 4 sat switch? Hate to buy a motor and lose G10.


Absolutely! That's the way I've got my system set up.

I keep a stationary dish for G10R not because I can't hit it with the motor, but because this way I can always access those channels in a snap. It also helps that I can fine-tune that dish to better pick up G10R's relatively weak signals.


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## unclehonkey (Jan 3, 2008)

Davenlr said:


> I can get sats from 72 to 101W with a motorized dish, but have to use a stationary dish for G10.
> 
> Can I use a HH disq motor drive hooked to port 2 of a disq switch and keep G10 on port 1, or will the motor not work with a 4 sat switch? Hate to buy a motor and lose G10.


sure you can. I have a motorized for 61-148 but need a fixed dish for hispasat at 30W.

You just add either a 22k switch or a diseqc switch between the motor and the LNB's.


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

Great, thanks guys. Anyone have any suggestions on a motor? There are lots of different ones and lots of different places. I've been ordering my lnb's from Sadoun since they are close. Ordered the dish from satelliteav.com and the receiver from gosatellite in Canada. I'm open to suggestions...Id like one with a high count/inch so I don't have to worry about resyncing. Ill be using a Geosatpro 90cm dish.


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## unclehonkey (Jan 3, 2008)

I have a SG2100 and it works great. I've also read the Geosat motor that SatelliteAV puts out is quieter than the SG2100 and works just as good.


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

Ok, thanks. Just wanted to make sure its compatable with my switch and stationary dish setup.
I lost the first transponder on G10 today, signal was the same, but quality dropped to 40 and was breaking up badly. Only thing that changed was the weather...the uplink for G10's Equity mux is about 10 miles west of me, and its been raining pretty heavy. I know they monitor the downlink on FTA receivers, and boost the uplink power when they start getting bad quality on the downlink. I went out and bumped the dish ever so slightly east (its on a flat roof mount sitting on the ground in my front yard). Quality went up 10 points, signal didn't change (80-82). What's the deal with the signal readings vs quality? I'm guessing quality is the bit rate error percentage in reverse, but signal seems to either be 80-82 or nothing.


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## unclehonkey (Jan 3, 2008)

signal doesnt mean anything. That just shows you have signal to the LNB
quality is all that matters honestly. I've seen the receiver show 80 signal whether I'm on the satellite or not

but I know when there is bad weather in Little Rock it seems like the Equity channels do lose power.


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

Thanks. That makes sense. When I get the HH motor, do I hook the coax going to the motorized dish to port 1 of the disq switch, or put the disq switch between the motor and the lnb on the motorized dish, and run a coax from there to the secondary dish...Little confused there.


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

It works either way. 

If you're only going to have one LNB on your motor, then run the cable from receiver to switch to motor to LNB.

If you're going to have multiple LNB outputs (such as my circular/linear combo LNB) on your motor, then it's more helpful to run it the other way, from receiver to motor to switch to LNBs.


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

Thanks again. I love old westerns...Ive been finding myself watching gunsmoke on G10, and letting my high dollar Directv receiver thinking I forgot it


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## unclehonkey (Jan 3, 2008)

FTA Michael said:


> It works either way.
> 
> If you're only going to have one LNB on your motor, then run the cable from receiver to switch to motor to LNB.


it may work but two issues lie ahead

1. you'll burn the switch out quicker
2. when you are on the fixed dish and go to the motorized, unless you are on a channel that the motorized is on (say T6) the motor won't move. What I mean is the motorized is on say AMC4 and you are on G10 (the fixed dish) and you decide to blind scan SBS6. The dish will not move unless you go to a channel on the motorized, then select ANOTHER channel on the motorized for the motor to run

always go receiver---motor----switch----LNB's regardless of setup.


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

unclehonkey said:


> 2. when you are on the fixed dish and go to the motorized, unless you are on a channel that the motorized is on (say T6) the motor won't move.


I suppose that must be true for you or you wouldn't have taken the time to share that with us. But for me, when I had my switch between the receiver and the motor, I would tell my receiver/motor to go to a satellite and blind scan it, and that's what would happen.

Also, since DiSEqC switches are cheap, keep a spare around. When a switch burns out, it can be hard to drive around to find a replacement off the shelf, unless you've got a good satellite equipment supplier nearby.


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

I didn't know the switches burned out often. Ill order a couple. I sank the pole in concrete today. Dish for AMC3 should be in Monday. Don't know when the LNB will make it. I got a shot at 72 thru ~101 or so. Ill order the motor in a few weeks. Appreciate all the help.


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

I've had exactly one switch burn out in three years of FTA switching, and that one, uh, might not have been an accident. (Always turn off your receiver before adding/removing any connection to a switch.) I was glad to have a spare then, and it gives me a warm feeling to have a spare ready now.


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## slimline (Oct 30, 2007)

FTA Michael said:


> I've had exactly one switch burn out in three years of FTA switching, and that one, uh, might not have been an accident. (Always turn off your receiver before adding/removing any connection to a switch.) I was glad to have a spare then, and it gives me a warm feeling to have a spare ready now.


i have a dozen or so customers i do fta for and i always keep an extra switch in the switch box... church and folks from other countries love fta

i have noticed fta getting pretty busy lately ........any one else notice this ?

i have been installing and selling a boat load of s/v 4000


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