# Hardware needed for FTA



## freeb (Jun 25, 2004)

Hi, I am new to this fta and just wanted to see what it was all about. I have been reading posts for hours on end and I became more confused the longer I read. For starters someone said that they could get a 'fortec' receiver for me to try but I also want to know if there is any other special equiment I will need. 

1. Can these units(fortec receivers) work as stand alones or do you have to have other receivers?

2. The guy said that basically I would need two dishes, one for 119 and the other for 110. Can anyone verify?

3. I have a dish that was used on a DTV system and I want to know if I can use the same dish with this system.

Basically as I am just starting out I would like to know the full equipment list and if there are any step by step resources that anyone could share with me or even if someone could point me in the right direction.

Thanks


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## PSB (Oct 4, 2002)

FTA receivers are stand alone, you just need a dish and LNB to get them to work.

There is nothing much FTA on 110 and 119 (no hacks here)

You can use your DirecTV dish and LNB to pick up a few FTA channels, but really you need a 30" dish and KU band LNB to get the full use from a FTA receiver.
Check the DMSI link on my web site to get some ideas of what you will need good luck!


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## TonyM (Aug 14, 2003)

freeb said:


> 1. Can these units(fortec receivers) work as stand alones or do you have to have other receivers?


They work as a stand alone..Just hook a dish (or more) to them


> 2. The guy said that basically I would need two dishes, one for 119 and the other for 110. Can anyone verify?


Other than the audio channels, there is really no legal reason to have dishes aimed at 119 & 110. You can use a 30" or larger dish and a motor to get all the available FTA stuff 


> 3. I have a dish that was used on a DTV system and I want to know if I can use the same dish with this system.


You can reaim it at 119 (Dish) or 91 (ExpressVu) and get the audio channels. Otherwise, you would need a 30" dish minimum


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## RJS1111111 (Mar 23, 2002)

TonyM said:


> They work as a stand alone..Just hook a dish (or more) to them
> 
> Other than the audio channels, there is really no legal reason to have dishes aimed at 119 & 110. You can use a 30" or larger dish and a motor to get all the available FTA stuff
> 
> You can reaim it at 119 (Dish) or 91 (ExpressVu) and get the audio channels. Otherwise, you would need a 30" dish minimum


 Obviously there is nothing illegal about simply pointing a dish at a DBS slot. What he means is that most of the DBS channels are scrambled, most of the time, and that there is a law against descrambling a signal without authorization, and without paying the subscription fee.

If you are interested in receiving FTA "Angel One", some shopping channels, TV Japan (sometimes), occasional freeviews, audio, etc., then by all means try pointing your small dish at any of the DISH slots; 119, 110, 61.5, 148.


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## freeb (Jun 25, 2004)

The dish I currently have is about 3 feet so I think that it should meet the requirements. With a motorized dish does the receiver automatically find satellites and reposition the dish vertically and horizontally? Would you have to program in the satellite positions?


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## TonyM (Aug 14, 2003)

freeb said:


> The dish I currently have is about 3 feet so I think that it should meet the requirements. With a motorized dish does the receiver automatically find satellites and reposition the dish vertically and horizontally? Would you have to program in the satellite positions?


3 feet=36" so yeah the dish will work. You might need to get a KU band LNBF.

A motorized unit, once set up, will automatically change position when you change the channel. Once you find the satellite that is straight south and tune it in, the motor automatically goes to what satellite you tell it to. Some newer receivers do this (move the dish automatically)..some you have to move it but it automatically moves to the right elevation (veritical)

My satellite straight south is T6 (now IA6) at 93W. When I change channels and the new channel is on AMC6 (72), the motor moved the dish automatically over to the satellite.
You can fine tune the satellite in menu in case a satellite is off a little.
The only thing you have to have sometimes is patience waiting for the motor to move the dish (especially when you're going from AMC6 (72) all the way over to Galaxy 10 (123)...it can take up to a minute


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## TonyM (Aug 14, 2003)

RJS1111111 said:


> If you are interested in receiving FTA "Angel One", some shopping channels, TV Japan (sometimes), occasional freeviews, audio, etc., then by all means try pointing your small dish at any of the DISH slots; 119, 110, 61.5, 148.


Isnt TV Japan on 61.5 & 148? If so, there is no way he could get it on 119 (unless he's in Hawaii)

I have a dish aimed at 119 and I don't get any of the shopping channels. Even when I moved that dish to 110, it didnt

The free stuff on Dish 119
101-Info Channel
262 Angel One
213 Nasa
Audio channels


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## RJS1111111 (Mar 23, 2002)

TonyM said:


> Isnt TV Japan on 61.5 & 148? If so, there is no way he could get it on 119 (unless he's in Hawaii)
> 
> I have a dish aimed at 119 and I don't get any of the shopping channels. Even when I moved that dish to 110, it didnt
> 
> ...


 Correct; I didn't break down which FTA channels are on which slots. Instead I just mentioned all of the DISH slots to look at for possible FTA.

Then there's ExpressVu at 82 and 91, but they're apparently just about all scrambled all the time now, and requiring a connected phone line, to assure their government that they're now doing all they can to shut out non-Canadian viewers. 

DirecTV and DirecTV Latin America have their own (not quite standard DVB) format. If there is any FTA content offered, then your receiver would have to be compatible with this special format to get it.


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## TonyM (Aug 14, 2003)

RJS1111111 said:


> Correct; I didn't break down which FTA channels are on which slots. Instead I just mentioned all of the DISH slots to look at for possible FTA.
> 
> Then there's ExpressVu at 82 and 91, but they're apparently just about all scrambled all the time now, and requiring a connected phone line, to assure their government that they're now doing all they can to shut out non-Canadian viewers.
> 
> DirecTV and DirecTV Latin America have their own (not quite standard DVB) format. If there is any FTA content offered, then your receiver would have to be compatible with this special format to get it.


I know on 110 there is the sports & PPV previews and GOL TV
Evu has on 91 the audio channels and the barker channel (like Dish 101)
On 82 is EuroNews and audio channels and the same barker channel
The NEws channel (199) got scrambled a few months ago 

Right now they're real gung-ho on the phone line for 2 or more receivers...I have an EVu acct and really don't have to worry right now..They arent hunting down 1 receiver accounts


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## RJS1111111 (Mar 23, 2002)

freeb said:


> The dish I currently have is about 3 feet so I think that it should meet the requirements. With a motorized dish does the receiver automatically find satellites and reposition the dish vertically and horizontally?


 A motorized dish is typically on a "polar" mount, and is typically set up to slew smoothly across the geostationary satellite arc from horizon to horizon.

Pointing angles for fixed dishes are typically specified as magnetic azimuth (horizontal direction) and elevation (vertical direction) for a specific location on earth, mainly because this makes the mounting hardware simpler, less expensive, and easier to install correctly.



freeb said:


> Would you have to program in the satellite positions?


 Not if your FTA receiver has an autoscan feature that scans the sky, finds active downlinks, tunes to each transponder, and populates the program guide with each channel that it finds. Then all you have to do is select a channel from the program guide. The receiver then slews the dish to the appropriate position, tunes in the appropriate transponder, and selects the appropriate video and/or audio stream for viewing and/or listening.

If you purchase an "IRD" receiver that also has compatible Conditional Access, then you can subscribe to available scrambled services on the Ku and C bands. Each available DBS scrambled service requires the use of its own special receivers, and will not authorize just any generic IRD.


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## all4jo (Jul 2, 2004)

hello everyone im a newby, looking for some input. im in the island of Haiti using a 6 ft channel master to receive directv usa programming, But i have been looking for info on FTA channels specially from Honduras which are 

Canal 5 El Lider PAS 1R DVB
CBC Canal 6 NSS 806 DVB
Sotel Canal 11 SatMex 5 DVB
Telecadena 7 y 4 PAS 1R DVB
im just not sure what i would need to receive these channels? can i use my channel master dish or would i require a cband BUD? i basically just want to be able to see the channels on PAS !R which i believe its at 45 degrees.

thanks
jose


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

From what I understand, when you read the Lyngsat charts, 4-digit frequencies mean C band, 5-digit frequencies mean Ku band. Based on that premise, Canal 5 is on Ku band but all the rest require a BUD.


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