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Getting Started with FTA: Step 1 thru 4
Getting Started with FTA: Step 1
c&P MOD
Find a place for the dish.
There are several considerations in finding the right place for your dish. The first and most important is making sure that the dish will be able to see the satellite(s) you want it to see.
Use the channel charts to determine which satellites you want. Then go to a satellite angle calculator, pick the satellite, enter your location, and see what comes up. Here's how to read the results:
Elevation is the angle that the dish needs to point into the sky. For example, 45 degrees is halfway between pointing straight across the ground and straight up from the ground.
Azimuth is the compass direction the dish needs to point. For example, due south is 180, southeast is 135.
Skew is the direction to tilt the LNBF on its arm. Used for stationary dishes.
Magnetic declination is the amount to add or subtract from your compass reading to reflect the fact that true north is not the same as magnetic north. You can find out what it is for your location here.
Determine the apparent compass direction by adjusting the azimuth by the magnetic declination factor as needed. Then go look to see whether there are any obstacles in that direction. If you plan to use a motorized dish, repeat this step for each direction you need.
Example: From Denver, I want to see Galaxy 10R. When I plug that info into the satellite angle calculator, I get Azimuth 206.1. From the magnetic declination site, I know that I should subtract a little over 9 degrees from the azimuth to get my compass reading, which should be about 197 (17 degrees west of due south). The 0-declination line runs close to the Mississippi River. Viewers west of the line must subtract from the azimuth; east of the line, viewers must add to the azimuth to get the compass reading.
If there are any obstacles in the distance along this line of sight, the signal may be able to clear them. For example, at an elevation of 35 degrees, you can clear a 14-foot-high obstruction if the dish is just 20 feet from the base of it. Higher elevations require less horizontal distance to clear an obstacle; lower elevations require more distance. You might be able to use trigonometry to compute just how much of an obstruction you can clear.
If you want to install a motor to point a single dish at multiple satellites, verify that your chosen spot is not blocked in any of the directions you need.
Homeowners/Neighborhood Associations may not restrict you from erecting a dish less than one meter wide (about 39 inches). Even if a contract or covenant forbids them, the Federal Communication Commission's rules make those portions of the contract unenforceable. With rare exceptions for historic districts, all that an association can legally do is require you to place the antenna in the least obtrusive place that still allows for reception.
Condo/Apartment Residents may erect the same small (less than 39 inches) dish regardless of contracts to the contrary, but only in "exclusive use" areas such as private balconies. Residents may be restricted from attaching the dish to permanent structures. In such cases, tripods or weighted bases can be used to keep the dish steady.
Weather is one last consideration. It's much easier to wipe snow off a dish if you can reach it without a ladder.
Getting Started with FTA: Step 2
Get Your Equipment
FTA reception requires three main components: the receiver, the LNBF, and the dish.
The receiver is the brains of the system. Its job is to convert the DVB (direct video broadcasting) signals to something your TV can understand. It can be a standalone box or a card for a computer.
To search wild feeds and other ephemeral signals, the receiver needs blind search.
To support multiple dishes, make sure the receiver supports DiSEqC (digital satellite equipment control).
To support a motor to move a dish, the receiver needs USALS support or DiSEqC version 1.2.
These features can come in handy later even if you don't think you need them now.
The LNBF (low-noise block converter feedhorn) is the piece that points at the dish. The LNBF translates and amplifies the weak signal from the satellite into a stronger signal that can travel to the receiver via RG6 coax cable.
The LNBF's signal sensitivity is measured in decibels. A rating of 0.5 dB is good, and 0.3 db is excellent. The lower the rating, the better you can receive weak signals.
Some LNBFs are the standard linear polarity type; others are universal, with a wider frequency range. In North America, almost all FTA Ku-band channels can be received using either LNBF type. The LNBFs that come with Dish Network dishes are circular polarity; they can only pick up a few FTA channels.
The dish is the simplest part, although it's the hardest to ship. The minimum diameter is about 75 centimeters (about 29.5 inches), but a larger dish will help you pick up more, fainter signals. As noted in Part 1, you can install a dish up to one meter wide (about 39.3 inches) almost anywhere in the US.
Check with local satellite dealers for their dish prices, then check the prices of online dealers. Because dishes are so bulky to ship, you may want to buy a larger dish locally. If you're just getting started, your best deal may be a package price for the whole system shipped at once.
Optional: A motor. If you buy a motor for the dish, you'll be able to remotely move the dish to point at any satellite. If you only care about the channels on one satellite, or if you just want to start with a simpler system, it's easy to add a motor later.
Getting Started with FTA: Step 3
Install
Installing a new FTA system can look difficult, but it's really not bad if you take it one step at a time. If you really don't think you can manage it, you can pay a local satellite installer and skip these steps.
1. Install the pole. Whether it's a short pole on the roof, a longer pole on the ground, or any other configuration, this is a crucial first step. Use the spot and the angles you found in Step 1.
As you install the pole, the most important point is the pole must be perfectly plumb. If it's not straight up and down, the rest of your work will be much more difficult. Use a level to check it in all directions, then make sure that the pole will not move.
2. Install the dish and LNBF. If you don't have a motor for your dish, mount the dish to the pole according to instructions. Connect it snug but not tight; you'll need to move it around when you aim it. Mount the LNBF to the dish arm. Point the dish in the general direction of the satellite. When you raise the dish to the proper inclination, don't judge by the angle of the dish arm. Most dishes are offset, so their elevation is higher than it would appear if you pointed from the dish to the LNBF.
(If you are installing a motor with your dish, the process is a little more complicated. Use the instructions that came with the motor to install the dish with the right offset. The first satellite you want to find with a motorized dish will be your "true south" satellite, which is the satellite closest to your longitude.)
3. Connect the receiver. Whenever you connect or disconnect anything to the coax, make sure the FTA receiver is off and unplugged. Connect the coax from the LNBF to the receiver, and connect the receiver to a television. This is where a portable TV can be very convenient. Plug in the receiver and turn it on.
4. Aim the dish. Use your receiver to check signal strength, and more importantly, signal quality. Use frequency and signal rate settings that match a channel that you know is there. Move your dish left and right until you determine the direction with the strongest signal quality. Then move it up and down until you find the perfect angle. Once it's just right, tighten the dish in place.
The hard work is done. Run the coax connections inside, set up your receiver by your television, and get ready to find some channels to watch.
Getting Started with FTA: Step 4
Find your channels
You've installed your equipment and made sure that it works. Now comes the fun part, adding channels to your receiver.
If you have a stationary dish, you can start with the chart of channels for the satellite it faces. If you have a motorized dish, you can go to the master channel chart, or you can choose just the channels that are in a particular language.
If your receiver can blind scan, the easiest way to add channels is point the dish where you want it, then let the receiver scan in all the channels. You can use the channel lists here to match the frequency and PIDs so you'll recognize what you have, and to make sure your receiver didn't skip any channels that we know about.
Another benefit from blind scanning is that you'll pick up "feeds", which are temporary channels used to send a sports event or news coverage back to a central studio. These come and go, they can be great fun to watch, and scanning is almost the only way to find them. Enjoy!
Getting Started with FTA: Step 1
c&P MOD
Find a place for the dish.
There are several considerations in finding the right place for your dish. The first and most important is making sure that the dish will be able to see the satellite(s) you want it to see.
Use the channel charts to determine which satellites you want. Then go to a satellite angle calculator, pick the satellite, enter your location, and see what comes up. Here's how to read the results:
Elevation is the angle that the dish needs to point into the sky. For example, 45 degrees is halfway between pointing straight across the ground and straight up from the ground.
Azimuth is the compass direction the dish needs to point. For example, due south is 180, southeast is 135.
Skew is the direction to tilt the LNBF on its arm. Used for stationary dishes.
Magnetic declination is the amount to add or subtract from your compass reading to reflect the fact that true north is not the same as magnetic north. You can find out what it is for your location here.
Determine the apparent compass direction by adjusting the azimuth by the magnetic declination factor as needed. Then go look to see whether there are any obstacles in that direction. If you plan to use a motorized dish, repeat this step for each direction you need.
Example: From Denver, I want to see Galaxy 10R. When I plug that info into the satellite angle calculator, I get Azimuth 206.1. From the magnetic declination site, I know that I should subtract a little over 9 degrees from the azimuth to get my compass reading, which should be about 197 (17 degrees west of due south). The 0-declination line runs close to the Mississippi River. Viewers west of the line must subtract from the azimuth; east of the line, viewers must add to the azimuth to get the compass reading.
If there are any obstacles in the distance along this line of sight, the signal may be able to clear them. For example, at an elevation of 35 degrees, you can clear a 14-foot-high obstruction if the dish is just 20 feet from the base of it. Higher elevations require less horizontal distance to clear an obstacle; lower elevations require more distance. You might be able to use trigonometry to compute just how much of an obstruction you can clear.
If you want to install a motor to point a single dish at multiple satellites, verify that your chosen spot is not blocked in any of the directions you need.
Homeowners/Neighborhood Associations may not restrict you from erecting a dish less than one meter wide (about 39 inches). Even if a contract or covenant forbids them, the Federal Communication Commission's rules make those portions of the contract unenforceable. With rare exceptions for historic districts, all that an association can legally do is require you to place the antenna in the least obtrusive place that still allows for reception.
Condo/Apartment Residents may erect the same small (less than 39 inches) dish regardless of contracts to the contrary, but only in "exclusive use" areas such as private balconies. Residents may be restricted from attaching the dish to permanent structures. In such cases, tripods or weighted bases can be used to keep the dish steady.
Weather is one last consideration. It's much easier to wipe snow off a dish if you can reach it without a ladder.
Getting Started with FTA: Step 2
Get Your Equipment
FTA reception requires three main components: the receiver, the LNBF, and the dish.
The receiver is the brains of the system. Its job is to convert the DVB (direct video broadcasting) signals to something your TV can understand. It can be a standalone box or a card for a computer.
To search wild feeds and other ephemeral signals, the receiver needs blind search.
To support multiple dishes, make sure the receiver supports DiSEqC (digital satellite equipment control).
To support a motor to move a dish, the receiver needs USALS support or DiSEqC version 1.2.
These features can come in handy later even if you don't think you need them now.
The LNBF (low-noise block converter feedhorn) is the piece that points at the dish. The LNBF translates and amplifies the weak signal from the satellite into a stronger signal that can travel to the receiver via RG6 coax cable.
The LNBF's signal sensitivity is measured in decibels. A rating of 0.5 dB is good, and 0.3 db is excellent. The lower the rating, the better you can receive weak signals.
Some LNBFs are the standard linear polarity type; others are universal, with a wider frequency range. In North America, almost all FTA Ku-band channels can be received using either LNBF type. The LNBFs that come with Dish Network dishes are circular polarity; they can only pick up a few FTA channels.
The dish is the simplest part, although it's the hardest to ship. The minimum diameter is about 75 centimeters (about 29.5 inches), but a larger dish will help you pick up more, fainter signals. As noted in Part 1, you can install a dish up to one meter wide (about 39.3 inches) almost anywhere in the US.
Check with local satellite dealers for their dish prices, then check the prices of online dealers. Because dishes are so bulky to ship, you may want to buy a larger dish locally. If you're just getting started, your best deal may be a package price for the whole system shipped at once.
Optional: A motor. If you buy a motor for the dish, you'll be able to remotely move the dish to point at any satellite. If you only care about the channels on one satellite, or if you just want to start with a simpler system, it's easy to add a motor later.
Getting Started with FTA: Step 3
Install
Installing a new FTA system can look difficult, but it's really not bad if you take it one step at a time. If you really don't think you can manage it, you can pay a local satellite installer and skip these steps.
1. Install the pole. Whether it's a short pole on the roof, a longer pole on the ground, or any other configuration, this is a crucial first step. Use the spot and the angles you found in Step 1.
As you install the pole, the most important point is the pole must be perfectly plumb. If it's not straight up and down, the rest of your work will be much more difficult. Use a level to check it in all directions, then make sure that the pole will not move.
2. Install the dish and LNBF. If you don't have a motor for your dish, mount the dish to the pole according to instructions. Connect it snug but not tight; you'll need to move it around when you aim it. Mount the LNBF to the dish arm. Point the dish in the general direction of the satellite. When you raise the dish to the proper inclination, don't judge by the angle of the dish arm. Most dishes are offset, so their elevation is higher than it would appear if you pointed from the dish to the LNBF.
(If you are installing a motor with your dish, the process is a little more complicated. Use the instructions that came with the motor to install the dish with the right offset. The first satellite you want to find with a motorized dish will be your "true south" satellite, which is the satellite closest to your longitude.)
3. Connect the receiver. Whenever you connect or disconnect anything to the coax, make sure the FTA receiver is off and unplugged. Connect the coax from the LNBF to the receiver, and connect the receiver to a television. This is where a portable TV can be very convenient. Plug in the receiver and turn it on.
4. Aim the dish. Use your receiver to check signal strength, and more importantly, signal quality. Use frequency and signal rate settings that match a channel that you know is there. Move your dish left and right until you determine the direction with the strongest signal quality. Then move it up and down until you find the perfect angle. Once it's just right, tighten the dish in place.
The hard work is done. Run the coax connections inside, set up your receiver by your television, and get ready to find some channels to watch.
Getting Started with FTA: Step 4
Find your channels
You've installed your equipment and made sure that it works. Now comes the fun part, adding channels to your receiver.
If you have a stationary dish, you can start with the chart of channels for the satellite it faces. If you have a motorized dish, you can go to the master channel chart, or you can choose just the channels that are in a particular language.
If your receiver can blind scan, the easiest way to add channels is point the dish where you want it, then let the receiver scan in all the channels. You can use the channel lists here to match the frequency and PIDs so you'll recognize what you have, and to make sure your receiver didn't skip any channels that we know about.
Another benefit from blind scanning is that you'll pick up "feeds", which are temporary channels used to send a sports event or news coverage back to a central studio. These come and go, they can be great fun to watch, and scanning is almost the only way to find them. Enjoy!
