Free to Air Satellite Legitimate Reception Guide

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To get the most out of a legitimate, unmodified FTA receiver you will need at minimum a 31-inch satellite dish and a dish motor. There are several satellites in space that carry in the clear broadcasts. The motor will allow your dish to be redirected to whatever satellite you intend on viewing programming from. You will also need an appropriate LNB, which is mounted to the dish and allows for the actual reception of FTA channels.

A popular LNB is the Invacom Quad LNB as it will allow you to run up to 4 receivers off of 1 dish and can receive signals from both the linear and circular KU band frequencies. This is an ideal configuration for viewers in North America.

Using an 18 inch or 22 inch dish that was designed for premium paid satellite service is not recommended. For example, DirecTV and Dish Network dishes are, for the most part, too small to properly receive most FTA channels. Most FTA channels, although Ku band, are lower in frequency than the premium provider's channels. Furthermore, the minidishes used by Dish Network and DirecTV are fixed dishes, they have no motor. Since the FTA channels are spread across many satellites, you will need a motor, which allows the receiver to automatically move the dish so that you may receive all the FTA channels available.

 

English Language FTA Channel and Satellite List

(Updated Dec 10, 2007) Channel Name Satellite Freq Pol SR VPID APID
3ABN AMC 4 11819-H 5700 1160 1120
ABC News Now Galaxy 28 11953-V 19546 508 456
Al Jazeera English Galaxy 25 11998-H 20000 4025 4035
Angel One *C* EchoStar 7 12516-R 20000 7202 7203
Apostolic Oneness Net AMC 4 11860-H 28138 3145 3146
Apostolic Oneness Network Galaxy 3C 12047-H 20000 1280 1281
Ariana Afghanistan TV Galaxy 25 11874-H 22000 1280 1281
AZCAR Training Galaxy 25 11778-H 3980 33 34
CCTV 9 Galaxy 3C 11780-H 20760 513 660
Church Channel, The Galaxy 25 12177-V 23000 47 48
Correctional Education Assn. Galaxy 10R 12136-V 2667 33 34
Create TV AMC 3 12179-V 30000 305 308
Daystar Galaxy 10R 11799-V 26660 67 42
Daystar Galaxy 25 11836-V 20765 515 516
Ebru TV Galaxy 25 12083-V 22000 4027 4037
Emmanuel TV Galaxy 25 12177-V 23000 4085 261
Emmanuel TV (716) Galaxy 25 11716-V 22000 2008 3008
Fashion TV America Galaxy 25 12177-V 23000 37 38
Federal Judicial TV Net Galaxy 26 11901-H 3011 4096 4097
Global Christian Network AMC 4 11860-H 28138 3113 3114
God\'s Learning Channel Galaxy 25 12177-V 23000 59 60
Gospel Broadcasting Network AMC 6 12141-V 2573 33 34
Gospel Music TV AMC 4 11860-H 28138 3161 3162
Hope Channel AMC 4 11983-H 5900 2260 2220
Infomercials Galaxy 25 11867-V 22000 1056 1057
Infomercials 2 Galaxy 25 11867-V 22000 1320 1360
Infomercials 3 Galaxy 25 11874-H 22000 4194 4195
Infomercials 4 Galaxy 25 11874-H 22000 4096 4097
Infomercials 5 Galaxy 25 11991-V 22000 865 866
JCTV Galaxy 25 12177-V 23000 113 114
KCBU RTN Salt Lake City UT Galaxy 10R 11799-V 26660 65 66
KDEV-LP RTN Aurora CO Galaxy 10R 11799-V 26660 46 45
KEGS RTN Las Vegas NV Galaxy 10R 11720-V 27691 64 63
KFDF RTN Fort Smith AR Galaxy 10R 11720-V 27691 58 57
KFTL ind Oakland CA AMC 6 11889-H 1660 4197 4198
Kingdom of Jesus Christ Galaxy 25 11874-H 22000 1560 1520
KKTU ABC Cheyenne WY Galaxy 10R 11720-V 27691 41 42
KKYK RTN Camden AR Galaxy 10R 11799-V 26660 60 61
KLMN Fox Great Falls MT Galaxy 10R 11720-V 27691 61 62
KPBI MyNet Fort Smith AR Galaxy 10R 11720-V 27691 43 44
KQUP RTN Spokane WA Galaxy 10R 11799-V 26660 36 37
KTVC RTN Eugene OR Galaxy 10R 11799-V 26660 34 35
KTWO ABC Casper WY Galaxy 10R 12105-V 2222 4130 4131
KUIL Fox Beaumont TX AMC 4 11707-V 2170 4194 4195
KWBF MyNet Little Rock AR Galaxy 10R 11799-V 26660 62 63
KWBM MyNet Hollister MO Galaxy 10R 11799-V 26660 38 70
KWCE RTN Alexandria LA Galaxy 10R 11720-V 27691 50 51
KWWF RTN Waterloo IA Galaxy 10R 11720-V 27691 55 56
LLBN AMC 4 12017-H 2033 4130 4131
LoveWorld Galaxy 25 12122-H 20000 799 800
Maharishi Channel Galaxy 25 11867-V 22000 4176 4177
MHz Worldview Galaxy 25 11789-V 28125 2960 2920
Miracle Channel, The AMC 4 11860-H 28138 3177 3178
Montana PBS AMC 3 12145-H 4340 33 38
Muslim TV Ahmadiyya Intl AMC 3 11734-V 6102 4130 4129
NASA TV *C* EchoStar 7 12370-R 20000 4130 4131
New York Network AMC 5 12179-H 23000 120 121
Nigerian TV Authority Galaxy 25 11896-V 22000 656 657
Ohio News Network SBS 6 11739-H 6616 33 34
Patient Channel, The AMC 3 11714-H 4850 49 50
PBS DTV AMC 3 12126-H 14028 49 52
PBS NPS 1 AMC 3 12179-V 30000 193 196
PBS NPS 2 AMC 3 12179-V 30000 209 212
PBS NPS 3 AMC 3 12179-V 30000 225 228
PBS NPS 4 AMC 3 12179-V 30000 241 244
PBS X AMC 3 12179-V 30000 177 180
PBS XD AMC 3 12179-V 30000 289 292
PBS XP AMC 3 12179-V 30000 273 276
Peace TV Galaxy 25 11789-V 28125 789 790
Pentagon Channel AMC 1 12102-V 20000 4096 4097
Press TV Galaxy 25 12053-V 22000 1301 1311
Research Channel Galaxy 10R 11805-H 4580 110 111
Russia Today Galaxy 25 11966-H 22000 7001 7002
Saudi Arabian TV 2 Galaxy 25 11998-H 20000 4527 4537
Smile of a Child Galaxy 25 12177-V 23000 4130 4131
Spirit Word Channel, The Galaxy 25 12115-V 22426 2562 2563
Supreme Master TV Galaxy 25 11716-V 22000 2003 3003
Tip TV AMC 3 11714-H 4850 33 34
Trinity Broadcasting Network Galaxy 25 12177-V 23000 33 34
University Network, The Galaxy 26 11865-V 3516 308 256
University of Washington TV Galaxy 10R 11805-H 4580 112 113
unknown infomercials Galaxy 28 11780-H 29000 1024 1025
Veterans Affairs Knowledge Network Galaxy 10R 11735-H 16204 310 300
WBLU MyNet Lexington KY Galaxy 10R 11720-V 27691 45 46
WGMU MyNet Burlington VT Galaxy 10R 11799-V 26660 68 69
White Springs TV Echo 5/Galaxy 27 11964-H 2920 4194 4195
WMQF Fox Marquette MI Galaxy 10R 11799-V 26660 1062 39
WNGS RTN Buffalo NY Galaxy 10R 11720-V 27691 53 54
Word Network, The Galaxy 25 11966-H 22000 46 45
WOUB PBS Athens OH *C* Echo 5/Galaxy 27 12673-L 20000 5666 5667
WPXS RTN Mount Vernon IL Galaxy 10R 11799-V 26660 57 58

 

LyngSat Charts for FTA Channels

 

The FTA Story

Free to Air or FTA uses MPEG-2 compression and was first available in the Asia Pacific area. At first it took a large antenna, 8ft or larger, to receive only a few channels that were not scrambled. The satellite technology used today, including MPEG2 compression and world wide digital satellite was basically tested in the Asia Pacific region. FTA satellite gained popularity and spread to China, and Europe. North America was late in getting FTA satellite television.

The company Hyundai made the first FTA receiver sold in the United States with the HSS-100 receiver line for around $700 cost and a typical installation cost the consumer $1200 or more with dish and receiver. That receiver was PAL format only, and North America uses NTSC. The receiver was also very limited in memory.

Free MPEG2 channels spread to North America despite commercial resistance. The big dish providers were using Digicipher 2 video standard made by the former General Instrument (now Motorola Broadband) group. Since North America is primarily a commercial market, it is standard practice to scramble satellite channels.

What MPEG2 allows for is the packing of more channels on one satellite in space. This reduces the cost to networks and thus low costs make it easier to provide FTA channels, since companies can afford to provide the channels cheaper. Digital Video broadcast channels are more abundant in Europe and Asia than in North America today. However, NPR is taking advantage of FTA technology to provide satellite channels in the clear for North American viewers.

Since corporate greed has stifled the proliferation of FTA in North America, some factors have allowed for FTA growth anyway. Today the C-band satellite channels in North America are viewed using 4DTV receivers, which use a version of Digicipher 2, take advantage of MPEG2 digital technology, but use a proprietary, incompatible version and therefore are not FTA compatible. They are different because the signals are layered together differently.

Scientific Atlanta makes a system called PowerVu which is closer to the open MPEG-2 standard, and dominates the digital broadcast market in the rest of the world besides North America. Remember, the less compatible Digicipher 2 modified MPEG2 standard is dominate in North America, again, the result of corporate greed.

Two companies are working together to promote the PowerVu alternative to Digicipher in North America. Those companies are PanAmSat and Scientific Atlanta. Since the PowerVu is closer to true MPEG2, the PowerVu system can be viewed in the clear on most consumer MPEG-2 digital receivers. There are several non-digicipher 2 digital broadcast providers in North America now that include Dish Network, Bell ExpressVu, and Sky Mexico. Those networks offer a very small handful of non-scrambled digital channels that may be received using a FTA receiver.

New networks or digital broadcast channel providers may, at first, offer their channel or channels as FTA, or in the clear. What they often do is to gain some degree of popularity then eventually scramble their broadcasts and require a paid subscription to view them. This is, unfortunately, the FTA pattern that is prevalent in North America.

Other FTA channels available in the clear to North American viewers are satellite broadcasts that originate in Europe or other parts of the world, and are re-transmitted to a satellite that can provide a beam to North American viewers. This is an expensive proposition and therefore the existence of these true FTA channels that are designed to remain FTA really depends on donations.

Signals beamed for retransmission on paid subscription minidish providers is often in the clear before retransmission. To receive these broadcasts a large 8ft dish or larger is often required.

Ultimately, the FTA channels in North America will fall into one of three primary groups.

  1. . Temporarily FTA until the channel gains popularity and becomes subscription based
  2. . International and foreign language channels, or public broad channels funded on donations
  3. . Transmissions from other regions beamed to the U.S. for retransmission by commercial providers

There's a lot more FTA available if you live in Europe or Asia than if you live in North America.