Free to Air Satellite Receivers
FTA or Free to Air satellite is encoded in MPEG2 and not encrypted. It is legal for people to receive and view FTA satellite broadcasts. FTA uses a small dish similar to those used by subscription based services such as DirecTV and Dish Network.
Free to Air satellite TV is a subset of TVRO, and was originally transmitted on C Band, but now utilizes Ku "Kurtz under" band, which allows for the new smaller dishes. The old C Band dishes were very large.
Free to Air satellite broadcasts are received with a FTV or Free to View receiver. Many such broadcasts are International, and some are regional based. There is a region code component of Free to Air similar to DVD. A complete list of available channels are available on www.lyngsat.com.
It is noteworthy to mention that Australia's ABC "Australian Broadcasting Corporation" is available as a FTV broadcast.
Contents
Recommended Receivers
FTA Receiver First Time Setup
Receiver setup, Basic Steps:
First: Upgrade the receiver’s software Second: Select the satellite Third: Setup the receiver to the selected satellite and Dish antenna’s LNB Fourth: Dish connections and aiming
Note: This post will address the generic setup of FTA receivers, it is meant as a guide and may not completely match your receiver.
First: Upgrade the receiver’s software
Up-grade your receiver to the current software version. You can download the most current version of software and the software loader from this site, under “Files section” – “FTA Receivers – FILES ONLY”, select your receivers Manufacture and model section. These downloads will be in a “Zipped” format and MUST be unzipped before use. Detailed procedure for loading your receiver can be found in the “FTA receiver discussions” section on this site by you receiver’s manufacture/model, look for the “stickys” for the best instructions. Should you have any questions PLEASE post your question with detail under “FTA receiver discussions” section on this site; you will get a prompt answer.
Second: Select the satellite
Selection of Satellite (bird) must be done first, as the receiver settings and other components must match the bird selected. There are 2 different of ku band transmitting satellites, Circular and Linear. You must select the bird, and setup the receiver to receive it. We are going to address the most popular FTA CIRCULAR bird setup only. Currently the most popular FTA circular birds (in order of popularity) are ES 110W & 119W and Nim. 91W & 82W. For this exercise we are going to select 110W ES 8/10 (however you may select any other of the above birds).
Third: Setup the receiver to the selected satellite and Dish antenna’s LNB
Setup of the Receiver (STB) for 110W(ES 8/10) circular bird, with a SINGLE LNB, You will need to go into your STB’s menu and select satellite setup. There you will find a setup menu similar to below (the numbers are for reference);
- Satellite (name)
- LNB Power
- LNB Type
- LNB Frequency
- Transponder (TP, frequency)
- 22kHz
- DiSEqC (switch)
- Motor
- Legacy (Switch, SW)
Instructions for receivers setup:
1. Satellite (name): here you select the satellite that you want to setup (select ES 8/10 at 110W)
2. LNB Power: Set this to “ON” (this selection supplies power to operate the LNB)
3. LNB Type: The LNB is the item on the dish that has the white hockey puck nose; you should have a dish with one LNB on it. Here there can be many selections, you must match the settings to the LNB that you have on the dish. For circular birds there are 2 basic LNB’s, the “Legacy” (most popular) and the “DishPro” (DP). You can tell if you have a “DishPro” as the LNB will be clearly marked on the backside “Dish Pro”. If your LNB is not so marked, you have a “Legacy” LNB. We next set the LNB type; for “LEGACY” the receiver settings should be “Standard” or "Single". For “DishPro” (DP) the receiver settings should be “Dish Pro” or “OCS/DP” or “DP”.
4. LNB frequency; this setting is determined by the bird that we want to receive. All circular birds in our N. hemisphere use a Frequency of 11250. Set receiver to 11250.
5. Transponder (TP, frequency) For ES 8/10 at 110W Select “12326” as this frequency is the providers (Dish) information channels 100 and 500 guide’s transponder frequency. Note: this frequency will change with receiver channel change; it will not stay at the frequency you have set it at.
6. 22kHz = “Off” This setting is used for actuation of dish switches, for multi-satellite installations.
7. DiSEqC (switch) = “Off or None” This setting is used for actuation of Legacy and Dish Pro switches, for multi-satellite installations.
8. Motor = “Off or, None” This setting is for setting up a motorized dish, that can move and aim the dish so you can receive most of the satellites in the Clarke belt.
9. Legacy (Switch, SW) = “Off or, None” This setting is used for actuation of Legacy switches, for multi-satellite installations.
This concludes the Receiver setup.
Fourth: Dish connections and aiming
For dish connection and aiming a dish we must first determine the dish angle settings for our location, as the satellites are HIGHLY DIRECTIONAL, and we MUST be exact to find them. To do this we use a satellite-aiming site, I like this one, however there are many others that work - http://satcalculator.freehostia.com/ . Using RG-6 cable (I suggest using pre-made cables, available in various lengths from sponsoring satellite stores on this site). The Dish must be able to see the satellite without obstructions. The mount must be SOLID, and most IMPORTANT – PLUMB, where the dish slides onto the pole, in all plains (translated - on ALL sides of the dish pole (dish removed), with the bubble level, it’s bubble is between the center lines). The dish must be grounded with a separate ground wire connected from a good ground to the dish mount bracket or Pole. Hook up the cable to LNB, routing the cable through the dish post and LNB arm to the LNB connection, be sure the connection is snug. Mount the LNB onto the dish arm, put in LNB retaining screw. Mount the dish onto the pole, leaving the dish mount pole locking clamp bolts loose. If possible, bring the STB (Receiver) with a TV hooked up to it next to you at the dish location, If not get an assistant and yell or use walkie-talkies or cell phones to commutate. Connect the other end of the RG-6 cable to the satellite in connector on the STB (Receiver). Next set the Elevation angle on the dish by, loosing the 2 nuts on the elevation adjustment and set it for the angle that was specified in the dish-aiming calculator for satellite 110. Snug up the 2 adjusting bolts. Aim the dish for the magnetic azimuth that you have previously calculated for the 110 satellites. Set up the STB for satellite 110 by going into the “Setup menu - Satellite antenna setup” and setting the TP Freq.= 12326, Set the STB (receiver) to indicate on the TV the signal strength. With the dish sweep the sky in the direction of the magnetic azimuth S-L-O-W-L-Y, watching the STB signal strength “S” and then the “Q”. Peak the reading, the STB should indicate Satellite 110, once found using a marking pen mark the pole and dish collar so you can return to that setting. Next loosen the elevation bolts and peak the signal strength readings. You should have Greater than 45 on the “Q”uality signal strength (the higher the better) and the STB should indicate Satellite “110”. Once peaked, tighten the pole and elevation lock nuts to keep the dish from moving. Complete the setup by UNPLUGING the STB from power, disconnecting the Dish Cable from the STB and running the cable to the grounded - grounding block and then another RG-6 Cable from the grounding block to the STB. Hook the STB to the TV set and check for signal on the 110 bird, go into the satellites menu and set the sort for “SID” (Station IDentification), set the “autoroll” to “on”, then blind scan the satellite, save it. Now go to channel 100 or 500, you should be getting a picture and sound, select an other channel and wait (30 min. max.) for autoroll to automatically find the keys.
Testing:
- If receiving Dish ES 8/10 (110) goto SID channel 100 (HOME) (12326,H),
- If receiving Bev Nimiq 1/3 (91) goto SID channel 0994 (TESTN) (12618,H),
- If above works your LNB type is set correctly and your dish is aimed and functioning.
Troubleshooting:
If you are not getting channels 100/500 do the following; Go to receivers signal strength meter, you should have good strength, and quality should be greater than 35 on the meter. If not, check your dish cable(s) and the receivers LNB setup. If both OK, re-load the software and re-aim the dish. If you are getting channel 500 and NOT channel 100, check your receivers setup “LNB type”.
Dish Network Satellite Fleet
Orbital Locations Vary
Since EchoStar frequently moves satellites among its many orbiting slots this list is not immediately accurate.
Refer to Lyngsat.com for detailed satellite information.
Notes:
(1) EchoStar IV at 77° W is not licensed to serve customers in the United States. EchoStar has placed the satellite in this Mexican controlled orbital slot to serve future DBS customers in Mexico.
(2) Customers use SuperDISH 121 to receive this non-DBS, medium-powered signal. Satellite is jointly owned by EchoStar and Intelsat. The Ku band is owned by EchoStar. Ka band payload owned by EchoStar and not currently in use. C band payload owned by Intelsat and is known as Galaxy 23.
(3) Rainbow 1 was launched by Cablevision/Rainbow DBS and used for the Voom DBS service at 61.5° W until the satellite and transponder licenses were sold to EchoStar in 2005. March 2006 saw DISH Network rename it to EchoStar 12. It is co-located with EchoStar III at 61.5° W.
(4) Customers use SuperDISH 105 to receive this signal. Non-DBS, medium-power AMC-15 is owned by SES Americom and replaced AMC-2 at the 105° W orbital location. EchoStar leases the entire bandwidth of the AMC-15 satellite.
(5) Customers use the 26-centimeter DISH 500+ or DISH 1000+ to receive this non-DBS, medium-powered signal. Anik F3 is leased by EchoStar from Telesat Canada to serve CONUS customers. It broadcasts on non-DBS FSS frequencies using circular polarity (the only satellite serving the United States in this mode). It permanently replaces AMC-16 which was temporarily placed at 118.75° W due to delays in Anik F3 production. AMC-16 moved back to 85° W when Anik F3 was fully operational.
References
