Complete beginner looking for advice

[Dan]

Hiya,

Ok, so I've read the stickies on this forum, done a few little searches but now have some questions. If they're blatantly stupid or obvious I apologise beforehand.

Basically I have freeview, never had satellite in my life and don't feel like getting Sky. Just like one of the stickies above I've got "friends of friends" types that have all this fancy stuff, motorised dishes etc and they get hundreds of channels from all around the world, the pay movies and all that along with all the legit stuff.

Now I'm struggling to come to terms with CAMs/Cards/Receivers/Transponders etc. But I have found a kit that apparently is all nice and patched and had a built in stuff and I won't need any cards for it as it is programmed directly from the PC via a serial interface, but a search on it here pops up blank and I'd really like to start on the right foot.

The kit I have found has a SatCatcher II Receiver (Patched for a whole bunch of stuff I don't understand)
- 80cm High Gain Solid Satellite Dish
- Superjack DG120 + DiSEqC Motor 1.2 / 1.3 usals
- 0.2 dB LNB -Ultra Single Universal
- 20m H109F Coax Cable + 5 "F" Connectors
- Steel Wall Mount 450mm
- 1x Serial Cable To link - PC to Receiver

Also, I notice the LNB is 0.2 and the sticky says 0.3-0.8 is good, so is 0.2 no good? Sorry, i've cut and pasted some of the options because I simply don't know what they mean.

Finally, I'll be paying someone to install this, but does someone know what kind of fee I should be looking at, I always think I'm going to get fleeced when I call up the local installers and they realise I'm clueless (One too many episode of those Watchdog type programs)

Any advice (speak slowly cos I'm thick)?

Thanks,
Dan

[Analoguesat]

Hi Dan, welcome to the forum. Lets see if we can sort out some answers for you

The kit I have found has a SatCatcher II Receiver (Patched for a whole bunch of stuff I don't understand)
Never heard of it! A patch is modified software thats loaded onto the receiver that can open some pay tv channels (NOT Sky UK - and not most of the others at the moment)

- 80cm High Gain Solid Satellite Dish
80cm diameter dish. Fairly standard size - Ive got about 5 of them in my garden! (2 are blocking up holes in the hedge at the moment!)

- Superjack DG120 + DiSEqC Motor 1.2 / 1.3 usals
Fairly standard motor to move the dish east and west so you can look at different satellites. Diseqc is the protocol to move it.

- 0.2 dB LNB -Ultra Single Universal

Standard LNB (The bit on the arm on the dish that captures the reflected signals. 0.2 is fine.

- 20m H109F Coax c@ble + 5 "F" Connectors
your c@ble to connect the dish to the receiver. F connectors are little twist on connectors.

- Steel Wall Mount 450mm
fairly obvious

- 1x Serial c@ble To link - PC to Receiver
for loading new software onto the reciver from your computer.

Depending on the complexity of the install you should be looking at around 100 quid to install it all and get it up and running. MORE if its a complicated install.

[Dan]

Hiya,

Thanks for the snappy reply. If you haven't heard of that receiver before am I right in assuming I should go for something a bit more standard? There's that Techo.... 1500 thing that everyone here seems to favour. Can that be patched and all that other fancy stuff? I realise there isn't much out there at the moment for pay tv, but does that come and go from time to time as other sites release the info or codes required? (I read the forum rules, i hope that doesn't break them?)

That entire kit is £170, would I be best breaking it down and buying it in component form so I can get a more widely supported receiver?

Any other tips?

Thanks,
Dan

[Analoguesat]

Technomates are decent receivers. They have a lot of hobby support. Yes the pay tv comes and goes as the h*ckers and the pay tv companies play cat and mouse with changes and fixes. Its ok to discuss the general principles on this forum, but no-one is ever to post the actual keys and actual doohickerties that actually open the channels.

You must also remember that pay tv companies are foreve tightening up their encryptions, so the number open will decrease year on year. For example we will probably lose TPS and SRG Switzerland this year. (TPS was wide open on just about every receiver until mid November, now its intermittent and receiver specific.

[Jimdefruit]

Hi Dan, the most difficult bit is installing the dish/motor if it is near the roof. If it is on the ground you could save yourself a packet of money by DIY with a bit of help from here.

[Dan]

Just in regards to the paytv, as the tv companies get better, don't the guys get clever too at descrambling them, or is it simply a matter of time?

I've looked at the Technomates's (Still looking) But I'm a little confused in regards to cards. Even if teh 1500 has the cam built in and a cardreader, would I still need to purchase the actual card if I wanted to watch paytv or is this something I don't need and can get files for?

As for the installation. Well I've looked which way my neighbours dish's face (Fair enough, they're teh static sky ones) But I assume mine will have to be pointed in the general direction? Only think is that back of my house where it would need to be is the opposide side to where my TV is and I can't think of a nice way to get cable all the way through the house (terraced house so can't run it outside) However, on my roof where my aerial is could I mount it there and run the cable down into the loft and then through teh existing conduit in the wall and to the TV point? I'm realtively DIY'able, but I've read some guys missions on here how difficult it is to align the dish and I'd be buying satellite meters/compass's etc. Anyone on here live near Leicester?

[Analoguesat]

If you are going motorised you will ideally need to see an arc from southwest-ish round to southeast-ish to get the maximum benefit from it. The Sky dishes are pointing out southeast-ish to give you a rough idea.

As regards the pay tv - many of the systems used are totally secure. Should you want an ART or DigiAlb card for the football coverage you will need to buy a card. As for the cat and mouse game, as the encryption systems get more and more complicated it takes longer and longer for the h*ckers to make any major inroads into them - Sky UK's NDS VIdeoguard has been secure for nearly 9 years so far, Itdeto 2 has lasted over 7 years and so on...

Yes Sky had to update their cards a couple of years ago, and there are rumours the h*ckers had got close.... but I can just about guarantee theres at least 2 new versions of the encryption algorithms ready to go should the cards get compromised overnight

[BGonaSTICK]

I hate keep recommending the same old receivers to people, but at the end of the day, if you want to watch compromised pay-TV without spending £400 - £500 on a Dreambox setup, the choice of hardware is almost a secondary consideration.

Little point shopping around forever for a pretty-looking receiver if the files for it dry up next week.

When you consider that basic receivers cost somewhere between £60 - £100, a cheap 12m subscription card costs about the same, and the full price for all the pay-TV that's been available free on patches and files in the last 12m could be :? £3000?!? :?

LOL, not sure which nasty corner of my brain that last figure came from, but you get my drift.

If you want a rooftop install, then I'd get a pro in

[Dan]

Hi,

Thanks for all the info. To be honest I have Freeview and I guess I'm happy with it for now, but I'd like a few more channels, and don't know if I can justify Sky's fee for just the movie package each month if I don't watch it enough. But also it'd just be fun to see what I could do with it and mess around really. With Sky I'd be tied into a 1 year contract at what, £30 a month, thats's £360, but going my own route would be a bit of fun and I could probably get the eqivalent movies elsewhere?

Are you saying though if I don't go the Dreambox route that I'm not going to get the full benefits and I might as well just go Sky, or have I misread you?

Cheers,
Dan

[Analoguesat]

The dreambox is a high end enthusiasts receiver. Its got a hellish steep learning curve and requires hours of use to get the best out of (I know - I bought one over the summer and Im still only using about 10% its capabilities!) As a beginner you would probably be better off with an easier to use receiver. Then if you decide the hobby isnt right for you you havent invested too much time and effort. You can always upgrade the receiver later.

However - if you want a challenge....