Beginner please help receiver advice

[JJ2007]

Hi Everyone

It seems here is the right place to get some answers to my questions.

I've in this forum for a couple of weeks trying to work it out what is best for me but it is confusing

Right now I have SKY and as you can guess I have a huge bills comming every month.

And that started to annoy me alot. So I see only one sollution get a proper sat tv and everything that it has tro offer.

So my main questions are:

What receiver should I get to get the most out of SAT TV (of course free of charge I nooticed where are so many to choose from that it makes my head spin)

What motor and dish should I get?

What I will be able to watch (my location from google earth is 51,30,11 N - 0,17,40 W

And last question (for now) what to do if I am unable to install myself? (This is the one giving me headech)

I understand that if you want to get the most out of SAT TV it will cost, but in my opinion it will be worth it. In the end it is still gonna be cheaper then having Crappy SKY.

Sorry if some questions are silly.

Waiting for your advice.

Thank You

Gabry

[Jimdefruit]

Welcome to the forum JJ2007.

Because there are so many options available can you just give us a bit more info please.

How much are you prepared to spend? I know, 'how long's a bit of string' but it might indicate if you are prepared to go foe a linux type box; dreambox etc or if you want to keep things tight.

Can you install a dish so that it can turn and have 'sight' of satellites from 30W to 30E or do you have restricted angles?

I expect a few more questions will come your way before we can give detailed guidance.

[DJB55]

Hi and welcome

Like you I came here with similar questions about 6 months ago.

I spent £220 on a system that game me everything your looking for.

hope this helps a bit.

[JJ2007]

My budget i think is about £400 - £450.

But it is hard to say exactly i just want to get a desent equipment.

Regarding Linux and Dreambox i was looking into it but for me right now it does not make much difference as I don't really know what is the difference.

I am the persom who likes to fiddle around and not get things done easy way (i know sounds silly) as long as it worth effort.

Regarding installing dish I think i still need more adviceon this and some explanation as i am not sure how far motorised dish could turn.

I recon I would mount it on my roof just big question is HOW?? :?

Gabry

[bigtee]

:welc2: JJ2007

A good starting set up could be:

Dish - 90cm or 1m (e.g. Triax TD88)

Motor - Moteck SG200

Receiver - Technomate 1500 (you can upgrade to a Linux box later)

And assorted bits inc LNB, Cable etc

All of that should be about £200.

Installation should be about £50-£100 if you get someone local. If you don't mind DIY, folk here will readily take you through self installation.

[JJ2007]

Thank you for your advice bigtee.

I was thinking about Technomate but iam not to sure i would like to get a better receiver straigh away to avoid buying a new one in near future.

As I understand from reading this forum Technomate is good starting receiver but where are still better ones.

I want something future proof and that could unscramble as many channels as possible. If it can do that I will get it.

I have another question will I be able to get thease packages (see link) http://www.lyngsat.com/packages/viasat.html

I noticed protection is video guard. In this case which receiver could cope with it.

Thanks to everyone for they help.

[Robbo]

Hi JJ2007,

With a patched Technomate, you would not be able to get that package. I believe I am right in saying that an official subscription is the only way to descramble 'videoguard'.

The good thing about the Technomates is that thay are very cheap, and make a good 'starter'. The TM1000D is only £59 for example, and I imagine that you could easily sell it when you wanted to upgrade, or use it as a second receiver in another room or something. It would gve you a 'quick fix' until you gained the knowledge to work out what ypu really wanted.

A good size dish and motorized system is also a good start, and would not require upgrading at a later date if you decided to upgrade the receiver.


To work out the best place to site the dish, you want somewhere that you have a good view of the sky in a southerly direction, and east and west of that 70 degrees to get all possible satellites (dependent on dish size). Plus and minus 45 degrees is normally achievable.
In the middle of the arc, you dish would be looking up at a approx 30 degree angle, at 45 degrees to the east or west it will fall to approx 20 degrees.

Dishes do not have to go on a roof, a flat roof is good, and so is a southish facing wall.
If installing yourself, and to reduce wind loading on the dish, the lower the better, as long as there is an unobstructed view of the satellites

Robbo

[Mship]

Hiya JJ2007,

Videoguard is totally secure so the only way of viewing those packages would be via a valid subscription card I'm afraid

Regarding the Technomates, they are probably the best supported non Linux receiver around at the minute and have been for some time now. I don't think you will find another receiver that opens more, put it that way

What you have to consider is that these open channels can go scrambled at any time, whichever receiver you buy. One way to extend the life of a receiver is to buy one with a CI (Common Interface) slot which can take a Cam (Conditional Access Module). This way, even if support for you're box dries up you can always purchase a cam and open channels using that

I have the TM 1500 CI and have had good service from it for the last year or so with no signs of the support drying up.

Just remember that anything you can get is a bonus, and there will inevitably be times when our screens once again go black

Kev

EDIT: Beaten by Robbo again

[nanochickin]

On the darker side of satellite TV you will be able to get Viasat if you have a big enough dish (1.2m+ for the stuff on Sirius 3) a Linux base receiver like a dreambox and access to a card share group (which we don't talk about on here)

Other than getting a official sub card that is the only way you may be likely to do it



Nano

[JJ2007]

So its seems where is a very small hope to get VIASAT(maybe in future )

I am already almost convinced that I should technomate. But I still have one question.

What is the main difference between technomate and dreambox alike, apart from obvious (dreambox is not that user friendly and more complicated).

And another one if going with technomate which one is the best of its range (if ignoring the orice tag).

Thanks Nano for info about Viasat.