Hi from Derby!

[derbylad]

HI guys,

I am new to all this, and I am hoping to learn a little something about satellite systems and programming of card from you experts out there.

I have a russian wife and I am looking at purchasing a satellite system to pickup russian TV. The two subscription chanels that I am interested in are NTV+ (Eutelsat W4 36 deg.E) and RTVi (Hotbird 13 deg.E).

The first thing that I am unsure about is the size and type of dish that I would need. I assume that a 80cm would do, and I have a choice between either a motorised system or a monoblock with 2 lnb's and a diseqc switch? As for the receiver, I should be getting a Technomate 6900 free from a relative.

Once I know what hardware I need, I could do with some advice on the best way to program cards. Having already surfed the internet a little there appears to be 2 options:

1: buy a smart card programmer (duolabs dynamite + ?) and smart cards, and use the in-built smart card reader on the Technomate 6900.

2: buy a CAM programmer (duolabs CAS interface 3 + ?) and a CAM module (Dragon CAM ?) and a card (Dragon loader ?).

I'm a bit confused as to what is the best solution, and what is the best hardware on the market.

Any advise would be most apreciated.

Merry Christmas

From the derbylad