What can I use a satellite dish for?

[Pulpo]

Is it possible to receive a Paytv service from the US?

Assuming I subscribed to the service and installed some sort of satellite dish.

Could I receive free to air US TV?

Thanks

Pulpo

[anthonyd]

If you plan to get the optus aurora service you will need a satellite decoder that utilises the IRDETO encryption mechanism. The card you get from optus is an IRDETO card.

Short of the PayTV broadcasts there is nothing all that interesting up there that is not encrypted! Unless you are an emmigrant and want som ethenic channels (why do we call channels from other countries in austrlia 'ethenic channels anyway?) you are better off just paying foxtel or austar for the better pay channels and they will probive you with a decoder and dish if necessary.

To be prefectly honest with you - if you are thinking of doing this just because you have the dish, then probably forget about it - the dish is the smallest part of the whole system. It would be like saying "I bought this house and it had a hand saw blade in it so it should be cheap to get into woodworking from here"

Also regarding the comment about the single LNB pay TV being only one polarity - that is not all that correct. The polarity of the LNB is chosen by the Set top box by putting a DC voltage onto the cable. The ones that foxtel/austar use are more than capable to utilising both horizontal and vertical ploarity, just not both at the same time (no LNB will feed both on the same wire at the same time). The single in the word "single lnb" refers to teh fact that it has a single band as opposed to the dual band ones that use a 22kHz signal to switch bands.

[Iain]

The single in the word "single lnb" refers to teh fact that it has a single band as opposed to the dual band ones that use a 22kHz signal to switch bands.

The voltage switches the LNB, I haven't done it for a while buit recall 14 and 18vdc, if there are two boxes on one dish the highjer voltage is the dominant one and there are dual LNB's that can feed both simultaneously, not popular as they are expensive and not many people have the need but Docklands is a classic example where many units are fed from one dish via an MATV application.
Bugger, re read your post, yes on bands can't feed both but dual polarities can dual feed, and there are some single polarity LNB's around still.

[outback]

This has been all nice and simple up till now, don't go and ruin it with a lot of jargon.

[anthonyd]

Ignoring outback..........


Yes you cant feed both polarities on the same cable (at least without frequency shifting one), but even a dual LNB will not do this they have two cable outputs and each is independant (both can do H and V).

Typically this is all you need because if you need to feed more than 2 boxes then you feed these two signals into a multi switch (not too expensive) and that will have an output per switch. You can even get an LNB that has 4 outputs for a combination of H and V for each band too!

But I think we are getting off track here.

[seriph1]

take a pic of the dish and post it - I have a foxtel/austar and a Hills on my roof so there's a possibility that we could at least identify which dish and LNB it is. It may be that you can get foxtel/austar on a no-charge install. then all you will have to worry about is how often their rubbish repeats .... and repeats ...... and repeats

and .....

[echnidna]

. It may be that you can get foxtel/austar on a no-charge install. then all you will have to worry about is how often their rubbish repeats .... and repeats ...... and repeats

and .....

assume its austar
When you say no charge do you mean free viewing?

[Iain]

Remove LNB, put yagi in place pointing at dish, remove yagi reflector, point at weak transmitter, experience gain like you wouldn't believe.
(did this on a 30dbmv receive and shot up to 85 with this rig)

[seriph1]

and " mulla wulla gggigggaaaagaaaagaaaa" to you too

[seriph1]

Echidna - no-charge INSTALL. Full take-it-up-the-clacker-charge for viewing their pathetic offerings

[echnidna]

i wouldn't pay for the limited offerings available from austar

[Iain]

The one thing I loved about pay TV was when I was motel dwelling arounf the state, watch a movie at 8.30pm, beer in hand, fall asleep, pick it up again the next night at another motel in a different time slot.
Apart from that, bugger it, I won't pay.

[Daddles]

I still reckon Wongo's suggestion of a big wok is the best of the lot. I've got one on my roof, might pull it down and try this weekend ... mind you, my wok still works nicely

Richard