FAQ of the Free to Air Satellite Channels

1. What are Free To Air (FTA) channels?
Free to Air channels are digital MPEG2 channels that are not scrambled and require no subscription or monthly payment.
They are provided free of charge and are perfectly legal to receive with an FTA receiver. You can find a listing of these
channels on lyngsat.com and satcodx.com web sites

2. What hardware do I need to receive the FTA channels?
A digital satellite receiver and a dish with KU Band LNB

3. Do you guarantee that these FTA channels will remain free?

Absolutely not. No one can guarantee free channels. You will receive those FTA channels as long as they remain free and not encrypted. The FTA distributor and resellers only offer FTA hardware (receiver, dish and LNB). They make no guarantee or claim about the programming.

4. Are there any Dish Network or DirecTV channels that are FTA?
Almost all of the channels provided by these companies are not FTA. The channels are encrypted and require an authorized receiver and monthly subscription.

5.Can I use an FTA receiver to receive premium channels like Dish Network or DirecTV?
Absolutely not. These channels require subscription and special receivers supplied by
the service provider. Any tampering with your FTA receiver (whether by hardware or software
modification) to try to receive the premium channels without paying is not only a violation
of the law and unethical, but also will void the warrantee on your receiver and may hinder it unusable.

6. What size dish I need for the Free to air channels?
For the C-Band signal channels you will need a 10 ft dish.
For KU-band channels you will need a 30 inch (76 cm) dish or larger.

7. Where can I find out what channels are available free to air?
There are many free to air channels available in North America on satellites such as Galaxy 10R, AMC4, Telstar 5, AMC3, etc. There are from the USA and from around the world. See lyngsat.com for more details. For a complete listing of what is available. Anything with an F designation is FREE TO AIR.

8. How do I find the satellites?
The satellite you want to use will be determined by the programming you want to view. Telstar 5 is a very
popular satellite for ethnic channels. Locate your satellite/programming on one of the web sites listed above and align your dish to that satellite.

9. How do I move my dish to get more satellites and more channels?
If you have a receiver that has DiSEqC 1.2 you can easily see more satellites and more channels by adding a DiSEqC motor to move your dish.

How To Install a FTA (Free To Air) Satellite System

A. Pre-Installation Homework

Verify if the dish size is indeed adequate for your area and targeted satellite.

Obtain Look Angles readings for your city and targeted satellite. This includes: - the Azimuth reading which the number of degree is clockwise away from the north. (Use of compass) the
Elevation reading which is the vertical angle up from the horizon.

B. List of
Equipment and Accessories required

FTA Receiver

Satellite Dish (30 " or 36 ")

LNBF

RG-6 coaxial cable (F56-G indoor
connector, F56-SG outdoor connector if you make your own cable)

TV set

Map Compass for Azimuth reading

Satellite Finder (optional)

Drill

Phillips screw driver

Socket set/wrenches

C.
Installation Steps

Assemble dish with instruction supplied during time of purchase.

With the aid of a compass, orient toward the general azimuth direction and the elevation of the satellite and locate an ideal area to position the dish. Here, there must be no obstructions between the satellite and the dish from trees and buildings. Avoid installation on the roof if at all possible to prevent high wind damage or for ease of access if required. (e.g. side of the house, 4X4 post)

Put in place the dish pole on irm support and keep it vertically plumb to enable accurate azimuth and elevation settings.( use 2 of the 4 or 6 lag screws for now )

Feed the RG6 cable through the pole, then mount the dish onto the pole but do not tighten the screws too much for now. Connect the LNB head to the wire that was fed through the support pole and secure the LNB head with the provided screw onto to the support pole.

Complete connections of wiring to the receiver and TV.

As an option you can use a satellite finder by attaching it between the dish and the receiver (highly recommended e.g. SF-95.)

Adjust the elevation to the desired vertical angle; do not tighten the screws too tight to allow for
some adjustment...

Now rotate the dish to point more closely to the targeted azimuth position in very small incremental angle, allows 5-10 seconds between any movements of the dish. This allows the
receiver to complete a signal scan. A lock response on the receiver would indicate that you have located the signal.

You are targeting signal strength of between 50 to 80. If you have strong signal strength but no signal quality or lock. Try adjusting the dish a bit to the right or left. Optimum signal quality is between 70 and 100.

Set the LNBF polarization tilt by rotating clockwise for western region (negative LNB polarization) to improve signal quality reading. Rotate counter-clockwise if you are from the eastern region (positive LNB polarization).

Secure the dish pole with the rest of the lag screws.