Satellite TV: $30, No Monthly Bill.

After setting up a FTA satellite system, I set a challenge for myself: Just how cheaply could I set up a FTA system for Galaxy 19? Turns out the number is around $30. Of course, the secret is getting a suitable dish for free.

The dish I used was a discarded DirecTV "Slimline" dish, it's about 22" x 36". (I wouldn't try anything smaller!) You can find them on Freecycle.org, Craigs List, ebay, on your neighbor's roof, or at the dump. If you can't find a suitable dish for free or cheap, you can buy one but it will add about $50 to your total cost. Try the Winegard DS2076 76 cm Dish.

Once you've obtained a dish, the rest of the components are easily available on Amazon. Here's how we do it:
Here's our components:
 X2-fta Dvb-s Mini Digital Satellite Receiver $22.45
or
 Starcom (A7) Dvb-s Ultra Mini Digital Satellite Receiver $17.45
and
 Digital Universal Single LNB $6.45
and
 SINGLE SATELLITE TV DISH LNB BRACKET $1.09 + $4.49 shipping  

You'll also need some coax cable to hook it all up, and you may find a satellite signal meter helpful for setting it up. Here's an image from Amazon check out:

 

You'll need a little ingenuity to put the LNB and bracket on the dish, but all you have to do is remove the DirecTV LNBs and LNB head and bolt  the new LNB bracket in place so it's in the same spot as the original, like so:

Once you have all your parts, head here to my original FTA post and follow the directions to set up your dish and receiver, and scan for channels.

You'll end up with hundreds of channels, all free!

I should point out for those who are not familiar, FTA (Free To Air) satellite is NOT a replacement for paid satellite TV. And while you will get hundreds of channels on satellite Galaxy 19, most of them are religious, foreign language, or religious AND foreign language! Also note that most channels on G-19 are not HD, and the 2 suggested receivers are also not HD. But for about $30 and a few hours of your time, you can get some useful channels like EBRU tv and RT news, for free. Forever. You don't even need to pay for internet access!