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:

FTA Satellite, Part 4: Installation

 Installation of a single satellite FTA system is a relatively easy task, provided that you done a little homework and have the right tools for the job. The tools needed are a magnetic level, compass, satellite finder, open end and socket wrenches, screwdrivers, and of course your FTA receiver, dish and mount, and coaxial cables.

Your first task once you decide what satellite you want is to determine the location for your dish. For most installations this will be on a roof. If you are installing on a roof, most dishes will come with a "J-pipe" mount that includes all the mounting hardware you need, but I would also recommend using some asphalt sealant between the roofing material and J-pipe to prevent water intrusion. You can also install your dish on a pipe set into concrete. A pole set in concrete should be a heavy weight metal water pipe, not the galvanized "top rail" for chain link fencing that I often recommend for mounting OTA antennas.

FTA Satellite, Part 3: The Equipment

In the third installment of our Free To Air (FTA) satellite series, we'll cover the equipment needed to set up a simple, one satellite system that will get you started. We'll assume that you are going to set up your system for Galaxy 19 at 97 degrees. While there is lots of programming on other satellites, Galaxy 19 has over 200 unencrypted channels available (although most are foreign language and/or religious) and it is the logical place to start.

While you can add a motor drive or use multiple LNBs to get more than one satellite, at this point we'll be focused on just a single satellite. For this, you need just 4 things: A dish, 30" or larger with mount, an "LNB" (a Low-Noise Block down converter), a receiver, and some coax cable. I would also suggest an inexpensive satellite finder to make setup much easier. 

Here's the low-down on all that you need: