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:

Some Myths and Misconceptions About Free OTA TV

There is a lot of bad information out there about free OTA TV and pay TV. Some of it is lack of information, some is misinformation. Some of it comes from a basic misunderstanding of free digital TV, and some of it even originates with pay TV providers themselves.

LET'S LOOK AT THESE MISCONCEPTIONS AND THE FACTS.

The End Is Near For Traditional Pay TV

"Some day TV will be invented, and it will be FREE!
 And then it will cost money..." ~ Homer Simpson

Pay TV: Change or die.

It doesn't matter what the traditional multi-channel providers (aka "pay TV") do to protect their turf. Eventually the pay TV "package concept" where you have to pay for 150 channels that you don't want, just to get the 5 channels you do want, will fail.

Gradually, viewers are moving away from traditionally distributed pay TV to other sources. As the customer base erodes and income from traditional sources drops, content creators will seek out whatever method of distribution provides them income. The longer Pay TV providers continue bury their heads in the sand, the worse their odds of survival become.

For years pay TV customers have wished for, begged for, pleaded with their pay TV providers for one thing: Ala Carte. The choice to pay for just those networks that they want, and nothing more. And pay TV providers respond by doing as they always have. By turning a deaf ear.