Free-To-Air (FTA) satellite television programs give audiences another choice besides cable and paid satellite companies. Thanks to technology advancement, the price of FTA receiver systems has become affordable in recent years, while their capabilities have improved dramatically. Read on to learn how to install and set up a FTA receiver system. There are different geo-synchronous satellites orbiting around the earth that broadcast FTA signals. In this instruction, a free Chinese Mandarin program called CCTV-4 on satellite Galaxy-3 orbiting 95° West longitude is used as an example.
Steps
Installing receiver dish- Select a location with a direct line of site in the direction of the satellite. Generally high locations should as the top of a roof or on a balcony are used. Using an analog compass will make locating the angle easier. In the example, this would be a location facing 95° southwest.
- Secure the dish in the selected position. The dish must be fixed tightly at the mounting point as it must be able to resist wind force. Otherwise, it might fall and injury people passing by or damage property below.
- If the dish is mounted on a wood roof, caulk around the base to make it waterproof.
- Adjust the dish direction so it points 95° southwest and slightly tilt up. Tighten the screw controlling the direction adjustment, but do not tight them up completely.
- Connect the satellite finder using the 6 feet long coaxial cable. Turn on the satellite finder and input the satellite name (Galaxy 3C) and downlink frequency number (11780 Hz). Continuous beeping with quiet interval should be heard.
- Start rotating the dish and use the beeping to get the horizontal position correct. If the beeping interval gets shorter you are moving in the correct location, and if it gets longer, rotate in the opposite direction.
- Tighten the rotation control screw completely to fix this angle.
- Adjust the vertical angle in the same manner as the horizontal. The receiver dish will now be positioned to catch the satellite signals at the highest quality and strength.
- Connect one end of the long outdoor coaxial cable to the satellite dish.
- Staple the wire along the edge of the roof or balcony neatly. Never leave the wire hang freely. It could become a hazard or be damaged.
- Drill hole on the wall to pass the wire from outdoor to indoor;
- WARNING: When drilling a hold on the wall, make sure there is not electrical wires or water pipe at the position you want to drill; Drill on a live electrical wire can cause serious electrical shock injury; Drill on water pipe can cause water damage to the building.
- Connect the wire to the receiver in the living room.
Tips
- Satellite signals are propagated in line of sight.
- In order to receive satellite signals with sufficient quality and strength, no physical obstacles, such as a high building or a large life tree, etc, are allowed on the line between the two points of the satellite and the receiver dish.
Things You'll Need
- FTA receiver
- satellite dish
- power drill with drill bits
- staple gun
- tube of silicon caulk and a caulking gun
- analog compass
- digital satellite finder (can be rented from local FTA store)
- ladder
- 30 feet long outdoor coaxial cable
- 6 feet indoor coaxial cable
- 4 8½ screws
- Turn on the receiver and your TV set that is connected with the receiver; On your TV screen, you should see the receiver performs its initialization.
- When initialization completes, press the Menu button on the receiver’s remote control; Select Setting from the menu, then “Select Satellite”; A list of preinstalled satellites names is shown on the screen; Using the Up or Down arrow key on the remote control to scroll up and down the screen to find the Galaxy-3C satellite, then press OK button to select it.
- Press the Yellow button on the remote control to start Search channels; You should see a progress bar is displayed on the screen; When the progress bas hits 100%, the search progress stops automatically, and the first channel that is found is shown on the screen.
- Press the Ch Up and Ch Down key to change channel.
- Done! Now you can watch all the free channels from Galaxy-3 orbiting 95° West longitudes.
Conclusion
Installing and setting up a FTA TV program receiver system become doable for non-professional because the great improvement of capability and intelligence of the receiver itself. However, you still need to pay attention when mounting the dish on roof and balcony and wiring the cable. For the best result, plan well and consult with professional service providers for advice and help when you are no certain of details. Good luck.
