TRUE FTA How to use a old primestar dish for true fta

how to use a old primestar dish for true fta

Primestar DSS conversion

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Finally got it done, works so great, you can't miss any dbs bird.

I've included the step by step, some detals & photos for anyone who might wanna do this.

Took about 10 minutes to convert & required no fabrication, just what I had laying around.

1. Remove the grey lnb cover by loosening the two screws.

2. Unbolted the linear Ku lnb and set aside. (Save this, it can be used for lots of sats & you need it to check your new lnb alignment.)

3. Grab any old DTV or even an aftermarket circular lnb. You will notice a half circle groove where the old lnb was on the dish arm. Fit the DTV lnb in this groove. The groove is smaller than the shaft on the DTV LNB. Don't worry about it, it will line up when you secure it.

4. With the 2 DTV lnbs I tried I found that if you put the lnb in the groove & push it back until the cone just hits the mount then you will have positioned it for prime focus. Compare your lnb with the primestar one you pulled off to make sure the feedhorn is in the same position.

5. Rotate the lnb to the left or right so that the coax connectors clear the bottom of the LNB arm. If you don't do this you can't attach the cables!

6. Strap the lnb down. I used a big pipeclamp that I had laying around, it is very secure. You can secure the lnb with zip ties, duct tape, bungee cord, whatever just as long as it sits in the groove and doesn't move. DONT OVERTIGHTEN, YOU'LL BREAK THE LNB.

7. Throw your dish up on something & enjoy. When aiming for 61.5, 82, 91, 110, or 119 you could be deaf, dumb, & blind and easially hit them. Just remember when you mount the primestar it is a very heavy large dish & picks up the wind like a sail. SECURE IT WELL! As you can see from my pics I not only buried the pole in the ground, I used steel cable at 3 points like a radio/tv tower to make sure it doesnt blow over.

RESULTS: I did this in a hurry to get bev91 which I just couldn't lock in with a 18 or 20 inch dish. The 2 others I've done for friends on 20" dishes get peak quality in the mid 60's and signal in the low 70's. Just doing a 2 minute aim job with the primestar I'm in the mid 80's for S & Q. If I took another 10 minutes to aim better I'm sure 100+ would be no problem.

This dish has tons of potental. A guy could mount 5 or 6 lnb's on it with the factory lnb to get all sorts of birds. Mine was just a quickie/proof of concept deal. You could also use just about any big oval (DTV, DN, a big POS oval off an old gas station, ect) and get this to work. Most of the big ovals I've seen for POS use mount the Ku LNB almost exactly like the Primestar, so these instructions will work. The only important factor is getting the new LNB in the right spot for prime focus.
c&p

Thanks, I been looking for this kind of info.

can u use that primestar lnb and dish for true fta, ku band ?:noidea:

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Originally Posted by catdaddy357

can u use that primestar lnb and dish for true fta, ku band ?:noidea:

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Quote:

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2. Unbolted the linear Ku lnb and set aside. (Save this, it can be used for lots of sats & you need it to check your new lnb alignment.)

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Simply put...Yes~

:yeaah:

BPG~

Say BPG, any chance we could get a look at those pic.s that were mentioned? I know p/s used a couple of different dishes and lnb,s, be nice to compare to mine. Thanks.:yes:

thanks guys im gunna try to catch me sum sports feeds

were do you find the codes you need for true free to air

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Originally Posted by hockey111

were do you find the codes you need for true free to air

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True free to air is not encripted therefore no special codes/bin needed. the factory file will work fine and so should whatever file thats in your receiver now

The oval primestar is the most useful dish. That's because the lnb is easily retrofitted to the newer 40mm fta lnb. The eliptical dish has a smaller lnb which makes it more difficult to change out.

Also, the oval comes in 1 and 1.2 meter dishes. It has three arms on the front of the dish, as opposed to one arm on the eliptical dish, which makes it a more stable platform in bad weather.

I lost an eliptical dish in a tornado last year. The oval dish would likely have survived it. The dishes are tough, tough, tough. These little thin steel dishes aren't designed to withstand such stuff.

But I tried putting an h-h motor on a 1.2 meter dish and it was too heavy to the motor to power it. So don't waste your time.

Presently, I'm running 5 primestar ovals and have given away 3. I keep an extra as a spare because they're free.

Go fta!!!

I have a dish 500 dish and a a view sat 2000 extreme box and i want to know if that equipment could work for true fta. Also i need more help on how to set it up.

I also would like to some pictures of this setup. Are the still on the site somewhere. Thanks in advance....

Rolguin
Your receiver will work for true fta . you MUST use a linear L N B F for true fta. Personally I prefer standard linear L N B F .

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Originally Posted by rolguin

I have a dish 500 dish and a a view sat 2000 extreme box and i want to know if that equipment could work for true fta. Also i need more help on how to set it up.

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i set up an old primestar dish on a homemade tripod using the universal lnbf that was on it and my viewsat ultra and was picking up all kinds of sat with good quality and great signal. it worked great for me!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bluepenguin

how to use a old primestar dish for true fta

Primestar DSS conversion

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finally got it done, works so great, you can't miss any dbs bird.

I've included the step by step, some detals & photos for anyone who might wanna do this.

Took about 10 minutes to convert & required no fabrication, just what I had laying around.

1. Remove the grey lnb cover by loosening the two screws.

2. Unbolted the linear Ku lnb and set aside. (Save this, it can be used for lots of sats & you need it to check your new lnb alignment.)

3. Grab any old DTV or even an aftermarket circular lnb. You will notice a half circle groove where the old lnb was on the dish arm. Fit the DTV lnb in this groove. The groove is smaller than the shaft on the DTV LNB. Don't worry about it, it will line up when you secure it.

4. With the 2 DTV lnbs I tried I found that if you put the lnb in the groove & push it back until the cone just hits the mount then you will have positioned it for prime focus. Compare your lnb with the primestar one you pulled off to make sure the feedhorn is in the same position.

5. Rotate the lnb to the left or right so that the coax connectors clear the bottom of the LNB arm. If you don't do this you can't attach the cables!

6. Strap the lnb down. I used a big pipeclamp that I had laying around, it is very secure. You can secure the lnb with zip ties, duct tape, bungee cord, whatever just as long as it sits in the groove and doesn't move. DONT OVERTIGHTEN, YOU'LL BREAK THE LNB.

7. Throw your dish up on something & enjoy. When aiming for 61.5, 82, 91, 110, or 119 you could be deaf, dumb, & blind and easially hit them. Just remember when you mount the primestar it is a very heavy large dish & picks up the wind like a sail. SECURE IT WELL! As you can see from my pics I not only buried the pole in the ground, I used steel cable at 3 points like a radio/tv tower to make sure it doesnt blow over.

RESULTS: I did this in a hurry to get bev91 which I just couldn't lock in with a 18 or 20 inch dish. The 2 others I've done for friends on 20" dishes get peak quality in the mid 60's and signal in the low 70's. Just doing a 2 minute aim job with the primestar I'm in the mid 80's for S & Q. If I took another 10 minutes to aim better I'm sure 100+ would be no problem.

This dish has tons of potental. A guy could mount 5 or 6 lnb's on it with the factory lnb to get all sorts of birds. Mine was just a quickie/proof of concept deal. You could also use just about any big oval (DTV, DN, a big POS oval off an old gas station, ect) and get this to work. Most of the big ovals I've seen for POS use mount the Ku LNB almost exactly like the Primestar, so these instructions will work. The only important factor is getting the new LNB in the right spot for prime focus.
c&p

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Where are the photos????????????????

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Originally Posted by TurboPirate

Where are the photos????????????????

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he's into iks not fta
only photos would be someone else's
the true defender of nfusion:yeaah:

great idea i knew i keep that junk for a reason:grr:good post

I have 2 Channelmaster oval dishes . They are wonderful and the LNB that comes with it works well and is made to last forever. I added a second LNB to one of them and get 63w and 72W with good quality here NW PA. The other one is marked with other sats and i change manually ( right outside my window ) . It's easy to set up a 2 degree separation for the FTA BIRDS, ie. 95w/97w , 101w/103w , etc. The 63w/72w set up took some tweaking. People even make Mini-bud dishes for C-band. I have been unable to get c-band on mine . I do lack the conical scalar that most primestar c-band junkies are using. Point is, they are great dishes and if you see one stop and grab it.

Running 2 Primestar Channelmaster Dishes with factory H/V LNBF and Spitfire.3DB LNB and 2 18" Winegard Dishes (110w/119w) w/ Single Circular LNB FTA Setup. Ku Linear / Circular setup. Pulling 63w,72w,95w,101w,110w,110/119w !!!! FREE TO AIR TV ROCKS ! Testing X-1 Standard Definition. [ Super Dish-Pro ] Plotting a C-Band instal

I have a Primestar dish and have been using it for true FTA on 97 for quite some time using the Primestar LNB. If you happen to get one of those Primestar LNBs with a seperate V and H output, don't panic, there is a hack where you can use it with a multi dish DBS switch to switch between two feeds. (Don't remember what the switch is called off the top of my head but they used to have it at radio shack so it is common.)

The title of this thread is a bit misleading. Just so we're clear, the instructions are how to replace the Vertical/Horizontal, linear LNB with a circular one to use it with DBS services such as D*sh. True fta requires no special bin and you may be better off with the factory bin. Yes those dishes are great and it is recommended to snatch it up for free if possible... but some of us dont have room for five. :-)

primestar into a dtv type 3x4 or 3x8 switch,V to 13v H to 18v

primestar dishes can also be used for stronger c-band sat's and transponders with a bit of tinkering and patience and the proper lnbf.

I motorized my primestar dish and use a 3x4 switch. With my manhatten I am able to view true fta sats 125, 123 105 103 101 99 97 95 93 91 89 87 85 83 and 72. I could tune in the satmex sats but i do not speak spanish. There is a couple other sats i can not tune in until i can get an active tp. Over all I am happy with the primestar and it's original lnb. Some feeds are hard to pull in from time to time that others are able to get but they have a 6 foot or larger dish.

The Primestar dish that I have been using for years is mounted to my railing on my balcony and I know that we are not really supposed to do that. What do you guys mound these Primestar dishes too isasmuch as just keeping them upright?

My Primestar (39"x29") is mounted on it's original 2 3/8" OD pole installed by Primestar years ago. I would think if you have it mounted and working for years; why mess with it?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rolguin

I have a dish 500 dish and a a view sat 2000 extreme box and i want to know if that equipment could work for true fta. Also i need more help on how to set it up.

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Can i use my cnx nano for this? i need a dave "eye" or 2 of them? on the wide dish correct? i get SIGNALS from many sat's of up to 95% but there is no color to the guage or quality signal what-so-ever?