I bought a foreclosed home and it came with two satellite dishes and four
things called "Digital Satellite Receiver", e.g., Sony SAT-B55 with an
"Access Card" in the slot in back.

What would you do with these four satellite receivers?

On Fri, 1 Jan 2010 15:08:45 -0800, Donna DeLong wrote:

I bought a foreclosed home and it came with two satellite dishes and four
things called "Digital Satellite Receiver", e.g., Sony SAT-B55 with an
"Access Card" in the slot in back.

What would you do with these four satellite receivers?

I should mention I can call DirectTV to ask them to take them back but does
Direct-TV actually come to my house to get them (which is a pain) and will
they insist on removing the two antennas on the tile roof?

I don't see anything useful I can do with the four Direct TV satellite
receivers so they can have them but I don't want anyone crawling on the
tile roof to break even more tiles (I already have to get dozens of broken
ones fixed, presumably from their installers).

In summary, is there anything "useful" I can do with these four direct TV
digital satellite receivers (what would YOU do with them?)?

On Jan 1, 6:11*pm, Donna DeLong wrote:
On Fri, 1 Jan 2010 15:08:45 -0800, Donna DeLong wrote:
I bought a foreclosed home and it came with two satellite dishes and four
things called "Digital Satellite Receiver", e.g., Sony SAT-B55 with an
"Access Card" in the slot in back.

What would you do with these four satellite receivers?

I should mention I can call DirectTV to ask them to take them back but does
Direct-TV actually come to my house to get them (which is a pain) and will
they insist on removing the two antennas on the tile roof?

I don't see anything useful I can do with the four Direct TV satellite
receivers so they can have them but I don't want anyone crawling on the
tile roof to break even more tiles (I already have to get dozens of broken
ones fixed, presumably from their installers).

In summary, is there anything "useful" I can do with these four direct TV
digital satellite receivers (what would YOU do with them?)?

I see them all the time in second hand stores. Someone must want them.
Actually I think electronic hobbyist buy them.

Jimmie

On 1/1/2010 15:08, Donna DeLong wrote:
I bought a foreclosed home and it came with two satellite dishes and four
things called "Digital Satellite Receiver", e.g., Sony SAT-B55 with an
"Access Card" in the slot in back.

What would you do with these four satellite receivers?

I'd be on the lookout for an E-waste recycling event. With most DBS
subscription services the equipment is included, which diminishes the
value of old equipment. It may be of some value to hackers to engage in
criminal activity.

On Fri, 1 Jan 2010 15:27:06 -0800 (PST), JIMMIE wrote:

I see them all the time in second hand stores. Someone must want them.
Actually I think electronic hobbyist buy them.

Maybe someone can tell me what good these are.

Here are the four that were left, cordless, in the house (all with cards):
* Sony SAT-B55 Digital Satellite Receiver (card in rear slot)
* Sony SAT-B65 Digital Satellite Receiver (card in front slot)
* DirectTV H10 HD Receiver (card in front slot)
* DirectTV H11 Satellite Receiver (card in front slot)

What would a typical person do with these 4 boxes (and the two dishes on
the tile roof)?

On 1/1/2010 5:47 PM, Donna DeLong wrote:
On Fri, 1 Jan 2010 15:27:06 -0800 (PST), JIMMIE wrote:

I see them all the time in second hand stores. Someone must want them.
Actually I think electronic hobbyist buy them.

Maybe someone can tell me what good these are.

Here are the four that were left, cordless, in the house (all with cards):
* Sony SAT-B55 Digital Satellite Receiver (card in rear slot)
* Sony SAT-B65 Digital Satellite Receiver (card in front slot)
* DirectTV H10 HD Receiver (card in front slot)
* DirectTV H11 Satellite Receiver (card in front slot)

What would a typical person do with these 4 boxes (and the two dishes on
the tile roof)?


Search "completed auctions" on e-Bay and you will find a bunch of them
that have sold. That should give you a pretty good idea of their value.
It appears that the majority of them bring somewhere in the neighborhood
of $20 each.

Don

On Fri, 1 Jan 2010 15:47:39 -0800, Donna DeLong
wrote:

On Fri, 1 Jan 2010 15:27:06 -0800 (PST), JIMMIE wrote:

I see them all the time in second hand stores. Someone must want them.
Actually I think electronic hobbyist buy them.

Maybe someone can tell me what good these are.

Here are the four that were left, cordless, in the house (all with cards):
* Sony SAT-B55 Digital Satellite Receiver (card in rear slot)
* Sony SAT-B65 Digital Satellite Receiver (card in front slot)
* DirectTV H10 HD Receiver (card in front slot)
* DirectTV H11 Satellite Receiver (card in front slot)


Good for nothing unless you subscribe to DTV service and activate the
units. Likely they would send a new card (?) for the boxes.

What would a typical person do with these 4 boxes (and the two dishes on
the tile roof)?


Acquire "satellite" signals from space, for your television viewing.

Are you certain the dishes are mounted on the roof?! They sometimes
need adjustment, so going on the roof is burdensome. In my town of 2
million people, I've never seen one on the roof.

Check to see if they are mounted on the fascia board with lag bolts,
and not on the roof. Simple to remove using a ladder and hand tools.

IGot2P wrote:
On 1/1/2010 5:47 PM, Donna DeLong wrote:
On Fri, 1 Jan 2010 15:27:06 -0800 (PST), JIMMIE wrote:

I see them all the time in second hand stores. Someone must want them.
Actually I think electronic hobbyist buy them.

Maybe someone can tell me what good these are.

Here are the four that were left, cordless, in the house (all with
cards):
* Sony SAT-B55 Digital Satellite Receiver (card in rear slot)
* Sony SAT-B65 Digital Satellite Receiver (card in front slot)
* DirectTV H10 HD Receiver (card in front slot)
* DirectTV H11 Satellite Receiver (card in front slot)

What would a typical person do with these 4 boxes (and the two dishes on
the tile roof)?


Search "completed auctions" on e-Bay and you will find a bunch of them
that have sold. That should give you a pretty good idea of their value.
It appears that the majority of them bring somewhere in the neighborhood
of $20 each.

Don




If you bother to post an ad, make sure you call the satt company and see
if they can be activated first- that is the first question the potential
buyer will ask. If the magic number off the box or card has money owed
on it, all it is good for is parts. I buy them for the hard drives, if
they are DVRs. I wouldn't go ebay, shipping is absurdly high for the few
bucks you will get. I'd go local ad paper or Craig's List.

--
aem sends...

Donna DeLong wrote:
I bought a foreclosed home and it came with two satellite dishes and
four things called "Digital Satellite Receiver", e.g., Sony SAT-B55
with an "Access Card" in the slot in back.

What would you do with these four satellite receivers?

Forget about the roof stuff. Anything attached to real property becomes part
of the property.

If I were you, I'd carefully remove them - If you do it yourself, you can
make sure no further damage is done and removing them will curtail any
temptation to further fiddle with them.

To echo what another poster said, don't mount sat dishes on the roof,
chimney, etc. (unless necessary to clear an obstacle). better is to mount
them on a deck railing or on a post anchored in the ground.

In article ,
Donna DeLong wrote:

I bought a foreclosed home and it came with two satellite dishes and four
things called "Digital Satellite Receiver", e.g., Sony SAT-B55 with an
"Access Card" in the slot in back.

What would you do with these four satellite receivers?

I'd trade the lot of them for a decent running back.

On Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:31:02 -0800, Oren wrote:

Are you certain the dishes are mounted on the roof?! ... In my
town of 2 million people, I've never seen one on the roof.

Check to see if they are mounted on the fascia board with lag bolts,
and not on the roof. Simple to remove using a ladder and hand tools.

I travel extensively between Omaha-KC-OKC-Dallas-San Antonio and very
frequently see dishes mounted on rooftops. I'm not sure I've seen them
on tile roofs, however. That does sound unusual.

"Donna DeLong" wrote in message
...
I bought a foreclosed home and it came with two satellite dishes and four
things called "Digital Satellite Receiver", e.g., Sony SAT-B55 with an
"Access Card" in the slot in back.

What would you do with these four satellite receivers?

I take the stuff off them, and use them for bird feeders and bird baths.
Maybe a "water feature" with cascading water from one to another.
Electronically, they are worthless. Maybe a buck's worth of copper in all
of them.

Steve

On Fri, 01 Jan 2010 19:45:45 -0500, aemeijers wrote:

call the satt company and see if they can be activated
If the magic number off the box or card has money owed
all it is good for is parts. I buy them for the hard drives

What exactly do I ask the DirectTV company? Do I ask "can these be
activated?"

And, how would I know if money is owed on them? I suspect if the previous
ownes were foreclosed, they didn't pay their DirectTV bill (I heard the
gardeners were never paid so they broke all the sprinklers as revenge.)

The one good thing about hard drives is I use the curved magnets on my
refrigerator so it will be interesting if they have decent hard drives in
them.

On Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:31:02 -0800, Oren wrote:
Acquire "satellite" signals from space, for your television viewing.

But do the satellite dishes do anything for me (perhaps in the future)?

Are you certain the dishes are mounted on the roof?!
Check to see if they are mounted on the fascia board with lag bolts

Oh. You're right. Both are mounted at the corners (two opposite corners) on
the wood vertical boards. A 28' ladder might get to them w/o walking on the
tile roof so your suggestion is a good idea.

I'm inclined to leave them (in case I need them in the future, but, w/o the
receivers, I'm not sure what good the satellite dishes are).

On Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:19:00 -0600, Char Jackson wrote:

I'm not sure I've seen them on tile roofs, however.
That does sound unusual.

It was my mistake. The two gray DirectTV dishes are actually on the boards
at the lip of the roof (not on the tiles themselves).

Lots of tiles are broken so I figured the guy who put them up walked on the
roof as the wires are draped across the roof, but maybe he used a ladder.

I'm wondering if I should leave them there (perhaps they are of some use
somehow to me, no or in the future?) or have the DirectTV company pull them
down.

What would you do with the two dishes on the boards near the lip of the
roof?

On Fri, 1 Jan 2010 19:24:42 -0600, HeyBub wrote:

What would you do with these four satellite receivers?

Forget about the roof stuff. Anything attached to real property becomes part
of the property.

Interesting. Are you saying the two dishes attached near the roof are mine
by virtue of being sold with the house while the four receivers are not
because they are not attached to the house?

What about the propane tank that was attached to a concrete slab. When I
called around, nobody could tell me who owned it but I didn't call all
suppliers. There is nothing in the paperwork about the attached propane
tank.

On Fri, 1 Jan 2010 22:36:18 -0800, Donna DeLong
wrote:

I'm wondering if I should leave them there (perhaps they are of some use
somehow to me, no or in the future?) or have the DirectTV company pull them
down.

What would you do with the two dishes on the boards near the lip of the
roof?

If it were me who purchased a house with a couple of dishes installed
and I had no intention of using them now or in the foreseeable future,
I'd remove the dishes and caulk the mounting holes.

To me, they look ugly. Even more so if they aren't being used.
Secondly, when the wind blows, the dishes are putting extra stress on
the boards on which they're mounted.

On Jan 2, 1:48*am, Donna DeLong wrote:
Interesting. Are you saying the two dishes attached near the roof are mine
by virtue of being sold with the house

That's what he's saying. I can't personally verify whether that's
true, but it sounds reasonable.

while the four receivers are not
because they are not attached to the house?

Since the receivers are not part of the property, it depends on who
they belonged to before. If they were leased from DirecTV, they belong
to them, but they may not care about getting them back (used boxes
probably aren't worth what they would pay someone to go pick them up).
If they belonged to the previous owners of the house then I guess they
are yours and as far as I know you can sell them. Probably most useful
to someone who's box has failed so they don't have to buy a new one.

On Jan 1, 6:27*pm, JIMMIE wrote:
On Jan 1, 6:11*pm, Donna DeLong wrote:





On Fri, 1 Jan 2010 15:08:45 -0800, Donna DeLong wrote:
I bought a foreclosed home and it came with two satellite dishes and four
things called "Digital Satellite Receiver", e.g., Sony SAT-B55 with an
"Access Card" in the slot in back.

What would you do with these four satellite receivers?

I should mention I can call DirectTV to ask them to take them back but does
Direct-TV actually come to my house to get them (which is a pain) and will
they insist on removing the two antennas on the tile roof?

I don't see anything useful I can do with the four Direct TV satellite
receivers so they can have them but I don't want anyone crawling on the
tile roof to break even more tiles (I already have to get dozens of broken
ones fixed, presumably from their installers).

In summary, is there anything "useful" I can do with these four direct TV
digital satellite receivers (what would YOU do with them?)?

I see them all the time in second hand stores. Someone must want them.
Actually I think electronic hobbyist buy them.

Jimmie- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Yep Engadget has a build your own bi-quad using the dishes picks up
wifi 30 miles away and using this bi-quad as digital antennas for tv
are ten times more stronger because of the huge surface area of the
collector concentrating the signal to a focal point verse an array!

Hooked to rotor you can get local stations twice as far away ,as an
array,without pixelization!

Donna DeLong wrote:
On Fri, 1 Jan 2010 19:24:42 -0600, HeyBub wrote:

What would you do with these four satellite receivers?

Forget about the roof stuff. Anything attached to real property
becomes part of the property.

Interesting. Are you saying the two dishes attached near the roof are
mine by virtue of being sold with the house while the four receivers
are not because they are not attached to the house?

That is true of thing like light fixtures, doors, windows, etc. The dishes,
though, could come under the accessory category, not a permanent mount. You
don't get pictures hanging on the wall.

If you plan to get service, it may be good to have them there to avoid the
hassle of a new install. I have no idea of their life though.



What about the propane tank that was attached to a concrete slab.
When I called around, nobody could tell me who owned it but I didn't
call all suppliers. There is nothing in the paperwork about the
attached propane tank.

The propane tank is possibly the house property, but that is rare. State
laws may vary, but it is typical that the tank cannot be filled by anyone
but the owner, making it tough to change suppliers. Most will have a
sticker on them by the company that supplied it.

Donna DeLong wrote:
On Fri, 1 Jan 2010 19:24:42 -0600, HeyBub wrote:

What would you do with these four satellite receivers?

Forget about the roof stuff. Anything attached to real property
becomes part of the property.

Interesting. Are you saying the two dishes attached near the roof are
mine by virtue of being sold with the house while the four receivers
are not because they are not attached to the house?

What about the propane tank that was attached to a concrete slab.
When I called around, nobody could tell me who owned it but I didn't
call all suppliers. There is nothing in the paperwork about the
attached propane tank.

That's the general rule of Real Estate law. There are, obviously, exceptions
but the exceptions have to be raised by someone other than the (new) real
property owner. The presumption is that if it's permanently attached to the
property, it's part of the property. Some exceptions, possibly involving the
propane tank, may be covered by local law. In the case of the propane tank,
one resource to check is a local real-estate agent. You are probably not a
pioneer regarding this issue.

Myself, I can't see much practical difference between a propane tank bolted
to a concrete pad and a buried oil tank. Or a car port.

Even IF the original owner maintains some claim to the satellite dishes or
the propane tank, you can reasonably assume he's abandoned them.

In the case of the satellite dishes, again, I'd remove them, doing it
carefully.

My son found a dual-lnb dish set out for heavy trash. He scooped it up, took
a picture, and sold it on Craigslist. Got twenty-five bucks for the thing.

On Sat, 2 Jan 2010 02:28:56 -0800 (PST), joeturn wrote:

Engadget has a build your own bi-quad using the dishes picks up
wifi 30 miles away and using this bi-quad as digital antennas for tv
are ten times more stronger because of the huge surface area of the
collector concentrating the signal to a focal point verse an array!

Interesting. Do I understand this right? You're saying I can "repurpose"
the two spare satellite dishes and 4 receivers as a "regular" TV antenna
(and a WiFi antenna too)?

That would be wonderful!

There is no cable or DSL up here in the mountains so it would be useful to
pluck "regular" TV right out of the air (just like in the olden days).

Is this the article you're referring to?
http://www.engadget.com/2005/11/15/h...-dish-antenna/

On Sat, 2 Jan 2010 07:32:31 -0500, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

If you plan to get service, it may be good to have them there
I have no idea of their life though.

I don't know how old the two dishes are but the owners who were foreclosed
on bought the house in July of 2006 so they are probably of that vintage
since wires below them are painted but not these dish cables.

It seems the 2 dishes are more repurposeable than the 4 receivers.

is typical that the tank cannot be filled by anyone but the owner
Most will have a sticker on them by the company that supplied it.

I'm sorry I took this OT, but to respond, it's a 1,100 gallon tank but it
has no sticker on it.

I called around to find out who owned it but gave up after waiting on hold
at several companies. Everyone I called said they'd fill it after an
initial inspection. They asked for a "bill of sale" and I gave them the
title papers to the house (none of which mention the propane tank other
than it's working).

The propane inspection cost $125 and they checked that the earthquake
straps, concrete pad and roll-down-the-hill posts were all to code. Then
they filled it to 80% at $2.49/gallon (my first home owner shock!).

Back to the dishes, since I have no money (anymore), I am going to see if I
can "repurpose" the satellite dishes as a TV or WiFi antenna as suggested
to pluck free signals out of the air as suggested at
http://www.engadget.com/2005/11/15/h...-dish-antenna/
http://ubuntu-utah.ubuntuforums.org/....php?p=7417904
http://forums.macrumors.com/archive/...p/t-87523.html

I'm wondering if I should leave them there (perhaps they are of some use
somehow to me, no or in the future?) or have the DirectTV company pull
them
down.

Direct TV wont come out to take them down-Unless YOU are prepared to pay for
a Service Call.

Put them on CRAIGSLIST in the FREE section and someone will happily come and
take them down for you.

Explain that they'll need to bring a ladder with them and add in the 'AD'
that the climbing is 'at their own risk".
Have them caulk the holes where the lag screws were..YOU may need to have a
tube of caulking ready when they get there.

If you were in my town (Tus AZ) I' d come and get them.

On Sat, 2 Jan 2010 07:25:05 -0600, HeyBub wrote:
Even IF the original owner maintains some claim to the satellite dishes or
the propane tank, you can reasonably assume he's abandoned them.

I wonder how long abandonment lasts?

The foreclosed house was empty for two years.

In the end, none of the doors even locked anymore yet nobody took the
receivers or the dishes (although they did take the glass microwave dish
and the grill, all the pool equipment, and the fireplace burners.

It seems the dishes and receivers aren't all that useful unless they are
used for DirecTV subscription (which I'll never get) or if I repurpose
them.

It seems the 2 dishes can be repurposed as free-to-air TV and WiFi antennas
and the 4 receivers can basically be sold to someone who does have a
DirecTv subscription (assuming there's no money owed on them).

I would like to have TV up here in the hills. Should I just put up a really
good TV antenna hooked to the 10,000 gallon water tank instead?

On Sat, 02 Jan 2010 10:53:18 -0500, Van Chocstraw wrote:

What would you do with these four satellite receivers?

They are good for boat anchors or door stops. They don't want them back.
They give them out free.

In summary, it seems the receivers are only good for someone who has
DirecTV (as a spare for example), and even then, someone said only if no
money is owed on them (or the cards in them).

I'd wager money is owed on the DirecTV because the house was a foreclosure
and there were piles and piles of old mail in the mailbox much of which was
collection agency stuff.

I'm thinking the 2 dish antennas may be more usable but then I have to
compare their usefulness to just buying a really good antenna to pluck TV
signals out of the air up here a few thousand feet up above the valley.

On 01/02/10 11:53 am, Donna DeLong wrote:

What would you do with these four satellite receivers?

They are good for boat anchors or door stops. They don't want them back.
They give them out free.

In summary, it seems the receivers are only good for someone who has
DirecTV (as a spare for example), and even then, someone said only if no
money is owed on them (or the cards in them).

I'd wager money is owed on the DirecTV because the house was a foreclosure
and there were piles and piles of old mail in the mailbox much of which was
collection agency stuff.

I'm thinking the 2 dish antennas may be more usable but then I have to
compare their usefulness to just buying a really good antenna to pluck TV
signals out of the air up here a few thousand feet up above the valley.

For several years now DirecTV's contracts have said that even if you
"buy" a DirecTV receiver or Digital Video Recorder, it is still
considered to be leased and remains the property of DirecTV: the
"purchase price" (whether they come directly from DirecTV or from Best
Buy or from ...) is merely the initial payment.

I have read of cases where people have acquired DirecTV receivers (e.g.,
on eBay) that DirecTV claimed belonged to them: on the one hand they
refused to reactivate them for the new "owner"; but OTOH they did not
want them back.

I think your safest bet would be to write to DirecTV, quoting the model
numbers, serial numbers and the numbers on the cards, and ask what you
should do with them -- making clear that you are not interested in
subscribing to DirecTV yourself.

If DirecTV says they don't want them back -- or simply does not respond
at all after a month or two, I guess that leaves you in the clear to do
whatever you want with them.

As for the dishes... The older round or slightly elliptical ones are
being replaced for High-Definition service via new satellites. When our
old one was replaced, the installer threw it down on the ground but took
away the LNBs (the more-or-less cylindrical gizmos that point into the
dish). He would have taken away the slightly damaged dish but was happy
to leave it for me to repurpose.

Perce

Donna DeLong wrote:
I bought a foreclosed home and it came with two satellite dishes and
four things called "Digital Satellite Receiver", e.g., Sony SAT-B55
with an "Access Card" in the slot in back.

What would you do with these four satellite receivers?

List them on Craig's List or ebay and hope you make a few bucks.



--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ---

On Sun, 03 Jan 2010 00:41:37 +0000, DA wrote:

installed dishes may be worth more than the trouble of removing them
The receivers can be upgraded by buying new ones

That makes sense. I assume the dishes work with any supplier (although they
have the DirecTV logo printed on them which I can see from the ground).

I guess what you're suggesting is:
a) Leave the 2 dishes where they are (with all the wires running into the
house as they are)

b) Get rid of the 4 satellite receivers (Ebay or otherwise)

c) If I ever wish to have DirecTV or Dish Network, then just call them for
new satellite receivers and cards.

Is that the suggestion?

On Sat, 02 Jan 2010 14:06:53 -0500, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:

even if you "buy" a DirecTV receiver or Digital Video Recorder,
it is considered to be leased and remains the property of DirecTV

Interesting. That would mean I can't sell them but I don't really want to
go to that trouble for 20 bucks each anyway. That's one reason why I was
wondering what good they were (to me).

DirecTV refused to reactivate them for the new "owner"

Oh. I didn't think about the "reactivation" needed. So, if I wanted DirecTV
or the Dish Network, I'd have to call them to activate the 4 receivers and
they would if money wasn't owed on them?

write to DirecTV ... and ask what you should do with them

I should do this. The only thing I'm worried about is that they'll want to
also remove their two dishes on the roofline boards (it doesn't seem clear
who owns them even though they're "attached" to the house).

If DirecTV says they don't want them back ... do whatever you want

This is a reasonable plan. I don't actually have any "plans" for the 4
satellite receivers (Sony SAT-B55 Digital Satellite Receiver; Sony SAT-B65
Digital Satellite Receiver; DirectTV H10 HD Receiver;DirectTV H11 Satellite
Receiver).

I was just wondering if the satellite receivers were "useful" to me in some
way.

Apparently the only real use for satellite receivers is for me to sell them
to someone who has DirecTV or Dish Network; but that's not worth it for me
for the 20 bucks each would fetch on Craigslist.

As for the dishes... The older round or slightly elliptical ones are
being replaced for High-Definition service via new satellites.

These look round and are about a foot and a half in diameter. Does that
make them the old ones or the newer ones?

You can "repurpose" a DirecTV dish as a TV antenna and/or a WiFi antenna
http://www.engadget.com/2005/11/15/h...-dish-antenna/

I'm beginning to realize I should just throw away the 4 satellite receivers
and concentrate on finding a use for the 2 dish antennas.

I noticed there is something called "Free To Air" satellite reception.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-air

Do you think I can use the existing 18" circular DirecTV dishes and just
buy a FTA receiver to replace the 4 DirecTV receivers in the house (as
suggested here)?
http://www.topbits.com/what-is-free-to-air.html

Do I understand FTA correctly that all I need is one FTA receiver and I can
get free television signals from an existing DirecTV dish?

On Sat, 02 Jan 2010 01:40:54 -0600, Char Jackson wrote:

What would you do with the two DirecTV dishes mounted near the roof?
If it were me who purchased a house with a couple of dishes installed
and I had no intention of using them now or in the foreseeable future,
I'd remove the dishes and caulk the mounting holes.

I wonder if the two ~18" DirecTV dishes would be useful as a WiFi antenna?
http://www.engadget.com/2005/11/15/h...-dish-antenna/
http://www.trevormarshall.com/biquad.htm
http://martybugs.net/wireless/biquad/

Or maybe I can repurpose the DirecTV dishes as Free-to-Air TV antennas
(with a suitable FTA receiver)?
http://www.topbits.com/what-is-free-to-air.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-air

Any experience out there in that?

On Sat, 2 Jan 2010 23:42:36 -0800, Donna DeLong wrote:

You can "repurpose" a DirecTV dish as a TV antenna and/or a WiFi antenna
http://www.engadget.com/2005/11/15/h...-dish-antenna/

I'm beginning to realize I should just throw away the 4 satellite receivers
and concentrate on finding a use for the 2 dish antennas.

Yep - since these are tied to a proprietary receiver box, etc.

I noticed there is something called "Free To Air" satellite reception.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-air

Do you think I can use the existing 18" circular DirecTV dishes and just
buy a FTA receiver to replace the 4 DirecTV receivers in the house (as
suggested here)?
http://www.topbits.com/what-is-free-to-air.html

Normally FTP requires either a 1.7 meter ku-band dish, or an 8 foot analog
dish. The second one will receive a greater number of interesting FTA
channels - for example Classic Arts Showcase. There are also a lot of
relatively low priced subscriptions services directed at North American
markets, available for the 8 footers. I did my own survey several years
ago, when I decided to drop cable, and as far as I could tell the FTA that
the ku-birds carry is mostly religious junk, though there are exceptions,
things like NASA.

The best way to have fun with ku-band is to move to Europe, where most
material, including some HBO channels, is nationally funded, in effect FTA.

Do I understand FTA correctly that all I need is one FTA receiver and I can
get free television signals from an existing DirecTV dish?

You also need the receiver box, and a motorized mount so that it can aim at
the various satellites. There are kits for this in the several hundred
dollar range that include the dish, mount, and computer card to drive the
dish. You are still limited by the poor selection of channels available in
the US.

I'm posting from the gps group - I'd aim a virtual dish at some of the
alt.satellite.tv groups for more info.
--
Mike Russell - http://www.curvemeister.com

Oops - ku dishes are less than a meter in diameter - as small as .7, not
1.7m as I said in my last post.
--
Mike Russell - http://www.curvemeister.com

On Jan 3, 2:42*am, Donna DeLong wrote:
You can "repurpose" a DirecTV dish as a TV antenna and/or a WiFi antenna
http://www.engadget.com/2005/11/15/h...biquad-dish-an...

I'm beginning to realize I should just throw away the 4 satellite receivers
and concentrate on finding a use for the 2 dish antennas.

I noticed there is something called "Free To Air" satellite reception.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-air

Do you think I can use the existing 18" circular DirecTV dishes and just
buy a FTA receiver to replace the 4 DirecTV receivers in the house (as
suggested here)?http://www.topbits.com/what-is-free-to-air.html

Do I understand FTA correctly that all I need is one FTA receiver and I can
get free television signals from an existing DirecTV dish?

the dishes are no good for fta it requires a minimum of 30 inches for
ku band fta, a 36" one will work good on h-h90 motor.
The lnbs will do just fine yes that is the modification to get wifi
for your lap top and local ota digital signal for your tv.
Engadgit took it from Trevor Marshal
About the fta do some reading on this site it seems to be a lot more
than just nasa.

http://www.fridgefta.info/forums/index.php

heres a channel list from that site see if your interested?

http://www.ftalist.co.cc/

On Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:31:02 -0800, Oren wrote:

Likely they would send a new card (?) for the boxes.

I checked each of the DirecTV cards in the 4 receivers.

They seem to be the latest DirecTV "P4 ISO7816 smart access cards" (which
came after 2002) as shown in the picture on this web page.

http://www.topbits.com/kinds-of-dire...ess-cards.html

On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 00:10:28 -0800, Mike Russell wrote:

Oops - ku dishes are less than a meter in diameter - as small as .7, not
1.7m as I said in my last post.

Your information allows me to conclude the DirecTV dish antenna is too
small for FTA TV reception.

I guess the only options left for the DirecTV antennas a
1. Leave them on the roof or give them back to DirecTV (the default)
2. Turn one or both of the DirecTV dishes into 802.11 WiFi antennas
3. Turn a DirecTV antenna into a TV antenna

The latter two might be of use since my WiFi signal doesn't cover all
corners of the house and since there is no cable TV on this side of the
mountain.

I see some people take two dish antennas to make a home WiFi extender.
http://people.wallawalla.edu/~Rob.Fr...Primestar.html

On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 00:16:00 -0800 (PST), joeturn wrote:

modification to get wifi for your lap top
and local ota digital signal for your tv.

I have a question about both of these uses.

1. For the WiFi laptop access, is the point that we could pick up free WiFi
access points out of the air? Or is the point that inside our house, we
could increase the WiFi signal distance from one end of the house to the
other?

2. For Over-the-Air digital TV signals, does the repurposed DirecTV antenna
have any advantages over a commercially bought TV antenna?

On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 00:51:23 -0800, Donna DeLong
wrote:

On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 00:16:00 -0800 (PST), joeturn wrote:

modification to get wifi for your lap top
and local ota digital signal for your tv.

I have a question about both of these uses.

1. For the WiFi laptop access, is the point that we could pick up free WiFi
access points out of the air? Or is the point that inside our house, we
could increase the WiFi signal distance from one end of the house to the
other?

2. For Over-the-Air digital TV signals, does the repurposed DirecTV antenna
have any advantages over a commercially bought TV antenna?
#1 - If you are up in the mountains, I doubt you have any wifi signals
nearby to pick up. Maybe a neighbor who didn't protect their wireless
router, but that is a questionable practice anyway

#2 - Repurposed DirecTV dishes have a distinct DISadvantage for
picking up broadcast digital TV signal. They were not designed for
the frequencies involved and will not work unless the TV signals are
so strong that the coax lead-in picks them up. Buy a real TV antenna
and throw the old DirecTV stuff away (unless you subscribe to their
service.)