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Thread: FTA in Newcastle Area

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    Question FTA in Newcastle Area

    My father-in-law cannot receive terrestrial FTA in Newcastle. There is an existing satellite dish on the roof, about which we know nothing.

    We would like to set up FTA by satellite if possible.

    I have done a lot of reading on FTA satellite and have come to the conclusion that C1 Aurora is not available to use because the area is serviced by terrestrial FTA.

    Therefore, D1 is probably the go?

    I presume the existing dish is a foxtel one. If we purchase a satellite STB, what should we get? What smartcard do we need?



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    Why can he not recive FTA?
    What is his location?

    have a look here for Optus D1 >
    All those stations with a 'F' are FTA, but you won't be able to see any on the NZB (New Zealand Beam)

    Realigning the dish can be a bugger if you have never done it before, and in six months time you might be moving it back.... We are not sure yet, but all of the standard FTA stations are expected to also be available via satellite in about 6 months time, however the details are still a bit sketchy. More on that here >
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    Cannot get terrestrial because we are in a blackspot. Professional antenna installers are unable to help without installing a giant mast.

    Anyway, for the next 6 months, we would like to get satellite if possible.

    Am I right that I must use D1? Will any STB be compatible with the existing LNB or do I need to check that thoroughly before purchasing?

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    The set top box needs to be set in it's setting to match the LNB in use.
    It would be best to use a 10700 LNB because it has a much wider bandwidth than an 11300 LNB, but I don't know what LNB you already have.
    D1 would be the best as it is unencrypted (FTA) so no authorised smart card required.
    Just about any satellite STB should work fine.

    It would still be helpful to you if you could advise the location your talking about.
    Perhaps the 'professional antenna installers' already had full books & are taking the cream & didn't really want to travel?
    Surely if they are 'professional' they would have offered you satellite as an alternative.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fernbay View Post
    It would be best to use a 10700 LNB, but I don't know what LNB you already have.
    It's probably a Foxtel dish pointing at C1. Any idea what LNB that would have?

    It would still be helpful to you if you could advise the location your talking about.
    Perhaps the 'professional antenna installers' already had full books & are taking the cream & didn't really want to travel?
    Surely if they are 'professional' they would have offered you satellite as an alternative.
    Two different installers were invited and spent quite a bit of time and did not charge any money. One walked all over the site with an antenna on a long stick and a signal meter. Reception exists but is very patchy and unreliable. Suburb is Belmont North.

    But I understand terrestrial TV well enough myself - I'm looking for satellite advice :-)

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    Quote Originally Posted by my_bluedog View Post
    It's probably a Foxtel dish pointing at C1. Any idea what LNB that would have?

    Nope. I don't have ESP

    You'll need to go to the dish & read the label on the LNB to determine it's L.O.
    Or you could use a STB & guess.
    Realistically it will most likely be 11300, 10700 or universal.
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    as ferny said theres no FTA sat based yet, and wont be for sometime.

    no real signal in belmont north.... mmm seems wierd, what are your neighbours watching and how? all fox or select..mmm?
    When I explained to the guy what avatar I wanted, that wasn't what I meant!

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    Quote Originally Posted by iwacelect View Post
    as ferny said theres no FTA sat based yet, and wont be for sometime.

    no real signal in belmont north.... mmm seems wierd, what are your neighbours watching and how? all fox or select..mmm?
    Just ABC and SBS will do. I'm just trying to make sure that we invest in the right equipment.

    Neighbours have antennas on tall masts. However, as explained, two professionals could not get a good signal on our property. One has suggested we could use a very large mast. However, I noticed a satellite dish and LNB is already on the roof and thought we could give that a go. We are tenants, so don't want to invest in a big mast.

    iView is another option we have considered too, but that has its own issues.

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    Quote Originally Posted by my_bluedog View Post
    My father-in-law cannot receive terrestrial FTA in Newcastle. There is an existing satellite dish on the roof, about which we know nothing.

    We would like to set up FTA by satellite if possible.

    I have done a lot of reading on FTA satellite and have come to the conclusion that C1 Aurora is not available to use because the area is serviced by terrestrial FTA.

    Therefore, D1 is probably the go?

    I presume the existing dish is a foxtel one. If we purchase a satellite STB, what should we get? What smartcard do we need?
    Television blackspot legislation allows for authorisation of reception of designated channels including ABC and SBS from the Optus Aurora platform on the Optus C1 satellite, in areas where terrestrial television reception is not possible.

    When I was conducting such surveys some years ago at the time the legislation was first introduced, the requirement in general terms, was for a suitably qualified person to conduct a site survey using appropriate television reception antennae mounted on a mast 10 metres in height.
    Full technical details of the survey (geographical location, antennae details, mast height, frequency, signal strength, signal/noise ratio etc.) were then submitted to the Australian Communications Authority on the appropriate forms, which included a statutory declaration completed by the person conducting the survey, for official assessment and subsequent approval.

    I believe that the procedure has changed a little since then, with the result that anyone can obtain permission for smartcard authorisation for reception of the government owned channels, i.e. ABC and SBS from Optus C1 satellite

    A check of the ACMA website should provide further up-to-date information.
    A quick search reveals some information at

    Perhaps one of the local "professionals" you mention is aware of the current requirements?
    If not, I suggest that you contact the the ACMA and ask.

    I used 1.2 m. offset dishes for Optus Aurora reception and any currently-available digital satellite receiver equipped for Irdeto decryption and an Optus Aurora smartcard will suffice.
    The existing dish, which you assume is ex-Foxtel, should also be suitable in good weather conditions.

    Suitable equipment including packages are available by internet order from and other reputable dealers.
    Last edited by tristen; 11-01-10 at 03:32 PM.

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    If it hasn't been moved the dish you have is probably aligned to C1.

    and with a bit of luck the LNB and the cabling should be OK.

    So you need an Irdeto compliant STB, don't be conned into a FTA only STB, if they still sell them.

    There is facility in the STB to change the LNB frequency setting to match the LNB you have.

    And I'm sure that tristen is right, You buy an Optus Aurora card and have it turned on for ABC and SBS which is what your father in law wants.

    However if you have to realign the dish you can decide if you'd rather align it to D1 where ABC1-2-3 and SBS1-2-3 are available free.

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    Thanks for the replies guys. I have since spoken to Optus and they confirmed that anyone can have ABC and SBS via C1 Aurora unconditionally, as per Tristen's comment. It seems we would qualify to get the commercial stations too.

    My father-in-law has also said that the landlord is contemplating installing a big mast, so I'm waiting to hear how that goes...

    I spoke to the ABC reception people. Interestingly neither the very helpful staff at Optus, nor at the ABC had heard of D1. ABC referred me on to Optus, Optus said I must have been thinking about D3...

    Oh well! Looks like C1/Aurora is the go now anyway if no mast eventuates.

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    surely OP would be better off repointing his dish to D1 to get proper widescreen pics and HD channels including ABC1/2/3/HD and SBS1/2/HD? ABC and SBS on Aurora is ordinary at best with it in 4:3 and letterboxed in 4:3 and that's all you get!

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    Quote Originally Posted by LeroyPatrol View Post
    surely OP would be better off repointing his dish to D1 to get proper widescreen pics and HD channels
    That's a very good point Leroy. The pros of Aurora are the possibility of commercial channels, and the likelihood that the dish is already aligned. The TV is a 4:3 CRT as well. But still, what you say is something to be kept in mind.

    From lyngsat, I see that ABC NSW is on D1 and not on Aurora. This is why I was suprised that ABC and Optus were not au fait with it. Does anyone know what's going on there? (if I can be so rude as to hijack my own thread?)

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    ABC TV SE is on Aurora (Optus C1) & I think it is the NSW service
    Last edited by OSIRUS; 11-01-10 at 08:07 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by LeroyPatrol View Post
    surely OP would be better off repointing his dish to D1 to get proper widescreen pics and HD channels including ABC1/2/3/HD and SBS1/2/HD? ABC and SBS on Aurora is ordinary at best with it in 4:3 and letterboxed in 4:3 and that's all you get!

    Leroy
    The only disadvantage is the fact that SBS and ABC are not guarenteed to be available on a long term basis on D1 as was seen with Seven central and Imparja both being removed from D1 (B1 as it was known then) which in part was due to some people selling on Ebay the instructions on how to receive them from B1.

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    If that eventuates then you swing the dish back to the position it was at C1 (he did mark the pole and elevation Nothing lost. Just need to pic up an aurora sub then.

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    Agree with LP
    D1, but I'd use an HD stb (DVB-S2).

    If fella became really tricky with installs, he could run 3 LNB's via a switch, for D2, C1 and D1, giving him not just ABC/SBS off D1 (atm better than Aurora) but also the FTA English language channels; Al Jazeera International on C1 (plus NITV, EXPO/TVSN - wow), NHK World of Japan, Russia Today and Press TV of Irania on D2, etc (Plus the ever handy 3 ABC 'feed' channels).

    I've set two of my neighbours 65cm dish for D2, C1, IS8. D1 instead of IS8 should be okay, this using the steel magic mounts rather than the plastic type. (Small 10700LO single output LNB's, no dual used).
    Last edited by Keepleft; 12-01-10 at 02:46 AM. Reason: Mutter mutter
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    Quote Originally Posted by my_bluedog View Post
    ...
    I spoke to the ABC reception people. Interestingly neither the very helpful staff at Optus, nor at the ABC had heard of D1. ABC referred me on to Optus, Optus said I must have been thinking about D3...
    I find it interesting that Optus people don't know about an Optus Satellite or that the ABC people don't know where they're transmitting. Doesn't sound promising does it? Perhaps they are instructed to misinform the public about the existence of free TV on D1 just in case the masses tune in and they get stuck with having to keep the platform open, who knows?

    Luckily for us we know its there now! But I agree with Leroy about the poor quality of Aurora:

    surely OP would be better off repointing his dish to D1 to get proper widescreen pics and HD channels including ABC1/2/3/HD and SBS1/2/HD? ABC and SBS on Aurora is ordinary at best with it in 4:3 and letterboxed in 4:3 and that's all you get!
    I have also found that you get more channels (lower frequency ranges) than those listed on Lyngsat if you use a universal LNB, but that's neither here nor there if all you want is "some" reception. Anyway, pointing the dish to D1 is easy if you keep in mind that the Optus satellites are almost in a straight line horizontally (elevations between 49.5-50.6 degrees). If you decide to go down this path do a scan with the dish in its current position. This will give you an indication of which sat it is pointing to. If it is C1, then all you need to do is move the dish about 7 degrees to the right, being careful not to change the elevation of the dish (the upwards tilt) until you find D1. Then its simply a matter of tweaking the dish position until you get the best signal strength.

    OC

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    Quote Originally Posted by Optima Collins View Post
    I find it interesting that Optus people don't know about an Optus Satellite or that the ABC people don't know where they're transmitting. Doesn't sound promising does it? Perhaps they are instructed to misinform the public about the existence of free TV on D1 just in case the masses tune in and they get stuck with having to keep the platform open, who knows?
    OC
    Optus is a very large company whose operations cover many facets of the communications industry.
    The only people in Optus who need to know what channels are available on the various Optus satellites are the technical staff at the Belrose Uplink Centre and perhaps a handful of others within the Optus organisation.

    In similar fashion, the ABC is also a very large organisation, and there would be few people within the ABC who have a need to know which Optus satellites are being utilised to transmit the various ABC feeds etc. (The ABC do not even operate their own terrestrial transmission sites any more - these facilities are operated by a completely different company, Transmitters Australia. The ABC provides a microwave or optical fibre link from their local studios to the transmission site and Transmitters Australia do the rest).

    In my experience, it is only certain members of the engineering staff of television networks, who are in possession of such information.

    There is no policy of secrecy involved.

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    Quote Originally Posted by tristen View Post
    Optus is a very large company whose operations cover many facets of the communications industry.
    The only people in Optus who need to know what channels are available on the various Optus satellites are the technical staff at the Belrose Uplink Centre and perhaps a handful of others within the Optus organisation.

    In similar fashion, the ABC is also a very large organisation, and there would be few people within the ABC who have a need to know which Optus satellites are being utilised to transmit the various ABC feeds etc. (The ABC do not even operate their own terrestrial transmission sites any more - these facilities are operated by a completely different company, Transmitters Australia. The ABC provides a microwave or optical fibre link from their local studios to the transmission site and Transmitters Australia do the rest).

    In my experience, it is only certain members of the engineering staff of television networks, who are in possession of such information.

    There is no policy of secrecy involved.
    Tristen, my comment was more a "tongue in cheek" expression of the situation. I hope it didn't offend you or anyone for that matter. Having said that, though, I'm not sure I would call the ABC transmissions on D1 feeds and wouldn't it be nice to have someone in a large company know the answers without having to call a technician. After all, I know what channels are transmitted on D1 because I watch them all, not because I have a degree.

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