Air Cable Antenna
What Is The Best Free To Air Antenna

Jun 23, 2021 Buying an indoor TV antenna for your home is one cheap and easy way to get access to many free over-the-air channels in HD for no monthly fee (although if you’re reading this from a country. Really you need an external antenna. Not local to you, so can't recommend anyone. And install will depend on location and environment. How tall do you need the mast. Whats in the way (trees / buildings etc). I would estimate a typical install around $300. User #268229 964 posts.

The Best choice for free digital - HDTV -TV Antenna reception for the Miami area is the EZ-HD or the HD Stacker antennas. The Miami free to air TV market is one of the best in the entire Country. There are dozens of free channels available. All of the major network channels are available (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, PBS, CW, ION) plus independent.
Connect the antenna to your TV, then perform a channel scan. Mount the antenna on your rooftop for optimal performance. Find the setting option on the TV menu. Set up the signal source to AIR/Antenna. After you set up the signal source, go to Channel Scan or Channel Manage to scan the digital channels.

A Free to Air Satellite receiver (abbreviated FTA receivers) refers to satellite receivers that are designed to receive unencrypted FTA satellite transmissions. Using these satellite receivers, one can legally receive TV signals without subscription. The signal is typically encoded in an MPEG-2 video and may be restricted geographically. In some places around the world, people can receive encrypted Free to Air satellite channels through the UHF and VHF band. The channels transmitted through Free to Air satellite are received by utilizing a common MPEG-2 video compatible satellite receiver. Many people use FTA to receive thousands of satellite TV channels free of charge.
The equipment needed for you to enjoy the freebies are an FTA receiver (and here one has a choice between Pansat, Coolsat, Conaxsat, and many other great brand names) and a satellite dish within the specifics required by the satellite one wishes to point at. However, many satellites only require a standard DTV compliant dish that can be easily found in any satellite TV or electronic store. Both C-band and K-Band dishes work just fine. If you wish to receive channels from more than one satellite, you will also need to have an antenna motor and the LNBF.
In order to complete the installation of the system, you will need to have a coaxial cable running from the dish and making its way to the FTA receiver which should be connected to the television. This is usually the most difficult part.
Though pointing the dish is not very difficult, many people would prefer to hire an experienced person to fix it on the roof of the house. It is important to make sure that the best FTA support services are obtained.
The user can then go to the options of the FTA receiver and select the satellite to point to. Regular firmware updates will ensure that the device works efficiently. The FTA keys will need to be entered manually, and so its important to be familiar with this process. Settings may vary among different satellite receivers.
Free to Air Satellite System
Free to air satellite systems can be defined as a satellite system primarily designed to receive 'in the clear' or unscrambled satellite broadcasts. At the present time, there are literally hundreds of channels of news, sports, networks, special interest programming and ethnic channels and foreign language channels that are available without a subscription. The selection is also constantly changing, with new channels coming online and some old ones going offline or changing their broadcast schemes. In the past 5 years, most broadcasters have switched their broadcasts to digital, although there are still a number of analog broadcasts, mostly in the C band range that are available.
Introduction
The concept of receiving free to air satellite signals dates back to the inception of satellite broadcasts in the mid 1970's and 1980's where large C/Ku band satellite systems were a popular way of tapping into hundreds of available channels from the sky. The downside to these systems were extremely large dish sizes and expensive equipment. These made satellite systems prohibitive for many people. However over the years, increasingly powerful commercial satellites and improvements in technology have brought prices and dish sizes down quite dramatically.
The mid 1990's saw the introduction of digital direct to home technology, which for the first time allowed main stream users to access a wide variety of channels not available via their local cable company, while enjoying incredible picture and sound quality, all from a dish far smaller than had ever been seen before. The small dish revolution nearly caused the extinction of the large dish industry, which simply could not compete on dish sizing, price or ease of installation.
The late 1990's saw the digital revolution spread to the large dish industry with services such as 4DTV which brought the same digital picture and sound as the small dish systems to large dish users, although a new and expensive decoder was required for reception.
The last several years has seen most broadcasters switch their broadcasts to digital, which allowed broadcasts to be compressed, allowing more channels per satellite transponder and also a superior picture and sound quality. As well, a common digital standard known as MPEG2-DVB has been adopted by many broadcasters, which allows all free to air satellite channels that use the DVB (Digital Video Broadcast) standard to be received from one satellite decoder.
Over the years, the free to air market has slowly begun to see a small comeback, primarily due to an abundance of programming not available anywhere else, such as international and foreign language channels as well as improved picture and sound quality.
Required Components
There are a number of components necessary for free to air satellite reception, some are mandatory and others are optional.
Clear line of sight to the satellites
In order to properly receive free to air satellite signals, you must have a clear view to the satellites. In North America, you need to have a relatively clear view to the southern sky. Obstacles such as tall buildings or trees or mountains will severely impair or make reception impossible. If you are only interested in signals from one or two satellites, you will more than likely be able to locate your dish in a location favorable to reception of the desired satellite. If however you wish to receive multiple satellites, you will need an unobstructed view. A do it yourself site survey with a compass and a satellite location chart or a professional satellite site survey will determine your eligibility for free to air reception.
Dish
In order to receive most Ku band signals in North America, you will require a minimum of a 30'(75cm) Ku band satellite dish antenna. For fringe area reception or reception of signals outside of a satellite footprint, or locations with an abundance of trees, you will need to upgrade to a larger dish size. Additionally, if you live in an area prone to heavily rain showers, you may want to consider a larger dish diameter as weather can adversely affect satellite signal quality. If you also wish to receive the low power C band signals, you will need a much larger (6-10') C band dish and a more elaborate setup. Your dish must be installed in a location where it will not be prone to excessive movement. Smaller dishes, such as 30' can be mounted to a building or roof. Larger dish sizes should probably be mounted to a firm pole in the ground, reinforced with concrete.
LNBF/LNB
The LNBF or LNB is the device at the end of the dish arm that collects the signal, amplifies it and sends it to the receiver to be decoded. Ku band systems use an LNBF(Low Noise Block Amplifier with integrated Feed) and large C band systems use an LNB(Low Noise Block Amplifier) with an external feedhorn. Most dedicated Ku band systems use offset dishes, meaning the dish is designed in such a way that the LNBF is offset towards the bottom of the dish so as not to interfere with the signal. This allows a smaller dish size as opposed to large C band systems which locate the LNB at the focal point or center of the dish which tend to block out a portion of the incoming signal.
Quality of the LNBF/LNB is paramount. Ku band LNBF's are measures in DB(Decibals). A good quality Ku band LNBF will have a rating not above .6db. A superior one will be .5db or lower. C band LNB's are measured in degrees. A good quality C band LNB will have a rating of 17 degrees of below. There are also 2 distinct types o

Free To Air Antenna Installation