N2News would like to wish everyone of our members a happy and safe holiday season!  Thanks for choosing N2News and have yourself a wonderful christmas.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM N2NEWS

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How to post a question on the N2News FTA Forums

by Sammy Satellite. – Staff Writer for n2news

When you are getting started with FTA there is no doubt you will have questions and there are a great many people, as well as our staff that are willing to help you get your questions answered.  Our FTA Forums provide the absolute best experience when it comes to support and troubleshooting for your FTA receiver.  If you follow this guide you will have better luck getting your questions answered. FTA is much more than hardware, it’s an online community of friends sharing experiences and helping each other.

1. Please show all other members some respect.   It is easy to say something in an online forum that you wouldn’t say face to face in a busy grocery store but that never helps anyone and it certainly never helps questions get answered.
2.  Do not post links to other websites, especially to keys.
3. Do not post company names.   The FTA community is all about Free-To-Air television so it’s best to keep information about specific satellite companies, channel names, hardware manufacturers, and other trademarked names out of the message.   Post general questions and you’ll still get answers.
4.  Be patient.   FTA is a hobby for most people and you may not get an immediate answer.
5.  Please search around first.   You’re not the first newbie (a loving term used to refer to new hobbyists in the world of FTA) having problems.   Over the last several years someone may have asked the same question so use the search feature and browse through past questions and answers.
6.  If another user sends you a file, be cautious unless you know that user or have been talking with them.  This is the same good judgment you would show in your normal email.  Download files with caution and at your own risk.
7.  If you are reading a thread (a group of messages on the same topic) don’t post an unrelated question.  This is called “Thread Hijacking” and it leads to confusion for the kind folks already reading and responding and it also makes it much more difficult to get you the right answer. 
8. Don’t post a short “Me Too” or “I’m Down” message.  If your FTA isn’t working due to an ECM, wait for the files.   I’ve posted articles in the past about ECMs and how the teams release new bin files.   Wait for the files to be released.   This site is the best available place to get new bin files as soon as they are available so just check back every few hours until the bin files area available.

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Attention Members:  This is just an update for members and non-members that ALL receivers are currently UP and running fine.  If you need to download the new FTA files for your receiver, we have the files you need.  All receivers including Pansat, Viewsat, Sonicview, Captiveworks, NFusion, Conaxsat, Neosat, Neusat, Visionsat, KBox, Coolsat, and Sonysat are up and running with autoroll BIN files posted earlier this week.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM N2NEWS

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The US Goes Digital

by  Sammy Satellite. – Staff Writer for n2news

Congress mandated the conversion to all-digital television broadcasting (DTV) because digital signals will free frequencies for public safety uses (such as police, fire, and emergency rescue).    Digital TV signals take much less space on public airwaves to transmit the same amount of information.  In fact, it is so efficient that digital TV stations will likely transmit multiple different video streams containing different shows.

If you currently watch TV using an FTA Receiver to watch Free-To-Air shows, you have nothing to worry about, the switch to all digital does not affect you.

If you currently watch TV using a box provided by a cable company, the switch won’t affect you but you’re missing out and should seriously consider the FTA hobby.

If you have been watching over the air signals from network stations in your market, now is the perfect time to upgrade to an FTA receiver.   Even if you don’t have a satellite and have no intention of installing one, and FTA receiver is an excellent option for your TV needs.    FTA receivers are well supported and often include PVR functions, on screen guides, and other entertainment options and many are capable of receiving the all digital signals in your local market and showing them on your existing TV.

Q: What date will I need an FTA receiver to help me watch my local over the air (OTA) broadcasts?

A: The US will officially switch on February 17^th, 2009

Q: Can I upgrade now?

A: Yes, you should install your FTA receiver now.  The digital signals are available in every major market already and will improve your TV experience.

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Dissecting the DiSEqC

by Tommy Technician. – Staff Writer for n2news

As part of your FTA satellite installation you probably have a small metal or plated device that looks like a sea creature with COAX cables coming in and out of it.   This device is called a DiSEqC which stands for “Digital Satellite Equipment Control” and is pronounced “Die-Seck”.

This is your average diseqc switch

In order for satellite systems to fit more channels in the same amount of space they broadcast channels using vertical and horizontal polarization.   A DiSEqC is like a small phone operator for the satellite word that takes a look at all the signals coming in from the Dishes and tells them which stations to pass back to the receiver.

The receiver sends a signal in the form of a tone or by raising the voltage on line.   The DiSEqC device understands these signals and tells the LNB what signal to pass to the receiver.

If you have One LNB going to One Receiver, you do not need a switch.

If you have One LNB going to Two Receivers, you most likely do not need a switch but you will need an LNB with dual outputs.

If you have Two LNBs going to One receiver you need one of the following:  An A/B Switch, a 2×1 DiSEqC, a 4×1 DiSEqC, a 22KHz switch, or a 4×4 Multiswitch.   An A/B switch is a very inexpensive manual switch and is not recommended.   A 2×1 is not widely used any more but the 4×1 DiSEqC switch is the most popular around and often shipped free with your FTA receiver.    A 4×1 DiSEqC switch has 4 coax inputs, generally 2 on each side.  These are called “Ports” and go to each LNB in your satellite setup.    A 5^th plug labeled Out or Output will lead to your one receiver.  Tip:  Take notes when you install yourDiSEqC so you know which dish (110, 119, 129, etc) is on which port as you will need this to configure the receiver.

A 4×4 Multi-Switch is a higher end switch that has 4 inputs and 4 outputs.   Generally they require the first port to provide power through a special injector that plugs in near the receiver.   These flexible and powerful switches offer a lot of expansion as the can power up to 4 different receivers.

DiSeQC comes in many versions.   The initial version (1.0) supports 2 to 4 different LNB sources.   Version 1.1 supports up to 16 different LNB sources.   Version 1.2 and 1.3 add support for motors and for other types of devices used to turn and point dishes.  Newer devices, some still in the lab but other hitting the market use DiSEqC 2.x to automatically scan the sky and locate all the satellites and provide automatic access to all of them.

Tommy the Tech uses a simple DiSEqC 1.0 setup with a 4×4 powered switch.

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Whether or not it’s the Weather

by Sammy Satellite. – Staff Writer for n2news

There may be a lot of reasons that you’ve suddenly lost the picture on your satellite receiver.   Here are some common questions and answer about the weather and its effect on your signal.

Can or snow cause the signal to be lost?   Rain is generally not a problem for satellite signals but snow can be.  A common problem in cold parts of the world is ice buildup on the satellite dish.   Snow and ice can add a reasonable amount of weight to a dish as it builds up over a season.   The most common problem Sammy finds is the very subtle movement of the dish over the winter season.   Slowly the weight of the snow and ice pulls the dish out of alignment.   If you live in a heavy snow or ice area you may have to make sure your dish is very well mounted and you may also install an optional year-round cover that prevents the buildup of ice and snow.  Rain doesn’t generally stop satellite reception but you mind find that heavy storms bring thick dark clouds and these can cause a short interruption.   A well tuned receiver with good line of sight should not experience many rain outages.

Very cold weather can also slow down the motor causing alignment issues.  If you live in a very cold region you will want to check with the manufacturer of your equipment to make sure that it supports the normal conditions you live in.   Some of the lower end units are not meant for extreme cold.

Twice a year the Sun comes into alignment and creates sun spots that interrupt satellite signals for a few minutes at a time.   This will happen off and on through the day for a couple days and never at night.

It’s rare that the weather outside will affect your reception so fire up the Fireplace Channel, grab a cup of hot cocoa and relax.

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 2008 FTA Christmas Wish List

by Sammy Satellite. – Staff Writer for n2news

It’s that time of year again and so it’s time to build my dream configuration. 

1. Start with the Winegard 30” dish.   This is an excellent dish for all major satellite providers and all FTA signals floating around in the sky.   If the neighbors complain, I’d be just as happy with the 1000.2 DPP Triple LNBF.  A single dish that automatically points to 110, 119, and 129 and includes the LNBF.
2. The CaptiveWorks 4000 HD receiver may be on the top of my wish list right now because the advanced living room entertainment features are far beyond what Sammy is used to.   It’s hard to find this receiver in stock so Sammy would still be happy with a Sonicview 800 HD version 2.
3. Sammy still loves the DPP44 switch with the power inserter for the 2^nd year running, I’m going with this one.
4. The most fun, Sammy wants to try the Sadoun Digipower SG2100 motorized dish mount this year it’s single control cable setup and “Go To X” DiSEqC 1.2 compatible technology.

N2News would like to wish all our members and non-members a very safe and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!  

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Attention Members:  New fixes and updates are now available in the VIP members section.  Log in to the VIP section now and download the new autoroll BIN files for your Pansat, Viewsat, Sonicview, Captain, Captiveworks, NFusion, and Neosat FTA Receivers.

There are now new files posted for ALL supported models.  Download the new fixes now and get your FTA receiver back up in minutes!  

New files are now in our VIP Members Section for the following FTA Receivers:

• Viewsat
• Pansat
• Sonicview
• NFusion
• Captiveworks
• KBox
• Captain
• Coolsat
• and more other lesser know models

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Not a member?  Need the new updates and codes to get your satellite TV back up?  Join N2News now for all the latest working autoroll BIN files and fixes for all major brands of FTA receivers.

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The Clones - FTA Receiver Clones

by  Sammy Satellite. – Staff Writer for n2news

Did you happen to catch the news that a company in China started selling a knockoff version of the iPhone that was unlocked and able to work on any network? That is called a clone and it’s a real problem in the world of FTA.  When a company like Pansat or Sonicview spends a significant amount of time and money to research and create a product you can bet that they know the best way to make it. These companies live and die by the quality of the products so they know that production quality and component quality are vital.  

Hardware, like a nice bowl of soup, is made of up components that are available all over. There are companies, mostly in Korea and China, that specialize in deconstructing the circuit boards of existing products and creating copies. These companies go to great lengths to copy the external and internal design so much that it is often hard to tell them apart.   There are some differences though. First, they tend to use the least expensive component that still performs the same function. Instead of a 20 year high performance capacitor in the power supply they may use generic capacitors or a similar nature left over from another project. 

Clone devices don’t last as long or function as well in most cases and more importantly, the money goes to the wrong person. If you find a clone receiver on an auction website your money never makes it to the company that spends the time, energy and resource to figure out how to make the receiver in the first place. More important, there is no guarantee that the BIN files will work correctly on your receiver.

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