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Free To Air/Freesat Satellite System Equipment Selection

Definition: Free to Air (FTA) satellite: Unencrypted television and radio broadcasts that may be received without subscription with a satellite receiver and dish

Guide for selecting a complete FTA kit

A complete Free to Air satellite kit is made up of:

  • Satellite Receiver
  • Satellite Dish & LNB
  • Installation Kit of Satellite Cable, Bolts & Connectors

Step 1. Satellite Receiver

All FTA satellite receivers do basically the same job ie. they take the unencrypted digital feed from the satellite dish and convert it to a picture which can be displayed on a TV screen.

Below are the main FTA receivers sold by FreeTV.ie

see free to air

Step 2. Satellite Dish & LNB

Satellite Dish
Use
Sky/Freesat Satellite Dish UK Free to Air Channels
80cm Satellite Dish Foreign Language Channels

Why a Sky dish is ideal for free to air?

  • The Sky zone 2 satellite dish is by far the most commonly used satellite dish in Ireland representing over 95% of all dishes erected.
  • This is because it is designed specifically for the Irish (and non-central UK) market
  • Relatively inexpensive
  • Easy to assemble and Install
  • Rarely if ever will the Sky dish move even in the most extreme of weather conditions, if properly installed!
  • Easy to buy replacement parts or upgrade to Quad or Octo LNB
Which LNB?

An LNB amplifies the signal picked up by a satellite dish. Sky LNBs come in a range of 3 different types defined by the number of outputs they have

LNB Type

Outputs

Uses

Single 1 Single Sky or FTA install
Quad 4 Sky+ or Multi-room install
Octo 8 Apartment block, Sky+ or Multi-room

Note: If buying an LNB for a dish that was installed before June 2009, you will need to also purchase a Sky Legacy LNB adaptor

Step 3. Installation Kit

The final part of the complete satellite kit is the installation kit. The purpose of the kit is to provide the materials to anchor the dish to the wall and to neatly run a satellite cable from the satellite dish to the satellite receiver.

You can find the installation kits by clicking on the link below....

satellite dish installation kits