Free To Air Satellite Question

[keeperdog]

A camping friend is trying to get me to buy a FTA satellite receiver.  

He uses one, insists it is free and thinks I would like it on camping trips.

I'm skeptical about the legalities.

Anybody out there use FTA and is it legal?  What type of service/reception could I reasonably expect?

(This may belong in the general area instead of the campfire area.  Feel free to move it if need be.)

[AustinBoston]

A camping friend is trying to get me to buy a FTA satellite receiver.  

He uses one, insists it is free and thinks I would like it on camping trips.

I'm skeptical about the legalities.

Anybody out there use FTA and is it legal?  What type of service/reception could I reasonably expect?

(This may belong in the general area instead of the campfire area.  Feel free to move it if need be.)

I suspect it's like black-market cable descramblers.  Perfectly legal to manufacture, buy, sell, and own, but not legal to use.

Austin

[keeperdog]

I suspect it's like black-market cable descramblers.  Perfectly legal to manufacture, buy, sell, and own, but not legal to use.

Austin

My first thought too.

But from what I'm being told, TV stations broadcast to satellites routinely. The satellite companies (DishNetwork, etc) encrypt only the signals that they offer on their system packages. And the satellites still broadcast the non-encrypted channels that are free for the listening if you have the receiver and if you are not stealing the signals from the encrypted systems.

Just like free TV signal from your local affiliate that you can pick up with an antena, scanner broadcasts, or free radio signal you can pick up anywhere.

I am skeptical of it, but it sounds plausible. I have to admit, I am a little dumb when it comes to technology like this. I have never owned a satellite and am not in the know about it.

If it is illegal, I wouldn't want to do it, but if it is legal, it sounds like a good thing for camper use.

I'm just still confused.  I found this link, but I don't know what to believe and what not to believe.   http://www.satelect.com/free_to_air.php

Who could a person contact to find out?  The FCC?  I dunno.

[keeperdog]

I should add that from what I am told, there are a lot of illegal software and codes out there that you can load into your FTA receiver to pick up the paid channels, which is illegal.  But just picking up the free channels is OK.

Apparently there are a lot of scammers out there on the net steering people in the wrong direction.

[beacher]

WOW!  I haven't heard about "free satellite tv" since those huge wire-mesh satellite antennas were seen everywhere in the early to mid eighties.

I instantly Googled and found a bunch of information regarding the legality of free satellite tv.  It seems that there is currently no restriction.  However, SelecTV and Dish are urging for "reforms" to make it all pay-per-view, and thereby illegal, if you cannot already revieve the analog broadcast of the satellite channel.