Did you know that you can get free satellite TV? There is no monthly fee for over a hundred free to air or FTA satellite channels.

What Is Free To Air Satellite?

Free to air satellite TV works using relatively inexpensive dishes that you can buy on e-Bay or internet retailers. They pick up all the channels that are not scrambled.

What Channels ARe On FTA or Free To Air Satellite?

You might be surprised how many channels are available on Free to Air Satellite.

These dishes receive the Ku microwave band which is used by dozens of orbiting satellites that rebroadcast major networks like ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, Fox, local stations, Christian channels, music channels, even public broadcasting, shopping and sports channels like the fishing channel.You won't find the premium cable channels like Discovery or Lifetime, but you will find lots of good entertainment hidden among all the channels. Local networks often broadcast vintage movies and sports events. You will also find hundreds of non English channels where soccer fans can find games.

Many home schooling familes find that free to air TV channels offer educational value, such as broadcasts of classroom lectures from major universities, spanish channels for kids learning a second language and space program feeds of launches plus nature shows on PBS.

Here is a list of Free To Air Channels: FTA Channel List

Free To Air Satellite TV, Ideal For The Backwoods and Suburbs Too

Who uses FTA or free to air satellite dishes? Many people who live in remote areas, which do not get over the air TV, use FTA satellite dishes to get the major networks out of local affiliates like Boise Idaho or Salt Lake City, that rebroadcast on FTA. There are over a dozen major network channels on free to air. You can get plenty of good radio stations too.

How Do You Set Up A FTA Satellite System?

There are no fees for free to air satellite channels so ther is no free equipment or installation but you don't have to spend a fortune or be a rocket scientist to hook one up. The dishes are just a bit bigger than DirecTV satellite dishes, about thirty inches across and the receiver is about the size of a DVD player and includes a remote. You mount the dish in your yard or on the roof, level, with a clear view of the sky and orient it according to the instructions provided. Next you hook a PC or Mac computer up to the receiver and install the software that comes with most Free To Air satellite dishes. This helps you align the dish and lock in the channels you want to watch, and lock out the ones you don't want to watch. It takes about five hours to install and get a free to air dish system up and running.

Free to air TV is a great way to get rid of another bill in tough times. Systems start in the low $200 range and up. The smaller dishes that are easy to set up pick up the Ku band. See the free to air FTA channel guide above for Ku band channels for an idea of what you can receive for free.