Improvised reception of International bird

[VHS or Beta]

Is there any way to pick up the 95W satellite from New Jersey with an old 18" dish?

The reason I ask is my wife would like to subscribe to the Mandarin language package for a month while her family is visiting. If I call DirecTV to install their international dish though, it would require an annual commitment to an International package. No good.

I have a 5-LNB slim dish on my roof now and an old 18-inch round dish in storage. I also have a 20-inch ExpressVu dish on my roof that currently picks up 82 and 91. Just wondering if I can do anything with any of this on a DIY basis, enough to pick up some of the channels for a short time even if it's not perfect.

[Mertzen]

Nope. The Galaxy3C bird at 95W requires both a bigger dish [ hence the 36" worldirect dish ] and a special LNB since the signal is lower powered .

Plus none of the D* channels on that bird are free. Well one or two are when you subscribe to a international package.

There are some free channels on Galaxy 25 at 99W but those require the same 36" dish and a FTA box.

[VHS or Beta]

I don't need them to be free -- I'm willing to pay for a month, which I think I'd be allowed to do as long as I can pick up the signal. It's just if I get DirecTV to install a World Dish for me, it will come with a one year commitment, that's what I'm trying to avoid. Sounds like I'm out of luck though, bummer. Thanks for the reply.

[dkouz]

You could buy the correct dish.

[VHS or Beta]

I did look into that after making my initial post, but that would still cost me well over $100 for the dish, multiswitch and installation hardware...plus paying someone to install it for me if I'm not in a DIY mood...just to get a $20 package for a couple weeks.

I decided it's not worth it. But I discovered I can pick up the Jadeworld package for a month since that one uses the regular DirecTV satellite and includes a couple of Mandarin channels. Good enough for the in-laws, that's what I say. :D

[ironwood]

By the end of the year or sooner they might move international channels to one of regular satellites and then you will be able to get them with your 5-lnb dish.

[Birdman79]

By the end of the year or sooner they might move international channels to one of regular satellites and then you will be able to get them with your 5-lnb dish.

crossing my fingers...:)

[Johnnie5000]

By the end of the year or sooner they might move international channels to one of regular satellites and then you will be able to get them with your 5-lnb dish.

I've heard that too. Have yet to see any of them change though.
Jadeworld comes off of the 119, I'd run with that for a few weeks and see if thats good enough.