Returning After 10 Years – Is the Satellite Hobby Still Alive?

[SEOShamsher]

Hi all,

I’m from India and thinking about getting back into the satellite hobby after almost a 10-year gap, but honestly I’m not sure if I’ve completely missed the boat… or if the whole scene is fading away everywhere, including the UK.

For me, this hobby is also about nostalgia. I’ve always been on free satellite TV — never really had cable — and it’s something I’ve always been proud of. It felt like a privilege in its own way. I’ve got a lot of memories growing up with it, scanning channels, finding random international broadcasts, and just exploring what’s out there.

Back in the day, satellite hunting was all about curiosity — seeing what’s beyond your reach, catching feeds, accessing uncensored news from around the world. It felt like real exploration. But now, things seem very different.

Here in India, C-band has become difficult due to 5G interference, and there are also ongoing issues around piracy (people using illegal methods to access paid TV channels), which has hurt the overall purpose and perception of satellite TV. On top of that, with IPTV, OTT, and internet streaming everywhere, satellite TV now feels almost irrelevant to most people.

That said, I believe KU-band still has some scope here in India, at least for hobbyists like me, even if C-band is getting harder.

I’ve also noticed many of the “old school” satellite hunters are stepping away. I’ve spoken to 3–4 enthusiasts in their 40s/50s who were deeply into this hobby, and most of them have either retired or lost interest. That honestly discourages me from restarting.

Another thing is technology. Before, tracking satellites required patience, skill, and a bit of mystery. Now with Android apps and automatic tools, everything feels mapped and predictable. Maybe I’m just being nostalgic, but it feels like the fun and challenge are gone.

Also, I’ve never really had the chance to use proper high-end equipment. I never got to try large dishes like 6ft+ or 10–12ft prime focus KU/C-band setups to explore out-of-footprint satellites. I’ve always worked with basic gear, so I feel like there’s still a part of this hobby I never fully experienced.

Still, a part of me wants to come back to it. Free satellite TV has always been a big part of my life, and I still see value in having independent access to international and uncensored news — especially as a backup during internet shutdowns or restrictions.

At the same time, I understand I’m probably not going to sit and watch hundreds of channels. Someone even asked me what the real purpose is. And honestly, I think for me it’s more about the tracking and exploration side — that’s what I truly enjoy.

But I keep hearing the same thing: no one really cares about satellite TV anymore.

So I wanted to ask — what’s the situation in the UK and elsewhere?
Is the satellite tracking hobby still alive, or is it slowly dying out?
Am I too late to get back into it?

Would really appreciate hearing your thoughts.

Thanks

 

[Topper]

Hello
A welcome return to the hobby, unfortunately I have to say I am not able to disagree with anything you have posted. For me in the analogue days tracking round the arc and slowly adjusting a sparkly picture into a coherent picture was all part of the fun. Watching live feeds from F1 practice, with such memorable moments where I think it was Damon Hill left the pits and came to grief on the slow s bend when his front wheels splayed apart a mechanic having forgotten to insert the top bolts on the front suspension arms. Following wars, seeing live news feeds then seeing how the corrupt news media organisations chopped cut and distorted the raw transmission into some alternate reality they felt the government would appreciate. Whilst major players are turning to IP broadcasting and reception and also no longer have long term launch programmes there will always be one or two broadcasters who doggedly keep repurposing existing satellites, moving them around to provide a service until their gas runs out.

I too lost interest and donated my kit (minus the wiper motor drive) to another member on here a few years ago, yet there are plenty on here that find a purpose for old and new kit, even to the point resurecting old encryption boxes. There is fun to be had from the hobby but for me at almost 72 years of age I am happy to see people enjoying the hobby but no longer have interest myself, prefering to look after and or visit my grandchildren, it is as we have always stated on here. family first.

 

[lovelyperson]

Superb posts and thanks. Know or guess many of us here know that the IPTV route is eroding our 'satellite' hobby but I am sure that like me, we still achieve that daily buzz with what we do.......sad or what......in my case NO!!~~~~ and special thanks to this forum and members input!!

 

[Miika]

Here in Estonia: some of enthusiasts still in actions, me included. But in estonian satforum majority of heavy sat-users have dismantled their equipment and use streaming now, or simply too old or died. As estonian channels are available on 4,8E satellite, people still use satellite, mostly in rural places. Appartment building have been renovated in towns and sat-dishes (and aerials) removed as precondition of renovation. Youngsters doesn't even understand, what is satellite dish, it is dinosaur era for them.

Why to use satellite dish - it's widening your choice exponentially, you don't have to satisfy with the content your service provider has chosen. More languages, more point of views, more culture. Feeds - you never know what's "on the menu" or see whats happening now really now, not in tomorrow news show.

And using sat or aerial has some kind of vibe or aura, that you cannot feel when using streaming box. Similar to old wooden tube radio, old folks gathered around it and listened diligently, watching the green eye on the cabinet.

 

[rodscha]

Re valve radios
I got my parent s valve radio when they bought a plastic transistor radio (or 2or 3) .
They listened to only 1 station.
I could use the dial with all of Europe. When night came I could travel to Spain,North Africa,Russia ,Albania! even farther on short waves...
Hilversum,Motala,Ankara,Kalundborg...I still remember these names.
This quickly got me traveling places...hitch hiking was very feasible.
Now the whole radio spectrum is online with FM quality,the thrill has gone.
Listening to Australia now is just a variant of the bbc on a different time zone,not any more the performance of finding them,improving the aerial etc...
So,satellite was for me the second challenge... now,picking up the bbc on 28 has become challenging again ,the sands carried by the wind etc...
But there s still enough diversity,and the online offering is far from 100%
The sad side is,people seem widely less curious or adventurous. Mac Culture is accepted as sufficient by many,
ie what the internet provider provides.
This started in the transistor radio age,people got happy with the few local stations.
No names,just letters :RTL,Europe1,RMC...ads and low key small talk!
Before they 'd search for exotic things at night using the dial.
I hope curiosity s still there ,but the means have changed.

 

[victor64]

Hello,
in a very short mode, the real answer is : Yes.
How had once this hobby it will have it for ever.
This is my opinion.

 

[stcome]

Hello,
in a very short mode, the real answer is : Yes.
How had once this hobby it will have it for ever.
This is my opinion.

There you go! That's THE correct answer, and also my opinion.

 

[vma]

It all depends on your goals

In the late 80ies and during the 90ies, the real motivation was to receive more that the dozen of analogue cable channels your state and/or provider had to offer.
Decryption was a huge motivation, too. From season interfaces to analogue heuristic decryption to smart cards. The hobby was intense.

Nowadays, 30-40 years later, we already have too many TV channels, most of them utter garbage. They come via digital terrestrial or cable distribution, plus IPTV. So, in theory, there is little need for satellite reception any more.

Needless to say that the broadband internet has contributed to the decline of DTH satellite transmission: Netflix, YouTube and the likes are killing linear TV.

But interestingly, myself I have never been so deep into this hobby as now. For one I switched sides and are now developing software for broadcast engineering.

On the other hand, computers are now powerful enough to process a TS with 100Mbps and more in real-time, extracting many secrets.

Be it DVB NIP, T2MI, etc. or finding unencrypted network packets in the streams containing interesting information or receiving live feeds. This is pretty cool!

Another aspect is that all triple play providers offer a similar range of channels. No matter what country, you essentially get Discovery, National Geographic, etc. You start to notice that news are heavily biased, too. So, while most channels are encrypted, they normall included the same channels over and over again, which you probably already have, anyway.

But being able to receive channels from other part of the world, normally FTA, which you won't get in your subscription, help to get a different view on politics, war, life style - that is awesome!

So, I would say that satellite TV is still something important for end users and as a hobby. It just depends on the expected outcome.

 

[mapperuo]

I have two full sized racks of equipment in my office mostly still plugged into 8 dishes, and I do get some use of it but its dwindling drastically, I'd say I power it up maybe once a month at best, every 2 months.

I won't get rid of stuff yet, but I really do not see a future beyond 5 years sadly.

BUT! I am not upset or feel it was a waste of money, the fun the hobby has brought joy so well worth it. I probably should document and take photos of it all one day before I do retire it.

 

[nelson_b]

It all depends on your goals

But being able to receive channels from other part of the world, normally FTA, which you won't get in your subscription, help to get a different view on politics, war, life style - that is awesome!

So, I would say that satellite TV is still something important for end users and as a hobby. It just depends on the expected outcome.

This is pretty much where i am with my satellite hobby these days ... A number of dishes pointing at different satellites - into an 8 way switch for quick channel changing ... Sadly - other things in my life (beyond my control) have taken up the spare time i used to spend experimenting with fringe reception in KU and C band. .... I miss it ! - as i used to find it quite relaxing .. and sometimes very satisfying- tinkering with my satellite kit.

 

[rodscha]

Same for me...one I like is 7W,which has an array of Egyptian channels that are still a good evasion. Watching Egyptian "'60s-'70s films and dramas is really fun. Characters are Commedia dell Arte,so you can follow without mastering Arabic & it s different from the Hollywood mash we get on most positions. For people in the the UK,9E with a group f French-African channels is quite attractive,and so is 16E with Central European stuff. Plus the Turks on 42E. Still a lot to chew,isnt it?
Does anyone know additional channels/sats of that type?
No,watching Wolverhampton versus Bristol playing plain football is no thrill to me!! Unless it' s in 1913...maybe.

 

[Channel Hopper]

Hello,
in a very short mode, the real answer is : Yes.
How had once this hobby it will have it for ever.
This is my opinion.

Agreed

I have had a dish (or three) ever since starting out in the trade, it is also a hobby running alongside, providing a welcome break from day to day activities.

As long as the equipment isn't annoying neighbours/immediate family, taking up too much space, is reliable and can be serviced by yourself then go for it.

 

[astra19]

Really interesting to read all your thoughts. I’m similar. This is an important hobby to me, though in reality I don’t watch that much TV!

It’s shaped my life a lot. I learned languages, largely because as a child I watched foreign TV via satellite and I wanted to know what they were saying. My language skills took me around the world.

I became a roladex of TV channels, satellites and technologies with a lifetime of interest. Without giving too much info, I work in this industry now. I owe everything to this hobby.

 

[SEOShamsher]

Lovely to see opnion from you all. I guess I will restart it no matter what happened. Access to intertional tv channels really matter a lot.

 

[Analoguesat]

Some very interesting comments in this thread. My feeling - and Ive mentioned this previously - is that the hobby as a whole is going the same way as ham radio. Its in terminal decline. The guys who were the really active ones in the hobby & on the forums 15-20 years ago are getting elderly & leaving the hobby or passing on & there are next to no young folk coming in at the bottom end to take over the baton. (I went to a ham radio convention a couple of years ago - there must have been 200 people in the room & I reckoned there were less than a dozen people under 60 in there - and the vast majority were in their 70s & 80s. I havent bothered going back).

Just look at how quiet this forum is compare to even 10 years ago - and I bet everyone reading this can name 2 or 3 other forums that have disappeared into oblivion in recent years.

HOWEVER its still a worthwhile hobby (dont expect to easily decrypt loads of pay tv services like you could do 15 years ago - that time is long gone) and chasing down new signals & seeing how far you can push your dishes is always interesting.

 

[sat-dxer]

It depends very much on what you expect from the hobby.
If your satellite hobby is simply “watching TV”, you can do so in a much more convenient way – all you need is a computer, or the streaming services now available for TV and radio from all over the world, or the various Netflix, Prime and so on...
If, on the other hand, it involves ‘receiving signals from space and analysing them’ – be it TV, radio, feeds or data – understanding the geopolitical logic behind the distribution of channels on satellites, or similar matters, 15–20 years ago there wasn’t all the hardware power that exists today, and perhaps not even the knowledge that has since developed on various forums.
From this latter perspective, satellite reception is not dead; on the contrary, it is more alive than ever.

 

[astra19]

IPTV could also be a bit of a spiritual successor of this hobby too. There’s a lot of broadcasting online and it’s interesting to see what’s out there. Lyngsat Stream and IPTV-Org are good resources of publicly available channels.

My receiver has a combination of satellite and “FTA” IPTV.

 

[rodscha]

My new Technisat receiver is also geared to IPTV... the problem is how do I get this started...the instructions are in pure tecnhnical German,so I m a little slow ..but I feel it s going to "relay" sat when sat dwindles.
Until now i ve still got plenty to chew.

 

[SEOShamsher]

Thanks everyone for the warm responses — really motivated to get back into this properly!


Just wanted to share what I've picked up recently to restart the hobby:


Current setup:

• 6ft Prodelin VSAT offset dish — solid build, currently installed temporarily on a lower floor pole. Has some obstacles blocking low elevation satellites so planning to relocate it to a higher floor with a permanent proper pole mount soon. Prodelin build quality is excellent so confident it will perform well once properly installed
• 4ft Hughes Net VSAT dish — another solid commercial grade dish. Hughes Net VSAT gear is built to last so happy with this pickup. 4ft Unknown brand VSAT dish
• Vu+ Zero 4K receiver — modern capable receiver, should handle everything I throw at it

Future plan:


Seriously considering a 12ft Ku band prime focus dish down the road for proper fringe and weak signal DX work across the eastern arc. That's the dream setup honestly.

Will try satellite pc card as well.


Why I'm coming back:


Mix of hunting and watching honestly.


For the watching side — main interests are international uncensored news that you simply cannot get on Indian channels, and proper old school documentaries. Recently tuned into 80°E and discovered Viaji History, Nature and Explore channels — exactly what Discovery and Nat Geo used to be 10-20 years ago. Real science, real stories, slow thoughtful content. Not the reality TV garbage everything has turned into now.


Another big one for me is music discovery. YouTube and OTT only feed you what you already like — the algorithm just keeps confirming your existing taste. Satellite just plays whatever is on and you genuinely stumble onto music and cultures you would never have found otherwise. That random discovery feeling is something streaming can never replicate.


Quality is another reason. On a 65 inch QLED the difference between compressed IPTV and uncompressed satellite is very noticeable. IPTV degrades bitrate, satellite does not.


And honestly the independence angle matters a lot here in India. No matter what happens with internet shutdowns, government restrictions, rising OTT prices, IPTV crackdowns or geo-blocking — satellite just works. That backup access to international media is genuinely valuable and not something I want to be without.


Never been much into feeds before but definitely want to explore that side too now.


So yeah — 50% hunting, 50% watching. Coming back for real this time!

 

[timo_w2s]

Please keep us updated on your projects and a few pictures of your setup would be good!