Well, I am spending the weekend with my sister in her daughter's apartment. Last night her daughter (my niece) told me to feel free to turn on the TV and watch what I wanted. And then she added, "although it is almost sundown." Well, I responded, maybe you have 3ABN. So I turned on the TV, thinking I could at least find TBN and watch something on there and I was pleasantly surprised to find she actaully did have 3ABN and it was next to TBN in her channel line up. My sister was also happy and wrote down the channel number.

I wonder how many cable companies are carrying 3ABN. Where I live, I know Time Warner isn't carrying it yet.

I was pleasantly surprised to find 3ABN on Comcast Cable down in Chattanooga, TN where my brother lives. He thought it had been on there for about 3-4 months but he wasn't sure when it started.

Shane, do you have a 3ABN dish?

Adventists call it a 3ABN dish but it as actually an FTA, Ku-band Dish and yes I have one. I also have SkyAngel and hope to add a motor on my FTA dish this year so I can pick up channels from IA5 and not just AMC4.

And this "FTA" is the larger dish (by that I mean it's larger than the "SkyAngel" dish)? Our 3ABN dish is a giant compared to our Sky Angel dish!

Reason I ask was we got one of those and are having a really hard time getting it to work. My brother in law said there is a narrow area you have to work with to "zone in on" to get things to work. I wondered if you'd had any problems or could offer any advice on getting the channels tuned in.

Another thing that is rather vexing (but still has come amusement to the story) is that my husband put the Sky Angel Dish on the porch thinking it would work fine. And it did, that is until he started putting the roof on and now the signal won't come thru the boards...lol We will be moving the Sky Angel dish soon. And we really would like to get the 3ABN dish going as well.

Your comment about a motor intrigues me. Can you give any details about this motor and would it help us get the satellite signal any easier?

Thanks Shane!

The "3ABN" dish is actually the medium size or even a smaller size dish. The SkyAngel dish is 20" and DrecTV has an 18" dish. Compared to those, the "3ABN" dish seems big at 36". However C-band dishes are at least 6' and some are as big as 9' and 12'.

Sorry, I missed your response until now. A great place with a lot of answers is Satteliteguys . Just click on that link and you will find a whole lot of information and they answer questions fast too. They also have a SkyAngel forum.

I had trouble tuning in my FTA dish so I started calling sattelite services in the Yellow Pages and asking if they serviced FTA dishes. I had to call about six of them before I found one that did. A lot of hotels have FTA dishes so most every community will have some company that services them. Here, it cost me $60 but the cost of living is less in Texas so I would expect to pay closer to $150 in New York or Chicago. I have had him out twice and will have him install the motor when we buy it. (Hopefully for Christmas )

The way it works is that there are sattelites orbiting the earth and shooting signals down. When a person buys a dish they have to aim it at the sattelite so they can pick up its signal. Some signals are scrambled so they cannot be picked up for free. Other signals are not scrambled, so anyone with a dish and reciever can pick them up and watch them. I don't know of any religious channels that scramble their signals. Since the earth is round, the number of sattelites one can aim their dish at is limitted by their location on the planet. Here is a list of available for those of us in North America:
Free Satellite TV Channels Most Adventists have their FTA dish points at the satellite named "AMC4". That has both Hope and 3ABN.

In order to get channels from other satellites one needs to buy a motor for about $75. Again, I would need to call a technition to install it for me. The motor is controled by the reciever inside the house and thus by the remote control. The remote has a button it it that says "SAT". By pushing that button one would be able to see a list of sattelites programed in the motor and reciever, select the sattelite they wish to view, and the preprogramed motor automatically moves the dish to line up with that sattelite.

Just a little update. I bought a motor and the satellite tech I hired was not able to get it to work right. Adventistsat now has a double LNBF available that allows a person to pick up signals off from two satellites and that is a better option than a motor.

It is a better option if you can find someone who can adjust them properly so you get the satellites. Not easy.

For those purchasing a Hope Channel/3ABN dish setup: IMO the package offered by Adventist Sat(www.AdventistSat.com) is a better value than that purchased elsewhere.(same price) Their package give you an extra thirty or so channels of 'Christian' programming.... BUT...be sure you tell them that you want the $199 package instead of the $179 one. Unfortunately, I purchased my system from "the brethren".

If one pays extra, they can get installation included. If one has already bought a dish, and they are having trouble, they should talk to their pastor and ask him to see if there are other Adventists in the area that have successfully installed they system.

There is a new free referral service for introducing customers to installers who are experienced in Free to Air type installs of the Adventist and Glorystar Christian satellite systems. The site offers both licensed and bonded professionals and the local layperson who is installing systems as an outreach into the community or for donations for their organization.

In the past we had been unable to refer to local laypersons. This was due to the liability of contracting with a person who may not carry insurance or licensing. With this site we can promote the site as an introduction to a local layperson alongside the professional installer.

If you know of any Adventist layperson who would like to get the word out about their ability and willingness to install, please suggest that they visit the FTA Installer site. What a great way to help someone who is interested in receiving Christian programming and introduce them to your local church. The Installer Referral Service extends an invitation to help a neighbor, enter a receptive home and witness! On the site, the installer can select what type(s) of satellite systems they are willing to install, Adventist, Glorystar or other types.

Please visit http://www.FTAinstall.com to find a local installer or to sign up to be a referred installer.