Would anyone happen to know if there is a way to get spot beams out of your area?
Directv uses your postal code to determine your location and as a result program your spot beam for you area. However, is there a way to get around it anyway to allow you to pick up locals in another location.

Any help on this would be awesome!!!

Thanks.

No.

Definition of Spot: Beam can only hit certain areas (spots).

If you aren't in the area of the beam, you can't see it. Like standing behind a flashlight vs in front of it.

Sometimes if you are relativly close to a spotbeam but can't get it, a larger satellite will allow you to pull in the Spotbeam. With a D500, I get the Ohio Spotbeam, Transponders 2,8,10. However, I also can pull in the Northeast Spotbeam on the 110 on Transponders 4,6 during the evenings and not strong enough. However a buddy of mine has a larger dish peaked for the 110, and he tends to get a more stable signal with it, with less frequent drop outs...

How does one increase the size of a satellite? They are around 25,000 miles out, I thought.

That's out of my range.

Well obviously you can buy a larger dish. A Dish500 is only about 20'' where as he has a 38'' dish. As a result, he gets the fringe signal more than I do. Realistically, I am maybe 50 miles out of the second spotbeam, hence why sometimes I get it and other times I do not. So if I were to get a bigger dish, then I have a better chance.

If you were in Boston and had the Northeast spotbeam but wanted the South Flordia spotbeam that couldn't happen, but because the Ohio and Northeast spotbeams are so close to each other, you can get both with a big enough dish...