Can you use a saillite dish as an HDTV antenna?

[NewAtThis]

I'm moving into a house with an old satellite dish. I don't remember whether it's direct-TV or dish network brand.

Can I hook this thing up such that it will pick up OTA broadcasts or any other type of signals: TV, Radio, or otherwise? I was just reading that you can buy satellite dishes that pick up free-to-air (FTA) broadcasts from around the world. Could my dish be used for that if I got the right receiver?

The only hacks I've seen on the internet are regarding turning it into a WIFI booster. Might do that, but I'd rather watch TV.

Thanks.
Steve.

[Hydrographer1]

I would like to know if this is possible too, as I have an inactivated Dish sat dish still mounted on the side of my roofline too. If this won't work, I would be interested in some advice as to which setup to use for indoor antenna with uhf & vhf capability.

[tigerbangs]

The answer is NO, a satellite dish will NOT work as an OTA TV antennaL you can use the same coaxial cabling, but the dish itself is NOT a VHF-UHF antenna: you will need to replace it with an antenna if you want to see OTA

[NewAtThis]

Thanks, tigerbangs. I was afraid of that. It was a good clue when I couldn't find any instructions on the net for doing that.

How about picking up other satellite signals and using the appropriate receiver to decode them? I'm probably on the wrong forum if I'm taking the discussion in that direction...

Thanks again for the quick answer!

Steve.

[tigerbangs]

sorry, but the satellite stuff is not in my area of expertise.

[ProjectSHO89]

Thanks, tigerbangs. I was afraid of that. It was a good clue when I couldn't find any instructions on the net for doing that.

How about picking up other satellite signals and using the appropriate receiver to decode them? I'm probably on the wrong forum if I'm taking the discussion in that direction...

Thanks again for the quick answer!

Steve.

The short answer is "no".