i just got rid of charter cable and got dish network. question is, will i get any free hd channels when i hook my hdtv up to dish network? or is that cable only?

That's just cable.

Dish doesn't use QAM, they use the PSK family of modulation. If you have a DVB satellite receiver, you can get NASA TV free from Dish, but since NASA TV comes with every Dish subscription anyway, that's only useful if you don't subscribe to Dish and want NASA without putting up a big dish.

They do have the HD Tennis Channel free for awhile right now.

You can still use bunny ears and pick up your locals.

Indeed, one of the main advantages of cable systems is that they do provide some service via either unencrypted analog, unencrypted QAM, or both.