Guest jeanie Posted July 31, 2005 Share Posted July 31, 2005 we have not won the 77 million lottery so cannot afford the very expensive systems and as we wild camp most of the time a freestanding tripod would not be suitable. we came across this globestat advert in mmm 2003 cost £240.00 for a roof mast system 60 cm cassegrain design supposed to give similar power to 85cm is this claim correct any comments on suitability/efficiency/reception abroad would be appreciated also info on current stockists kind regards jeanie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest martin Posted July 31, 2005 Share Posted July 31, 2005 For half the price simply buy a Multimo - we've several times this last trip simply put ours on the front seat and pointed southward through the front window/windscreen! Indeed we've got the strongest signals this way. If you have a roof light that opens wide, stand on a seat and simply open it and pop the dish outside on the roof (in the floor stand it comes with of course!) ... either way you can still drive off, if attacked in the middle of the night! Our problem is getting a compass that isn't thrown by either the van electrics, pylons overhead, cables underground and other spurious electrical noise! Anyone a solution there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Neal Posted August 1, 2005 Share Posted August 1, 2005 Jeannie We bought our RV with a Globesat through-roof dish already fitted and wired. We have used it mainly successfully for 3 years BUT, there is an inherent problem with it. The mast comes with an inclination angle sticker on it (you can only see this from inside the van) and the sticker is definitely NOT accurate. I have purchased a new mast (the original one had a fault with the clamp) and this too is not accurate so, I am suggesting that this is going to be a problem on all of them. I have only ever used a 99p compass and Sky's on-screen connection information. This has been 75-80% successful here and abroad. However, to move towards 100%, at this year's Newbury show I purchased a "full-time" sat-finder meter, one that you leave in line permenantly. It has made a significant inprovement here but have not tried it abroad yet. The issue is you can only set the inclination angle approximately. You then set the dish according to the compass. Again this can only be approximate but the sat finder is very accurate. If it still does not "lock-on" you must try small adjustments to the inclination angle and try again. Having said all that, the more times you do it the better you get! (as with everything!) And, it's a damn sight cheaper that a self-seeking one. It's "horses for courses". If you want something that is ready for instant use it is reasonably good. If you don't mind assembling and dis-assembling your kit and then storing it for travel, you may get something a bit cheaper. Regards Neal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jeanie Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 thanks to you both for taking the time to reply. After much mulling over the 'team leader' and 'technical expert' has decided in favour of the globestat dish for reasons of convenience and storage. We have located a stockist at riversway leisure at preston and have placed an order to collect on 3 sept. Stuart has been very helpful and dealt promptly with our queries. NEAL... could you give us more info on your'full-time' sat finder. what does this term mean and can you tell us details of make / model/ stockist and price please? does it give an audible signal or is it a visual display? kind regards jeanie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Neal Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 Jeanie "Team Leader"? "Technical Expert"? You don't know someone who works for Royal Mail, do you? Maybe Royal Mail Engineering? I thought I was at work for a minute!! The sat-finder is a Televes, number 7301, and I bought it at the Newbury show for £65. I think it was from the company in Warrington but I cannot be sure. Just phone all the companies that advertise in MMM and ask for a Televes meter. It has a horizontal scale that is back-lit, and a sensitivity control for accurate tuning of the satelite signal. There is also an audible signal that increases in pitch as you align the dish but this can be switched off at any time. Last weekend when we were away I set the dish inclination, aligned it roughly using the 99p compass and the scale on the sat-finder. I didn't use the sensitivity control or the audible signal. I switched to the on-screen set-up page on Sky and locked onto the satletite in two seconds. Yes really. It doesn't always work that quickly due to the inherent inaccuracy with the inclination angle sticker but it shouldn't take too long once you have practiced. Regards Neal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jeanie Posted August 26, 2005 Share Posted August 26, 2005 Thanks for the info Neal it is very helpful. i have noticed that, in our case, the job of being ' team leader ' seems to depend on the nature of the job !!! anything to do with ' toys ' ( potentially exciting ) and the male feels compelled to demonstrate his superior credentials and therefore qualifies to be team leader, wheras anything remotely domestic ( mundane ) usually calls for the expertise of the female who is then allowed to be team leader!! i used the term ' technical expert' very loosely indeed ( and may even retract it ) as the dish has not been installed yet !!! no doubt i shall be using quite a few other ( unprintable )terms before the job is completed and is successful !!! However Neal, wit and repartee aside , have you used the system abroad? if so, what are your opinions on the reception in different countries? or different areas of u.k. especially Scotland what kind of digibox do you have? kind regards jeanie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Neal Posted August 27, 2005 Share Posted August 27, 2005 Jeanie You can connact me direct on nealbarb1@supanet.com if you prefer. Our digibox is an old (large) Sky box made by Grundig. We bought it as "refurbished" from the satelite people in Barnstaple, Devon in early 2002. We have used it abroad but without the sat-finder (only recently fitted). Given the problems with determining the inclination angle with any kind of accuracy the results were mixed. It seemed that the further south we travelled the more difficult it was to align, up to a point just north of central France when, from then on, I couldn't align it at all!! However, I hadn't fully realised at that point that the inclination angle is really just guesswork and so, in retrospect, I suspect that it should work well into Spain and Italy. I intend to give it a good try soon as we are off through the tunnel on Fri 2 Sep. This will really prove the worth of the £65 sat-finder and I am quietly confident. Regarding the UK we have used it successfully from Cornwall to North Yorkshire but sometimes we haven't been able to receive all the channels that we do at home. Again, I put this down to the accuracy of alignment; you would need an installers meter, costing £2000 or more, for pin point accuracy. The real beauty of the sat-finder is that you do not need to set the inclination angle spot-on (you can't anyway), so the meter tells you when you are aligned. What it doesn't tell you is which satelite you are aligned to, and there is another one very close to the one we need. But, the lock-on detail on the Sky alignement screen (Services, 4, 6 signal test) will tell you via hexadecimal codes if it is the right satelite. Network ID should be 0002 Transport Stream should be 07d4 Regards Neal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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