Aileen Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 I have been searching through different threads for advice on Satellite systems and I am more confused than ever. My story is that I hope to be heading to mainland Europe soon to spend some months touring. I intend to take in Southern Norway and Sweden and then head south through Germany, Italy, France then on to Spain. I would like to have access to English speaking TV. I will invest in an automatic system rather than the manual one but there are so many types and of course prices that confusion reigns. I had a manual dish on my last trip to France but couldn't seem to get any signal south of Ile de Re - maybe that was the dish. Any help would be appreciated. I will be travelling from Ireland through the UK so could get it fitted in the UK as prices in Ireland seem to be exorbitant. Also any advice on a recommended fitting company in the South of England or Wales would also be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 I dont know much regards this but while waiting for expert advice...... I think you can forget about a dome style system as you need as large a dish as possible to get a signal once you get down into Spain, no roof sized dish will work well in southern Spain, where a 1.2 meter upwards size dish is required. You will get some English transmissions I believe from Hotbird etc...... Kathrein Cap system's with GPS get good reviews, and then there is the ever popular Oyster/Oyster Vision.......... and quite a few more! This link will help: http://www.motorhome-satellite-system.co.uk/Dish-Satellite-Systems.html And this one is a must!: http://www.satelliteforcaravans.co.uk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Our Oyster has never let us down yet . I ust love tuning into Corrie down in the S of France Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughmer Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 We have an 85 cm Oyster with auto skew fitted on the roof. The seeker / tuner is one unit so we just turn it on and it finds the satellite we ask for. We don't ask every time.. it remembers that BBCTV is on Astra and looks for Astra. It whirs around and after it finds the beam it tweaks the LNB skew for best reception (with a little motor, - very cute). It worked in Northern Spain as far south as Madrid in December. There It couldn't find BBCTV or ITV, but R4 came in ok. It might have been damp air or a tree branch.. You do need good line of sight and no rain On the costa del sol we got BBC TV and ITV. We found that some regional stations worked when the London station wouldn't.. Don't understand this but .. hey .. we could still watch dancing on ice. Going west it worked all the way to Gib and back up to Granada & Seville In Faro we got Radio 4 but not bbc /itv . Coming north we again found a NO TV pocket around Salamanca, but again this might have been conditions, - and all well again by Bilbao In Malaga I was discussing reception with a chap who had just forked out 2.5 k on a dome which didn't work while we were getting a good picture. Fitting costs about £300 but I'd do it myself next time.. (if there is...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron. Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 We had no problems on the Costa Del Sol and Portugal with a previous Katheraine Cap system. This had only a half metre square dish. Ask what DNB (I think) frequency the local TV installers are using whilst abroad, this often sorts out the problem. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeler Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 We had an Oyster Vision 1 system fitted back in 2005. It worked fine over much of the continent, until a new satellite was launched, near to Astra 2. Since that time it has required software updates every time that this new satellite has made technical changes. None of the later models have this issue, but, it doesn't stand Oyster in a good light in view of their lack of support for people such as myself who invested in their product. What I am referring to is the £50 or so charge every time that a new software update is needed. The only company that I know of who are sympathetic regarding these problems is Robert Jackson satellites. He has assisted on several occasions, often refusing to take payment. This is a company that I have no hesitation in recommending. He stands head and shoulders over the rest of the Oyster suppliers and thoroughly knows the Oyster sytems. If you go for an Oyster, give him a ring on 07801 843332. I know that he travels all over the Uk to fit these systems. We had our original fitted via the dealer by Transleisure. The installation left much to be desired. No wonder that they went out of business. Freewheeler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mondo Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 AIleen we had a Tracvision R4 dome system fitted in June last year it will and it does get a signal all across France, and Spain however once past Barcelona you require a larger dish (1.2mtr and above). We are currently in Peniscola on the Costa Brava we can get CH5 and Sky 1 but no BBC1/2 or ITV (again dish size) but we get a lot of the sattelite progs Living, UKTV Style, ETC ETC A few weeks ago we had very strong winds ,our dome system worked excellently all the Oysters had to be folded down but we were viewing!! try www.caclase.co.uk for Tracvision. (DISCLAIMER) I have NO connection whatever with the above company!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 mondo - 2009-03-27 7:50 PM We are currently in Peniscola on the Costa Brava we can get CH5 and Sky 1 but no BBC1/2 or ITV (again dish size) but we get a lot of the sattelite progs Living, UKTV Style, ETC ETC Have you tried getting ITV by using 'add channel'? Try entering 12402 V, 27500, 2/3. There's a bunch of ITV regions on a wider European beam. You might be lucky!! BTW Peñiscola is on the Costa de Azahar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mondo Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 Yes tried that and a lot of other freqs...it's just down to the dish size as I said I've posted on here about it before..............and yes I know it's Costa del Azahar....but overall it's Costa Brava area...not as green as I'm cabbage looking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hymer1942 Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 Freewheeler - 2009-03-27 6:03 PM I had an Oyster fitted by Translieasure in 2005 and I was delighted with thier work. As you say another sat. has made upgrade neccessary, so yesterday I had my system upgraded to the same as the new system at a cost of £620 I am told there will be no more problems. We had an Oyster Vision 1 system fitted back in 2005. It worked fine over much of the continent, until a new satellite was launched, near to Astra 2. Since that time it has required software updates every time that this new satellite has made technical changes. None of the later models have this issue, but, it doesn't stand Oyster in a good light in view of their lack of support for people such as myself who invested in their product. What I am referring to is the £50 or so charge every time that a new software update is needed. The only company that I know of who are sympathetic regarding these problems is Robert Jackson satellites. He has assisted on several occasions, often refusing to take payment. This is a company that I have no hesitation in recommending. He stands head and shoulders over the rest of the Oyster suppliers and thoroughly knows the Oyster sytems. If you go for an Oyster, give him a ring on 07801 843332. I know that he travels all over the Uk to fit these systems. We had our original fitted via the dealer by Transleisure. The installation left much to be desired. No wonder that they went out of business. Freewheeler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hymer1942 Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 Sorry posted that wrongly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briff Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 We have just spent three months in Spain and Portugal and have watched oyster dishes going round and round and not locking on. We have a telco magic sat 85cm. dish and most times we receive all main stream stations and main radio stations. It breaks up depending where you are about 7 in the evening the further north you are you get it all the time. The dish was fitted by BSS-Satelite Solutions, Royston. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 mondo - 2009-03-28 12:03 PM Yes tried that and a lot of other freqs...it's just down to the dish size as I said I've posted on here about it before That's a shame. Those ITVs are on 2B north, which according to SES should be available on a 65-85cm dish in Peñiscola. http://www.lyngsat-maps.com/maps/astra2b_north.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Losos Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 mondo - 2009-03-27 7:50 PM We are currently in Peniscola on the Costa Brava we can get CH5 and Sky 1 but no BBC1/2 or ITV (again dish size) Well the information I was given was that with BBC / ITV the satellite transponders for those were deliberately reduced in power due to 'licencing' agreements which involved American film distribution and all sorts legal stuff like that.I would be interested to hear from people if that's true, we have a 2 Mt. dish (On our house in Eastern Europe and a Sky box) and we still can't get BBC & ITV ('Tho we've just discovered that BBC 24 Hr. News is working, still not the others) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 I think you are right Harvey about the signal being reduced. In France when there is a storm or if the clouds are very low, the signal for BBC and ITV disappears although several other channels operate normally. With Five moving to another transponder that might be better or worse I suppose. Closer to the original thread, I have the Camos fitted and found that worked perfectly in the south of France. In Normandy though a really slender sapling stopped the signal. The Camos doesn't need setting up. It is completely automatic and has locked on to the satellite (barring trees etc.) before I turn the engine off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 Losos - 2009-03-28 10:17 PMmondo - 2009-03-27 7:50 PM We are currently in Peniscola on the Costa Brava we can get CH5 and Sky 1 but no BBC1/2 or ITV (again dish size) Well the information I was given was that with BBC / ITV the satellite transponders for those were deliberately reduced in power due to 'licencing' agreements which involved American film distribution and all sorts legal stuff like that.I would be interested to hear from people if that's true, we have a 2 Mt. dish (On our house in Eastern Europe and a Sky box) and we still can't get BBC & ITV ('Tho we've just discovered that BBC 24 Hr. News is working, still not the others)The FTA broadcasts are on 2d which is the tight UK beam. However, the ITV channels I mentioned above are encrypted by Sky and are available, with a Sky box and viewing card, in a larger area. C5 is the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wills Wagon Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 Robert Jackson 07801 843332 is the person to talk to. If using Oyster dish in southern Spain you need to change to the other Astra satellite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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