Satellite TV

[Dave Newell]

A 40cm dome can easily handle the BBC radio stations even in southern spain I believe (although I haven't personally tried it out) and you will still get some English TV channels but not BBC, ITV ETC. We can easily meet your budget with 40cm dome, fta receiver and LED TV with built in DVD player, if your in dash radio has an aux input we can even feed the audio from the sat receiver into it, that way when listening to radio you don't need to have the TV switched on.

 

D.

[Frankkia]

Currently BBC radios 1 to 4 plus a lot of local radio channels are being broadcast from Astra 2b frequency 11954 horizontal which is a southern transponder therefore receivable in Spain / Portugal fairly easily. Even a 40cm bowler hat would do. It should be noted however that the BBC (due to financial considerations) has recently dropped 1 of their transponders and reduced the number of feeds they use. BBC radios 2 and 4 then moved to where they are now. It is more than possible that in the future they will consolidate more of their services on UK focused transponders. Astra 1N has recently taken up service at 28 degrees and most of it's bandwidth is on a tight focus to UK and northern Europe. So as Neil said above you should plan on getting the piece of kit which will be most likely to continue providing you with the services you require whatever changes are made.

 

Out of interest you may like to know that the average lifespan of a comms satellite is about 15 years - Astra 2A and B are now about 12 years old. That is why 1N is currently on station at 28 deg - It will be used for a while until the replacements for A and B come into service then it will move to 19 deg. It is highly likely that the 2A and B satellites will be replaced with satellites with modern tight focus transponders.

 

My advice for what it is worth is to go for the biggest dish you can get on the roof whilst taking into account the available space and payload. This will make it more future proof and give you more flexibility. Also have it positioned so that it will be easy to alter the skew on the LNB - perhaps near a roof vent where you can reach out and rotate the LNB - this is necessary in Portugal to get better reception. You can get dishes with auto skew but they are outside your budget. My preference would be the Oyster 85 cm dish together with any 12v FTA satellite receiver.

[neillking]

The Oyster 85 with Auto-skew is a gem and as near future proof as you can get - shame about the price!

 

 

[Frankkia]

Yes Niel. It is expensive - i also like the Kathrein CAP 910 but also very expensive - The only benefit of these for the OP is that they come with a receiver built in to the control unit but at around £800 to £900 more than their single LNB non auto siblings they are outside his £2000 total budget.

 

Tony (Starvin): If space and weight is a problem then the (slightly pricey) Telestar 12v HD receiver should get some of that back after putting on the larger dish.

 

By the way - For those who think just 'cos it is radio you will have a better chance of receiving it with a small dish - you won't. If your receiver cannot see the transponder it will not receive what it is broadcasting whether it is tv or radio.

 

Some fitters were selling a dome with a "booster" at one time - again if the dish cannot see the transponder you can not amplify the signal (twice nothing is still nothing.

[Mel B]

Dave Newell - 2012-01-04 7:17 PM

 

A 40cm dome can easily handle the BBC radio stations even in southern spain I believe (although I haven't personally tried it out) and you will still get some English TV channels but not BBC, ITV ETC. We can easily meet your budget with 40cm dome, fta receiver and LED TV with built in DVD player, if your in dash radio has an aux input we can even feed the audio from the sat receiver into it, that way when listening to radio you don't need to have the TV switched on.

 

D.

 

Good point that Dave, if nothing else it will safe power consumption.

 

Digressing slightly - do you know how well a Multimo will perform in Spain? :-S

[Frankkia]

Hi Mel. The Multimo boasts that it is a 40cm dish that performs like a 55cm dish. In that case it will struggle anywhere south of the Pyrenees - there are a few spots in Spain where it may just work. It should receive stations on the southern transponders but if you are looking to receive the FTA (Free To Air) stations like BBC, ITV, Ch4, 5 which are on the smaller footprint Astra 2D then you won't get much joy I'm afraid.

 

Even the BBC News Channel and BBC parliament which were both visible on the southern transponders have now been moved to 2D therefore difficult without a very big dish in Spain. Sky News is visible though and that is possible with a small dish.

[Syd]

 

We have the dome and freesat box but get quiet a few stations in Benidorm, parts of Italy, Austria, Switzerland and of course France and Germany

 

Did try a secondhand sky box with a "Roamer" card from sky (£10 I believe) and that was quiet successful too.

 

I have two secondhand sky boxes and if you pay the postage you are welcome to one of them.

 

Just PM me your details

[Dave Newell]

Hi Mel, according to Roadpro's information the Multimo will get all UK TV channels down to southern France, further than that you lose the main brit channels (BBC ITV etc). I believe it should get the radio channels further south though.

 

D.

[wints]

We've been down near Benidorm for the last couple of winters and managed to get ITV, Chan 4, Chan 5, and all of the brit radio stations.

 

I use a pace 12 v receiver, with white card, and a 70 cm dish fixed to my ladder rack.

I usually get a picture within 5 mins.

 

You need a 'sky' box with the white card. The card allows access to the encryted versions of the channels above. You then alter the transponder number in the sat receiver box.

 

I need to do a bit of research before we go again as I've read that some of the channels have changed frequencies.

 

Allen

[Guest pelmetman]

Just an another option if radio is your most important feature :D..............if you spend most of your time on sites use the site wifi for radio, or buy a local dongle.........I'm currently listening to Radio 2 on my laptop in Calpe ;-).........

[starvin marvin]

pelmetman - 2012-01-05 10:01 AM

 

Just an another option if radio is your most important feature :D..............if you spend most of your time on sites use the site wifi for radio, or buy a local dongle.........I'm currently listening to Radio 2 on my laptop in Calpe ;-).........

 

Thanks for that, our camping style is free camping, only use sites for less than 20% of nights. however I have problems with wifi on sites, usually re the number of users and signal strength.

[Wills Wagon]

One of the best sources of advice which is free is Robert Jackson, of TCS, he advertises in MMM (page 212 January edition) who is based in Wakefield but dont let that put you off. His free phone number is 0800 107 1112 or his mobile 07801 843332. www.loyster.co.uk.

[Mike B.]

Wills Wagon - 2012-01-07 6:00 PM

 

One of the best sources of advice which is free is Robert Jackson, of TCS, he advertises in MMM (page 212 January edition) who is based in Wakefield but dont let that put you off. His free phone number is 0800 107 1112 or his mobile 07801 843332. www.loyster.co.uk.

 

 

 

Bob Jackson is actually based in Grange Moor which although has a Wakefield postcode is quite a way from there.

This is a much sought after location with 1 pub, 1 PO, a lot of horses and not much else!-apart from the Hells Grannies Chapter Headquarters of course

 

Mike

[starvin marvin]

wints - 2012-01-05 9:47 AM

 

We've been down near Benidorm for the last couple of winters and managed to get ITV, Chan 4, Chan 5, and all of the brit radio stations.

 

I use a pace 12 v receiver, with white card, and a 70 cm dish fixed to my ladder rack.

I usually get a picture within 5 mins.

 

You need a 'sky' box with the white card. The card allows access to the encryted versions of the channels above. You then alter the transponder number in the sat receiver box.

 

I need to do a bit of research before we go again as I've read that some of the channels have changed frequencies.

 

Allen

 

Why do I need a "sky" box?? Surely this is only for "Sky" products?? I'm interested in receiving BBC radio with TV as a bonus.

[Robinhood]

I was also a satellite novice when I first decided to give it a try in the 'van. (It was after having to cycle many miles to a pub in Scotland to catch some world cup football games). I've since installed my own complete freesat system at home.

 

I can quite understand your desire to have a simple (push button) system, given your current lack of knowledge, but this will, of course, cost you. So, please forgive the following, which may not meet your requirements on that front, but will demonstrate the other end of the scale (and also has a number of elements that are still relevant if you wish to have a dome fitted).

 

I use a free-standing dish, which has the advantages over a dome or other automatic system of being cheap, transferrable from van-to-van (done that), and somewhat more flexible in getting line-of-sight to a satellite (which can be important if you end up being parked under trees, etc.). It is slower to set up (but I've managed to get it down to less than a minute!), and the dish needs to be transported somewhere.

 

I use an Arcon Sweety equivalent (prime focus) dish, which I bought on offer, and find much easier to set up than a traditional dish. It also "outperforms" it's size (it is similar to the Multimo dish in design, but there is also an Arcon Multi, which is similar but bigger, and would probably work through much of Spain for radio). These prime-focus dishes are more expensive than traditional ones, but have the size and ease-of-use advantages.

 

One other clear advantage of going free-standing is that the level of investment to be made on the dish is much lower than that for a dome, and if you find that you can't consistently receive programs due to dish-size, you can upgrade the dish relatively inexpensively.

 

If you don't want to pay for the prime-focus dish, then there are numerous dishes with folding arms for easy transportation available somewhat more cheaply, and up to any size you could possibly transport.

 

I use a Comag 12V receiver (12V is possibly important to you, as you say you camp off-site regularly) from an old Maplin satellite kit (this is the same as the Aldi/Lidl offering); the current one in Maplin is newer, and has only one Scart output (as against the two on mine), but is a good, basic Free-to-Air receiver, which will pick up all non-encoded broadcasts (a huge number, including BBC TV and Radio).

 

It has limited EPG (Electronic Program Guide) capability, unlike, say, a Sky box, but it will relatively easily pick up signals from a multitude of Satellites, which a Sky box won't. It also has a "tuning" tone that assists tremendously in pointing the dish.

 

It has the benefit of phono outputs for audio on the back; I think Dave Newell highlighted that having the TV on just to listen to the radio is going to be wasteful on 12V; with this you could feed a suitable vehicle radio, or do what I have done in the past, and use a (internal battery powered) speaker system - no problems with leisure or vehicle battery.

 

So, for what I've set out above (and without looking far for offers), the cost would be:

 

Arcon Multi 57cm complete with LNB (claimed 80cm equivalent) dish £150

(...or 85cm folding-arm traditional dish and decent LNB £55)

Stand or Tripod for Dish (I use a very cheap patio stand, but it's heavy!) £36 (Omnistor Tripod)

Comag SL30/12 12V Satellite Receiver £50

Cables, Sat Finder (not critical if you use the "tuning" signal from the Comag), etc, say £25

(Battery powered speakers start VERY cheap)

 

.....so, your basic requirement could be met quite easily (sans-television) for between (say) £170 and £270.

 

There are advantages and disadvantages between free-standing and fixed kit, but a free-standing outfit suits me (and my wallet) MUCH better. (though I picked my components up even cheaper than the above ;-) )

 

 

[jonmar]

Just to stir the pot a little more - has anyone used the EasyFind Way supplied by Proactive Products and sold by In21Now? We have never tried satellite TV in the 'van and frankly don't miss it when abroad, but would probably use it in France and certainly in UK if we had an easily working system. Part of motorhoming sport is watching the other guy spend hours trying to get his TV working while 'er-indoors waits for Corrie or whatever! We would also like to be aware of the weight of the necessary equipment minus our current roof aerial.

 

 

 

 

[Arthur Brown]

Hi

The first thing I would do is check to see if Sky provide what you want in relation to radio. If you have sky then check out the radio channels. Find BBC1 (101) and go down the channels, radio starts (or finishes) at that point, (up is BBC2 onwards) If you do not have sky I am sure you know someone who does. If sky provides what you want from radio then it is probable that free sat will do the same. That way you focus on radio with TV as a bonus. How far down Spain you can pick up the radio channels I do not know and I doubt if many people will. We brits tend to focus on TV so cover is an unknown quantity to me and most. Next, one of the most efficient dishes is the bog standard sky dish. It will pick up TV just into Spain. A larger dish (80cm+) will provide signal further down Spain. I have had BBC at Javea on an 80cm dish. Used on a tripod provides the most flexability for reasons given above. A fixed system on the roof is convenient but I remember a German moving his unit back and forth for about an hour trying to get sight of the satelite. Looking at your original post you should be able to achieve your requirements with a sky box and sky dish. (assuming sky provide your radio requirements) so far as France is concerned. Best of luck and remember, sods law dictates that the first time you try it no signal can be found but keep taking the pills.

Art

[Dave Newell]

Arthur Brown - 2012-01-12 8:13 PM

 

Hi

The first thing I would do is check to see if Sky provide what you want in relation to radio. If you have sky then check out the radio channels. Find BBC1 (101) and go down the channels, radio starts (or finishes) at that point, (up is BBC2 onwards) If you do not have sky I am sure you know someone who does. If sky provides what you want from radio then it is probable that free sat will do the same. That way you focus on radio with TV as a bonus. How far down Spain you can pick up the radio channels I do not know and I doubt if many people will. We brits tend to focus on TV so cover is an unknown quantity to me and most. Next, one of the most efficient dishes is the bog standard sky dish. It will pick up TV just into Spain. A larger dish (80cm+) will provide signal further down Spain. I have had BBC at Javea on an 80cm dish. Used on a tripod provides the most flexability for reasons given above. A fixed system on the roof is convenient but I remember a German moving his unit back and forth for about an hour trying to get sight of the satelite. Looking at your original post you should be able to achieve your requirements with a sky box and sky dish. (assuming sky provide your radio requirements) so far as France is concerned. Best of luck and remember, sods law dictates that the first time you try it no signal can be found but keep taking the pills.

Art

 

SKY doesn't come into it Arthur, the radio channels are broadcast on a free to air basis and any satellite receiver worthy of the name will pick them up.

 

D.

[Arthur Brown]

Dave

I do realise that but it is the most common device. As I said, most free sat devices provide the same. If I could get what I wanted ie radio, I would then go for a 12v free sat box to use with my 12v tv. Certainly not supporting sky in any way. If truth be told I hate em.

Art

[Frankkia]

Hi Art

 

For what the O/p wants he will not need a sky box. Both tv and radio are broadcast from the Astra satellites and can even be mixed together on the same transponder (frequency). If you can't receive the tv on a transponder neither will you receive the radio.

 

As it happens, at the moment, most of the BBC radio channels are being broadcast from a transponder on the southern beam - see http://www.lyngsat.com/astra2b.html for a list on 11954H. It doesn't mean that they will always be there as channels are moved around on the transponders from time to time to make the most efficient and cost effective use of the bandwidth. What you see on your Sky box or Freesat box is an electronic programme guide (EPG) which when you select a programme, be it tv or radio, points the receiver to a given frequency. When the frequencies are changed the EPG is updated invisibly to reflect the changes.

 

All that is needed to get radio and "some tv" is a dish and a free to air receiver (FTA) this is not the same as a freesat receiver as it does not have the EPG provided by the Freesat consortium but you can pick 1 up from the like of Maplins fairly cheaply.

 

I have been getting satellite using all manner of dishes / tripods etc at the edges of the footprint since the days of analogue when Sky were broadcasting from 19 degrees. I can assure you that whether it is radio or tv you want - when it comes to the dish size matters. If the o/p wants hassle free reception then his best bet is an Oyster 85cm dish or if he wants to up his budget (by quite a bit) the Katherine 910 is a superb piece of kit.

[T8LEY]

We are listening to radio 4 daily on the Costa Blanca with a 600mm dish and a Freesat receiver (musn't miss the Archers). TV's a bit limited; amounts to Sky and Al-jazeera News unless you want to buy something you don't really need (shopping stations). We have also used a computer for radio and it shouldn't be too long before the BBC make iPlayer available outside the UK.

[Frankkia]

The Costa Blanca area is a bit patchy for reception being on the edge of the Astra 2 A and B northern footprints and there are even holes in the southern footprint there too. e.g. Benidorm has some very poor spots whereas a couple of miles north or south there is no problem.

 

if you want tv from there (apart from the poor offerings on the southern transponders) you would be better off raising your dish by 2 degrees and turning it right (south) 2 degrees. That way using a FTA receiver you could get Arabsat at 26 degrees. There are several stations broadcasting (mainly US programmes) in English with Arabic subtitles. Stations are MBC2, 4, Action, Max and International also Dubai 1 and Bahrain 55. News from BBC World, DW, and Press TV. Also movies from Fox Movies.

 

To get these channels with an FTA box you may have to either do a satellite search or you can search by frequency. For the frequency information go to www.lyngsat.com and then choose Europe and 26 degrees.

 

I have in the past been able to get a Sky box to receive the channels but it is a bit of a chore and not for those prone to throwing technology at the wall when it doesn't do the job 1st time.

[wints]

starvin marvin - 2012-01-09 11:12 AM

 

wints - 2012-01-05 9:47 AM

 

We've been down near Benidorm for the last couple of winters and managed to get ITV, Chan 4, Chan 5, and all of the brit radio stations.

 

I use a pace 12 v receiver, with white card, and a 70 cm dish fixed to my ladder rack.

I usually get a picture within 5 mins.

 

You need a 'sky' box with the white card. The card allows access to the encryted versions of the channels above. You then alter the transponder number in the sat receiver box.

 

I need to do a bit of research before we go again as I've read that some of the channels have changed frequencies.

 

Allen

 

Why do I need a "sky" box?? Surely this is only for "Sky" products?? I'm interested in receiving BBC radio with TV as a bonus.

 

Sky box with white card enables access to encrypted ITV and Chan 4 & 5 programmes, but no BBC. You then have to alter the transponder in the sky box.

Using the Lidl / Aldi / Maxview receiver you'll not receive any Brit TV except a few film and news channels, but you will get all the radio channels.

As well as the Pace box (see above) I've also got the 12 v Comag box (from Lidl), with the in-built sat signal. Great bit of kit.

 

Allen