IVAN Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 We need to buy a new TV for the van as the old one is anologue and is only good as a DVD player. We intend to use it in our bedroom to replace the anologue one and put it in the van when we go away.Firstly we rarely holiday in this country and prefer a month on the Algarve.We need aTV/DVD player and i am looking at one with the built in Free to air satelite so that we could use it on the Algarve.Here in lies the problem.From what i can glean, even a 100cm dish would not be big enough to pick up english channels(BBC1 etc).If this is the case, what could i pick up down there with a small 60cm dish? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated....we don't go till early September. *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankkia Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 The short answer is not a lot. Take a look at the www.lyngsat.com site and point you mouse to the Astra 28.2 degrees pages then look at the channels listed under Astra 2a and B south. With a 60 cm dish you will have difficulty with Astra1N and the northern transponders of 2 a and b. Having said that, since Astra 1N has taken over the narrow beamed channels of Astra 2D there have been a few surprises as the footprint should have been more or less the same but has increased by a fair bit. At present with a 60cm dish, situated on the Algarve, I would expect to get Sky News and the shopping channels and very little else. If you could get hold of an 80 or 90cm dish you would stand more chance (as long as it has a decent LNB. When you get to the Algarve you will need to alter the skew of the LNB a little to get the best chance of receiving as much as possible. So if your dish is working ok in the UK with say the cable pointing to 7 o'clock whilst looking at the dish from the front revolve the LNB to 8 o'clock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mondo Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Try this link http://www.satelliteforcaravans.co.uk this site gives you all the info you will need sat wise... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 If your current TV has reasonable AV connections (scart or phono type) and is compact enough for you (flatscreen but analog??) you may not need to change the set. If you buy a free to air satellite receiver, this can connect to the set just like a terrestrial 'freeview box' qould if you wanted this. The sat box would be valid in the UK an throughout Europe and is far cheaper than a new set, especially something like an Avtex! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IVAN Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 Thanks for the suggestions and advice.Sounds as though it may be a non starter.Just one other question,Although i would struggle to pick up any english speaking channels,would i get lots of foreign channels, especially music channels ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Are you a Sky subscriber, at home? If so, you could still pick up Sports and Movies (and News) with a small dish, These subscription channels are available well south but I'm afraid BBC1 and ITV etc are just not - even for Sky subscribers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Brown Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Hi On the Algarve during March and April this year I was getting BBC north east, Tyne Tees TV and all the others that go with it like channel 4, 5 and plus ones. That was all with a 65cm roof mounted dish. On occasions where obstructions were present I used my free standing 80cm dish and obtained the same. Astra 1N is transmitted on 28.2 so tune in to the original Astra and you will get 1N. I expect the footprint to shrink but until it does ITV is available all through Portugal, Spain (east) and France. It is possible to have your box tuned to receive those channels with a smaller dish - look for Eliteview in the local rag and give Ken a ring. The bit I dont understand is when you refer to your TV as analogue. The TV is a receiver and you feed it with a box. Current Sat box is digital. It is still possible to get an analogue sat box but it will be difficult to find. You do not need a new TV just something new to feed it and a reasonable dish with a current sat box should do the business. (If you have a sky box that will do) With sky, if you have a card at home you will get what you get at home, if you dont have a card you will get the free to air channels which include BBC and ITV. Hope this helps Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IVAN Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 Hi there.The bit about the analogue tv is that we want to upgrade to an LED tv with freeview (so that we can use it at home) & with built in free to air channels so you don't need a box.They cost more but do away with the need for a sky box or similar.I do have sky at home but would need a spare box to take with us and would need to wire it up etc,whereas the tv with the fta built in should be simpler and need only a sat' coaxil to it. (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 We have Sky HD+ at home with a full Sky package and just take the box with us - 5 mins to install in the van and 5 mins to return to its location at home. We have all the channels and recording facilities as we do at home. Why pay for Sky (and Sky+) and then not use it in the van? Your current 'van' TV will be fine, just connect to your Sky box as mentioned by Arthur. Big advantage with seperate digi (Sky) box is that if either box or TV develops a fault then you only fix/replace one item. If you get a TV with a built in tuner and there is a tuner fault, the TV is effectively dead pending a repair. Just take your Sky box, use your current TV and spend the savings on a Camos Flat Sat or equivalent (we have one with twin LNB) and you have an easy to set up system you can operate from inside the van. Very important in the recent weather!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Brown Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Hi Ivan I understand a little better. What you suggest is good for UK but freeview abroad will provide you with digital programs in the country you are presently situated. ie French, Spanish etc. If you want English TV in these parts you will need a dish, a box and your TV. The box will be digital and your TV will be capable of receiving it either via the scart or HD or coax connection. The dish size depends upon what Astra 1N is doing at this time. Another three sats are due to be put into orbit over the next year so watch this space. The truth is that if they decide to provide adequate power then TV can be viewed right down to the Algarve. The more they retract the footprint the larger the dish required. Hope this helps Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IVAN Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 Hi there again........I can't remove the sky box because my daughter will be at home,but i have just purchased a 2nd box and will take that with us but will still buy a new tv because what i forgot to mention before is that the analogue one although being a flat screen is not wall mountable and i want to free up some locker space.The new one though will not be too expensive beause i will not need the built in 'free to air'. Regards. Ivan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike88 Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 It's now much easier to receive UK TV channels into Spain and I dare say even Portugal as there has been some temporary re-jigging of frequencies. I have just returned from Spain travelling to Madrid, Granada, Cordoba, Malaga and Marbella. In all of these areas I managed to receive all main UK channels on a 65cms dish (skewed) but BBC and ITV for some regions only. I have a Pace 12v Sky mini Box and a Maxview free to air box. The Sky box was useless but after a re-san of the free to air box the results were remarkably good. This I fear might prove to be a temporary arrangement until the new Astra satellites come into service but for those travelling to Spain this year I would recommend a re-scanned free to air box over a Sky box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryW Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 Mike88 - 2012-06-28 11:58 PM for those travelling to Spain this year I would recommend a re-scanned free to air box over a Sky box. "Re-scanned"?? could you explain to dumb folks like me please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike88 Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 terryW - 2012-08-28 8:22 AM Mike88 - 2012-06-28 11:58 PM for those travelling to Spain this year I would recommend a re-scanned free to air box over a Sky box. "Re-scanned"?? could you explain to dumb folks like me please? I can't recall how I did it but the instructions will be in the handbook that came with your digibox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryW Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 What! read a handbook that's going to be a first. Many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antony1969 Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 Ivan , going off subject but noticing possibly your Ukrainian background , have you ever toured in the motorhome in the Ukraine ? and if so how safe is it ? . We met a Dutch Couple in Portugal over winter who had been earlier in the year and they said it was a great place and experience . Apologies if I am wrong ( as normal ) about your background Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IVAN Posted August 29, 2012 Author Share Posted August 29, 2012 Hi Stalwart......I am from sunny Huddersfield also. I was last in Ukraine in my camper in 1996 and it was definitely not a place for campers. I went to see family and the system is corrupt. I was stopped at least 3 x per day by police, militia and anybody in a peaked cap.Everybody told me to take a wad of dollar bills with me to pay them off, but i decided to take my chances and ignore them in case i found an honest officer.I was at one point taken away with a rifle between my shoulders and fined for a minute mistake. All signs are in Ukrainian and no one on the borders speaks English.Once over the border we were trailed by thugs in a beat up old Moscovitch and only manged to shake them off by pulling into a lorry park which was a foot deep in mud and waiting till the coast was clear.Border guards strutted between cars armed with lead pipes!!! It took 4 hours each way to get over the border and we were able to speak the lingo. We never saw a single camp site and were told there were none. Credit cards outside the main cities are used for clearing ice off your windscreen only. This means you are always a potential target as you will always be carrying lots of cash.I hope this helps you decide to stay away.. I could go on and on about my exploits in Ukraine,in fact i could write a book..................Regards Ivan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antony1969 Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Ivan , thanks for the info , Sounds lovely . We put up with that in Huddersville don't we ? don't really fancy it for the hols though . Dutch couple we talked to who had been last year said it was great , mind they were always spaced out on smokie so that could explain there view . Cheers and Up The Town . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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