Satelite changes in europe

[Patricia]

sambukashot - 2013-01-01 12:11 PM

Patricia - 2012-12-31 9:32 PMHallii does that mean that I should still be able to receive Sky in France then? Frankia: With regard to iPlayer etc. I have tried to watch these on my computer in France but the programmes recognise that I am abroad and close down the site.

Hi Patricia,

You can subscribe to a private VPN connection for just £5 a month which will allow you to view UK live TV on your computer anywhere abroad, you can cancel this subscription at anytime :)

I have an article about this which you will find in the Q&A section half way down the page, here is the link: http://www.camperstops.co.uk/index.php/motorhome-articles/motorhome-wifi

I have just sent you a PM regarding this link. I should be grateful for some help with this.

[Patricia]

In the center of France now and the Sky+ HD box works perfectly. I still have to try the FTA box which I also brought with me.

 

With regard to the VPN recommended by Sambukashot, I subscribed to this yesterday and found it a bit difficult to set up on Windows 7, and in fact never succeeded completely, but unfortunately I use Orange for the internet and telephone calls but have cancelled my landline subscription. Orange obviously thought I was in England and would not let me use the telephone on the internet and also blocked outgoing emails. So unfortunately I had, with regret, to cancel my subscription to the VPN (My Expat Network) and within minutes my £5 subscription was returned to my Paypal account.

 

So, a very reliable company which tried to help me get over this problem. I can confirm that the iPlayer etc. worked perfectly except ITV who demanded an English postcode which could be overcome easily.

[Guest JudgeMental]

I was talking to a member who lives down in Portugal yesterday, and he was saying the changes may not go ahead as it will affect UK citizens living in Gibraltar who apparently have a right to expect a service..not sure if this true but good news for expats/travelers if it is...

[w1ntersun]

If you are resident in Spain or on a camp site with good internet access there is always the possibility of using the various channel "I" players to watch on your computer - you will have to use a proxy server in the UK though.

 

 

Hi,

 

There is an internet sit called filmon.com that will allow you to watch tv anywhere without a proxy server. It worked fine whist we were in spain

 

Richard

[EMS]

The manufacturers of the Satellites are usually conservative when they quote their coverage footprint as they must include the reduction in reception performance due to bad weather.

 

The science and technology of manufacture with the satellite reflectors is quite staggering, consider that the satellite will typically transmit a signal of say 100/200 watts from a distance of 36000km!

 

This is the reason that users have been able to receive television well outside the expectd coverage area, i.e. the south of France and Spain.

 

Reducing the footprint allows the increase in the number of available channels and reduces the possibilty of between channel interference.

 

I speak from experience as I have agreed with the customer such as ASTRA how to test and verify the performance of these Spacecraft when I worked at astrium EADS.

 

I use terrestial reception for our television and radio so the channels we receive depend on the country we are in, part of the joy of travelling, though some of the Italian television is dire.

[Patricia]

w1ntersun - 2013-04-20 4:12 PM

Hi,

 

There is an internet sit called filmon.com that will allow you to watch tv anywhere without a proxy server. It worked fine whist we were in spain

 

Richard

 

Thank you for this tip Richard. I have had a good look at this site and it seems perfect for me - no interference with emails nor the French telephone. I can watch UK and French channels. Great - except that either the internet here is too slow or my computer needs some added RAM as it keeps stopping - otherwise superb. Thanks again.

[hallii]

Just back from France, Spain and Portugal.

 

Happy to report that my Camos flat panel antenna pulled in all the chanels on Astra 2 as far south as Tarragona in Spain. The Camos is said to be about the same as a 65cm dish. Some channels like Movies for men and others were watchable even further down.

 

I did see someone with a 1.5 mtr dish receiving everything as far south as the Spanish/Potugese border.

 

So all is not lost, as I supected, the predicted coverage is not quite the same as the actual coverage.

 

H

[Guest JudgeMental]

Patricia - 2013-04-20 8:59 PM

 

w1ntersun - 2013-04-20 4:12 PM

Hi,

 

There is an internet sit called filmon.com that will allow you to watch tv anywhere without a proxy server. It worked fine whist we were in spain

 

Richard

 

Thank you for this tip Richard. I have had a good look at this site and it seems perfect for me - no interference with emails nor the French telephone. I can watch UK and French channels. Great - except that either the internet here is too slow or my computer needs some added RAM as it keeps stopping - otherwise superb. Thanks again.

 

Patrica are you in France now and reporting it works OK (subject to internet speed) or are you living in hope:-D

 

Have past details of this site to daughter as she has some Uni friends doing a year in Europe that have trouble watching UK programming.......This could be just the ticket. Ta Richard ;-)

[Mike88]

hallii - 2013-04-21 3:43 PM

 

Just back from France, Spain and Portugal.

 

Happy to report that my Camos flat panel antenna pulled in all the chanels on Astra 2 as far south as Tarragona in Spain. The Camos is said to be about the same as a 65cm dish. Some channels like Movies for men and others were watchable even further down.

 

I did see someone with a 1.5 mtr dish receiving everything as far south as the Spanish/Potugese border.

 

So all is not lost, as I supected, the predicted coverage is not quite the same as the actual coverage.

 

H

 

That is because the switchover the new satellite is incomplete. Most are on Astra 1N at 28.2 so I would expect reception to be good.

[Patricia]

Hi Richard (JM)

Yes, I am in Central France at the moment and it plays very well. Initially the advert that comes up is in French but if you scroll down the left-hand side and choose UK LIVE TV and choose a channel ( there are quite a lot) then any adverts during the programme will be English ones. It seems you can subscribe and not have adverts but they would probably still appear in the UK programmes so I didn't investigate this.

 

Live programmes seem to play fine without pauses. There are several language channels e.g. French, Russian, Italian TV etc. as well as different catagories e.g. cars and auto, eduction, horror, sports,comedy etc. so plenty of choice.

 

Try it in the UK Richard - I will be interested to know if I will be able to access French TV at home.

 

[johnnerontheroad]

We are on the Algarve in Portugal and picking up most UK channels with Oyster 85cm and Sky Pace box. domes and 60cm dish are also picking up most UK channels. You may have to change the frequency on your box and some have had to skew their LNB's.

 

The english press down here seem to have a different story each week on what is going to happen, usually to support some advertiser who has a big spread in the paper.

 

Dave

[hallii]

Mike88 - 2013-04-21 4:52 PM

 

That is because the switchover the new satellite is incomplete. Most are on Astra 1N at 28.2 so I would expect reception to be good.

 

OK Mike, I never realised that they were changing sats yet again!

 

It does look as if they are making efforts to limit the footprint to the UK. Parts of Scotland will have a seperate beam it seems, maybe so it can be turned off after independance? (lol)

 

So it is still wait and see, meantime I am learning German, all their channels are strong right into Portugal.

 

H

[jb6981]

In the Dordogne (Monflanquin) at the moment (about 200 miles from the Med)

 

No problems at all, getting all channels using an 85cm dish with a Pace box and Inverto Black LNB.

 

Signal quality reading is about 65-70%.

[bigal55]

jb6981 - 2013-06-14 3:46 PM

 

In the Dordogne (Monflanquin) at the moment (about 200 miles from the Med)

 

No problems at all, getting all channels using an 85cm dish with a Pace box and Inverto Black LNB.

 

Signal quality reading is about 65-70%.

the changes have not happened yet, wait till after sept.

[hymernova1]

We thought the change was to be in July. When did it change to September?

[bolero boy]

hallii - 2013-04-21 3:43 PM

 

Just back from France, Spain and Portugal.

 

Happy to report that my Camos flat panel antenna pulled in all the chanels on Astra 2 as far south as Tarragona in Spain. The Camos is said to be about the same as a 65cm dish. Some channels like Movies for men and others were watchable even further down.

 

I did see someone with a 1.5 mtr dish receiving everything as far south as the Spanish/Potugese border.

 

So all is not lost, as I supected, the predicted coverage is not quite the same as the actual coverage.

 

H

Geoff, are you getting the bbc on your camos? I am in st jean de Luz and can get all sky channels but have lost the bbc and itv1. I have the non skewable version tho I am thinking of modifying it when we get back.

Can get US Open so that's ok!

[johnnerontheroad]

Change the frequency on your Sky box to 12.207 or 12.050. then you should get BBC.

 

Good luck

 

Dave

[bigal55]

hymernova1 - 2013-06-14 7:29 PM

 

We thought the change was to be in July. When did it change to September?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/aboutthebbc/posts/Changes-to-BBC-Satellite-transponders-in-2013

[bolero boy]

johnnerontheroad - 2013-06-14 9:30 PM

 

Change the frequency on your Sky box to 12.207 or 12.050. then you should get BBC.

 

Good luck

 

Dave

Hi dave, I did change those settings, was actually on 12.207 in an attempt to improve things.

After slightly adjusting the dish I have now got Itv1HD so a slight improvement in tuning I think.

AFAIK the default transponder only helps get a 'fix' on a beam if you are outside your default beam. This will enable you to access the channel listings but won't enable you to receive more channels than the actual range of your dish.

I will try and see if it is possible to skew this dish bay drilling some angled holes in the metal carrier plate.

Thanks for the tips.

[derek500]

bolero boy - 2013-06-15 1:19 PM

AFAIK the default transponder only helps get a 'fix' on a beam if you are outside your default beam. This will enable you to access the channel listings but won't enable you to receive more channels than the actual range of your dish.

 

Correct. You only need to change the default beam if your box can't boot and find the EPG data. If you've got a signal and EPG, changing the default won't bring you more channels.

[Nobby]

I will try and see if it is possible to skew this dish bay drilling some angled holes in the metal carrier plate.

 

Hi there. It is possible to skew the basic Camos Flatsat. I carried out a modification to mine a couple of years ago and it has performed admirably. The modification consists of a couple of slim alloy plates inserted and bolted between the 'dish' and the carrier to give a permanent skew angle which improves performance throughout Western Europe. I have yet to see if recent changes will make any difference this year!

I fabricated these two plates in order to save drilling any part of the original equipment which can be reverted to standard if necessary. The parts cost me a few £'s.

PM me if you want any further info. I can send you a couple of pics if you wish.

 

Nobby

[bolero boy]

thanks bobby, can you pm a pic or two? Not home till 5/6 th July, so will have a look then, thanks again.

[Curtisden]

The answer is simple. Read a book rather than watch the dross that most uk TV has now become.

[BGD]

Curtisden - 2013-06-21 12:06 AM

 

The answer is simple. Read a book rather than watch the dross that most uk TV has now become.

 

 

 

BINGO!

 

 

 

 

 

Or, sit outside with glass(es) of wine.

 

Or, actually walk about away from your metal box and see local sights/bars/restaurants/people/scenery.

 

Or, talk to each other(!)

 

Or, actually watch some national TV of the country that you are visiting, via your normal (digital) aerial.

 

Or, listen to some music, or a downloaded podcast, via CD or via your mobile phone through the MH amplifier/speakers.

 

Or watch some DVD's.

 

Or, watch some pre-recorded/downloaded TV programmes via USB or SDcard memory sticks on your TV or laptop.

 

Or, go to bed early (ahem). ;-)

 

 

 

[Curtisden]

BGD - 2013-06-21 8:51 AM

 

Curtisden - 2013-06-21 12:06 AM

 

The answer is simple. Read a book rather than watch the dross that most uk TV has now become.

 

 

 

BINGO!

 

 

 

 

 

Or, sit outside with glass(es) of wine.

 

Or, actually walk about away from your metal box and see local sights/bars/restaurants/people/scenery.

 

Or, talk to each other(!)

 

Or, actually watch some national TV of the country that you are visiting, via your normal (digital) aerial.

 

Or, listen to some music, or a downloaded podcast, via CD or via your mobile phone through the MH amplifier/speakers.

 

Or watch some DVD's.

 

Or, watch some pre-recorded/downloaded TV programmes via USB or SDcard memory sticks on your TV or laptop.

 

Or, go to bed early (ahem). ;-)

 

 

 

Joking aside.

 

Just got back from a tour of the French Jura region, a stunning and interesting part of France with wonderful rivers and gorges that take a lot of beating for dramatic appeal.

While we toured in full sun we saw very few British vans, even though the weather further south was dreadful.

But what we did notice was that most outfits, French as well as the odd brit would rarely venture outside the van once parked up and the dish was up in minutes of arriving.

Surly the main appeal is to see a new country, location and enjoy the change of pace?

But some will become very stressed if they miss a offering of that trash Eastenders if they miss a drop (Never watched it) Well looks like they will have too soon or stay in north of Paris.

I just wonder what all that hugely expensive kit on the roofs of vans heading south will now be used for.

Well done Eurosat or what ever your called and keep up the good work.

Does seem to me though that the ever money grabbing Sky have missed out on a market. A UK speaking 24/7 soap channel broadcast on the french beam and charged for at some huge price only for the uk coach built private viewer? Panel vans exempt of course.