peacock312 Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 Just under four years ago,we had fitted,by a specialist company a sat dome so we could hopefully recieive a bit of tele late in evenings. We had a Transvision 4fitted to our new van, at a cost of about £1600.00 we have never really had much success any where in uk,sometimes it locks to Astra 2a many times not,we are aware of trees buildings etc.but have been in a position many times in a middle of a field,not a tree or building in sight! No luck. We have had the receiver reprogrammed,dome checked, it rarely works. Now it won't even work here at our home,I was advised by supplier at NEC last week,it's the new satelite,bring it to us again,it now needs software update,only £30.00 forgot to mention £80.00diesel, What a useless,expensive bit of kit,I see lots of these on the road,most people I meet agree they are rubbish. Does anyone on here agree that these things are the no.1 waste of money on a motorhome? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Had Enough Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 No, I disagree. I'm on my second sat dome and have found them both to be excellent. My first was a Camos but like you I've had a TracVision R4 for four years. I've just been to Morocco and received all the 'normal' channels, BBC, ITV etc. as far down as Bordeaux. After that I switched to Astra 1 at 19 degrees and received the news programmes, (BBC World, Sky) which is what I like most, as far south as Marrakech. True, the dish isn't as big as other auto systems, so reception will run out sooner, but you can use a dome in any weather, whereas a dish has to be wound down in wind. There is one thing that you may not be aware of, and it's the time taken for the system to log on if the elevation has changed since it was last used. The angle of elevation for Astra 2 for example varies from 18 degrees in Scotland to 35 in parts of Europe. If you last used it in say, southern England, and the angle was exaggerated because you were also sloping slightly, and you then go north where the extra elevation required is say 8 or nine degrees different, it can take a very long time for the dish to eventually work its way up or down to the correct elevation, as it remembers the last settings and starts from there. If your elevation hasn't changed much it will lock on in seconds, but if it has to gradually work is way up or down until it finds the new elevation I have known mine to take up to five minutes to lock on. Try leaving it for longer and see what happens. The TracVision is a superb piece of kit and receives glowing reports. Your experience is not typical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 I guess it depends on your tv watching preferences ;-)..................If you want to keep up with the soaps etc, then your going to be disappointed, if you intend going further South than the top to middle bit of France.......... My own view is that the tinternet will eventually replace the need for satellites:-|.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyg3nwl Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 Automatic ones probably need a reprogramming exercise since new satellites have taken over from the older wider beam astra 2. Still in same orbital position, but narrower beam width, extra channel of tv, and all digital signals, no more analogue.. I guess the automatic sistem will need some upgrade to work with the newer satellites. dish size might not be big enough, particularly once you get further south. The uk beam is now focussed much more accurately on uk, not on europe, so perhaps you need to forget the telly abroad, and relearn the art of conversation, and practice your foreign language skills. (or maybe do as I do ,use my amateur radio hobby, take a book reader, or smile, chat to your neighbour etc. .) tonyg3nwl tony g3nwl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peacock312 Posted February 23, 2014 Author Share Posted February 23, 2014 Hi,glad you have success with yours,we often leave dome searching fo up 30mins. To no avail. The last time it worked was Bilbao port 28 Feb,worked 20mins. Then broke up. We are not soap addicts or tele addicts but do like to keep up on events late at night, We have only got occasional picture in Belgium,Germany,Netherlands France,and Spain only on north coasts. Amassing you get signal in Moroco, wanna swop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Had Enough Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 peacock312 - 2014-02-23 4:50 PM Hi,glad you have success with yours,we often leave dome searching fo up 30mins. To no avail. The last time it worked was Bilbao port 28 Feb,worked 20mins. Then broke up. We are not soap addicts or tele addicts but do like to keep up on events late at night, We have only got occasional picture in Belgium,Germany,Netherlands France,and Spain only on north coasts. Amassing you get signal in Moroco, wanna swop? Nothing amazing at all. As I said in my post I switch to Astra 1 or Hotbird, which have a very wide footprint. Your TracVision dome will be pre-programmed for three different satellites and your supplier should be able to tell you which they are. Normally, it would be Astra 2, Astra 1 and Hotbird. Are you not switching satellites? If you're trying to get a signal in northern Spain using a dome and Astra 2 you're whistling in the wind. The limit on Astra 2 for your system is usually southern France. Are you changing the satellite on your digi-box? The TracVison is automatic and as long as you select the correct satellite on your digibox it will find it, usually quite quickly. Most of the programmes on Astra 1 and Hotbird are foreign language, but there are several news channels such as BBC, Sky and CNN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 peacock312 - 2014-02-23 3:19 PM Just under four years ago,we had fitted,by a specialist company a sat dome so we could hopefully receive a bit of tele late in evenings. We had a Transvision 4fitted to our new van, at a cost of about £1600.00 we have never really had much success any where in uk, What a useless,expensive bit of kit,I see lots of these on the road,most people I meet agree they are rubbish. Does anyone on here agree that these things are the no.1 waste of money on a motorhome? I'd say shelling out £1600 just to 'watch a bit of telly' is a waste of money! I have rucks of movies etc stored on media players i just plug into my tv......works fine for me but then some folk would say i'm a 'cheapskate' ! :D :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 If you want to use it in spain, then yes , it is a waste of money. Even 3 mtr dishes are struggling now, or not getting astra 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 We have a i-sat, technically not a dome but similar capabilities, and second what HE has posted, good for UK and northern France, but any further away switch to other satellites. Am just awaiting an exchanged PCB for new satellite, £18 plus about £2 postage. Ours cost about a third of yours, but I'm not 100% convinced it's not a waste of money as gf has quit watching Street and Farm, so we watch it very little, but, it's probably been used more for watching GP's and cost little more than one trip to the British GP. I think it would be more appreciated if making longer trips than our usual max of two weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dipsie Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 :-D We have just bought an eleven month old Swift Bolero fitted with a Camos Dome system. My first thoughs were, I bet this w'ont work. Well, after fitting our Sky Mini decoder, getting the TV set up, I had a quick look at the instruction book, which I did'nt understand, I perssed the ' on ' button, lots of things came through like Skew set 15 deg, etc, noise on the roof for about a minute or so and, wow we have signal, a few presses of the remote and we have a super picture. Am I lucky or what ? Bernie T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 I've found just what the OP needs here; http://oi58.tinypic.com/n6ygdf.jpg Plenty of these to choose from and enough power to read a number plate off any vehicle anywhere in the world......so the OP could easily watch Paxo whilst chilling in his van in Timbuktu. On a serious note.......as the OP likes to keep up with "events", i'm wondering why you don't use HF radio? I use it as it's an interest of mine and have a few HF radios at home but take a portable (Sony 2001D) with me in the van which will run off its own batteries, 12v, or mains. Receives numerous stations from around the globe......day and night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Had Enough Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 Bulletguy - 2014-02-23 10:58 PM On a serious note.......as the OP likes to keep up with "events", i'm wondering why you don't use HF radio? Could it be that he prefers getting a range of TV programmes? And even if he's out of Astra 2 range he can still get a range of news programmes from Sky, BBC and CNN. I find it much more satisfying to get pictures of what's going on as opposed to just sound. I don't want DVDs of mindless films. I want the news from Britain and around the world and I consider my satellite TV system money well spent as do thousands of other motorhomers. What is it with this forum that if anyone asks for advice on any subject, there's always someone who pops up with "TV, why do you need TV, I read a good book - Sat-nav, why do you want sat-nav, I've used maps for years with no problem - toilet fluid, rubbish, get a SOG system................" Why do you have a motorhome? Complete waste of money. What idiot would buy a motorhome when you can get a caravan for a quarter of the price? Caravan - what idiot would buy a caravan when you can can get a perfectly good tent for a few hundred quid? Honestly, the way people waste money! What I buy is just the right amount to spend. Anyone spending more than me on anything is just wasting their money! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 Had Enough - 2014-02-23 11:13 PM Could it be that he prefers getting a range of TV programmes? No idea.......apart from OP is neither a soap addict or telly addict. Had Enough - 2014-02-23 11:13 PM I don't want DVDs of mindless films. Neither do i.......mine are all documentaries or music concerts. Had Enough - 2014-02-23 11:13 PM I want the news from Britain and around the world and I consider my satellite TV system money well spent as do thousands of other motorhomers. I'm sure it is...........if it works. OP spent sixteen hundred quid on one that doesn't so i'm not surprised he isn't exactly happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keninpalamos Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Had Enough - 2014-02-23 11:13 PM Bulletguy - 2014-02-23 10:58 PM On a serious note.......as the OP likes to keep up with "events", i'm wondering why you don't use HF radio? Could it be that he prefers getting a range of TV programmes? And even if he's out of Astra 2 range he can still get a range of news programmes from Sky, BBC and CNN. I find it much more satisfying to get pictures of what's going on as opposed to just sound. I don't want DVDs of mindless films. I want the news from Britain and around the world and I consider my satellite TV system money well spent as do thousands of other motorhomers. Again, wise words mate. Can we please try to be a little more constructive and positive instead of this inane drivel and one upmanship that some people seem to revel in on this forum What is it with this forum that if anyone asks for advice on any subject, there's always someone who pops up with "TV, why do you need TV, I read a good book - Sat-nav, why do you want sat-nav, I've used maps for years with no problem - toilet fluid, rubbish, get a SOG system................" Why do you have a motorhome? Complete waste of money. What idiot would buy a motorhome when you can get a caravan for a quarter of the price? Caravan - what idiot would buy a caravan when you can can get a perfectly good tent for a few hundred quid? Honestly, the way people waste money! What I buy is just the right amount to spend. Anyone spending more than me on anything is just wasting their money! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Had Enough Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Bulletguy - 2014-02-23 11:43 PM Had Enough - 2014-02-23 11:13 PM Could it be that he prefers getting a range of TV programmes? No idea.......apart from OP is neither a soap addict or telly addict. Had Enough - 2014-02-23 11:13 PM I don't want DVDs of mindless films. Neither do i.......mine are all documentaries or music concerts. Had Enough - 2014-02-23 11:13 PM I want the news from Britain and around the world and I consider my satellite TV system money well spent as do thousands of other motorhomers. I'm sure it is...........if it works. OP spent sixteen hundred quid on one that doesn't so i'm not surprised he isn't exactly happy. And the quotes on here sum you up. What if he does enjoy watching TV? And what's it got to do with you? Once again you tell us that only what you do is right. What right do you have to tell him that just because he has a TV system he must be an addict of some kind? And it's clear to me that his system may work perfectly. It's just that he's totally unaware of the Astra 2 footprint and of his system's ability to use other satellites apart from Astra 2. If I were like you I could easily accuse you of being a DVD addict, or a radio addict. But I won't. You're perfectly entitled to do whatever you like. We do what we want to to do and we spend what we want to spend. We just object to intolerant people telling us that only the system that they employ is the right one, and that the amount of money that they spend is the optimum sum, and if we choose to spend a bit more we're some kind of idiot. My satellite system is superb. It keeps me in touch with the world and if you know how to use it properly you can get news programmes all over Europe and even north Africa. And that goes for the tens of thousands of others who have a satellite system and enjoy it and consider it money well spent. Ps Why do you have expensive DVDs of music concerts instead of just cheaper CDs of the music? Perhaps it's because you enjoy the visual experience as well? A bit like us with the TV news really! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 We have a 40cm Camos dish for 5 years now. Works fine even in Spain for GP races, Ok we watch the German chanel for that. we like to keep up with the news, and you can get news chanels. Not into soaps so no problem there You do have to pick where you park and get a line of site clear of trees, buildings etc. It gets what we need , also take DVD with us, Works well in northern Spain, get all the UK chanels (if you want them) PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peacock312 Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 Hi folks. Thanks for all your comments,we bought system after getting professional advice. We chose because on a wet or cold day we like occasionally to chill out watching tele,we watch loads of DVDs,we carry a digi recorder full of recorded programmes,have a worldwide tranny oh and we read a fair bit,we don't sit in the van watching the screen,but we are well in our 70s and last year spent 26 weeks away from home in van all over Europe. We bought this system because we wanted it and because we can well afford it! I am very familiar with Astra 2 Astra 1 hot bird and I am also very familiar with new satelite set up and have maps of new footprint etc.so I may be a geek but I'm not a fool I am therefore very frustrated with a system that has never performed anything like I was promised at home or abroad,when you are traveling like we do,warranty runs very quickly,and when you are a hundred miles from installer it's a bigger problem. I am so glad some of you have success with domes,but I have met many others who haven't.problem is what do you do with a white bubble on your roof that rarely works athome or abroad? I think we will try spending once more on software update,then chuck it if it doesn't work! Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 It sounds to me like you have been sold a faulty system. I Think I would have had it back and either replaced or repaired as soon as the fault was apparent. I have been very pleased with our Camos Dome. Its worked all over France and into Northern ITaly and Northern Spain where it used to pick up all the Astra 2 channels. I suspect however that this will now be reduced somewhat but I have yet to try it. I think most motorhome satellite systems are now going to be unable to recieve Astra 2 signals outside of France. Dave who owns Motorhome Facts is off testing about six different models at the moment I think. Reports are from users in the field right now are not good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gocro Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 I'm in the not worth the money camp. I was on the verge of buying an auto system but thought I'd test the waters whilst touring with a second hand Multimo dish £30. It was really good and simple to set up and I would now be parting with major wonga if not for the restricted satellite footprints. Back to DVD , downloads and foreign language tv for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Had Enough - 2014-02-24 8:47 AM And the quotes on here sum you up. What if he does enjoy watching TV? And what's it got to do with you? Once again you tell us that only what you do is right. What right do you have to tell him that just because he has a TV system he must be an addict of some kind? I didn't........if you read the OP's posts instead of going off on a rant you'd see the OP actually stated himself that he isn't "a telly addict". peacock312 - 2014-02-23 4:50 PM We are not soap addicts or tele addicts..... Hence the reason i wrote in a follow up post; Bulletguy - 2014-02-23 11:43 PM OP is neither a soap addict or telly addict. Had Enough - 2014-02-24 8:47 AM Why do you have expensive DVDs of music concerts instead of just cheaper CDs of the music? Perhaps it's because you enjoy the visual experience as well? A bit like us with the TV news really! How do you arrive at that conclusion? I offload saved programmes from a PVR to DVD. Blank media costs me £10 per 100 discs.......so 10 pence per disc. I don't think that's particularly 'expensive' for a DVD. Some are also stored on a laptop hard drive so cost absolutely nothing other than the electricity and a little bit of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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