steve101 Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 Good evening all. I am interested in a satellite system for my Globecar PVC. It will be mainly UK based for use and maybe a little northern Europe. I have been looking at the Snipe 2. I have searched on here and read many threads, although we are now into August and I have not seen a lot from this year, in respect of the Snipe 2. Does anyone have one that can report back? Has anyone had a Snipe 1 and then changed on to Snipe 2 that can give any feed back? Has anyone heard of the Snipe 2 having any issues? Many thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali786786 Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 Hello, To be honest i wouldn't bother too much with a Snipe system as they are too small to be reliable everywhere especially Europe where the astra 2 signal is weaker now. I would rather go with a Satellite Dome which is protected from high winds and adverse weather. I've installed the Glomex and Maxview systems and they are very good and pretty reliable. My Glomex dome has needed a software update via sd card which can be done via their website. This is the first time it needed to be done since i installed it a couple of years ago. It picks up Astra 1 Astra 2 and Hotbird. Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 We have a Snipe dome which we bought from RedAppleDigital. It works extremely well here in the UK. Not tried it yet over the water but don't expect many UK channels the further South we go. We had a Maxview dome for 3.1/5 years at a cost of £1600 which the electronics board failed and Maxview did not stock spare parts so that money was wasted. Had a very bad experience with their MD about it, wouldn't touch another one of them. We did replace it with a Snipe oblong satellite system but left it on the van when we sold it, that was fine in the UK. Our Friend has the same one and he used it in Portugal this year but on Astra 19 and Hotbird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 A contributor on here "veletron" had a Snipe Pro but had a lot of problems. He eventually got his money back. He now has a SatFi UK dome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 Robbo - 2016-08-06 10:20 AM A contributor on here "veletron" had a Snipe Pro but had a lot of problems. He eventually got his money back. He now has a SatFi UK dome. Problem is that only people who have had problems with items tend to post and the people who are quite happy with the same items you never hear from, which is why I posted the above. I know of 3 motorhomers who are delighted with their Snipes in our area alone so there must be many more. Obviously with our rubbish Maxview there will be contented users but we weren't one of them. The amount of money we had wasted worked out at about £500 per year whereas the Snipe only cost us that at the start and is still going strong 3 years later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve101 Posted August 6, 2016 Author Share Posted August 6, 2016 I agree. There will always be people for and against everything depending on experiences and hearsay... I have read about the problems with the Snipe V1 and the Snipe Pro which I also assume is a V1. I have also read about people who have installed the Snipe V2 but no feedback as yet. I can only assume that there have been no reported issues as yet. The Snipe V2 has re engineered inners which are now ally rather than plastic so I am sure that will help tremendously. The other quandary is where on the rrof to mount it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 We have a Camos Dome. After trying Maxview, gave up and bought the Camos. Had it 10 years now, and are happy with it. We can get programs in southern Spain (Not BBc, ITV, etc) it can find 4 satellites, so can usually get english speaking . Eurosport, for F1 and sports for OH. You do need to watch height though , as puts us 3.2m high PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve101 Posted August 6, 2016 Author Share Posted August 6, 2016 Thanks PJay. I think I am looking for a dish rather than a dome because of the height issues.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 steve101 - 2016-08-06 11:38 AM I agree. There will always be people for and against everything depending on experiences and hearsay... I have read about the problems with the Snipe V1 and the Snipe Pro which I also assume is a V1. I have also read about people who have installed the Snipe V2 but no feedback as yet. I can only assume that there have been no reported issues as yet. The Snipe V2 has re engineered inners which are now ally rather than plastic so I am sure that will help tremendously. The other quandary is where on the rrof to mount it! Not sure which version Snipe our previous one was but we put it in place of the Maxview Dome so that was ok for us. The Snipe dome we have now was installed for us by our local mobile engineer and he used the same hole that the Status aerial came through, no point having the Status with the Dome, there are various TV connections in our van so we could always use a portable aerial if needs be, although saying that, we went to Hunters Moon CC site in Dorset the other week and tried 4 different pitches and couldn't get anything even a mobile phone signal, the Reception was selling aerial leads for £17 to plug into their electric posts, we didn't bother and watched a DVD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 steve101 - 2016-08-06 1:36 PM Thanks PJay. I think I am looking for a dish rather than a dome because of the height issues.... I don't think a dome is that much higher than a Snipe 2. A low profile dome like the SatFi UK is only about 6cm higher than the Snipe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fesspark Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 I am more than happy with my snipe used it u.k France and a few times in Spain, for £500.00,fitted it myself it is great value Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve101 Posted August 6, 2016 Author Share Posted August 6, 2016 That's good to know. I may have a few jaunts over the pond to see what happens! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 I cannot comment on reliability, but as far as performance goes the snipe2 is up there with the best domes and easily out performs low profile domes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinlizzie Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 Does anyone use a tripod mounted manually adjusted satellite dish? If so would you recommend it? They seem to have a few advantages once you get over the learning curve. Its so hard deciding what to buy. Also, we just went to our local dealer and the guy said not to bother with satellite if we were going to Spain because it doesn't work there any more. That can't be true can it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fesspark Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 I am afraid that is almost the truth, I have my skype down towards Alicanti and recieve very little apart for sky news, I use a 1.3 or 4 dish manual set up to get a good selection from astra 2.thats the best bet but cumbersome to carry.good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veletron Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 Hi I was the poster who had issues with the Snipe (mine was branded megasat, but they are the same thing) , no issues with the satfi as yet, had it since December. Agree re folks only posting when they get problems, but I contacted some resellers for the Snipe who had all heard about the issues, one commented that they did not recommend it for permanent mouting due to water ingress issues. On mine water ingress caused the system to sieze and the motors burnt out (twice). Thats not to say that the Korean Mfr of these units has not now fixed the issue though! Recentely back from france and the satfi is fixed to astra 28.2. It worked down to Paris, but no further. I used a mini dish further south on Hotbird 13E just to get BBC world news (and the tdf in italian!) I do like the sealed simplicity of the satfi, works brilliantly in the UK and at 26cm is the lowest profile dome on the market. Its also much much faster at getting a signal than the snipe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 Ali786786 - 2016-08-05 8:47 PM Hello, To be honest i wouldn't bother too much with a Snipe system as they are too small to be reliable everywhere especially Europe where the astra 2 signal is weaker now. I would rather go with a Satellite Dome which is protected from high winds and adverse weather. I have had a basic Snip for a couple of years, performance not much different to the 85cm Oyster on the last van, can get all UK channels on Astra 2 as far south as 40km north of Orange. With the dish being so small no problems in high winds, we were always having to put the Oyster down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veletron Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 That's pretty good Was that recently - i.e after March 2014 when the Freesat services were all relocated to the new Satellites? Since this date, unencrypted Freesat is on the new, even tighter UK spot beam on Astra 2E/2F 28.2E I assume it was a freesat/FTA box rather than a Sky box? Sky transmissions (incl BBC1, ITV etc) remain on the Euro beam, but require a sky box to receive, FTA and Freesat receivers cannot get these as they are encrypted. Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archiesgrandad Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 For the van we use an 85cm dish on a tripod , and we set it up with an Easyfind box and LNB. It usually takes a few minutes to find the satelite, and if we are in the mood we then swap the coax onto the Skybox to get the rest of the channels. We find we have no problems anywhere north of the Pyrennes, but I haven't been any further south lately. AGD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevina Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 Tinlizzie - 2016-08-08 3:33 PM Does anyone use a tripod mounted manually adjusted satellite dish? If so would you recommend it? They seem to have a few advantages once you get over the learning curve. Its so hard deciding what to buy. Also, we just went to our local dealer and the guy said not to bother with satellite if we were going to Spain because it doesn't work there any more. That can't be true can it? I have a tripod mounted 68cm dish with a freesat box and can receive all the channels almost to the Pyrenees, Perpignan in fact. You do need a lot of patience and a fair bit of experience that far south but for £50 it's the equal of an 85cm auto dish. I enjoy the challenge! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veletron Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Hi On my old van I had a suitcase Sat kit from maplin with a 45CM dish. They have there advantages especially with a long cable that enables the dish to be sited away from the van free from obstructions. My issues with the manual dish were howling gales knocking it out of alignment, or knocking it over, and setting the think up when it was raining, snowing or just freezing cold. As for 'that cant be true' re Spain, yes it is. You need a 1M plus dish to get the UK freesat beam in northern spain, and something totally impactical like 1.5-2M in southern Spain! If you have a sky box then you can still get the normal channels through that on the Euro beam (they are encrypted) - this will work further south with a more normal sized dish. During my recent trip to Switzerland, I had a rather large dish on the bike rack 95cm(!) as well as a mini dish. The big dish was hardly used. Stopped at Meersburg on Bodensee (Lake Constance) on the way and was able to get the UK spot beam on the large dish, but not the mini dish. Further south I was in the mountains and was unable to even try and tune Astra 28.2E due to my location in the mountains and 28.2E being too low in the sky and obscured by the hills. Hotbird 13E is higher in the sky and this was receivable in both Northern Italy and Switzerland on both dishes. Hotbird gives you BBC World news and the TDF in italian (the main reason for carting a dish was the TDF!) - I shall not bother taking the huge dish again. Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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