Patricia Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 On the Sky card thread Randonneur suggested starting a new thread about the TracVision system for receiving satellite signals (a dome, not a dish, fixed to the roof of the m/home). The following link connects to a firm who supply and fit the TracVision which claims to be very effecient at finding the satellites: http://www.phly.co.uk/Home.html. As well as fitting the TracVision dome this firm supplies an add-on box, PHLYbox, which helps to pick up satellites further south (but only the channels available within the footprint not Astra 2D). You can also get internet services with this system. I have taken the plunge and booked to have one fitted. Perhaps a bit late now but I wonder if anyone else out there has any experience of this system? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 I started a thread a little while ago regards this system and no one responded that has one fitted.... will be interested to see how you get on with it. where are you travelling to this year? as reception in Italy, southern France and Spain would be of interest. but it looks good to me and well priced Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 I have asked Patricia to keep us posted on the outcome of the TracVision and box. We are also very interested and would like to hear of others who have had it fitted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 but it looks good to me and well priced The extra £200 for the optional Sky box, seems a bit steep!!. I'm sure it's only a basic single tuner model - they don't mention a dual LNB in their specs. I got my Sky HD PVR for £200. I suppose if I had the money I might splash out on an automatic system, but I think I'll stick with my Maxview Crankup, which has a larger dish and can get 2D just north of Valencia. One slight inaccuracy in the PDF factsheet. In order to make more money SKY currently lock and pair SKY viewing cards to their assigned digibox, therefore removing your viewing card from your digibox at home will not work in any other box.[/Quote] Any Sky card will work in any Sky box for all FTV channels and subscription packages except for Premium i.e. Movies/Sports. A quick call to Sky and you can match your card to a different Sky box and switch back to your home box on your return (only need to do for Movies/Sports). We take our Sky HD box with us in the MH, so it's not a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potjoe Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 :-D Hi All just got back all over france Spain 4.1/2 mths away with the new Hymer.looked at this my self on saturday !!by the way derek 500 your Maxview how far north of Valencia and did you get BBC1/ITV1?as i had 1.4 dish to get them in Bontera park.Regards john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 by the way derek 500 your Maxview how far north of Valencia and did you get BBC1/ITV1?as i had 1.4 dish to get them in Bontera park.Regards john Panorámica Golf Club, just inland from Vinarós, province of Castellón, Valencia. I need a 1.9m at home in Valencia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted April 6, 2008 Author Share Posted April 6, 2008 "I suppose if I had the money I might splash out on an automatic system, but I think I'll stick with my Maxview Crankup, which has a larger dish and can get 2D just north of Valencia. " I know I should know this but what is "2D"? I am glad you pointed out that inaccuracy in the PDF - a lot of these tech guys don't know that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 2D is the sattelite that carries BBC, ITV, and soon most Freesat, this is the one that drops out first when you leave UK as it is on a tight beam to UK, I would guess that the TracVision will lose this quite soon, and they seem to say that, then you need the bigger dishes seen on other systems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted April 6, 2008 Author Share Posted April 6, 2008 Thanks for that explanation (I realise now that you mean Astra 2D) but what size is the dish on your Hymer then? I think they said they lost it around Barcelona. How far further south can you get it then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted April 6, 2008 Share Posted April 6, 2008 'They' are talking of 1.4 and 1.9m dishes, thats a BIG dish to put on your van. Depends how much you miss corrie or endders I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted April 6, 2008 Author Share Posted April 6, 2008 Sorry Colin, I got really mixed up there didn't I? That's because I am selling on Ebay at the same time and I had emails flying in from all over the place! Actually I don't watch either of those programmes, mainly the news really, and I don't usually go further south than on the coast near Gerona. Must admit that when the satellites operated on analogue I had an enormous dish on the back of an Auto-Sleeper Symbol - the dishes were much easier to set up then and we got BBC and ITV perfectly if I remember correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 Must admit that when the satellites operated on analogue I had an enormous dish on the back of an Auto-Sleeper Symbol - the dishes were much easier to set up then and we got BBC and ITV perfectly if I remember correctly. BBC/ITV were never on analogue, only Channel 5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 Patricia - 2008-04-06 10:14 PM Sorry Colin, I got really mixed up there didn't I? That's because I am selling on Ebay at the same time and I had emails flying in from all over the place! Actually I don't watch either of those programmes, mainly the news really, and I don't usually go further south than on the coast near Gerona. Must admit that when the satellites operated on analogue I had an enormous dish on the back of an Auto-Sleeper Symbol - the dishes were much easier to set up then and we got BBC and ITV perfectly if I remember correctly. I'm not 100% up on tracvision set up, but if you want BBC news, then best get a fta reciever and make sure tracvision is programmed to get Astra1,Hotbird, and Hispasat, should be good for BBC world all over europe then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 I'm not 100% up on tracvision set up, but if you want BBC news, then best get a fta reciever and make sure tracvision is programmed to get Astra1,Hotbird, and Hispasat, should be good for BBC world all over europe then. BBC News 24 has recently left Astra 2D and is now broadcasting from the south beam. Now I can get it here at home in Valencia on a 40cm dish, whereas before it needed the 1.9m giant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 Ah yes I see it's on 2a along with BBC parliment, tp13, 11954H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyPhly Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 Hi guys. Have just been reading this thread and thought i'd post to clear a few things up. Derek you are right with the SKY viewing card transfer. I have read the document again and it is a bit unclear (I wrote quite a few years ago and i had jetlag). hehe. It kind of says what you point out but in a dyslexic way. What i was trying to say there is that you simply cannot take the card out of one box and place it in another. (Assuming you have SKY subscription) If you do, it will work for a while and you will get a handful of free to air channels. But after approx. 3 weeks the chip on the card loses it memory and the digibox will start playing tricks on the satellite system. The text before and after your quote is. ---------------------------------------------- One important point to note is that in order to take a SKY digibox abroad legally it needs to be either: a). A subsidisied SKY digibox from home that has been connected to a telephone line more than twelve months. or b). An unsubsidised SKY digibox. At PHLY the digiboxes we supply are unsubsidised and have been approved by SKY for abroad use. In order to make more money SKY currently lock and pair SKY viewing cards to their assigned digibox, therefore removing your viewing card from your digibox at home will not work in any other box. You have three options: a). You can either purchase a 2nd subscription with SKY and obtain a second viewing card. This costs approx. £18 to £43 extra a month on your home subscription. b). Reassign your viewing card at home to the new digibox. But you'll need to reassign your viewing card back to your old digibox upon your return home. Or use your new digibox at home afterward as an unsubsidised box. c). Take your digibox from home along with its viewing card abroad with you (obviously the digibox has to be over 12 months old , previously connected to a phone line etc). However, doing this cannot guarantee you get the necessary channels abroad --------------------------------------- I will update it when i have a little spare time to avoid any confusion. Jamie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyPhly Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 Also, the PHLYbox is only a satellite selection device. It does not amplify the signal in any way. The TracVision comes with Astra South beam as default and requires a communication device connected to it to switch it between any of the 14 satellites in its library. This can be a laptop with Hyperterminal software. The PHLYbox does the same job via a touch of a button. We ask the customer prior to installation which satellites they wish to look at and then reprogram the microcontroller to suit. As this is free we ask the customers to be fair and limit their choice to 3 or 4. Just for your interest. The LNB of the TracVision allows it to perform like a 90cm dish. On most days you should be able to get BBC etc down to the French/Spanish border. Patricia i think you're doing the right thing by finding out as much as you can about satellites, footprints, channels etc prior to purchase. It can be a bit of hard work but its worth it. Its very important before any satellite purchase to understand the technology a little and to know what you're going to get and what you're not going to get. If anyone has any ideas or thoughts of how i can improve the documents on our website then please let me know. I live and breathe this stuff every day so sometimes i think i may be missing a few pointers or information which may make your choice easier. Jamie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 What i was trying to say there is that you simply cannot take the card out of one box and place it in another. (Assuming you have SKY subscription) If you do, it will work for a while and you will get a handful of free to air channels. But after approx. 3 weeks the chip on the card loses it memory and the digibox will start playing tricks on the satellite system. That's not correct, any Sky card will work with any Sky box for all subscription packages, except for premium channels i.e movies and sports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 AndyPhly - 2008-04-07 11:10 PM Just for your interest. The LNB of the TracVision allows it to perform like a 90cm dish. On most days you should be able to get BBC etc down to the French/Spanish border. Jamie You where doing so well untill this, just how do you believe your LNB can outperform a '0.2db Smart Titanium' by such a massive amount? or have the laws of pyhsics been changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gboden65 Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Patricia,if you only need, news programes, your dome should be ok, I spent the winter in,France,Spain,& portugal, with a Camos dome,& a basic digi box, in France,I got all Astra2, in Spain I soon lost the signal, but could get, sky news, ccn news, BBC world news, and the odd sports progs, in Spain & all over Portugal, while in Portugal I was told the local TV shop would sell me a box to sort out the rest,will look at that next winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gboden65 Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Road Pro, also say, the Camos Dome,performs like 90cm dish, nowt to do wihth phisics, all to do with smart liittle men,in smart little labs,dont you just luv em. (lol) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 AndyPhly - 2008-04-08 12:10 AM Just for your interest. The LNB of the TracVision allows it to perform like a 90cm dish. On most days you should be able to get BBC etc down to the French/Spanish border. You can get BBC/ITV with a 40cm Lidl camping dish on the French/Spanish border. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 gboden65 - 2008-04-08 10:09 PM I was told the local TV shop would sell me a box to sort out the rest,will look at that next winter. If you can't get BBC/ITV with your Sky box, no other box will get them. It's all down to dish size and LNB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 AndyPhly - 2008-04-07 11:10 PM This can be a laptop with Hyperterminal software. Jamie welcome to the forum Jamie! hopefully a better reception then over on you know where :-D sounds complicated? why a laptop? can you not change satellite choice from your box or the receiver? what will you be offering for the new BBC/ITV free to air service which is due to start soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyPhly Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 Derek, the explanation above is in reference to the TracVision (possibly any other mobile satellite using DVB-S to search) and not pairing the card to the digibox. I can assure you it is correct. If you would like to test it on a static dish or a Maxview crank-up then I suggest you use a Dreambox or an FTA receiver with a Dragoncam which I believe gives you the same result after a few weeks. Colin, I have made no reference to the Smart Titanium, which I agree is a good LNB. However it would never perform so well on the TracVision as that particular LNB is best matched for rounder dishes not oval. The TracVision uses an Invacom LNB. Thank you JudgeMental. Yes it is a better reception. :) It's not that complicated just more of a hassle really as every time you want to change satellite you have to start and plug in your laptop. The PHLYbox is an alternative to a laptop with Hyperterminal and only requires a button press to select your pre-configured satellite. SKY receivers are not DiseqC so cannot control any mobile satellite directly. FTA receivers are and the TracVision allows two satellites to be controlled in this manner. Unfortunately the requirement for BBC etc limits the use of a FTA receiver. Good question. ArQiva (the company who is running the show) hasn't really posted much information regarding satellite receivers or satellite selection. Rumour has it that the service will be beamed from the same cluster of satellites as SKY. In my own opinion, the Freesat service has only been developed because Freeview is not available everywhere in the UK and in order for the digital switchover to be a success they need to resort to satellite technology. Unless the BBC. ITV services are removed from SKY then I cannot see it rivaling the SKY system. There are advantages to the Freesat system regarding FTA HD channels, mulitroom and PVR functionality all being free. But i'm sure SKY will just follow suit eventually. For us, its business as usual until valid information is published. I believe it will just be a replacement receiver (Freesat for SKY digibox) or running a SKY and Freesat receiver along side one another at worst. Some interesting news is that ArQiva seem to be testing transponders on Astra 2C and Eurobird 1. If one of these satellites are their choice for the freesat service then the channels may be available in the South of Spain as both footprints cover the majority of the Country. Other factors other than dish size will play a part in this. Jamie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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