Dish or Dome ?? (1 Viewer)

[RS SPIKE]

I have a Avtex STH3000 Portable aerial which is ok if there is good coverage in the area where you are parked.
We have been away this xmas and struggled a bit to be honest,so we are thinking of going down the satellite route.
So not sure which route to go dish or dome ??
Can't be doing with the fuss of a portable dish so it will have to be fixed and pref auto tuning.
Look forward to your comments phill

 

[Just smiffy]

Yes, me too..

 

[Chris]

We have a dome supplied by @eddievanbitz. Can't remember what it is called but it's very good

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[pappajohn]

If money isnt an issue then go for a dome.

Lower profile than a dish, more streamlined than a dish and unaffected by winds....but if it snows you need to get on the roof to clear it....a dish can be lowered to clear it.

 

[kelv]

I have a 85cm dish oyster great bit of kit get most of the uk channels down to the Spanish border never had any issues.

 

[RS SPIKE]

We have a dome supplied by @eddievanbitz. Can't remember what it is called but it's very good

Have you a link please ?

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[RS SPIKE]

Just a thought how much power does it take to run a dome or dish ??

 

[Theonlysue]

Having hardly watched any TV for the past 3 weeks cos of wind, I have a dish, I would say go for a dome.

 

[pappajohn]

Just a thought how much power does it take to run a dome or dish ??

Couple of amps.

A manual dish is powered by the sat receiver
A dome or auto dish is usually powered by its own control box

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[HymerB544]

They both have pros and cons. We have an 85cm automatic Oyster linked to a Humax box and an Avtex TV, and it works very well, right down through France. But if the wind gets up, the dish is like a sail and you will lose the signal. Also, you can't get a signal in southern Spain unless you hav one of those monster dishes regular UK caravanners carry across the rear of their vans.
So a dome will not be affected by the wind but..........

How high is your van? Ours is under 3m even with the dish and aircon unit on the roof (dish retracted of course). A dome would be higher than that and may cost you when booking a ferry if height is an issue.
Are we happy with the auto dish? Definitely. Would I stick with a dish on my next van? Who knows? Technology marches on, but as things stand, yes. Gary

 

[daveandsan]

Just a thought how much power does it take to run a dome or dish ??

I would say very little power, mine is the dome type and once my dish has locked on to the sat I turn that box of tricks off.
I use an Avtex tele with built in sat receiver.

 

[JeanLuc]

If you want to get the very last dregs of UK transmissions as you near the Spanish border then get the biggest dish you can fit (85 or 100 cm). If that is not a critical issue and you want decent coverage in all of the UK and most of France, then a dome will be very easy to live with. The issue of a dome being unaffected by wind can be a clincher - particularly if you go to places like the west coast of Scotland!
We have had a Camos 40 dome for about 5 years and find it a great bit of kit - made in South Korea by WiWorld. They were imported by Roadpro who now have them under their own brand (later version of the same item).
BROKEN LINK

Eddie Vanbitz supplies the American Tracvision which is also a very good bit of kit.

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[scotjimland]

I also considered both , I weighed up the pros and cons of a Dome and Dish... decided on a a dish, and bought an Alden AS4 Auto Dish from Vanbitz ..

cracking bit of kit, easy to install, everything you need is in the kit.. including the Sikaflex and gloves..

It comes with a LIFETIME WARRANTY on satellite system.

Used it this summer s far as the south of France with all UK channels..

From pressing the 'On' button to finding the signal and locking on takes less than 45 secs..

Highly recommend it.. @eddievanbitz will give a Funster discount


You can buy cheaper Domes and Dishes.. but you get what you pay for.. am delighted with it..

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[Clarky]

We had a Camos 40cm dome on our previous vans (also fitted by RoadPro) and it worked very well, unless under trees.
On our new van we have an 85cm Teleco dish which does seem to find the signal better when there are trees around. It always finds and locks on to the satellite quickly. However, I am a bit wary of using it in windy conditions.
It is interesting to note that you very rarely see a dome on European vans, they all seem to have dishes.

Richard.

 

[The Dudess]

We had a dome on our last van. A low hanging twig (definitely couldn't have been classed as a branch) caught the dome and smashed it. They are quite delicate. We now have a Maxview dish and it's great but we always take it down when it gets too windy.

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[wingman]

@RS SPIKE
I have a Snipe system. I did have a portable dish, but like you, I couldn't be arsed with trying to tune it in.

Domes? They increase the height of the van, cause slight drag etc.

The Snipe is ideal for me. Has an internal GPS, locks on to the signal, sorts out the 'skew' and Bingo! A steady picture in a jiffy.

Works well down into France too.

I haven't bothered to bolt mine to the van roof (don't like holes) That way, I can place the unit where I wish (including the roof) or on a small camping table.

Cost me a tad under £600

Hope this helps?
James

 

[Zilevets]

We have an oyster dish and used it in the Gail's we had in November and December with no problems at all

Liz

 

[Zilevets]

We have an oyster dish and used it in the gails we had in November and December last year with no problems at all

Liz

Edit: sorry about the double post iPad playing up

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[angusboy]

Yes i have oyster dish good bit of kit

 

[Old Soldier]

Never ceases to amuse me when I watch these nice posh vans with domes or dishes mounted on the roofs juggling back and forth trying to get a decent satelite signal. Happened again over Christmas when my mate moved his van four times so that SHMBO could catch up on one of the soaps. Apparently, his set up does not come with standard terestrial free view equipment! Can't believe that!! If I can't get terrestrial I get out my £49.99 lidl's satellite dish and tuner and with out moving the van I can normally get a signal all be it that I have to aim in the right direction. Be like me, keep it simple!! Works fine in UK and a good part of Northern Europe.

 

[MikeD]

Our 40cm dome is great for the UK. Trees muck it up a bit but Sandra can usually access all the soaps.

It was great down to around Parc Verger in the limousin.

Since the new satellites were launched it only works for the BBC etc down to around Brittany.

Unless you only travel in the UK and you want BBC then the way forward is a dish.

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[davanne]

Dome for us we have the maxview 40cm

 

[Neil S]

An 85cm dish and preferably with autoskew for fine tuning in fringe areas , either Oyster or Crystop Autosat 2 both are German made systems and well made

 

[Lorryman100]

I currently have a dome and a dish satellite system. The dome is the WiWorld, Camos one supplied by Roadpro and currently fitted on our soon to be up for sale tin tent. The dish is the Oyster Cytrac which is fitted on our MoHo. The Camos has given 5 years flawless service only requiring to power the unit on to find the user selected satellite, which can take a while depending on where you are. The Camos dome worked fine in all weather conditions from Hail and gale force winds to a foot of snow on the roof of the tin tent which required clearing as the signal was getting interrupted causing a frozen screen and eventual satellite lost signal on the telly. Down side is the size of the dome as it is quite big and takes up a big footprint on the roof of the van. It also discoloured quite quickly but the option to spray the dome is there. It is also easily swapped between vans as it is the four feet which hold the dome onto the roof that are left in place requiring a new set for the next van. I did find issues when there where trees in the way as it is not a big dish inside the dome and it did not always lock onto the satellite whereas vans either side of us with dishes found the satellite with no issues.
The Oyster Cytrac so far has been faultless as well even in the gale force winds of the past 6 weeks, never felt the need to lower the dish as it always stayed locked onto the signal. Acquisition time is also a lot faster as it remembers the last position as well as giving the user the option to set the area they are in ie: Scotland or England which results in less scanning for the satellite. When the Oyster is lowered it is only 14 cm high which puts it near enough on the same height level as the rest of the gubbins on the roof.
Both systems that I have are switch on and forget as they do what it says on the tin, automatically finds your chosen satellite (if it can see it!!).

Camos Dome

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Oyster Cytrac

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Oyster Cytrac in lowered position

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HTH Brian

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[weekenders]

We bought a maxview dome and over the new year we had to all the time, but as its been really windy other's gave dishes and could not use in fear of it being ripped off the roof, so dome for us and we always get a good reception even abroad

 

[Bailey58]

Like others we have had both, Oyster on the last van and 40cm dome on this one as that was supplied and fitted along with some other goodies when we bought it. The dome takes us over 3m but hasn't been a problem apart from low bridges in Rouen which would have taken the roof off anyway, the dish made us a bit nervous in high winds. No real preference apart from the fact that busybodies don't always know you're watching tv with the dome.

 

[ShiftZZ]

Had a dish on both vans, but to be honest we use them less and less, when we were in France we watched it the once, in the UK we tend to listen to the radio more.
The next van we may bot even bother...

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[Deleted member 29692]

decided on a a dish, and bought an Alden AS4 Auto Dish from Vanbitz ..

I've got the same one, also from Vanbitz.

It does the job perfectly. We've been away for New Year and the Alden dish performed brilliantly, even in the very strong winds in Cornwall. This time we took the Sky box from home and hooked it up just for the extra channels.

 

[RowleyBirkinQC]

We had a Camos dome on a previous van, used with a Pace Javelin Sky receiver which worked pretty well, although don't think it had auto skew (it was a few years ago now).

After not having a van for a while, we then tried a Snipe unit, which we got cheap from a UK AV company who sourced the unit from Germany. Price of purchase and fitting was much cheaper than going through local Motorhome dealer for same unit (install performed by the same AV guy they subcontract such work too). The Snipe has auto skew, small footprint on the roof and has been unaffected by high wind so far....

Both Camos and Snipe units only require power to find and lock onto the satellite.

We now use the integral Freesat receiver in the Avtex TV rather than carting around a separate Sky box or similar.

The Snipe unit was able to pickup all Freesat channels we tried down as far as Parc Verger in June 2015, including BBC. No idea if the footprint has since changed.

However, whilst the Snipe unit continues to work ok for us at this time, I think it's fair to say it is not a premium product like an Oyster or similar system.

 

[HymerB544]

I've got the same one, also from Vanbitz.

It does the job perfectly. We've been away for New Year and the Alden dish performed brilliantly, even in the very strong winds in Cornwall. This time we took the Sky box from home and hooked it up just for the extra channels.

@NickNic we have a Sky box at home with the full Sky package, and I've often thought about putting the box in the van when we go off, but never done it. Any issues/problems with the Sky service from your experience? Gary