Freesat receiver...... new to all this (1 Viewer)

[bertiebasset]

Hi all,
Well, after much thought we decided to change the Autorcuise Wentworth for an Autotrail Savannah. We found there is an Oyster satellite system installed with a Sky box. We have never had anything other than basic TV and now of course Freeview. We have just returned from 2 weeks in France getting to Royan and across to Limoges. Tried the sat and although it locks on I could only get 3 channels and one of them was Chinese. Just below Abbeville we managed to get the UK channels again. As we go down to Spain for 8 weeks in May it would be nice to at least get the news. Will this system manage this if I purchase a new receiver and if so what am I looking for,,, "a 12v freesat receiver ??". As you may gather,, after 12 years in Submarine is the Radio Shack, if it is not in morse it is beyond me.
Any help on this would be grateful.

 

[lorger]

Hi I don't know much about your system or dish size but if it's to small you'll loose the UK channels the further south you go.

 

[bertiebasset]

Hi lorger,
Thanks for the reply
Dish size is 85cm ?? Oyster, with control box in locker, inverter for sky box and drop down tv between driving seats.
We did manage to get the sat to lock on but the sky box kept stating not satellite signal... there is a card in but it is all a mystery to me how sky works.

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[hilldweller]

Size is everything. I've seen massive dishes in use way down Spain, 1.5 - 2m approx. No they were not roof mounted.

 

[Satandpcguy]

UK TV reception varies depending were in Spain you are, and what channels you want to watch.

Channels like BBC ITV C4 and Five are on the "UK beam" and their reception varies a lot....dish required in Barcelona is about 2m, Valencia - Costa Blanca, 1m ish can just about scrape by, Murcia 2m, CdS 3-5m.

But if you just want some news channels (Sky News, CNN etc), then these are on the European beam, which has much more generous coverage in Spain, and an 85cm dish should receive these fines.

A Sky digibox also uses a frequency on this European beam to boot up.

You do not need a card for the 150+ free to air channels, BBC ITV C4 Five and most of the news channels.
You need a card for the handful of "free to view" channels (Motors TV, LFCTV, Local TV), or Sky pay channels.

"No signal" on a sky box.
It needs a signal from its "default transponder" to boot up. This process also downloads the channel list and numbers. If it cannot locate this signal, you get "no signal" message, and the box will not boot up. Check connections and make sure dish is on the right satellite.

If your box does boot up, and has the channel list and numbers, it should get a number of channels. If you get "no signal" when selecting a channel (say BBC1), this will usually mean your dish is too small to receive that channel where you are.

 

[bertiebasset]

Hi The Sat Guy and thanks for the detailed reply.
We were getting the channel numbers on the tv with bbc1, bbc2 etc and the sat stated Astra 2 and as I said before we did get 3 channels in Limoges, so would assume the connections are tight. We did manage to get the tv back between Rouen and Abbeville and sat watching the F1 GP. The moho came with very little literature so unless I get up on the roof and check it may be a 65cm dish not 85 as I thought. Just says oyster with a man on it.
So, there is no need to change the box as either I will get reception or not dependant on the signal strength. or, would you advise to get a 12v receiver and do away with the BIG sky box filling a cupboard (which also means leaving the door open to change channel).
Once again, thanks for the response.

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[Satandpcguy]

Changing the box will make no difference if your dish is too small to receive the signals in the first place....

If you are an F1 man, then seek RTL on Astra 1 - a german free channel with all races like... for the moment.
You will need another sat box (a basic free to air one will be fine), but this RTL signal is nice and strong all over europe....OK commentary is is German, but fine to watch....

If you want the Sky pay channels, then you will need to use the Sky digibox...perhaps a "multiroom" DRX595 box, as these are small.

If no Sky pay channels, then either look for a Freesat box, designed specifically for the UK TV channels, or a "free to air" box which can be used to receive ANY countries free to air channels... eg RTl...

 

[bertiebasset]

Hi again and thanks once again.
Yes, on looking on the roof it is an 85cm dish so it may have been where we were. Having never used satellite before it is a long learning curve. Have just ordered a Maxview FTA box so will have something to try out soon. Do not want to go down the pay for Sky route. If we get TV in France/Spain then it is a bonus. Thanks for the help.

 

[Jaws]

A 12v Pace Sky box would be the way to get the Sky packages ( apart from sport and movie ) but are hard to find nowadays.
We use one and can usually get Sky down to the bottom of France.. Once below that we start loosing various channels ...

Sky box tuners are notoriously 'deaf' ( as in they need to 'see' a stronger signal than many other boxes ).. The gain and noise figures for the old 12v Pace boxes are considerably better than the standard Sky things.

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[cliffanger]

We bought a humax to use when we can't get a satellite signal. It sits in the kitchen at home and we record loads of programmes and films to watch when we're away, and before the brickbats come my way.... 'why do you want to watch telly while you're away blah, blah, blah' - each to his own, each to his own!

 

[Badknee]

We bought a humax to use when we can't get a satellite signal. It sits in the kitchen at home and we record loads of programmes and films to watch when we're away, and before the brickbats come my way.... 'why do you want to watch telly while you're away blah, blah, blah' - each to his own, each to his own!

I'm doing the same but with a 12v freeview box for when we're away if the weather turns.

 

[bertiebasset]

We have 1 x 120gb and x 500gb hard drives which I load up with films from Kodi. With the new van I now have to write to DVD-RW discs to view them as the system we now have will not read fro HDD. But as we now have a sat system as well I would like to get that working for news when in Spain

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