How big is yours!? (1 Viewer)

zen navigator

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Going south bound maybe South Downs / Isle of Wight and France(Brittany) in July for 3 weeks, and want to ensure I watch England in the World Cup Final:ROFLMAO:

What is the min. size satellite dish I can get away with.

Also any recommendation for a good portable satellite system.

Dave
 

barryd

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Im no expert and have a Camos Dome that works everywhere in Europe. Cost £1400 though. Brittany really isnt that for from England so I would have thought a cheap suitcase job from Aldi, Lidel or Maplin for under £100 would work but I think they are a bit of a faff. A big wind or heavy thunderstorm though and its all over. (no pun intended)
 

Snowbird

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Cheap suitcase job will work fine where your going,we have one on the house in Holland,works perfectly.

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zen navigator

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Does it depend how the dish is and I guess how good the receiver is.

So a suitcase system could be ok and also could be no good.

Dave
 

dellwood33

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I hope the suitcase jobbies work in Brittany, cos that's what we have and will be off to Northern France in a couple of weeks ::bigsmile:
 
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zen navigator

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I hope it does it for you.

But I read that 35cm dishes wont get you certain transponders. So all depends if the programme you want is on that transponder.

Also a good receiver will compensate for dish size...I guess.

What make\model is yours?

Dave



I hope the suitcase jobbies work in Brittany, cos that's what we have and will be off to Northern France in a couple of weeks ::bigsmile:

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zen navigator

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For 1400 quid I would expect it to :winky:

I was thinking about investing in one of those motor driven dishes on top of the MH. But for the time I use it, I reckon a 50cm dish on a tripod and any old receiver will do.

I was tempted to chance the Adli Special, but heard that it only picks up certain transponders in the UK, which diminishes the further south you go.

Dave


Im no expert and have a Camos Dome that works everywhere in Europe. Cost £1400 though. Brittany really isnt that for from England so I would have thought a cheap suitcase job from Aldi, Lidel or Maplin for under £100 would work but I think they are a bit of a faff. A big wind or heavy thunderstorm though and its all over. (no pun intended)
 

Robinhood

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I started with a Maplin Sat kit, (and was a complete satellite virgin at the time).

Found the dish very fiddly and difficult to set up, but the receiver was very good. Has the advantage of being 12V as well as 240v.

Managed to pick up a cheap 'cassegrain' type 43cm dish (reputed to be 60cm equivalent, and though badged Thomson very much like the Arcon Sweety still available on the net - at a price much higher than I paid!) so the Maplin kit other than the receiver is in the loft now.

I really like this dish, as it is compact, easy to transport (no LNB arm sticking out) and easy to aim. I mount it on a cheap patio mount I got from my local supplier (cheaper than a tripod, and I have the space to carry it). Good reception down to Southern France, though I did get a poor signal and break-up in torrential rain near Mont Blanc.

IMO, it's worth having 12v capability for those times you're off hook-up, so I'd go for either the Maplin 12v receiver (under £50, but out of stock at the moment) which does all FTA and 'blind search' (i.e will tune all channels from a particular satellite without further input), or, if you are prepared to take some restriction (and I think I'd go this way now) a Bush Freesat HD box from Argos (only the HD ones are 12v) for less than £70. With the latter you will get text and red button services (and Freesat EPG) that you won't get with the Maplin, but lose some of the FTA flexibility for other channels).

Then at least a 60cm dish (or see Arcon 43cm above) for close continenal use - you could get one with a folding arm for storage a tripod or patio stand, length of decent coax, and a signal meter (though the Maplin, if it remains the same) has a good, audible tone signal meter.
 

pappajohn

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my first set-up was a domestic 60cm dish with a removable LNB arm and an ally pole.
connected to a 'porty' suitcase receiver it worked fine.

you should get a domestic dish for £25 off ebay

then i saw the light and bought a Maxview crankup system and a Zhenda receiver.

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lebesset

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it's a 2 part answer!
for the receiver go for the bushHD from argos , red button /epg are now a must as far as I am concerned , and the others don't give HD which is also becoming a must....do you have a lcd TV ? if so don't forget to use the special connection lead , no HD otherwise ; 12v is also very useful as stated ; well worth the extra ; my daughter has 2 and picture quality is just fine

dish ? the practical answer for where you want is a 60cm , will get you reception even in poor weather ; I have a 40cm which works even here in s.france ...as long as there is a clear blue sky ::bigsmile: ; so I use a 80cm which is ok except with heavy snow or a hailstorm

don't forget that the transponders on the satellites have a limited life , they start to weaken gradually from day 1, the dish size that works today may be too small in a few years
 

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