continental tv reception (1 Viewer)

[homolgus]

We have a 2008 Elddis Autoquest with the usual aerial - we toured Portugal and Spain last year and could not pick up any tv stations - could anyone suggest a good booster aerial that will do the job this year? Thank you

 

[JeanLuc]

What is 'the usual aerial'? If by that you mean a terrestrial one (e.g. Status) forget about receiving anything in Europe - other than perhaps around Calais. If you are referring to a satellite dish, you will need a big one to get any UK free to air stations in Spain and Portugal. As this year progresses it will become more difficult to receive UK FTA stations in southern Europe as the new Astra2 satellites are brought online - the UK beam will have a tighter focus than the old Astra 2D and is predicted to 'fall off' somewhere around mid-France. You should be able to receive Sky channels that are broadcast on the wider European beam though, down into the Iberian peninsular. Others with more knowledge will add to this. I have never ventured into Spain or Portugal (yet).

 

[jaygee]

Touring round Europe as far as Croatia last year we could pick up local TV stations so were able to watch the Olympics, albeit in another language and from another countries perspective, and occasionally some stations showing English films.
We toyed with the idea of installing a satellite system at a cost of £1000 - £1800 but to be honest, even though I am a regular 'Soap Fan', I quite like the idea of not having TV on a regular basis, makes me read more books
I download lots of TV programmes and films to take with us to watch and this year am also loading up my Sky+ box with programmes & films to take our 4 month trip.

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[Southampton]

I have a Oyster 85cm dish and Sky+ box loaded with pre-recorded films etc...and when touring if I do not have a signal on the dish, or if I have to lower the dish due to the wind, I cannot get anything on the planner to play. It needs a signal before the menu screen comes up. Unless I am doing something wrong then I do not think you will be able to watch any recordings without having a signal.

I am sure somebody with more knowledge will be along to either correct me if I am wrong or agree.

 

[jaygee]

I have a Oyster 85cm dish and Sky+ box loaded with pre-recorded films etc...and when touring if I do not have a signal on the dish, or if I have to lower the dish due to the wind, I cannot get anything on the planner to play.[HI] It needs a signal before the menu screen comes up. [/HI]Unless I am doing something wrong then I do not think you will be able to watch any recordings without having a signal.

I am sure somebody with more knowledge will be along to either correct me if I am wrong or agree.

I have just tried my one at home, disconnected both the inputs and when I turn it on I do get a message saying no signal being received etc.. but just press backup then TV Guide then Planner and up comes all my recorded programmes, select one and it plays OK. The programmes are recorded on the hard drive so no signal is needed.

 

[busby]

In Spain i use a cheapo indoor digital aerial. Get probably ten Spanish tv progs, Disney and the odd english speaking Spanish prog and a few radio stations. BUSBY.

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[Bailey58]

I have just tried my one at home, disconnected both the inputs and when I turn it on I do get a message saying no signal being received etc.. but just press backup then TV Guide then Planner and up comes all my recorded programmes, select one and it plays OK. The programmes are recorded on the hard drive so no signal is needed.

I've always had the same problem as Southampton, no signal no Planner. Admittedly I do have problems after disconnecting my old box from the mains, including every time we move on in the motorhome. It stays locked in the standby mode and takes an eternity of pressing to turn on again and even then it says there is nothing in the Planner, it takes several more attempts at rebooting before the Planner reappears. Yes I know I need to upgrade the box but I need to watch everything first. :Sad: But I'm sure Sky tell you that a signal is required to watch recordings so perhaps you have discovered a secret formula.

 

[tonka]

If you have a digital TV.. then remember that even in the UK you need to do a fresh retune / install whenever you move areas as the transmitters operate on different frequencies to avoid clashing...

Also you may have an option in your TV menu to select the country that you are receiving in... If you have a digital TV and have selected the digital section (DVB not Analogue) and in a country with a digital service then you should get something. Otherwise either a faulty aerial or component, ie, cable, plug, socket etc.
The only other reaon would be that you are in a poor reception area and your aerial isn't up to the job.. Those flying saucer Maxview for example are pretty poor in low reception areas..

 

[jennyp19]

If you want to watch local tv while travelling a lot of countries do not have a digital signal so you need to go back to analogue (I think that's correct) + countries are on a different system i.e Pal etc

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[seanoo]

hi jaygee, your sky+ box will work when you disconnect the dish inputs no problem until you turn off the power . once you unplug from the mains you wont get the planner up until your box recieves a signal again.

hi southampton , when its too windy to use your oyster properly , if you put the dish up briefly to get your sky+ box initiated you can then close it again and still access all the programs on your planner. it just needs the signal to get the menus up , once this is done you dont need a satelite signal. once you shut the power down from the mains (standby is ok) you will need to give the box a signal again. hope this is of some help , cheers sean

 

[Southampton]

hi jaygee, your sky+ box will work when you disconnect the dish inputs no problem until you turn off the power . once you unplug from the mains you wont get the planner up until your box recieves a signal again.

hi southampton , when its too windy to use your oyster properly , if you put the dish up briefly to get your sky+ box initiated you can then close it again and still access all the programs on your planner. it just needs the signal to get the menus up , once this is done you dont need a satelite signal. once you shut the power down from the mains (standby is ok) you will need to give the box a signal again. hope this is of some help , cheers sean

Thanks for that, I will give it a try next time. Excellent info.

 

[mickymouse]

Hi, I have a 65cm Telco auto satellite dish [10years old] I use the built in system to lock onto the Astra satellite [Sky News ] then disconnect the LNB cable from the box and connect it to my GI S6199E satellite reciever and we were still getting BBC and ITV south of Barcelona, even as far down as Mazarron we were still getting Movies for Men / True Movies

Mickymouse

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[jaygee]

hi jaygee, your sky+ box will work when you disconnect the dish inputs no problem until you turn off the power . once you unplug from the mains you wont get the planner up until your box recieves a signal again.

Oh B....r

 

[Sidney]

There's some duff info here

You're on your drive in your MH watching a program recorded on your Sky+/Sky HD/Sky 3D. The dish is up and pointing at the satellite:
All will work well :thumb:

You're in Europe and outside of the satellite footprint (or you're in the UK but have a massive tree blocking the signal to the dish):
You can't watch recorded programs because the Sky box checks every so often to ensure it is receiving a signal from the satellite. If the box does not get a satellite signal the playback stops. To check this is the situation on your decoder unplug the satellite feeds while watching a recorded program - every box I have tried will stop within 10 minutes..:Sad:

You're in Europe and on the fringe. You can get sky TV but the live picture breaks up, pauses or stutters:
You may be able to watch recorded programs because the box is just checking it gets the ID signal from the Astra satellite not checking you're in a good reception area.:Angry::Sad:


TV aerial: You can get UK TV via an aerial in many French spots. It's pretty much guaranteed with a directional Status aerial from Cherbourg down to Mont St-Michel and west to St Brieuc (or further). Just point your aerial towards the Channel Islands for digital Freeview.