satelite tv (1 Viewer)

smiffy502000

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evening all. we have been thinking of having a full auto sat system fitted to our MH. possible oyster or camos dome,..having made a few enquiries,i have been told to hang on to my money for a while as the hardware floatring around in space is being moved and one satelite is being removed and wont be replaced till2014...also the beam will be made narrower making it more difficult to get signals abroad. still ok in UK. SO,without expensive software upgrades,some systems may not be much use!...are ther any experts out there who can explain whats happening?::bigsmile:
 

Jaws

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The Oyster II is completely programable ( in fact if you know how to, you can do it your self ! )

No sats are actually moving as such, but one is being used for something different sand many of the channels on the transponders are being moved over to Astra 2E (? ) memory like a sieve for sat numbers )

No idea about Camos but can vouch for the worth of the Oyster.. we travel all over the EU and right down as far as the southern tip of Spain we still got all channels except one or two ( but I am under no illusion that will change when they do the final shift and change the beam patterns )
 

pappajohn

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some Astra satellites have come to the end of their active lives and are being replaced but the new ones will remain in the same geostationary orbit as the old ones.

Astra 2 (the one you watch free to air and free sat programs on) is on a temporary satellite until the new one is put into position and commissioned (if it isnt already :Doh:) then the temporary one will move off to 17deg to replace the old astra 1 satellite

things that will change will be some of the program frequencies and transponders will be reallocated, meaning a simple re-scan should be enough to find all the usual 'free to air' channels.

and yes, the new UK spot beam (UK channels) will be harder to lock on to outside the UK....even in northern france

i'm sure if i got any of this wrong someone with more knowledge will correct my mistakes. :RollEyes:

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DJA

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Generally what you have said is true.

A number of the TV channels were moved from their satellite before it was moved away. When they were moved some of the users in Spain found it easier to get a signal even using a smaller dish.

However some new satellites have been and are being put into orbit and eventually positions of all the TV channels will be finalised. We will not know until this is all finalised what effect this will have on the ability to receive the signals as we travel around. It is anticipated that there may well be an attempt to focus the signals more to the UK to stop others viewing programmes that the TV companies did not have the copyright to broadcast to other than in the UK.

So the suggestion to wait and see seems a good idea.

Regarding what set up well the one that came with our van is a 1metre dia Autosat S2 and has certainly picked up programmes down as far as Valencia. I cannot comment re beyond. The larger the dish the better for signal reception as you go South. We have been very satisfied with our unit.

Regarding the Camos, I am sure others will advise about its ability to tune into the Satellites around Europe as it is a smaller dia dish within the dome. It has the advantage that you can use it when it is getting breezy and you would be well advised to lower a normal dish. If it gets very breezy the van rocking will not help even with a dome. The other thing about a Camos is that it is taller than a normal dish in the closed position. This can have implications on Toll roads depending on how tall it would make your unit for charging purposes. In our case it would certainly put us over 3 metres tall

If you search Satandpcguy he is based in the Valencia area and has a very good website with info you may find useful.

Hope this helps a little

Doug
 
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smiffy502000

smiffy502000

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thank you all for the advise so far,feel inclined to wait a while but would love to put an oyster dish on..knowing me ill probably splash out and regret it aferwards...watch this space:winky::winky::winky:
 
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thank you all for the advise so far,feel inclined to wait a while but would love to put an oyster dish on..knowing me ill probably splash out and regret it aferwards...watch this space:winky::winky::winky:

Unless you want to pack poles, brackets and a big dish I'd say buy a 85cm Oyster Vision. Don't spend extra on the auto skew version unless you're travelling into Eastern Europe. If you need to adjust the skew you can always do this by popping you head out of a rooflight with a Philips screwdriver.

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bernardfeay

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I can't help with the movement of channels amongst the various satellites but I would steer you away from a fully automated system on the grounds of cost. I think it costs about £1,000 just to have the satellite found for you.

We have a satellite dish and a little "helper" device which beeps and shows more red bricks on a little screen when we have found the satellite. Once you get used to it you will lock onto the satellite within 2 to 3 minutes.
 

JeanLuc

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We have a Camos 40 and are very satisfied with it (fitted by Dave Newell just over three years ago). However, if I were buying now, I would wait until later this year when the Astra 2 satellites have been reassigned and have settled into the long-term transmission pattern. Astra 2D, which used to carry the English language FTA channels, is now dead. Astra 1F has been used temporarily, but that is due to be moved to the normal Astra 1 position and reassigned to foreign language duties.
(To clarify: the Astra 2 cluster sits at 28.2º East of South and the Astra1 cluster sits at 19.2º East of South. The dish sees all the satellites in either location as if they were one unit, so it will point in the same place for 2A and 2G for example.)
Once the new English language satellite (2G) is fully commissioned, the beam will be tightly focused with a centre on the UK. At present, the indications are that most dishes will fail to get a signal much further south than central France - we'll have to wait and see. The big question is whether the difference between a 40cm dome and an 85cm dish will be that apparent. If the tightly focused beam results in a sharp drop-off, that may reduce the advantage of the larger dish for reception in the south of France etc.

Meanwhile, I'm just hoping that my three and a half year-old Camos will still be able to find the lock-on signal for the new satellite when everything has changed. I'm not sure what software updates are available if I have a problem, since Roadpro now sell their own version of the WiWorld dome, rather than the old Camos one. Fingers crossed!

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eddie

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Why wait? Simply buy a system that is "updateable" Some older systems were not "future proofed" as no one could have foreseen the massive demand for satellite broadcast across Europe.

There is no commercial reason for Sky to broadcast across Europe, in fact their copyright and content licences prohibit their customers receiving SKY in Europe. Been told different or don't believe me? Phone SKY and ask them.

It is in the Sky Terms & Conditions that you can only use Sky in the UK.

The BBC? The same.

So the new satellites will be a stronger signal across the UK allowing for smaller dishes etc. Imagine a MAG light torch. You can have a wide weak floodlight beam or a really sharp bright narrow beam.

There is no commercial appetite to broadcast adverts across Europe either.

I didn't have satellite installed on my van to watch TV when on holiday to be honest, more for cold windy horrible weekends when away in the UK so personally I won't really be effected.

Most decent systems let you easily switch between satellites and there are plenty on English speaking news and current affairs programmes on Astra 1 and Hotbird so with a Free To Air receiver (FTA) you will still be able to watch English speaking programmes to keep in touch pretty much anywhere in Europe!.

Cheers

Eddie
 

Don Quixote

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Not long enough, but a little common sense helps..........
Having tried a 90cm tripod mounted system last year ( which worked perfect across Spain/Portugal ) the only down side was setting it up at each location. The cost was around 90 euro's including cables etc.
In May of this year I decided to fit a MobilSat (85cm dish)system because I was tired of setting up the tripod and sometimes not being able to see the Sat because their was another MH in the way. Here are my findings:

Push start button and within 10/30 seconds Sky UK sat found and picture clearing. Forget to lower dish is not a problem because as soon as you start the engine alarm sounds and the dish closes.
In UK 100% channels received, in France 99% channels received across Spain worst 80% channels best 95% ( cannot receive 5USA,5* and some BBC/ITV ).

If I want to I can press the Sat find on the remote head and select another Sat ( I have programmed in 13E,19E and 28E ) which takes around 5/30 seconds to find. I then select a channel and change the audio settings to English and watch the channel.

I use a Dreambox ( google this ) which stores all 3 sats channels and all I have to do is select which ever sat I watching.

+ Side:
Speed, takes longer to put the kettle on!
3 x Satellites to choose from and hundreds of channels
No hassle with sighting dish or upsetting other MH owners.

- Side:
Cost (unless you fit it yourself)
Does not like strong winds ( this is the same for all sat dishes mounted on the roof of MH, other then "dome" systems)
Takes power from 12volt system ( all be it very small, however when tuned to sat goes into standby when no power is taken)
Watch more TV then you should!!

Conclusion: Having tried the dish on a tripod and used the auto system now for 2 months I would recommend to anyone the auto system every time. I can park up anywhere ( even Tesco/Carrefour car park whilst Wife is getting shopping ) press a button and watch TV.................... Done

If you wait until they sort the sats/transponders etc on Sky UK before getting your sat system you are wasting valuable TV time........
 

eddie

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Having tried a 90cm tripod mounted system last year ( which worked perfect across Spain/Portugal ) the only down side was setting it up at each location. The cost was around 90 euro's including cables etc.
In May of this year I decided to fit a MobilSat (85cm dish)system because I was tired of setting up the tripod and sometimes not being able to see the Sat because their was another MH in the way. Here are my findings:

Push start button and within 10/30 seconds Sky UK sat found and picture clearing. Forget to lower dish is not a problem because as soon as you start the engine alarm sounds and the dish closes.
In UK 100% channels received, in France 99% channels received across Spain worst 80% channels best 95% ( cannot receive 5USA,5* and some BBC/ITV ).

If I want to I can press the Sat find on the remote head and select another Sat ( I have programmed in 13E,19E and 28E ) which takes around 5/30 seconds to find. I then select a channel and change the audio settings to English and watch the channel.

I use a Dreambox ( google this ) which stores all 3 sats channels and all I have to do is select which ever sat I watching.

+ Side:
Speed, takes longer to put the kettle on!
3 x Satellites to choose from and hundreds of channels
No hassle with sighting dish or upsetting other MH owners.

- Side:
Cost (unless you fit it yourself)
Does not like strong winds ( this is the same for all sat dishes mounted on the roof of MH, other then "dome" systems)
Takes power from 12volt system ( all be it very small, however when tuned to sat goes into standby when no power is taken)
Watch more TV then you should!!

Conclusion: Having tried the dish on a tripod and used the auto system now for 2 months I would recommend to anyone the auto system every time. I can park up anywhere ( even Tesco/Carrefour car park whilst Wife is getting shopping ) press a button and watch TV.................... Done

If you wait until they sort the sats/transponders etc on Sky UK before getting your sat system you are wasting valuable TV time........

Good informative post, :thumb: But bear in mind that this is all changing and the advice we are certainly giving is if you buying to view in Spain, don't!

Regards

Eddie

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JeanLuc

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Why wait? Simply buy a system that is "updateable" Some older systems were not "future proofed" as no one could have foreseen the massive demand for satellite broadcast across Europe.

Eddie

Agree with all the logic regarding the reason why UK broadcasters do not wish to extend coverage to continental Europe, but the reality is we motorhomers benefit from uncontrolled overspill when touring and a lot of people buy the biggest dish they can in order to maximise that opportunity. My observation regarding waiting until later this year was made in the spirit of suggesting that buying an 85cm Oyster (or similar) might result in disappointment if the new tightly focused Astra 2F beam has a rapid fall-off in transmission power outside the central area and the buyer is hoping that the dish will pull in BBC in Catalonia. My understanding is that no-one is sure how well the larger dishes will perform at the margins until they are tested later this year. I am not an expert and realise that my presumption may be wrong. I'm very happy to be corrected.
What I do know is that reputable dealers such as you are not making any claims yet about what will work where outside the UK. I have had the same response from the chaps in Daventry.
If, of course, one is happy with the English language news etc on Astra1 when abroad, then surely it makes more sense to have a smaller dish since that will work well on Astra2 in the UK and pretty much anywhere else on Astra1. In fact a dome would be ideal in my view.
Just a month ago we were at Cornish Farm for some work on the alarm and I was chatting to James who made exactly the same points as above. We discussed the issue of software updates and whether my auto system will still be able to find the usual signal to lock onto. I'm hoping that the Camos will be OK. If not, I might be in the market for a KVH (or biding my time for a special offer :winky:)

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smiffy502000

smiffy502000

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thanks for the advise,i do have a sat system which i set up and lock on with ease,but i just fancy an auto system (boys toys and all that::bigsmile:) i know its a big expence but you gotta spend it on somthing..
 

Don Quixote

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Not long enough, but a little common sense helps..........
thanks for the advise,i do have a sat system which i set up and lock on with ease,but i just fancy an auto system (boys toys and all that::bigsmile:) i know its a big expence but you gotta spend it on somthing..

Go for it I have not regretted getting it in any way.
 

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