Camos Crank-Up Satellite Dish

[raellison]

Any one have experience of Camos Crank-Up Satellite Dish, and or
Camos PLUS Crank-Up Satellite Dish, I've got the Camos Plus Crank-Up Satellite Dish
on order, but here's been a delay in them arriving into UK, so was given option of the basic Camos Crank-Up Satellite Dish. Thinking mainly of Sky coverage of BBC and ITV channels in UK and Europe. If you have experience of these dishes would be grateful to receive your input.
Richard

 

[stagman]

Any one have experience of Camos Crank-Up Satellite Dish, and or
Camos PLUS Crank-Up Satellite Dish, I've got the Camos Plus Crank-Up Satellite Dish
on order, but here's been a delay in them arriving into UK, so was given option of the basic Camos Crank-Up Satellite Dish. Thinking mainly of Sky coverage of BBC and ITV channels in UK and Europe. If you have experience of these dishes would be grateful to receive your input.
Richard

I have been considering a new dish for my new van . Was told by our local dealer that for S.France and Spain I would need the Camos plus dish :thumb:

 

[keith]

I have been considering a new dish for my new van . Was told by our local dealer that for S.France and Spain I would need the Camos plus dish :thumb:

We have been in Spain & Portugal for the past 3 months & have been using the Camos Crank-up. Don't know what the plus is like but we have always got a picture from Sky & other sats. No regular BBC or ITV way down South, though our Sky subscription gives us quite a few channels on Astra 2 & in France on the way down we got all channels.
We find it very simple to tune & in the UK it works fine without any wind problems that the Maxview suffers from.

 

[madbluemad]

Any one have experience of Camos Crank-Up Satellite Dish, and or
Camos PLUS Crank-Up Satellite Dish, I've got the Camos Plus Crank-Up Satellite Dish
on order, but here's been a delay in them arriving into UK, so was given option of the basic Camos Crank-Up Satellite Dish. Thinking mainly of Sky coverage of BBC and ITV channels in UK and Europe. If you have experience of these dishes would be grateful to receive your input.
Richard

Hi
I am having a camos plus fitted as we speak but obviousley cant comment upon its actual perpormance until we have used it . I am going to use a camos black box receiver with it.

I have been reading all of the posts/threads on here concerning the different systems and the camos plus seems to be the most suitable for me.

If you search the forum you can pick up a lot of good and well informed information

Cheers

Jim
:thumb:

 

[Linda and Steph]

Has anyone tried the Camos 'Flat Sat'? I was thinking of getting one of them installed but I'd like to know how they are in Southern Europe and Northern Scotland.

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[madbluemad]

Thats the same as the camos plus and camos. The other camos make is the dome which is a dfferent kettle of fish. The camos flat sat plus is slightly larger than the camos flat sat. Hop onto the Road Pro web site and its all on there.

Or have a word with Dave Newell who is a franchised dealer for Road Pro I believe. I'm sure that he will be able to tell you all about them.

Cheers
Jim

 

[keith]

Has anyone tried the Camos 'Flat Sat'? I was thinking of getting one of them installed but I'd like to know how they are in Southern Europe and Northern Scotland.

You should not have a problem in Scotland, just don't worry about the fact that it seems to point low down. An offset dish looks as though it is trying to look at the ground if you see one in Northern Scotland, but they still work.

 

[patr]

I bought, and installed, the Plus Flat Sat last month and have been delighted with the performance of the dish and the ease of installation.

Reception, using a Maplins mini-sat kit receiver, is excellent and locking into a signal really is a doddle. I have used it here in Mid Wales and as far down as Oberstdorf in Germany and all points between. Alignment is very easy using the 'copy the next vans satellite dish position if their telly is working' method and the signal strength meter/buzzer on the Maplins receiver. From wind up, to rotate the dish and get a signal, takes me less than two minutes.

I bought the Plus as I wanted full European coverage and although it has a skew facility I have yet to use it. If you do skew the dish, you need to adjust two butterfly screws on the back of the dish which obviously requires roof access.

The very small profile of the dish was the reason why I chose it as space on the van roof was at a premium. It really is small compared to the Maxview setups I have had previously and is very neat and unobtrusive in both the upright or parked position. No wind noise when travelling at speed on the Autobahn and impressive stability during a windy day which would have seen me lowering the Maxview. Also, when it is lowered it does not look like an expensive satellite dish, which is a security plus.

Installation took two hours, one hour of which was measuring, checking cables and building up the courage to cut a 38mm hole in the roof. The finished article is very neat and the wind up handle and rotating knob/position chart is easy and intuitive to use.

All in all it does exactly as described. Easy to fit, easy to align and very nice looking when up and hardly noticeable when down. Highly recommended. I purchased mine from Roadpro and received a highly professional and courteous service.

Pat

 

[scotjimland]

It really is small compared to the Maxview setups I have had previously and is very neat and unobtrusive in both the upright or parked position. No wind noise when travelling at speed on the Autobahn and impressive stability during a windy day which would have seen me lowering the Maxview.

Hi Pat

Many on here will have already read my post about the problems with the cranky Crank-up Maxview so won't repeat it all, .. you have obviously had similar problems and came to the same conclusion as me ... and got rid of it..

When I replace it, hopefully in the not too distant future, the Camos Crank-Up will be my choice, haven't heard a bad word said about it .. thanks for the review

Jim

 

[C.L.S]

I have fitted several crank ups for customers and feed back has been good Installation pretty simple and should be completed in under 2 hours.

Mark

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[Sundowners]

UnitedtD - What is the relevance of this link and the other you have posted on here today??

Nigel and Pamala

 

[raellison]

We have been in Spain & Portugal for the past 3 months & have been using the Camos Crank-up. Don't know what the plus is like but we have always got a picture from Sky & other sats. No regular BBC or ITV way down South, though our Sky subscription gives us quite a few channels on Astra 2 & in France on the way down we got all channels.
We find it very simple to tune & in the UK it works fine without any wind problems that the Maxview suffers from.

The Plus is the one you can Slew the dish as well as Azimuth and Elevation
thanks for your reply
Richard

 

[raellison]

I bought, and installed, the Plus Flat Sat last month and have been delighted with the performance of the dish and the ease of installation.

Reception, using a Maplins mini-sat kit receiver, is excellent and locking into a signal really is a doddle. I have used it here in Mid Wales and as far down as Oberstdorf in Germany and all points between. Alignment is very easy using the 'copy the next vans satellite dish position if their telly is working' method and the signal strength meter/buzzer on the Maplins receiver. From wind up, to rotate the dish and get a signal, takes me less than two minutes.

I bought the Plus as I wanted full European coverage and although it has a skew facility I have yet to use it. If you do skew the dish, you need to adjust two butterfly screws on the back of the dish which obviously requires roof access.

The very small profile of the dish was the reason why I chose it as space on the van roof was at a premium. It really is small compared to the Maxview setups I have had previously and is very neat and unobtrusive in both the upright or parked position. No wind noise when travelling at speed on the Autobahn and impressive stability during a windy day which would have seen me lowering the Maxview. Also, when it is lowered it does not look like an expensive satellite dish, which is a security plus.

Installation took two hours, one hour of which was measuring, checking cables and building up the courage to cut a 38mm hole in the roof. The finished article is very neat and the wind up handle and rotating knob/position chart is easy and intuitive to use.

All in all it does exactly as described. Easy to fit, easy to align and very nice looking when up and hardly noticeable when down. Highly recommended. I purchased mine from Roadpro and received a highly professional and courteous service.

Pat

Thanks that's just the input I need
Richard

 

[rolyk]

I would like to fit a Camos Crank Up on a Warwick Duo but it has a ribbed roof. I'd be interested to hear from anyone with a Crank Up on a Boxer / Ducato van conversion and whether there were problems with fitting it.

Roly

 

[patr]

Roly

The Weingard mount that Camos use on the Flat Sat has a flat bottomed alloy base that has to be secured to a flat surface. It is fixed to the roof using an adhesive such as Sikaflex 512 and has ten pre-drilled holes for the stainless steel self-tapping screws provided in the kit.

The link below is the fitting guide which shows the dish and all of the components:

http://www.campervanstuff.com/shop_stuff/Downloads/Camos Flat Sat manual.pdf

I assume that the ribbed roof you mention is one with raised structural ribs with lower inner panels. If that is the case, the mount would fit in the lower inner panels. The next question is whether the external roof position is above a clear inner roof position for the handle and rotating knob assembly.

Pat

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[rolyk]

Pat - Thanks for reply. I pick up the vehicle next Friday so haven't had a chance to look at the roof from above but I was hoping that the base would fit in the flat area between the ribs. I'll have a look at the installation guide.

I would like to put the Camos above the wardrobe so should have plenty of width to choose a flat area. It should be easy to run the antenna cable above the headlining to the Sky box which will be in a cupboard immediately opposite the wardrobe.

The next dilemma I have will be whether I have the bottle to drill the roof or pay the money to have it done for me!

 

[patr]

Roly

Before I bought the Camos I made card templates of the dimensions to see if it would fit on the roof (which was the crucial bit as space was/is very tight) and in the rear wardrobe.

The inner mount diameter (including the handle) is 20mm. The Weingard mount base is 20mm wide by 23mm long. It tapers towards the rear. There are two holes to drill in the roof, the main mount and the coax cable inlet.

As for fitting, the cheapest quote I got was £150 and whilst I admit that drilling through the roof concentrated my mind, my wallet made the decision for me.

As yours is a brand new van it would be worth checking with your supplying dealer as to any warranty implications should you go the DIY route. However, it really is a very simple job. PM if you would like any further details on fitting.

Pat

 

[scotjimland]

It is a simple job but take care not to drill through concealed cables..., a fiend of mine did just that and it took me several hours patching in new cables to replace the parts cut out by the 38mm hole saw.. constructors hide cables in the least expected places. !

Once you have decided where it is to go and are reasonably sure there are no hidden cables or wires I would do the following:

Drill a pilot hole from the outside .. then from the inside cut the roof liner very carefully using the hole saw, just enough to let you remove the liner.. no further, then check there are no cables.. dig out any insulation behind the liner.. then go outside and drill the roof..

If you encounter cables it may be possible to push them to one side or if too short, extend them and push out of the way.

HTH

Jim

 

[rolyk]

Thanks to you both for your advice.

Until I get the vehicle next Friday I won't know whether the headlining in the wardrobe can be removed, which would make the job a lot easier. I'm aware of being cautious of any cables running through but it would be just my luck to drill through on a metal beam! I might ring Autosleepers and get their advice.

I've been using a Multimo dish for a couple of years which has been fine but I never like leaving it outside overnight in case it disappears! Going outside in the pouring rain at 11pm to bring it in is not my idea of fun, hence the Camos. I would really like a self seeking dish but the Camos dome is too quirky and the others cost a fortune.

Roly

 

[scotjimland]

Thanks to you both for your advice.

Until I get the vehicle next Friday I won't know whether the headlining in the wardrobe can be removed, which would make the job a lot easier.

Hi Roly

Personally I wouldn't fit in a wardrobe, it would be easier to operate and tune in where you can watch the TV without cricking your neck .. the concept of this type of mechanism is that it can be mounted in the most convenient location anywhere in the van, this is the drawback of the pole crank-ups that have to be against an inside wall.

just a thought

Jim

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[GIBLA53]

Any More Feedback on Camos PLUS

Hiya after using a tripod etc for many years i want a reliable and modest system , after reading previous threads i have eliminated Maxview cranker . Would the owners of the Camos Plus -ideally 40cm twin LNB wish to make some recommendations ........ please before i waste my kids inheritance !!!!! Anything i have read has only been positive , Alan

 

[madbluemad]

Hi

I have a Camos Flat Sat Plus. Its a single LNB, however. The equipment is very easy to use, its easy to tune in, gets great reception, doesnt move in the wind and looks smart. I would reccomend it.

Jim

 

[Linda and Steph]

Hi

I have a Camos Flat Sat Plus. Its a single LNB, however. The equipment is very easy to use, its easy to tune in, gets great reception, doesnt move in the wind and looks smart. I would reccomend it.

Jim

I'd second that, great piece of equipment.:thumb::thumb:

 

[ronidog]

Hi my Camos crank up has worked fine over the last year.

The only thing to be aware of is if you have a panel van conversion like mine the metal sides play havoc with the compass. use the compass outside the van to give a general direction for the dish and then fine tune. After a whil you you can guess where the satellite needs to face.It takes a couple of minutes this way!. I spent hours cursing the dish, the manufacture, silva compasses etc. Then realised , as always, that sometimes you need to thinkoh:

By the way leisuretech in Clitheroe did a nice neat job in fitting my dish

Ronidog

 

[lufcdave7]

We fitted the Camos plus just before going to France. Fitting was easy. Using a compass and the compass card (fitted under the cranking handle) we often get signal lock before turning on the tv and box (it really is that easy) Used it all the way down through France, only struggled once on south coast near Cannes, couldn't get BBC1, 2 and ITV, still got 4 and 5 though. GREAT piece of kit and it's SO much more civilised than being outside with a tripod and 65cm dish trying to hear what the boss is telling me!

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[Teasy2007]

We are wondering whether to install a Camos flat dish, we need it to work in Spain - Santa Suzanna area, and we also want to use our sky plus, does anyone know if they make a double lnb model for Sky Plus?

Any ideas/confirmation of the areas it will work in Spain would be appreciated.

Ginny and Mike

 

[madbluemad]

We are wondering whether to install a Camos flat dish, we need it to work in Spain - Santa Suzanna area, and we also want to use our sky plus, does anyone know if they make a double lnb model for Sky Plus?

Any ideas/confirmation of the areas it will work in Spain would be appreciated.

Ginny and Mike

Hi
Give Road Pro a call they are agents for Camos. They will give you all the info you want, straight from the horses mouth so to speak. Or Dave Newell who's name and number are at the top of the page.

Jim

 

[Teasy2007]

We have been in Spain & Portugal for the past 3 months & have been using the Camos Crank-up. Don't know what the plus is like but we have always got a picture from Sky & other sats. No regular BBC or ITV way down South, though our Sky subscription gives us quite a few channels on Astra 2 & in France on the way down we got all channels.


Hi, I am a little confused. If we are using a Sky + box with the double lnb version of the Camos Plus, does the sky + not work at all, or does it just lose certain channels?

When we were in Spain with the tripod and dish we could get all the channels we subscribed to - just as we do at home.

Ginny

 

[keith]

We have been in Spain & Portugal for the past 3 months & have been using the Camos Crank-up. Don't know what the plus is like but we have always got a picture from Sky & other sats. No regular BBC or ITV way down South, though our Sky subscription gives us quite a few channels on Astra 2 & in France on the way down we got all channels.


Hi, I am a little confused. If we are using a Sky + box with the double lnb version of the Camos Plus, does the sky + not work at all, or does it just lose certain channels?

When we were in Spain with the tripod and dish we could get all the channels we subscribed to - just as we do at home.

Ginny

Further South than Barcelona the reception changes. You may have to retune to the South beam on Astra 2D. On the South beam BBC & ITV are very weak signals & even further down some of the paid for channels will be difficult to get unless you have a VERY large dish.

 

[Teasy2007]

Further South than Barcelona the reception changes. You may have to retune to the South beam on Astra 2D. On the South beam BBC & ITV are very weak signals & even further down some of the paid for channels will be difficult to get unless you have a VERY large dish.

Thanks Keith, now I understand. We will be going to Santa Suzanna after the Newark show in March, so I think we will be investing in the camos plus as it is a pain taking the suitcase system for use all down France and the 60+ cm dish and tripod for use in Spain.

If you are calling at Santa Suzanna on your way down in December, they have free wifi now so we look forward to keeping in touch whilst you are away.

Ginny

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