manual sat dishes? (1 Viewer)

[CazPaul]

This van we are getting 1998 Hymer, pick up end of jan, has got a manual sat dish on the roof.

We had an auto one on a previous van so no nothing about these, the dealer has asked if we want it taking off.

Are they a waste of time, effort, obviously don't know if it works yet as it was low on the list of priorities when examining the van. It has a long pole inside, I presume to adjust it

Will all sat dishes be a waste of time soon?

Like a tv but on our last van we had one of those stick on aerials for the outside wall, it worked well for less than £40.

 

[DBK]

We have a manual dish and it works fine. You should soon get the hang of setting it up. You just need a compass so you point it roughly SE and at an angle of about 20 degrees upwards. But you will need some way of measuring the strength of the signal. Ours came with a small meter you plugged into the antenna cable but I use the TV itself now as one of the menu settings shows signal strength so all you have to do is twiddle the dish to get the strongest signal.

But you have to point it at the right satellite, ASTRA 2, and there are other satellites near it which you might tune into instead in error. If all your channels are German then you have the wrong one and you need to be a touch to the east and a shade lower.

Easy peazy.

 

[CazPaul]

We have a manual dish and it works fine. You should soon get the hang of setting it up. You just need a compass so you point it roughly SE and at an angle of about 20 degrees upwards. But you will need some way of measuring the strength of the signal. Ours came with a small meter you plugged into the antenna cable but I use the TV itself now as one of the menu settings shows signal strength so all you have to do is twiddle the dish to get the strongest signal.

But you have to point it at the right satellite, ASTRA 2, and there are other satellites near it which you might tune into instead in error. If all your channels are German then you have the wrong one and you need to be a touch to the east and a shade lower.

Easy peazy.

Thanks for that info, I was hoping you would say waste of time and encourage us to get rid of a bit of weight

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[jollyrodger]

I also have a manual system ,with a sat-seeker coupled up to incoming feed.
Like @DBK wrote point in general direction S -28.2°E elevation 27° ? And you should be somewhere near astra 2 ,works well in the UK and nth France

 

[pappajohn]

Never seen a sat dish with a pole....long or short.
Are you sure the pole isn't part of a STATUS TV aerial which may not be visible from the ground until its been pushed up.

Manual dishes usually have some kind of circular flange on the ceiling with compass degrees around the edge and a winding handle in the center to lift the dish to the correct elevation.

 

[CazPaul]

Never seen a sat dish with a pole....long or short.
Are you sure the pole isn't part of a STATUS TV aerial which may not be visible from the ground until its been pushed up.

Manual dishes usually have some kind of circular flange on the ceiling with compass degrees around the edge and a winding handle in the center to lift the dish to the correct elevation.

Not checked fully, dealer said it was part of the manual sat dish, will check, cheers.

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[pappajohn]

Ceiling plate may look similar to this...

There are different ones.

 

[Gellyneck]

Not saying it would but if removed could it leave you with a potential water ingress possibility if the dealer makes a hash of it?

 

[jollyrodger]

Mine is a "pole" in the wardrobe ,turn it to required direction ,at the bottom is a plastic winding handel for elevation.
incoming coax passes through a digital sat finder,select satalite required. Turn/elevate and get an audible and visual signal strength .
It helps if you first turn on the sat receiver and telly

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[pappajohn]

Mine is a "pole" in the wardrobe ,turn it to required direction ,at the bottom is a plastic winding handel for elevation.
incoming coax passes through a digital sat finder,select satalite required. Turn/elevate and get an audible and visual signal strength .
It helps if you first turn on the sat receiver and telly

Years since I had a roof dish so things may have progressed.
My last dish was a quad LNB SKY mini dish on a camera tripod.

 

[JockandRita]

This van we are getting 1998 Hymer, pick up end of jan, has got a manual sat dish on the roof.

We had an auto one on a previous van so no nothing about these, the dealer has asked if we want it taking off.

Are they a waste of time, effort, obviously don't know if it works yet as it was low on the list of priorities when examining the van. It has a long pole inside, I presume to adjust it

Will all sat dishes be a waste of time soon?

Like a tv but on our last van we had one of those stick on aerials for the outside wall, it worked well for less than £40.

Paul it sounds like you have one of these. http://www.grasshopperleisure.co.uk/globesat-60cm-satellite-system-with-mast-10033-p.asp

It's as @DBK and @jollyrodger posted, ie, fine once you get the hang of it. Because the LNB is in the centre of the dish, that is what is aimed directly at the satellite, Astra 2G, u nlike other dishes where the LNB angle is offset.
The best advice I was given, was to point the dish to th east, set the elevation to 22-25 degrees, (UK) and very slowly move towards the south. Astra 2 should be the first satellite you pick op. This is with the aid of either a visual signal and strength meter from the receiver, or an audible meter added inline to the dish cable, (bloody annoying things, but very accurate ).
I can have our dish up, alingned, and a picture on the screen, whilst matey's automatic dish is still whirling round and up and down looking for a signal, and using valuable 12v battery power. It' gives you that smug sense of satisfaction and achievement.

I replaced ours directly from the manufacturers, due to components becoming brittle. It was a large saving in costs compared to buying from a dealer here in the UK.

Before making any decision to have it removed in favour of a £3.5K auto system, give it a try.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[CazPaul]

Paul it sounds like you have one of these. http://www.grasshopperleisure.co.uk/globesat-60cm-satellite-system-with-mast-10033-p.asp

It's as @DBK and @jollyrodger posted, ie, fine once you get the hang of it. Because the LNB is in the centre of the dish, that is what is aimed directly at the satellite, Astra 2G, u nlike other dishes where the LNB angle is offset.
The best advice I was given, was to point the dish to th east, set the elevation to 22-25 degrees, (UK) and very slowly move towards the south. Astra 2 should be the first satellite you pick op. This is with the aid of either a visual signal and strength meter from the receiver, or an audible meter added inline to the dish cable, (bloody annoying things, but very accurate ).
I can have our dish up, alingned, and a picture on the screen, whilst matey's automatic dish is still whirling round and up and down looking for a signal, and using valuable 12v battery power. It' gives you that smug sense of satisfaction and achievement.

I replaced ours directly from the manufacturers, due to components becoming brittle. It was a large saving in costs compared to buying from a dealer here in the UK.

Before making any decision to have it removed in favour of a £3.5K auto system, give it a try.

Cheers,

Jock.

Many thank Jock, I,ll give it a bash, there is no chance however of it being replaced by an expensive auto dish, the £38 aerial will do me

Although if Caroline continues to be poorly then everything is up in air, it has been an horrendous Christmas, back and forth to the hospital 3 times already with more to come no doubt. You can't buy your health, as you know with Rita.

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[JockandRita]

Many thank Jock, I,ll give it a bash, there is no chance however of it being replaced by an expensive auto dish, the £38 aerial will do me

Although if Caroline continues to be poorly then everything is up in air, it has been an horrendous Christmas, back and forth to the hospital 3 times already with more to come no doubt. You can't buy your health, as you know with Rita.

Sorry Paul. Rita and I didn't know that Caroline was poorly.

Please give her our very best wishes for the correct diagnoses, and the appropriate treatment for the condition. Good luck to her.

Jock & Rita.

 

[CazPaul]

Not saying it would but if removed could it leave you with a potential water ingress possibility if the dealer makes a hash of it?

Shouldn't be although the bottom plate needs to be left in position.

 

[JockandRita]

Shouldn't be although the bottom plate needs to be left in position.

Weighng in at less than 2 x bags of sugar, i'd be keen to leave it in place, and have a play.

Jock.

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[tonyidle]

I can have our dish up, alingned, and a picture on the screen, whilst matey's automatic dish is still whirling round and up and down looking for a signal, and using valuable 12v battery power.

That's my experience too.

The problem with portable manual dishes is storing them. With one on the roof that's another problem solved.