Which satellite system ?

wye
wye Forum Participant Posts: 241
edited June 2016 in Parts & Accessories #1

Just had a fab weekend on our fav basic CL , the TV signal is never very good , but this weekend it was below poor , we like a bit of TV some evenings, and we get away in the winter a lot , so the long nights , we watch it a bit then too .

I know prices vary , and there are free standing and roof mounted , I would be interested in your opinions and recommendations please .

Comments

  • wye
    wye Forum Participant Posts: 241
    edited June 2016 #2

    Bump

  • Justus2
    Justus2 Forum Participant Posts: 897
    500 Comments
    edited June 2016 #3

    We've just bought a portable sat kit from maplins for about £100. Its small, packs in a case, is a bit of a tricky procedure to get it working at first, but works fine once you have mastered it. Suits us for occasional use and is compact.

  • Pauljw
    Pauljw Forum Participant Posts: 55
    edited June 2016 #4

    Hello wye , My wife likes television and We once went to Newquay ........ No signal from the round digital Aerial , it was an old van , but We had a DVD player in the telly and bought a little radio . Now this was our starter van and had it for 4 yrs and wanted to upgrade to a new van with a different layout ( no bed making ) I was fortunately able do this and at last years NEC show bought the van that We wanted . I remembered the time with no telly and asked for a self seeking satellite dish to be fitted and bought a telly with a satellite tuner built in . For automatic ones Your looking between £1400 and £2000 , there are the dome satellites somewhere in between or like Justus2 , for a hundred or so You can still have satellite tv for a lot cheaper . I'm not bothered about tv and couldn't be bothered setting a manual one up , but You pay Your money so make Your choice , hope this helps

  • mickysf
    mickysf Forum Participant Posts: 6,474 ✭✭✭
    2,500 Likes 1000 Comments
    edited June 2016 #5

    We've just bought a portable sat kit from maplins for about £100. Its small, packs in a case, is a bit of a tricky procedure to get it working at first, but works fine once you have mastered it. Suits us for occasional use and is compact.

    once mastered it's a doddle! With a roof mounted dish not only can pitch be crucial but van position on it too! With a tripod mounted dish you can move them around the pitch for that extra flexibility!

  • wallacebob
    wallacebob Forum Participant Posts: 89
    edited June 2016 #6

    I bought a discounted Aldi portable system, very simple and works everytime. Channel guide is a bit poor compared to Sky/Virgin, but you do get used to it. Prior to that I had domestic dish on upturned clothes drier: good signal, but a pain if windy!

  • Pauljw
    Pauljw Forum Participant Posts: 55
    edited June 2016 #7

    mickysf , Your quite correct and if I had a limited budget that's how I would do it and take the time to learn the setup procedures , I was quite happy to pay full price for the caravan, but got a motor mover , auto sat dish and a solar panel fitted at about
    £ 1000 less than the retail price of the caravan , the deal worked out ok ( maybe I was lucky ) but Your advice is good , You have the flexibility to move the dish

  • Pauljw
    Pauljw Forum Participant Posts: 55
    edited June 2016 #8

    walacebob , that's the way to go really , justI I can't be bothered to do the set up , if I was younger and more patient I would do as there's some good sites on the forums that explain it very well

  • Pauljw
    Pauljw Forum Participant Posts: 55
    edited June 2016 #9

    I can be quite inventive but the upside down clothes drier mounting platform, well , I would never have thought about that lol .....,,, Respect

  • SELL
    SELL Forum Participant Posts: 398
    edited June 2016 #10

    You could take a look at the Snipe portable self seeking satellite system cost approx £650 and apparently very good. could be a cheaper alternative to a roof mouted set up if you are considering going down that route.

  • richardandros
    richardandros Club Member Posts: 2,687 ✭✭✭
    1,000 Likes 1000 Comments Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited June 2016 #11

    I tried the Aldi system but took it back.  The TV was, in my opinion, less than satisfactory in that it kept losing the signal (even on terrestrial) and the dish, whilst OK, has no easy means of attaching it to a tripod and as sold, can only be roof mounted which makes it difficult to align.

    I bit the bullet and went for an Avtex 24"DRS TV with built in HD satellite decoder - but more importantly has the 'Easyfind' software included.  Link this to the Avtex flat satellite dish with 'Easyfind' and the whole set-up procedure takes no more than a couple of minutes using the digital / LED read out on the back of the dish.  The only slight problem is that the read-out / LED's aren't that easy to see in strong sunlight.

    The dish comes complete with a substantial tripod and lead and is housed in a very strong and durable suitcase.

    It was an expensive solution (about £650 for both units) but the picture quality of the Avtex together with the ease of locking onto the satellite makes it a winner for me.

Categories