Satellite TV
We know nothing about satellite TV having never used it at home nor with a caravan. We have been in the habit of taking 50 or 60 books to France on six week trips which is easy with a big car. Now we are getting a motorhome and things have to change. We are considering having a satellite on the motorhome so that we can keep up with the news, watch films etc. in place of reading. The manufacturers such as Auto-Sleeper, Auto-Trail and Swift all offer a satellite as an extra and they are generally around £2,000 or more. I have just discovered that Avtex make one for around the £600 mark so I am wondering why there is such a significant price differential. The systems offered by the manufacturers would have to be far superior to persuade us to spend so much more.
All advice would be appreciated.
Comments
-
Have you considered a Kindle for reading your books?
0 -
I could be wrong but it looks as if Avtex market a version of the Snipe satellite system? If that is the case it is quite a neat and compact system. The downside would be, in taking it to Europe, would be the limited reception area for UK Free to Air programmes. It might be OK for some of the Sky programmes. If you are going anywhere south of the Loire Valley you really need to think about a system with an 85cms dish. Might be worth having a lot at the Road Pro website. They fitted my rook mounted system and they were excellent.
David
0 -
Satellite does not need to cost £100s let alone £1000s. Paying out big money only buys convenience, not ability to get a picture or quality of that picture.
You need a TV with a satellite decoder built into it, or a decoder top box, plus a dish and connecting cable. Even with little care it is possible to do it for a £100.
In all cases, auto and manual systems, where you are needing to use it will dictate the size dish required.
I suggest your first decision needs to be "where do I want to go?"
From that the size dish and in turn the cost and suitable options can be suggested.
0 -
I hadn't mentioned where we want to go as I had not realised that to be an issue. Sadly I have forgotten Spanish, in which I used to be fluent, so we have not been further South than France as French is such an instinctive language and not easily forgotten. However, I am considering brushing up on Spanish and going down to the South coast. I quite like the idea of Portugal but not tackled Portuguese yet.
0 -
To receive in the South of Spain, directly the normal BBC and ITV channels like we have on terrestrial TV in the UK, then a very large dish and good weather will be needed. However, as I have not tried I don't know the specifics, but others will. I suggest the dish size virtually precludes folding automatic systems.
Set your sights on France then given good weather, reports are that an 85 CM dish, ie a large folding MH type, will do. Ideally going for one with auto skew to give you the best chances.
Mine is a manual 65 CM and as proved last week it pulls in UK TV from Astra 28.2 by the Dordogne river in the Lot, well till the rain clouds gather to cause temporary lost.
If Spain is going to be a frequent location where UK TV is required I suggest you look at some of the internet supported alternatives. others here know about.
0 -
£200 gets you a dish, decoder, tripod etc. Works very well but bit of an art in getting it set up, aligned, and understanding how to make it work.
£800 gets you a snipe (or similar) only difference it is fully programmed, stop, turn it on, it finds the sat and tunes it for you. Good for most of the way down France.
£2000 gets you the same technology with additional features but with a larger dish which is mounted on the roof and generally has a better range, most are good all the way to the very north of Spain.
IP TV is gaining in popularity, TV over the internet via WiFi or GSM but you need a good phone signal or site WiFi. Kit is cheap but bills can be high if you are not on the right tariff. This technology or its successors will probably take over in time.
0 -
We have a Status TV aerial on the advice of one of the biggest providers of equipment to the leisure market. Good enough for the UK. We never watch TV abroad.
Work out where you are going to be travelling and then what signal/TV programmes you'll get. Then talk to a few suppliers.
0 -
We didn't bother to take the TV on our recent trip to France. Can't say I missed it. Only comes into its own on grey chilly evenings in the UK.
0 -
Thanks so much for all the helpful advice. It sounds as if the whole exercise requires quite a bit of electronic hassle for little gain. We now plan to go back to the basics, i.e. buy a second Kindle and cut down on the amount of paper books we take away.
0 -
It was when we started to go on longer trips of a couple of months at a time that we first started to take a TV with as we are quite keen F1 fans and din't like having to rely of campsites having a race on if there was another major sporting event at the same time. For years we manged with a free standing satellite dish but when we got the motorhome that was not as convenient because of storage. We eventually decided to bite the bullet and have a roof mounted automatic system installed. At the same time we purchased an Avtex Combi TV with the built in satellite receiver to minimise gubbins inside the van. It has been one of the best investments we have made as it is so easy to use. Margaret is an avid reader of both paper books and she uses a Kindle. However she says that can't read all day as it starts to affect her eyes so she needs a rest from it which the TV provides. Having said that she still seems to get through a mass of books whilst on holiday! The roof mounted dish has proved to be an excellent investment as its so easy to operate. If you want a TV to provide entertainment it might be an idea to buy one with a built in DVD. The Discs are easy enough to store in a soft pouch container if you want to save space.
David
0 -
I can only agree with David Klyne. We go to France roughly three times a year and have self seeking Oyster Vision 85cm dish. Since UK TV is an hour later in France we find it very useful in the late evening. Our decoder is in a cupboard above the fridge / freezer and both the TV and satellite run on 12 volt. In addition the TV also plays DVDs so on the odd occasions we are unable to get a signal we been watching the Downton Abbey boxed set.
0 -
The Avtex Snipe is a brilliant system built in GPS and Auto Tuning, order from Germany and you get the mounting plate included.
Works fine down to mid france, beyond this dish size has little effect as reception is limited by the satalite footprint.
0 -
The furthest south we have been has been Carcassonne. Can't really speak for further south but it would seem that you would be hard pushed to get UK FTA programmes that far south. You do hear a bit of anecdotal evidence of people picking up signals in unexpected places in Spain but I am not sure that can be relied upon. On the other hand if you have Sky you will be able to pick up their exclusive programmes which would include the likes of Sky News but not BBC/ITV.
David
0 -
We've got a roof-mounted dish, 85cm. Last trip down to the south of France, La Grande Motte, Marseillan Plage and Loupian, as well as St Remy-de-Provence and Sisteron to name a few areas further south, we were able to receive UK TV most of that time. Occasionally it dropped out, due to weather conditions.
0 -
Same here InaD, we have an 85cm fully automatic with autoskew Oyster dish and receive full British tv channels in the South of France. We have also received channel 4 and a few obscure channels like Challenge, in Northern Spain (Salamanca) and Bay of Roses.
The main problem we have found by having a roof mounted dish is that it does prevent you from parking the MH where you want to and more about where you can get a clear signal. Trees are a pain especially at the back end of the year when they are in full leaf. The Spanish favour the Mulberry trees, they grow at a terrific rate and by the end of June trying to get a signal on some sites is very difficult.
This is where the portable dish on a tripod is better as you can easily move it round the pitch to dodge the trees
setting it up is not for the faint hearted though. OH had done it for many years prior to having one installed on the MH roof, its now his favourite toy 
0 -
Further to the reply from David Klyne, I can also recommend outdoor bits in Exmouth. Excellent service and they can also advise which system and size dish for your needs. They do all sorts/sizes. I have a Teleco system with twin lnb and 85cm dish which works well for me on French Med. Coast around the montpelier area. The Teleco has a 2 year warranty but as David states a small dish is a bit limited. I would go on to the web and check the coverage area expected for the Astra 28 satellite in Europe some show the coverage by dish size
0
