Satellite TV for boats?

[Chrissyboy]

Hi

 

I understand that you can get satellite TV for boats. How does it work? Is it a good idea? Who offers the best deals?

 

Thanks a lot.

 

Chris

[nb Innisfree]

Hi

 

I understand that you can get satellite TV for boats. How does it work? Is it a good idea? Who offers the best deals?

 

Thanks a lot.

 

Chris

 

We have it for a backup to terrestrial, works well just line up dish and away you go. We have the setup from Aldi about £60 at the moment I think.

[wirren]

An idea if you have top rails, using a bike handlebar 'stem'.

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/w7rren/DropBox...443165517853698

or

http://picasaweb.google.com/w7rren/DropBox...443175522481778

 

Mark.

[MrCJ]

can you get sky tv on a boat or just freeview?

[nb Innisfree]

can you get sky tv on a boat or just freeview?

 

Freeview is terrestrial tv and yes you can receive it on a boat if you have an aerial. Freesat is satellite tv and can be received with a dish same as Sky.

[J R]

can you get sky tv on a boat or just freeview?

 

You are able to get both. Freeview (digital). Received through an Omnimax or house type aerial, coax aerial cable plugged into a Freeview box which in turn is plugged into the TV. Tune in and turn onto the main 5 terrestrial channels plus radio plus a quite a number of additional channels depending on where you are based. Freeview is digital only. Comes from a ground based transmitter.

 

Sky. Yes you can get it on a boat. Again it is a digital broadcast. Equipment needed is a satalite dish, many different types available, lined up in line of sight to the satalite. The signal will be blocked by a building or hills/trees etc. Connect with coax cable to a Sky type digi box and connect to the tv. Turn on and enjoy. We have a Freeview card in our old SKY digibox from home, cost £19.95 for the card, and this gets all the Freeview channels. Can be upgraded if you pay more to get Sky Sports or Sky movies etc. There is also Freesat which works the same as the SKY system I am told. Sky type digiboxs are availble from Maplins, Currys etc. One tip if you go down the SKY freeview route. You will have to phone them up and activate the card. DO NOT TELL THEM IT IS FOR A BOAT. They will only work from a postcode, the one the card has been posted to, and if you mention the word boat they will cancel your card. The postcode will also let SKY adjust your card so that you get the local TV news stations. If you are ccing you can get all the other local tv stations by scrolling through the on screen menu.

 

What is the best setup? The one that suits your needs and your pocket the best.

[saltysplash]

can you get sky tv on a boat or just freeview?

 

 

I subscribe to Sky+HD

 

lots of lovely HD channels and Sky anytime, Just align your dish and plug it in

 

Basic Sky mini Dish

 

 

and a festive shot

 

Edited May 21, 2010 by saltysplash

[Guest]

I subscribe to Sky+HD

 

Salty - I've asked this before in a sat tv thread (not of you I don't think) and don't think I got an answer.

 

When using Sky+ on a boat what happens if during a recording the signal is lost temporarily say by boat movement caused by a passing boat.

 

Does the Sky+ box stop the recording at that point due to signal loss OR does it carry on and just record a short 'gap' in the program??

Edited May 21, 2010 by MJG

[jenlyn]

Salty - I've asked this before in a sat tv thread (not of you I don't think) and don't think I got an answer.

 

When using Sky+ on a boat what happens if during a recording the signal is lost temporarily say by boat movement caused by a passing boat.

 

Does the Sky+ box stop the recording at that point due to signal loss OR does it carry on and just record a short 'gap' in the program??

 

if you have a decent sized dish, it will have to be a lot of movement b4 you lose the signal, i have used a maplins set up, which was brilliant until the lnb went. i now have a HD sattelite system which is very good, but is succeptible to movement. it does have HD outlet and also scart outlet, so when both are connected, you can also recieve other sattelites. Focus are doing a HD system at the moment for £89.99. its 240 volt tho

[alan_fincher]

if you have a decent sized dish, it will have to be a lot of movement b4 you lose the signal.....................

A common misconception......

 

A bigger dish may have more gain, but is actually far more directional, so will be more affected by boat movement.

 

The smallest dish that will do the job reliably is actually a better option, as if the boat moves, exact alignment with the satellite is less critical.

[Naughty Cal]

A common misconception......

 

A bigger dish may have more gain, but is actually far more directional, so will be more affected by boat movement.

 

The smallest dish that will do the job reliably is actually a better option, as if the boat moves, exact alignment with the satellite is less critical.

 

Read this in one of the boating mags a few months ago, think it was Motor Boats Monthly. They suggested a dish around 30cm gave the best results. The bigger dishes lost the picture a lot more.

[alan_fincher]

Read this in one of the boating mags a few months ago, think it was Motor Boats Monthly. They suggested a dish around 30cm gave the best results. The bigger dishes lost the picture a lot more.

Sorry, not too sure you are doing too well on the technical advice, either.

 

I doubt you can easily buy a satellite dish as small as 30 cms, or that it would work very well if you did.

 

AFAIK, (and I'm no expert), about 43 cms is the smallest that would have enough gain to work reliably.

 

There is a hell of a difference in area between a 43 cms disk and a 30 cms one, and I can't see the latter would be up to it.

[Naughty Cal]

Sorry, not too sure you are doing too well on the technical advice, either.

 

I doubt you can easily buy a satellite dish as small as 30 cms, or that it would work very well if you did.

 

AFAIK, (and I'm no expert), about 43 cms is the smallest that would have enough gain to work reliably.

 

There is a hell of a difference in area between a 43 cms disk and a 30 cms one, and I can't see the latter would be up to it.

 

See MBM website. Its definatley 30cm have just checked, they where however using the marine based systems not household versions modified to suit.

[jenlyn]

Sorry, not too sure you are doing too well on the technical advice, either.

 

I doubt you can easily buy a satellite dish as small as 30 cms, or that it would work very well if you did.

 

AFAIK, (and I'm no expert), about 43 cms is the smallest that would have enough gain to work reliably.

 

There is a hell of a difference in area between a 43 cms disk and a 30 cms one, and I can't see the latter would be up to it.

 

do you have a sattelite dish on your boat? (didnt see it when i passed you 3 weeks ago). did you see my 30cms dish on my roof? ah you probably missed me, possibly too busy on here rubbishing people when they try to be helpful

 

See MBM website. Its definatley 30cm have just checked, they where however using the marine based systems not household versions modified to suit.

 

you dont need to justify your claim, your right, he is wrong (which consequently confuses the person who asked the question in the first place)

[nb Innisfree]

A common misconception......

 

A bigger dish may have more gain, but is actually far more directional, so will be more affected by boat movement.

 

The smallest dish that will do the job reliably is actually a better option, as if the boat moves, exact alignment with the satellite is less critical.

 

I don't think it is as simple as that, the way I understand it is a bigger dish receives a stronger signal and easily loses that stronger signal but still matches the weaker signal of the smaller dish? Though it is more sensitive it still beats or at least matches the smaller dish?

 

Stand to be corrected though

Edited May 21, 2010 by nb Innisfree

[bottle]

The answer lies in the correct positioning and alignment of the dish, also the rotation of the LNB.

 

This site (as previously recommended by some one else) is excellent, you do need to set all parameters when setting up the dish.

 

http://www.dishpointer.com/

 

Elevation: The 'up and down' of the dish, scale will be on dish mounting.

 

Azimuth: the compass direction, either true or magnetic.

 

Skew: the rotationj of the LNB from vertical

 

Note: Used this for the first time a few days ago and got, 100% signal strength and 100% signal quality.

[alan_fincher]

do you have a sattelite dish on your boat? (didnt see it when i passed you 3 weeks ago). did you see my 30cms dish on my roof? ah you probably missed me, possibly too busy on here rubbishing people when they try to be helpful

 

you dont need to justify your claim, your right, he is wrong (which consequently confuses the person who asked the question in the first place)

 

A lot of people come on here asking for genuine advice, from a position of little starting knowledge.

 

Some of the information posted in this thread by yourselves and others is wrong, whatever you think, and I think it important to point out to people when that is the case, in case they end up trying to follow the wrong advice given.

 

Here was another example......

 

has to be the top of the chimney where it joins the collar, some sealant will sort it, had the same thing happen to me, i sealed it with some fire sealant, end of problem

That's wrong too. "Has to be" means "has to be" - it doesn't mean "it could be, but could equally be something else".

 

I think it important when advising others that people get things right.

 

If I get something wrong, I have always had the good grace to come back and admit my error, I believe.

 

Where did I say anything about a 30 cms dish on your boat - you used the term "decent sized". The apparent confusion here could be if you are using "decent sized" to mean "small", as I think most people would assume you meant something rather bigger - I certainly took it that way.

 

See MBM website. Its definatley 30cm have just checked, they where however using the marine based systems not household versions modified to suit.

Can't immediately find it, and searching for "satellite review", and other combinations produced nothing.

 

If you give a direct link to the article, I'll take a look.

 

At first I could not find anyone selling a dish that small, but I see there is a Kerstan option, (available at RoadPro) - although it will cost you far more for just a dishh than a complete full basic satellite kit.

 

A 30 cm dish has an area less than half that of a 43 cm dish, so there must be something fairly clever done to get adequate performance with one that small.

 

I'd be interested in the article, to try and understand how they can get enough gain from such a small dish.

 

(Above EDITED to acknowledge that 30 cm dishes can be bought - I didn't find any, initially).

Edited May 21, 2010 by alan_fincher

[Keeping Up]

I don't think it is as simple as that, the way I understand it is a bigger dish receives a stronger signal and easily loses that stronger signal but still matches the weaker signal of the smaller dish? Though it is more sensitive it still beats or at least matches the smaller dish?

 

Stand to be corrected though

Definitely a smaller dish can be further off alignment and still get a signel, so it is less affected by boat movement.

 

Think of it like a torch. A super-expensive torch with a big reflector, will give a very powerful beam straight ahead but just a few degrees to either side there will be no light. On the other hand a cheap torch with a small reflector will not give such a powerful beam straight ahead, but there is still a significant amount of light several degrees either side of the beam.

[simonk]

You are able to get both. Freeview (digital). Received through an Omnimax or house type aerial, coax aerial cable plugged into a Freeview box which in turn is plugged into the TV. Tune in and turn onto the main 5 terrestrial channels plus radio plus a quite a number of additional channels depending on where you are based. Freeview is digital only. Comes from a ground based transmitter.

 

Sky. Yes you can get it on a boat. Again it is a digital broadcast. Equipment needed is a satalite dish, many different types available, lined up in line of sight to the satalite. The signal will be blocked by a building or hills/trees etc. Connect with coax cable to a Sky type digi box and connect to the tv. Turn on and enjoy. We have a Freeview card in our old SKY digibox from home, cost £19.95 for the card, and this gets all the Freeview channels. Can be upgraded if you pay more to get Sky Sports or Sky movies etc. There is also Freesat which works the same as the SKY system I am told. Sky type digiboxs are availble from Maplins, Currys etc. One tip if you go down the SKY freeview route. You will have to phone them up and activate the card. DO NOT TELL THEM IT IS FOR A BOAT. They will only work from a postcode, the one the card has been posted to, and if you mention the word boat they will cancel your card. The postcode will also let SKY adjust your card so that you get the local TV news stations. If you are ccing you can get all the other local tv stations by scrolling through the on screen menu.

 

What is the best setup? The one that suits your needs and your pocket the best.

 

Terrestrial signal here is useless, so we use satellite. You don't need to pay any subscription or even any one-off card fee to receive the free channels (the only difference from terrestrial Freeview is that you can't get "Dave" and if for some reason you want to watch channel 5, you have to tune it in manually). Any old Sky box with or without a card will work.

[twocvbloke]

There is a hell of a difference in area between a 43 cms disk and a 30 cms one, and I can't see the latter would be up to it.

 

I have a 35cm BSB minidish (about 1990 vintage), and fitted with a modern LNB, it outperforms any current 43cm minidish, even picked up Hispasat (30 degrees West, or 58.2 degrees to the right of the Astra2 slot) with no bother, unlike the minidish I used before that...

 

That said though, it's a Channel Master (renowned for making the best dishes on the market), compared to other similar sized dishes, it's the badgers nadgers....

 

It's not the quantity, but the quality...

 

it does have HD outlet and also scart outlet, so when both are connected, you can also recieve other sattelites.

 

Erm, no, not quite, SCART and HDMI outputs are for the video output, using one on one TV and the other on a different TV produces the same picture (albeit one is full HD and the other is scaled down to SD, or vice versa), they don't select other satellites and will not display different channels...

 

If you want TV from other satellites, you have to move the dish (either by hand or with a motor positioner), which means that you lose the current signals and have to use a different set on another (foreign) satellite. Or, if your receiver is capable of it, you can use 2 LNBs on one dish, and have a "DiSEqC" switch between them, and that will switch between the two positions and send the signal down one cable, but this only works on boxes that support it, so if you have a sky box, forget what I just said cos it won't work, they're too lobotomised for "real" satellite TV reception...

 

I suggest some of you visit www.satellites.co.uk/forum/ (I'm a member there) and read up on satellite reception properly, cos some of the things I've read on this forum about satellite TV is utter rubbish!!!

 

(Not trying to advertise, they just have a wealth of very useful information on the subject, from indoor and portable dishes, to full-blown dish farms!!!)

[Radio-Ga-Ga]

I don't think it is as simple as that, the way I understand it is a bigger dish receives a stronger signal and easily loses that stronger signal but still matches the weaker signal of the smaller dish? Though it is more sensitive it still beats or at least matches the smaller dish?

 

Stand to be corrected though

 

I would go along with that view, there is bound to be a point where a dish is too directional for a boat, but tend to think a dish that size would not be realistic to fit to a narrowboat in the first place, 1 metre or more?

 

I use a 60cm dish, and when checking the signal strength meter while the boat is being passed by other boats ect it does lose some signal but remains strong enough that the picture is never lost.

 

How about some posts from members who have tried dishes only to find it was not up to the job? too small or too big

[Guest]

I suggest some of you visit www.satellites.co.uk/forum/ (I'm a member there) and read up on satellite reception properly, cos some of the things I've read on this forum about satellite TV is utter rubbish!!!

 

that should be forums

 

you missed the s

[twocvbloke]

that should be forums

 

you missed the s

 

Pobody's nerfect....

[Guest]

Pobody's nerfect....

 

No because if you were you'd have made the link 'clickable' as well.....

 

Clicky to sat forum

[twocvbloke]

No because if you were you'd have made the link 'clickable' as well.....

 

Clicky to sat forum

 

I'm used to not posting active links (something to do with referral ids or something), plus it keeps those anti-clicky people happy...