satellite Dish

[Phil C]

I have a cheap satellite dish but consistently struggle to find a signal.

Any recommendations on a good self seeking system? Happy to pay reasonable amount if the system is worthwhile

 

Phil C

[Bobbybass]

I have a cheap satellite dish but consistently struggle to find a signal.

Any recommendations on a good self seeking system? Happy to pay reasonable amount if the system is worthwhile

 

Phil C

 

Self seeking systems are a huge amount... I invested in a Camos 'dome' in order to save my marriage....You should have seen the rows we had over the "yes..thats it...oops..no back a bit...oops no...the other way"

There are other self seeking dish systems out there with most other than the Camos being an exposed motorised unit.

I spoke to users before spending out...and there are problems with them taking in grit/ water/leaves etc.

My Camos has been faultless over several years...and controls from a unit in the lounge that selects any one of 8 satellites.

but...its expensive at about £1200 !!!!

I love it though...providing there are no trees its straight on the satellite.

 

Bob

[bottle]

Phil

 

There is nothing wrong with the dish you have, it is just the finding the satellite and having nothing between it and the dish.

[J R]

I have a cheap satellite dish but consistently struggle to find a signal.

Any recommendations on a good self seeking system? Happy to pay reasonable amount if the system is worthwhile

 

Phil C

 

The few self seeking sat systems on narrowboats seem to be Camos or Teleco. Both work well, but will set you back well into 4 figures + VAT & fitting. With the wireling looms for 12v and signal, control wires etc, they are only really suitable for fitting to a new build or stripout/refurb. As has been mentioned above, if there is anything in the way of line of sight of the dish, trees, buildings etc, no signal will be found. They are very convenient if you can afford one; push a buton and you can find the sat (Astra 28.8) within 30 seconds.

 

On our first boat we had a Kerstan sat dish and a sat finder. Have spent many (un)happy hours trying to find the correct sat. However, without the use of hopped barley water and with alot of practice the correct signal can be found. From memory, dish at 12 degrees from vertical and the dish pointing east of south by about 30 degrees. (Stand to be corrected). Found that if there was a nearby house with a dish, lined it up roughly in the same direction and it all worked fine. Once locked on through the box no probs, except when the wind blows the dish over.

 

Can recommend auto systems for their simplicity and ease of use. Bear in mind though the wireing requirements and that there are usually at least 2 control boxs that need to be fitted. 12v usuage is minimal, estimate around 12 amp hrs per 24 hrs. PM me if you want a contact telephone number of someone (a specialist in this area) who knows all the ins and outs to speak to for more info. He does boats & motor homes.

[twocvbloke]

(Astra 28.8)

 

the dish pointing east of south by about 30 degrees. (Stand to be corrected).

 

And here it is, 28.2 Degrees East of South for Astra2, and to throw it into the mix, 28.5 Degrees for Eurobird (carries a few other UK and some european channels)...

 

There's nothing at 28.8 Degrees, apart from space, endless space, or for a very brief time twice a year, the sun is there, very briefly though...

[RobinR]

Self seeking systems are a huge amount... I invested in a Camos 'dome' in order to save my marriage....You should have seen the rows we had over the "yes..thats it...oops..no back a bit...oops no...the other way"

There are other self seeking dish systems out there with most other than the Camos being an exposed motorised unit.

I spoke to users before spending out...and there are problems with them taking in grit/ water/leaves etc.

My Camos has been faultless over several years...and controls from a unit in the lounge that selects any one of 8 satellites.

but...its expensive at about £1200 !!!!

I love it though...providing there are no trees its straight on the satellite.

 

Bob

 

The VuQube at £700 is easy to use - I saw one at the Crick Show. This Comag equipment is reported to be easier to set up and is available as HD or SD but I have not found the dish, LNB and mount being sold separately.

[Bobbybass]

The few self seeking sat systems on narrowboats seem to be Camos or Teleco. Both work well, but will set you back well into 4 figures + VAT & fitting. With the wireling looms for 12v and signal, control wires etc, they are only really suitable for fitting to a new build or stripout/refurb. As has been mentioned above, if there is anything in the way of line of sight of the dish, trees, buildings etc, no signal will be found. They are very convenient if you can afford one; push a buton and you can find the sat (Astra 28.8) within 30 seconds.

 

On our first boat we had a Kerstan sat dish and a sat finder. Have spent many (un)happy hours trying to find the correct sat. However, without the use of hopped barley water and with alot of practice the correct signal can be found. From memory, dish at 12 degrees from vertical and the dish pointing east of south by about 30 degrees. (Stand to be corrected). Found that if there was a nearby house with a dish, lined it up roughly in the same direction and it all worked fine. Once locked on through the box no probs, except when the wind blows the dish over.

 

Can recommend auto systems for their simplicity and ease of use. Bear in mind though the wireing requirements and that there are usually at least 2 control boxs that need to be fitted. 12v usuage is minimal, estimate around 12 amp hrs per 24 hrs. PM me if you want a contact telephone number of someone (a specialist in this area) who knows all the ins and outs to speak to for more info. He does boats & motor homes.

 

The Camos dome doesn't have looms etc. You just have one single normal satelite cable going to the dome and that does the 'lot'...no special wiring to the dome...no 12 volts.....no control lines...just one normal cable.

You run a 12volt line to the control box in the lounge and take your signal from the control box to the Sky box/ tuner from that...so it is really easy to fit.

I have a small LNB splitter box from the sky box and I run this into another box...so I can make use of the other satellites that the Camos will find...ie : Hispasat, Sirius, Hotbird....so I can use another satellite if Astra is behind a branch of a tree.

Power usage is zero when the dish has lined up. You hit the switch when you moor up..it uses about 2 Ah for about a minute. Once lined up you switch it off and there is no power usage.

 

Bob

[Offcumden]

There is nothing wrong with the dish you have, it is just the finding the satellite and having nothing between it and the dish.

 

Just a thought, if its not to late. have a look at the Konig sat finder on amazon at £6.30 inc p&p got to be worth a punt

Might just save a bob or two

John

Edited July 18, 2010 by Offcumden

[WotEver]

We just bought our first satellite kit (one of those £59.99 Aldi jobs). I was playing with it on Sunday and really struggling to find a signal - the sat finder was bleeping all over the place, the compass showed North to be in a different place wherever I stood (yes, even away from boats) and the receiver insited on showing 0% quality.

 

Then I dug out my copies of Allan's satellite sundial and waited for the sun to peep through the clouds. In 10 seconds I had the azimuth correct and then used the Sat Finder to get the approximately correct elevation. Instantly the receiver was showing 59% quality. After a few minor tweaks I got it up to 74%.

 

Now the elevation is correct that shouldn't need much tweaking in the future (canals don't tend to be on a slope) so all I'll have to do is point it in the right direction and I'm away.

 

Tony

[Bobbybass]

We just bought our first satellite kit (one of those £59.99 Aldi jobs). I was playing with it on Sunday and really struggling to find a signal - the sat finder was bleeping all over the place, the compass showed North to be in a different place wherever I stood (yes, even away from boats) and the receiver insited on showing 0% quality.

 

Then I dug out my copies of Allan's satellite sundial and waited for the sun to peep through the clouds. In 10 seconds I had the azimuth correct and then used the Sat Finder to get the approximately correct elevation. Instantly the receiver was showing 59% quality. After a few minor tweaks I got it up to 74%.

 

Now the elevation is correct that shouldn't need much tweaking in the future (canals don't tend to be on a slope) so all I'll have to do is point it in the right direction and I'm away.

 

Tony

 

When I cam back from the pub last night..I could swear the canal had a slope.

 

Bob

[WotEver]

When I cam back from the pub last night..I could swear the canal had a slope.

 

Bob

You'd never have understood the telly anyway

[Radio-Ga-Ga]

Now the elevation is correct that shouldn't need much tweaking in the future (canals don't tend to be on a slope) so all I'll have to do is point it in the right direction and I'm away.

 

Tony

 

In my experience being able to put up the dish knowing the elevation is right is the key. Looking for a point in the sky with just a rough idea of direction is painstakingly slow, but with the elevation pre-set you're only looking on an arc and you will find it as fast or faster than a motorized system.

 

Traveling with a sat nav (your car one will do) means you can moor knowing roughly the direction the dish will be facing and can pick a spot without obstructions.

[twocvbloke]

Just remember that the elevation changes as you travel further north or south, you have to adjust to compensate for the big slope that is the earth...

 

For example, if you were up in Edinburgh, the elevation would be lower than if you were in London, the nearer to the Equator you get (as the Geostationary satellite bands tend to be above this) the higher the dish has to look...