Satellite Suitcase System

[davidc]

Thinking of buying one of these from Maplin.

 

http://www.maplin.co.uk/camping-and-caravanning-satellite-suitcase-system-217921

 

If anyone is using this item is it any good,

Or is there a reasonable alternative.

[Tesla]

I have used one of these on my Dads boat. Took a while to set up but worked fine, trouble is the boat kept moving

[Biggles]

I had one very simular, the dish will work with a sky box as well.

 

Once you have the angle set up the direction is easy.

 

Strangly a smaller dish is easier to get a signal and is less prone to signal drop if the boat rocks.

 

Do a search for a company called Comag, they seem to mak many of these suitcase systems. I go mine at Lidl for £40 some years ago.

 

I now use a multimol dish and skybox from home when on the boat.

Edited April 8, 2012 by Biggles

[Nickhlx]

I had one very simular, the dish will work with a sky box as well.

 

Once you have the angle set up the direction is easy.

 

Strangly a smaller dish is easier to get a signal and is less prone to signal drop if the boat rocks.

 

Do a search for a company called Comag, they seem to mak many of these suitcase systems. I go mine at Lidl for £40 some years ago.

 

I now use a multimol dish and skybox from home when on the boat.

 

Confirm Lidl and Aldi do them periodically and they aren't bad value for the money.. The reason the smaller dishes are less susceptible to movement is that the dishes are lower gain and less directional, so bigger movements / errors in pointing are tolerated, at the expense of less signal gain, but with satellite it's generally "go" or "no go"...

 

Nick

[Grace and Favour]

Confirm Lidl and Aldi do them periodically and they aren't bad value for the money.. The reason the smaller dishes are less susceptible to movement is that the dishes are lower gain and less directional, so bigger movements / errors in pointing are tolerated, at the expense of less signal gain, but with satellite it's generally "go" or "no go"...

 

Nick

 

We use one of these dishes, and have it linked to a Humax-Foxsat box.

 

Reception is superb, and particularly the HD is 'au point' (as our French cousins would say)

[davidc]

I had one very simular, the dish will work with a sky box as well.

 

Once you have the angle set up the direction is easy.

 

Strangly a smaller dish is easier to get a signal and is less prone to signal drop if the boat rocks.

 

Do a search for a company called Comag, they seem to mak many of these suitcase systems. I go mine at Lidl for £40 some years ago.

 

I now use a multimol dish and skybox from home when on the boat.

 

 

Thanks checked on their web site have one similar to Maplin but not on an Easter offer unfortunately .

[MartinC]

I have used one of these on my Dads boat. Took a while to set up but worked fine, trouble is the boat kept moving

 

Best to get a kit that includes Easy Find. This has, on the pointy thing, an LED light which goes from red to amber to green as you lock on to the satellite. I got mine from CPC (£90 for the whole kit including receiver) but they are no longer stocking them. They appear and disappear at Maplins at a reasonable price but there also appear to be a lot of sellers charging fancy prices! There is, currently, a "grade B" one on ebay Link . I have no connection with the vendor.

[jenlyn]

These suitcase jobs generally do what is expected of them, used one myself for a while. Have also fitted quite a few. The LNB's are a bit iffy, they tend to drop channels after a while, but easy to replace at around 20 quid. Once set correctly, these things are simple to site on the satellite, tho can be a pain if in the middle of the roof.

Edited April 9, 2012 by jenlyn

[calamity507]

we have been using one for over 2 years , absolutely great. Shame you arent near us , boat next door has 1 for sale , as they are moving backc on land

Edited April 9, 2012 by calamity507

[davidc]

There is, currently, a "grade B" one on ebay Link . I have no connection with the vendor.

 

 

Same one in maplins is 10 pound cheaper

[MartinC]

Same one in maplins is 10 pound cheaper

 

I think you will find that the Maplin one at £10 cheaper does not have Easyfind. Maplin do stock the Easyfind from time to time but currently out of stock My link

[by'eck]

I had one very simular, the dish will work with a sky box as well.

 

Once you have the angle set up the direction is easy.

 

Strangly a smaller dish is easier to get a signal and is less prone to signal drop if the boat rocks.

 

Do a search for a company called Comag, they seem to mak many of these suitcase systems. I go mine at Lidl for £40 some years ago.

 

I now use a multimol dish and skybox from home when on the boat.

 

The smaller the dish the weaker but broader the reception lobe. So if you have a good signal the smaller dish will be better in maintaining what signal you can get whilst moving a little.

 

Big dishes >= 1 metre diameter, accurately panned up and locked in position are needed when near the edge of the satellite footprint where signal is weaker.

[nicknorman]

Satellite finders are not really useful because they find any satellite, not necessarily the right one! We got one with our kit but I only used the finder once. If you look at the Nicholsons etc you can find South East, the slowly rotate the dish clockwise, the first satellite you then come to is the Freesat one.

 

Another thing to consider from a day-to-day usability point of view is go get one with an offset LNB - ie one with an arm-mounted actual receiver bit stickiing out from the bottom of the dish, rather than one with the LNB/actual receiver bit in the centre of the dish. With the latter, you have to get both the bearing and the elevation correct, and if you put it on a curving roof the elevation will change according to which way it has to be pointed, so it is much harder to point it directly at the satellite.

 

With the offset LNB they are designed so that with the actual dish vertical, the LNB is focused up at the correct angle. It is very easy to visually asses that the dish is vertical, and then you just have to worry about the bearing. It normally takes me less than 1 minute to get a signal, and sometimes it works instantly, having looked at the Nicholsons and take a good guess at the correct bearing. It is also pretty much the same bearing as the sun is just before 11am GMT.

 

Don't forget than you need a clear view of the satellite, even light foliage is enough to block the signal, so you need to consider where you moor if the evening's Eastenders is important to you!