Freebies or Freesat?

We normally take a TV with us but mostly leave it in its box. This holiday we have a satellite dish in our hired van and have watched more TV than is usual for us. We are now on a site without a tv signal (that I can find) but the satelitte still works. At the previous site neither worked.

Just in case we start to like the TV life, what are the advantages of satelitte over terrestrial?

The one that you've just discovered IMHO, that you're more likely to be able to get a satellite signal on remote sites than a terrestrial Freeview signal.

However, we usually seem to end up under the only tree on the site or, as just happened at SWMBO's son's house near Bremen last week, the corner of the house blocked the satellite signal where the van was parked.

It worked fine at his German in-law's house a few miles, sorry, kilometers away.

This much to my amazement, as that part of northern Germany should be outside the Astra 2F footprint for FreeSat.
They do (just) receive British FreeSat, but with a 70cm dish (which I installed and aligned a couple of years ago), where I was using a Snipe dish. I'm pretty impressed with that.

Put it like this, you won't get UK TV in Geramny with an aerial.

I think you have the answer already Dave. Carry on leaving it in its box.

I don't think ours has been out in over a year. I won't get rid of it though in case we get a week of constant rain - or snow the way things are at present.

I always have a few DVDs in the van, or a memory stick with a few films, but we actually like being away from the telly. It's nice not to hear all the incessant doom and gloom on the news.

I get TV through data if the terrestrial signal is poor.
Rich..

Gromit wrote:I think you have the answer already Dave. Carry on leaving it in its box.

I don't think ours has been out in over a year. I won't get rid of it though in case we get a week of constant rain - or snow the way things are at present.

I always have a few DVDs in the van, or a memory stick with a few films, but we actually like being away from the telly. It's nice not to hear all the incessant doom and gloom on the news.

Someone sensible at last, in my opinion, NO TV. As you say nice to be away from telly.

Makes us laugh when vans turn up and almost before the engine stops up comes the dish. I might add not always British vans.
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Richard

I like having the TV with us. I find I desperately want to know what I'm missing if I don't have it but with one in the cupboard I'm happy leaving it there.

If the timing is right I will watch sport (mostly motorsport) and for that a local commentary is usually good enough.

The problem this holiday is that the weather has at times been miserable and I have left my favourite kindle at home. Once we get our new van we will have the TV on a bracket, not in a cupboard but I will have my kindle. I don't see that satelitte offers us anything new but we will wait and see.

On a site last week in a section with about 20 vans, I think ours was the only one without the flickering glow of a TV.

Having said that we have just bought a small Sharp TV on offer in Sainsburys for our bedroom that will double up for the van if we want.

When we were at Thetford we were warned that there was only about 4-5 pitches that could get satellite signal but then it is in a forest.

I never had my TV out of its bag either, have it just in case, snowed in 

Prefer to read, or craft, or watch the wild life. prefably the latter .

Gromit wrote:I think you have the answer already Dave. Carry on leaving it in its box.

I don't think ours has been out in over a year. I won't get rid of it though in case we get a week of constant rain - or snow the way things are at present.

I always have a few DVDs in the van, or a memory stick with a few films, but we actually like being away from the telly. It's nice not to hear all the incessant doom and gloom on the news.

That's why we love France---NO TV and the ones in some receptions I cannot understand a word!
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Richard

Made us laugh on the way home Monday, huge great big van, Dutch reg, pulled into the Aires where we stopped for a bite to eat by the A6 Toll road, yes and up came the sat dish rotated a few times so I guess they found a station, they left before us also. I assume it is like the people who walk down the road with coffee cup in one hand and smart phone in the other, it cannot be put down.

Dish was bigger than our roof! 
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Richard