satellite tv

using auto sleeper mezan.fed up with messing with ariels. put sat connection in van.run cable,terminating
onto outside connection on gas bottle door.leaving enough to flex.bought camping sat kit from aldi.20£. when they were selling them off.bought tripod off second hand market.heavy duty one off laser leveller.£25.the lot.connectors and cable.total price.54£. easy to set up in 10 minutes.now watching all main channels while others still fiddling about.well worth the effort and price.
GM

GM,

Sounds a solid system. My only advice is "Always check for trees before you start tuning in."

I don't know why but my experience is that a block of flats is not a problem; but a leaf trembling on a tree half a mile away and it seems as if the satellite is playing peekaboo with the dish!

Best regards,

We have used the Road Pro Multimo sat dish for the past 5 yrs but am led to believe that as we are now transferring to Astra 2F I will not be able to use it in Spain next yr.
I have the option of buying a dish and LNB here at Camping Javea but have been told (By a so called expert) that I will need a1 metre dish.
Is this correct and any advice before I blow a few ££££

Shelldrake its all a bit of guess work really. There is no technical problem with the multimo its just that the signal will be/is now much weaker as the satellite beam is going to be more tightly focussed on the UK. As channels migrate across they will probably disappear for our Spanish viewers. In fact I am hearing the CH5 has already moved across and disappeared.

It is believed that a 1 metre dish will be needed but we have people in Portugal using 60cm dishes and finding the new satellite and people a few miles away in Spain having no luck at all.

I would hold fire for a few months until things have settled down.

Hi there,

My good friend down in Mijas has a satellite dish on her balcony that is 1.5 metres across; and assures me that the local expatriate community consider this to be the absolute minimum!

On the other hand, our Caro (a "stood on one corner" square) managed to pick up ALL Astra channels down to the very south of France and the news channels all the way down to Malaga.

I agree with Ubuntu and suggest that you take your time and then check with an outfit such as Conrad Anderson to get the latest advice on whatever footprint changes have taken place.

Hope this helps.

Best regards,

Ian

Thanks for your advice and just as I had thought Suck it and see and wait till next yr. We are not TV addicts anyway but just like to see the odd programme/ Frank ?? has just arrived from UK and he is a Sat man but won't rush into buying anything from him. He swears by his Multimo whilst in France as I do but he has a 1 metre dish up and getting UK programmes less 5 but that seems to be the same across the board.

Shelldrake we are also in the same situation. We are just fed up with the rubbish reception we get with the Omni aerial supplied by AutoSleepers.

One other thing: I noticed that the aerial sockets in our van are not soldered. The guys at Marquis say that they do not need soldering - is this the truth?

They are right they do not need soldering.

Well we live in Spain and travel all over Spain and Portugal in our MH. I use a 80cm dish on a tripod without problem. Some places I do not get all the UK freesat channels or places I get them all, but Channel 5, 5usa and 5*

Just come back from Portugal in December and Jan and traveling back had no problems.

John

Not going to start an argument, but there are two types of RF plug/socket that are used on TV aerials (not dishes)

Those which have a screw to secure the coax conductor and those that dont.

Those that dont have a screw will work unsoldered but it is better that they are soldered. Those OmniDirectionals are lossy enough as we found out a few years ago on the
Executive, rubbish coax, unsoldered joints - replaced with decent coax to the socket and soldered joints, result brilliant picture.

I have some coax here on the radios that is 12mm dia (tv stuff 6mm dia) and the centre core is 2mm, if making a connection outside it needs two 100w soldering irons on the plug to make the joint and I certainly wouln't mess around if it wasnt necessary.

roli wrote:Not going to start an argument, but there are two types of RF plug/socket that are used on TV aerials (not dishes)

Those which have a screw to secure the coax conductor and those that dont.

Those that dont have a screw will work unsoldered but it is better that they are soldered. Those OmniDirectionals are lossy enough as we found out a few years ago on the
Executive, rubbish coax, unsoldered joints - replaced with decent coax to the socket and soldered joints, result brilliant picture.

I have some coax here on the radios that is 12mm dia (tv stuff 6mm dia) and the centre core is 2mm, if making a connection outside it needs two 100w soldering irons on the plug to make the joint and I certainly wouln't mess around if it wasnt necessary.

I have always soldered joints, you are 100% correct better connection makes for better picture.

John

Hi



This thread seems to be drifting away from the satellite stuff a bit but it's touching on another one of me hobby horses so I couldn't resist it! I’ll try and keep the rant short.

roli wrote:
Those OmniDirectionals are lossy enough as we found out a few years ago on the
Executive, rubbish coax, unsoldered joints - replaced with decent coax to the socket and soldered joints, result brilliant picture.

Exactly! I’d say they should always be soldered! Here’s why:

Both cable and plug perform two main functions. To pass the signal from the aerial to the receiving equipment and just as importantly to keep any interfering signals out.

A good quality installation will give reasonable results in conditions where a poor quality one will be unusable. In a MH where conditions are often at the limits of usability as far as TV reception is concerned a good quality installation is essential.

Aluminium bodied plugs with a hollow pin should always be soldered. Yes it will work with the inner cable conductor just sitting in there but the copper will soon tarnish resulting in a poor connection resulting in some degree of signal loss and other unwanted effects.

Screw plugs may seem a good idea but they tend to compress the copper inner resulting in loose screws resulting in the same problems as the unsoldered hollow connector.

Just as importantly just about all of the plugs you find in DIY stores are incapable of clamping the braid /screen securely.

For best results and long life I’d use these:

http://uk.farnell.com/multicomp/l734-p-ni/plug-tv-coax-nickel/dp/310281?ref=lookahead

For cable - as a minimum - look for WF100 (copper foil screened).

http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/cable.htm

Brod.

Now at Marjal Costa Blanca where there is FREE TV and FREE Wi Fi. So we are getting BBC 1 W Midlands, BBC 2 Wales?? ITV and for some reason ITV 2 which is showing Harry Hill's "You've been framed" continually. Can't stand H Hill as I've never heard him say anything funny. Anyway back to Sat TV etc.
Back in Javea I was able to pick up Astra 1 & 2 on my Multimo but only limited channels. It was enough for us and as we had Bay Radio and the music was for more for "oldies" lots of 60/70 hits and we got the up to date weather forecast too.
PS Sunny here but wind is a bit fresh!

Thanks for the comments guys!

The way I saw this connector thing is that the TV signal is high frequency and the central cable in the pin of the socket will make a capacitor. The capacitor will pass high frequency signals depending on the capacitance and the frequency. Looking at some of the info handed by satellite companies they just don't mention the word solder.

BUT saying that I don't think soldering will do any harm.

I think a better solution might be a satellite system. Some of the places we camp at are far from cities and I suspect transmitters. We have stayed at the CCC site at Cantebury a couple of times and they even mentioned the poor TV reception.

The problem is that neither me or the mem-sahib are TV addicts, we tend to take a few DVDs of films or TV progs away with us or listen to music in the evenings. But due to the fact that the radio in the Boxer is rubbish and turns off every 20 minutes I would like to get good radio reception too out of the TV. The radio in the Euro 5 cabs is not easy to replace I would think because it is mounted in a piece of curved perspex and the controls are not all in one block - if you see what I mean.

Hi All

mccormw wrote:The way I saw this connector thing is that the TV signal is high frequency and the central cable in the pin of the socket will make a capacitor. The capacitor will pass high frequency signals depending on the capacitance and the frequency.

Can’t argue with that but a couple of thoughts:

You are still adding extra unwanted impedance into the system. If the equipment you are plugging into has an input capacitor its value is effectively reduced.

As the installation gets older tarnish will form on the copper inner of the cable and possibly on the inside of the pin on the plug. This may well lead to a degree of rectification (metal oxides are famous for it) and could result in both degradation of the wanted signal and generation of interference components. OK the individual effects may be small but if there are enough of them in the system they will make a difference.

mccormw wrote: Looking at some of the info handed by satellite companies they just don't mention the word solder.

No comment Admin doesn’t like rude words.

I know I’m a bit of an “extremist” when it comes to aerial installations but again I refer back to “Roli’s post:

roli wrote:Executive, rubbish coax, un-soldered joints - replaced with decent coax to the socket and soldered joints, result brilliant picture.

Happy Viewing
Brod.

On the f connectors for satellite equipment you don't solder becaue the inner solid core copper conductor should be longer than the plug and it makes direct contact in the socket.

What is good coax and good connectors? Any idea who supplies the good stuff?

I have a look on-line at the Multimo dish, this looks a great option. Shelldrake reckons it but has anyone else used one?

Multimo is a great dish and is far better than its size would indicate.

Hi

mccormw wrote:What is good coax and good connectors? Any idea who supplies the good stuff?

You’ll find many on the web but here are a couple I’ve used. Both have some really useful advice as well.

www.satcure.co.uk
www.aerialsandtv.com

Brod.

I bought my system from Road Pro and if I need any advice the are very approachable.

Is the Multimo as good as the adverts say Shelldrake? Have you tried it on the continent?

Its small size certainly makes it an attractive proposition as does its price.

sorry for the delay but have been off line for the past week.
I have used my Multimo all over France and even is southern Spain. However do not expect to get all the BBc and ITV channels south off mid France. I managed to pick up some programmes here on site south off Valencia i.e. Euro Sport ,BBC news, Aljazera but thats about it and to be frank I don't miss the Tv anyway
I don't know how the system will cope next year as they have changed satalites up there Will be asking RoadPro for advice on this and will keep all informed