Satalite dishes.
mike/lisa/claire
many free view channels now with an aerial.
Is there any point in getting a satellite dish instead of an aerial? Does
it pick up more channels?
Sorry for being so ignorant about such things.
Bill Wright
"mike/lisa/claire" <clairel...@hotmail.co.uk> wrote in message
news:b_idnUYDyLLNwSHb...@bt.com...
> My husband wants us to have a satellite dish. We have Lord alone knows how
> many free view channels now with an aerial.
>
> Is there any point in getting a satellite dish instead of an aerial? Does
> it pick up more channels?
If you look at the channels available on Freesat and compare them with the
channels available on Freeview you will get an idea of the differences. Use
Google.
I assume you are not foolish enough to let him subscribe to Sky.
Bill
ChrisM
Bill Wright <insertmybu...@f2s.com> Proclaimed from the tallest
tower:
Ahh, Bill,
You've just destroyed the poor guys chances of sneaking Sky Sports into his
living room...
--
Regards,
Chris.
(Remove Elvis's shoes to email me)
TheScullster
"mike/lisa/claire" wrote
As Bill says, there are listings of the available channels out there!
If you can get second hand dish and box from somewhere, you can watch the
free Sky channels without subscribing.
Some friends of ours emigrated and gave us their kit.
Takes a bit more setting up than a TV aerial but worth it.
I much prefer the program listings on Sky and the Autoview features (will
automatically switch channels to a program you have selected to view).
Phil
Andy Burns
> Is there any point in getting a satellite dish instead of an aerial? Does
> it pick up more channels?
mike/lisa/claire
"Bill Wright" <insertmybu...@f2s.com> wrote in message
news:f9hmrt$ueh$1...@news.freedom2surf.net...
I am not most definitely not allowing sky sports or any pay for channel in
the house. I refuse to pay for TV.
I think we have enough channels of rubbish already with a free view box and
an aerial.
It looks though as if unless I get sky half the channels I currently have -
like BBC 4 Channel 5 and an awful lot more are not " free" on a satelite. Is
that correct?
Looking at it that way and since I dont have anyone to give me a sky set
free I dont really see why anyone should want a satelite set up. So what is
the point of them?
>
> Bill
>
Roderick Stewart
wrote:
> Is there any point in getting a satellite dish instead of an aerial? Does
> it pick up more channels?
Yes, but try to get an opportunity to play with a satellite system in a
friend's house, in order to decide if you really want to watch any of them.
Rod.
Roderick Stewart
> Looking at it that way and since I dont have anyone to give me a sky set
> free I dont really see why anyone should want a satelite set up. So what is
> the point of them?
The point is to make more money for an Australian multi-millionaire.
Rod.
Andy Burns
> It looks though as if unless I get sky half the channels I currently have -
> like BBC 4 Channel 5 and an awful lot more are not " free" on a satelite. Is
> that correct?
Not quite, the channels you refer to marked as FTV (rather than FTA)
require a SKY card, but not necessarily a monthly subscription, you can
buy a card for "freesatfromsky", it it's possible they now insist on you
buying the box from them, or you can buy an old ex-subscription box and
card e.g. from ebay
mike
news:kMOdnVuRh-mP9iHb...@bt.com:
>> I assume you are not foolish enough to let him subscribe to Sky.
>
> I am not most definitely not allowing sky sports or any pay for
> channel in the house. I refuse to pay for TV.
>
> It looks though as if unless I get sky half the channels I currently
> have -
> like BBC 4 Channel 5 and an awful lot more are not " free" on a
> satelite. Is that correct?
Only sort of; you can get a one time card that will allow a lot of
freeview channels in; and if your DTT is as iffy as mine (analogue as
well if our European partners are at it again), and not going to be fixed
till 2012, you could be glad of good quality C4 and 5, and film 4, BBC3
(ugh) and BBC4 etc.
Specially if you record
I know I wouldn't be without my sky box, even though I don't have a
subscription.
I have to use DTT get E4 for to watch "big brother" live though
How sad am I? but I _was_ runnung a book on a live-on-air murder when
Charly and Chanel were there; 5-1 Charlie, 2-1 Chanel (because Ziggy's a
wuss), 100-1 the field.
mike
mike/lisa/claire
"mike" <mi...@nosuch.co.uk> wrote in message
news:Xns9988A9193318...@130.133.1.4...
> "mike/lisa/claire" <clairel...@hotmail.co.uk> wrote in
> news:kMOdnVuRh-mP9iHb...@bt.com:
>
>>> I assume you are not foolish enough to let him subscribe to Sky.
>>
>> I am not most definitely not allowing sky sports or any pay for
>> channel in the house. I refuse to pay for TV.
>>
>
>> It looks though as if unless I get sky half the channels I currently
>> have -
>> like BBC 4 Channel 5 and an awful lot more are not " free" on a
>> satelite. Is that correct?
>
> Only sort of; you can get a one time card that will allow a lot of
> freeview channels in; and if your DTT is as iffy as mine (analogue as
> well if our European partners are at it again), and not going to be fixed
> till 2012, you could be glad of good quality C4 and 5, and film 4, BBC3
> (ugh) and BBC4 etc.
Digital Terrestial Television ( DDT)?
I have no difficulty whatsoever picking up some 60 channels on the freeview
box I have. We are due to be the first in the country to be switched off (
2008).
I am fairly close to the transmitter.
I sometimes get European channel interference on my old balck and white TV
which is analogue and I dont think it can be converted to digital. Its about
30 years old? Well it was second hand in 1977 when I got it. I have thought
of getting a new colour one for the bedroom but that one does the job most
times ( me wanting to watch 1234 or 5 whilst my husband wants a digital
channel and I go to bed cos he wins).
I occassionally wouldnt mind being able to watch Five US or channel 28 (
ITV?) on the TV though - in bed!
>
> Specially if you record
I dont have recording equipment at all. Not that techy I am afraid. Found I
never watched the stuff I recorded when I did have a video anyway. have
thought of buying a DVD recorder for the digital recording but not got there
yet.
Owain
> My husband wants us to have a satellite dish. We have Lord alone knows how
> many free view channels now with an aerial.
> Is there any point in getting a satellite dish instead of an aerial? Does
> it pick up more channels?
Yes, but how many shopping or religion channels do you really want?
Owain
Andy Burns
> I sometimes get European channel interference on my old balck and white TV
> which is analogue and I dont think it can be converted to digital.
Hardly any TVs can be converted to digital, except by use of a set top box.
> Its about
> 30 years old?
in which case it's unlikely to have a SCART socket, so if you were to
get an STB make sure you get one with an RF modulator,
> Well it was second hand in 1977 when I got it. I have thought
> of getting a new colour one for the bedroom but that one does the job most
> times ( me wanting to watch 1234 or 5 whilst my husband wants a digital
> channel and I go to bed cos he wins).
but unless you're particularly attahced to the old B&W telly might be
easier to but an new LCD IDTV (take up lost less room which and only one
box)
Andreas Schulze-Bäing
> It looks though as if unless I get sky half the channels I currently have -
> like BBC 4 Channel 5 and an awful lot more are not " free" on a satelite. Is
> that correct?
Briefly... you won't get on FTA Channel4 and 5, including their little
brothers which is more4,E4, etc. These are currently only available FTV via
a Skybox. The quality of the digital channels can be a bit better via
satellite, as the limit of bandwith is not as much of an issue as for the
cramped terrestrial channels. You won't notice the difference though on
most old CRT TVs.
Currently the BBC and ITV work on a Freesat project as an alternative to
the Sky platform, but it remains to be seen when it will start. Potentially
this could be joined by Channel 4 and 5 as well, if they manage to leave
the Sky contract.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freesat
> Looking at it that way and since I dont have anyone to give me a sky set
> free I dont really see why anyone should want a satelite set up. So what is
> the point of them?
I used to have a satellite dish to get more than 50 German channels for
free from Astra 19.2. After a while I got bored with that and installed
another LNB on 13 degrees East to get about the same amount of Italian
channels for free - meaning FTA. Then a bit later the BBC and subsequently
ITV went FTA on 28 deg E, so i got a third LNB for that - all on the same
cheapy 60cm dish bought for 10 pounds in a diy shop :-)
Andreas
mike/lisa/claire
"Andreas Schulze-Bäing" <mib...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:pvwcxxa7gj2g$.4j8tp39x80zf$.dlg@40tude.net...
Forgive my gross ignorance, whats an LNB?
I take it you were either moving your dish around for those channels or you
had more than one TV set up to pick up the different channels?
Are the foreign stations worth it? Anything better on them? ( am thinking
about me now since most UK TV is becoming rubbish and despite the
overload of channels there is never anything o to watch!
I suppose you live near London or somewhere? I doubt I would be able to pick
anything outside the UK up since I live in SW England ( almost on the
extreme end of it)
Andy Burns
> Forgive my gross ignorance, whats an LNB?
A low noise block, essentially it's the pointy bit on a satellite dish :-)
> I take it you were either moving your dish around for those channels or you
> had more than one TV set up to pick up the different channels?
Is is possible to put several LNBs on one dish each "looking" at a
different satellite.
Andreas Schulze-Bäing
> "Andreas Schulze-Bäing" <mib...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:pvwcxxa7gj2g$.4j8tp39x80zf$.dlg@40tude.net...
>> Am Fri, 10 Aug 2007 14:41:32 +0100 schrieb mike/lisa/claire:
>>
>> I used to have a satellite dish to get more than 50 German channels for
>> free from Astra 19.2. After a while I got bored with that and installed
>> another LNB on 13 degrees East to get about the same amount of Italian
>> channels for free - meaning FTA. Then a bit later the BBC and subsequently
>> ITV went FTA on 28 deg E, so i got a third LNB for that - all on the same
>> cheapy 60cm dish bought for 10 pounds in a diy shop :-)
>
> Forgive my gross ignorance, whats an LNB?
That's a Low-noise block converter. It's this little box sitting at the end
of the "arm" of a satellite dish.
>
> I take it you were either moving your dish around for those channels or you
> had more than one TV set up to pick up the different channels?
>
No, the LNBs sit in the right position next to each other. Difficult to
explain... It looks similar to this dish, although my dish is much more
rusty. :-)
http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/page9.htm
> Are the foreign stations worth it? Anything better on them? ( am thinking
> about me now since most UK TV is becoming rubbish and despite the
> overload of channels there is never anything o to watch!
Well - to be honest most of it is even more rubbish than UK TV, but it was
a good way of practising my German and my very basic Italian. In fact -
some of the good programs are often bought from the BBC - things like
documentaries. Also you notice how many concepts are copied nowadays
between the countries. I remember one night when there was "Strictly come
dancing" running on the BBC. At the same time the German copy "Let's dance"
and the Italian copy "Ballando con le stelle" were shown on the respective
channels. On top of that Italian TV (public and private) is very... let's
say machoesk. There's usually male presenters assisted by good looking
females in sexy dresses that usually smile but don't have a lot to say.
>
> I suppose you live near London or somewhere? I doubt I would be able to pick
> anything outside the UK up since I live in SW England ( almost on the
> extreme end of it)
No, I live in the North-West. The footprint of most relevant satellites is
covering pretty much the whole of Europe. Only the satellites broadcasting
the UK TV on Astra 2D 28 have a strong focus on Britain - to make it more
difficult for the rest of Europe to get the signal.
For more information have a look at
http://www.lyngsat.com/ and http://www.astra2d.com/
Andreas
John Rumm
> Forgive my gross ignorance, whats an LNB?
Low Noise Block down converter. Its the first bit of the receiving chain
that picks up the low level signal reflected from the dish and
transforms it into something that will survive being squirted down a
cable to the sat box.
> I take it you were either moving your dish around for those channels or you
> had more than one TV set up to pick up the different channels?
If you have more than one, they will each be a a different focal point
of the dish. Hence each can be looking at a different sat concurrently,
even without the dish moving.
--
Cheers,
John.
/=================================================================\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\=================================================================/
mike/lisa/claire
> Am Fri, 10 Aug 2007 18:07:32 +0100 schrieb mike/lisa/claire:
>
>> "Andreas Schulze-Bäing" <mib...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>> news:pvwcxxa7gj2g$.4j8tp39x80zf$.dlg@40tude.net...
>>> Am Fri, 10 Aug 2007 14:41:32 +0100 schrieb mike/lisa/claire:
>>>
>>> I used to have a satellite dish to get more than 50 German channels for
>>> free from Astra 19.2. After a while I got bored with that and installed
>>> another LNB on 13 degrees East to get about the same amount of Italian
>>> channels for free - meaning FTA. Then a bit later the BBC and
>>> subsequently
>>> ITV went FTA on 28 deg E, so i got a third LNB for that - all on the
>>> same
>>> cheapy 60cm dish bought for 10 pounds in a diy shop :-)
>>
>> Forgive my gross ignorance, whats an LNB?
>
> That's a Low-noise block converter. It's this little box sitting at the
> end
> of the "arm" of a satellite dish.
>
My husband has now shown me a satellite dish and receiver set he wants me to
get him! Its by a company called Silver Crest and seems to be pre programmed
for European stations but I cant see anything about UK channels at all.
If he puts this thing up and connects it into our main TV I take it we loose
all our current digital channels ? Will he be better served with a TV set of
his own to go with this rubbish?
Further, is it possible to put this system onto a PC? I have a TV card in
this computer I am writing from but its not connected because I haven't got
an aerial connected in. Can a satellite be connected onto this or would I be
better off just buying a TV? There also seems to be a "Satellite finder"
kit. Will he need one of those too?
he is determined to have this. I am determined he will not spoil my viewing
by ruining our main TV in the sitting room. That is currently on a freeview
box.
The set consists of a digital satellite dish, a receiver set ( free to air)
, remote control, wall bracket, Twin LNB 4xF plugs, coaxial and s- VHS
connection, pre programmed for astra 19.2 EAstra 28.2E EutelW216E Hotbird
13ESirus 2 4.8E Amos /Atlantic 4 - 5 WHe4;;as sat39ETurksat42Eand Hispa
sat30W Make any sense?
The set apparently is also plug in and play, Auto search programmable
channels MPEG2 and DVD compatible - any one care to put that in simple
English for me?
Are these things complicated to set up?
The seem it to a complete non tech like me.
Geoff Pearson
This kit can come from Lidl - I had endless fun setting mine up and on the
rare occasions I watch TV it is excellent. This is the cheapest way to
satisfy him. In fact I have spare set in case I want to have the fun
again.
Andy Burns
> If he puts this thing up and connects it into our main TV I take it we loose
> all our current digital channels ?
No, you can connect both a freeview box and a satellite box to the TV,
provided you get the cabling right.
Andreas Schulze-Bäing
> "Andreas Schulze-Bäing" <mib...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:14ms8gt04saf9$.12175feuac654$.dlg@40tude.net...
>> Am Fri, 10 Aug 2007 18:07:32 +0100 schrieb mike/lisa/claire:
>>
>>> "Andreas Schulze-Bäing" <mib...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>>> news:pvwcxxa7gj2g$.4j8tp39x80zf$.dlg@40tude.net...
>>>> Am Fri, 10 Aug 2007 14:41:32 +0100 schrieb mike/lisa/claire:
>>>>
>>>> I used to have a satellite dish to get more than 50 German channels for
>>>> free from Astra 19.2. After a while I got bored with that and installed
>>>> another LNB on 13 degrees East to get about the same amount of Italian
>>>> channels for free - meaning FTA. Then a bit later the BBC and
>>>> subsequently
>>>> ITV went FTA on 28 deg E, so i got a third LNB for that - all on the
>>>> same
>>>> cheapy 60cm dish bought for 10 pounds in a diy shop :-)
>>>
>>> Forgive my gross ignorance, whats an LNB?
>>
>> That's a Low-noise block converter. It's this little box sitting at the
>> end
>> of the "arm" of a satellite dish.
>>
> Thank you for the information and for your patience.
>
> My husband has now shown me a satellite dish and receiver set he wants me to
> get him! Its by a company called Silver Crest and seems to be pre programmed
> for European stations but I cant see anything about UK channels at all.
Silver Crest? That sounds like one of those satellite systems sold
occasionally by Lidl. In terms of the programming - most of the FTA
receivers are preprogrammed for Astra/Eutelsat, which is to a large extent
German and Italian channels. If you put the satellite dish towards the
Astra2D you get many of the UK channels which includes all BBC and ITV
channels. You just have to do scan. For the BBC channels sometimes you have
to scan manually the specific tansponder as the automatic scan does not
find all channels, at least on my box.
> If he puts this thing up and connects it into our main TV I take it we loose
> all our current digital channels ? Will he be better served with a TV set of
> his own to go with this rubbish?
You can just keep the existing freeview in parallel. No problem with that
as long as you have enough Scart connectors.
> Further, is it possible to put this system onto a PC? I have a TV card in
> this computer I am writing from but its not connected because I haven't got
> an aerial connected in. Can a satellite be connected onto this or would I be
> better off just buying a TV?
Yes, you can use a so-called DVB-S card, provided your computer is fast
enough. The Skystar2 card works smoothly on my ancient PC with 1.5 Ghz. But
you need at least a Twin-LNB to run this in parallel to the FTA-box. But as
I read below, the set contains a Twin-LNB.
> There also seems to be a "Satellite finder"
> kit. Will he need one of those too?
With the old analogue receivers it was possible to find the right position
juding from the quality of the picture. With digital that's more difficult,
so a satellite finder is good for the exact positioning.
> he is determined to have this. I am determined he will not spoil my viewing
> by ruining our main TV in the sitting room. That is currently on a freeview
> box.
If he wants it as an additional feature to play around with - you could
call this a hobby - then that's fine. But you have to make a decision as to
which satellite position you want to aim at. This is mainly a decision
between UK, German and Italian channels. The programs of most other
interesting countries are usually scrambled (France, Spain, Netherlands).
He might even consider updating it at some point with a motor which can be
controlled from the FTA-box - so you can automatically move to different
satellite positions when switching channels. The receiver box needs to
support at least DiSEqC 1.2 for that. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DiSEqC
Just keep the existing setup with the terrestrial freeview box - so in any
case you will have the UK channels.
> The set consists of a digital satellite dish, a receiver set ( free to air)
> , remote control, wall bracket, Twin LNB 4xF plugs, coaxial and s- VHS
> connection, pre programmed for astra 19.2 EAstra 28.2E EutelW216E Hotbird
> 13ESirus 2 4.8E Amos /Atlantic 4 - 5 WHe4;;as sat39ETurksat42Eand Hispa
> sat30W Make any sense?
Ah, ok. A more extensive preprogramming covering most of the relevant
satellites for Europe. Despite that a rescan might be useful as program
transponders change occasionally.
>
> The set apparently is also plug in and play, Auto search programmable
> channels MPEG2 and DVD compatible - any one care to put that in simple
> English for me?
>
Well - plug and play sounds good. But installing this kit requires a bit of
DIY-enthusiasm, I would say. It's important that you have a free view
towards the satellite. The signal is much more prone to obstacles than a
terrestrial aerial. Even some leaves in the line towards the satellite can
make the signal break up.
MPEG2 is the compression algorythm of digital TV. I'm not sure what DVD
compatible means... maybe another SCART connector?
> Are these things complicated to set up?
Well - with some patience, a compass and some basic DIY-skills it should be
possible.
Andreas
Sean Inglis
Am I correct in saying that a £20 FTV card will work in a Dreambox without
too much messing around? I wouldn't make any special effort for pay
channels, but I'd like to get the existing set of channels which are FTA
on DTT.
tony sayer
<clairel...@hotmail.co.uk> writes
>
>"Andreas Schulze-Bäing" <mib...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>news:pvwcxxa7gj2g$.4j8tp39x80zf$.dlg@40tude.net...
>> Am Fri, 10 Aug 2007 14:41:32 +0100 schrieb mike/lisa/claire:
>>
>> I used to have a satellite dish to get more than 50 German channels for
>> free from Astra 19.2. After a while I got bored with that and installed
>> another LNB on 13 degrees East to get about the same amount of Italian
>> channels for free - meaning FTA. Then a bit later the BBC and subsequently
>> ITV went FTA on 28 deg E, so i got a third LNB for that - all on the same
>> cheapy 60cm dish bought for 10 pounds in a diy shop :-)
>
>Forgive my gross ignorance, whats an LNB?
Low Noise Block the device that converts the 10 to 12 odd Gigahertz to
something like .8 to 1.5 Ghz that can be managed by domestic grade
equipment's..
>
>I take it you were either moving your dish around for those channels or you
>had more than one TV set up to pick up the different channels?
Move the dish or more LNB's..
>
>Are the foreign stations worth it? Anything better on them? ( am thinking
>about me now since most UK TV is becoming rubbish and despite the
>overload of channels there is never anything o to watch!
Depends if you speak or can understand any foreign languages..
We have a froggie live here so the French TV is rather welcome and as I
likes me klassik's radio from France and Germany as well as some others
is rather welcome as is Jazz programming:)
>
>I suppose you live near London or somewhere? I doubt I would be able to pick
>anything outside the UK up since I live in SW England ( almost on the
>extreme end of it)
Not a problem for most satellite transmissions....
>
>
Have a butchers at
--
Tony Sayer
tony sayer
<clairel...@hotmail.co.uk> writes
No..
>
>Further, is it possible to put this system onto a PC? I have a TV card in
>this computer I am writing from but its not connected because I haven't got
>an aerial connected in. Can a satellite be connected onto this or would I be
>better off just buying a TV? There also seems to be a "Satellite finder"
>kit. Will he need one of those too?
Yes suitable PC cards do exist..
>
>he is determined to have this. I am determined he will not spoil my viewing
>by ruining our main TV in the sitting room. That is currently on a freeview
>box.
Its just another source..
>
>The set consists of a digital satellite dish, a receiver set ( free to air)
>, remote control, wall bracket, Twin LNB 4xF plugs, coaxial and s- VHS
>connection, pre programmed for astra 19.2 EAstra 28.2E EutelW216E Hotbird
>13ESirus 2 4.8E Amos /Atlantic 4 - 5 WHe4;;as sat39ETurksat42Eand Hispa
>sat30W Make any sense?
Yes..
>
>The set apparently is also plug in and play, Auto search programmable
>channels MPEG2 and DVD compatible - any one care to put that in simple
>English for me?
>
>Are these things complicated to set up?
>
Not really once you get the hang of it .. the awkward part is installing
and aligning the dish..
>The seem it to a complete non tech like me.
>
>
Might try some post to alt.satellite.tv.europe
--
Tony Sayer
mike
news:z-KdnRk1VfCmFyHb...@bt.com:
>
> I have no difficulty whatsoever picking up some 60 channels on the
> freeview box I have. We are due to be the first in the country to be
> switched off ( 2008).
>
>
> I occassionally wouldnt mind being able to watch Five US or channel 28
> ( ITV?) on the TV though - in bed!
I hope you can live with the 5US dog!
>
>>
>> Specially if you record
>
> I dont have recording equipment at all. Not that techy I am afraid.
> Found I never watched the stuff I recorded when I did have a video
> anyway. have thought of buying a DVD recorder for the digital
> recording but not got there yet.
>
I only record films from all sorts of sources, then me and the cat go
into home cinema mode and sit up late with a couple of tinnies - works
for us; we catch up on sleep after dinner,
Fair enough, and if you're well served by DTT, great.
But the authorities have arranged it so that about 500 people and 5000
sheep get great DTT, while the rest of our population (actual numbers are
anybodies guess thes days, are in the clag for another 6 years)
mike
Bill Wright
"Geoff Pearson" <gspear...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:5i3usuF...@mid.individual.net...
> This is the cheapest way to satisfy him.
Surely not.
Bill
mike/lisa/claire
> Am Fri, 10 Aug 2007 20:37:58 +0100 schrieb mike/lisa/claire:
>
>> "Andreas Schulze-Bäing" <mib...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>> news:14ms8gt04saf9$.12175feuac654$.dlg@40tude.net...
>>> Am Fri, 10 Aug 2007 18:07:32 +0100 schrieb mike/lisa/claire:
>>>
>>>> "Andreas Schulze-Bäing" <mib...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>>>> news:pvwcxxa7gj2g$.4j8tp39x80zf$.dlg@40tude.net...
>>>>> Am Fri, 10 Aug 2007 14:41:32 +0100 schrieb mike/lisa/claire:
>>>>>
>
> Silver Crest? That sounds like one of those satellite systems sold
> occasionally by Lidl.
Yes it is from Lidl. I am afraid I do shop there. I find it better than
Tesco and I can only manage Asda once a month. The system is on offer in a
couple of weeks according to the leaflet and I am supposed to get it with
the shopping. .
I am more interested in making it something easy enough to do without a lot
of expense and a lot of messing.
>
>> If he puts this thing up and connects it into our main TV I take it we
>> loose
>> all our current digital channels ? Will he be better served with a TV set
>> of
>> his own to go with this rubbish?
>
> You can just keep the existing freeview in parallel. No problem with that
> as long as you have enough Scart connectors.
How many would that be? Is there a trick to the wiring up?
>
>> Further, is it possible to put this system onto a PC? I have a TV card in
>> this computer I am writing from but its not connected because I haven't
>> got
>> an aerial connected in. Can a satellite be connected onto this or would I
>> be
>> better off just buying a TV?
>
>
> If he wants it as an additional feature to play around with - you could
> call this a hobby -
You could call it a hobby although he is usually more interested in things
electrical , especially electrical DIY but he is diversifying I suppose
>
> Just keep the existing setup with the terrestrial freeview box - so in any
> case you will have the UK channels.
>
Than you for your time and the information.
mike/lisa/claire
This kit is in Lidl. Its on the paper for a couple of weeks time. he wants
me to get it with the shopping. I bought the paper ( leaflet of offers)
when I went shopping the other day, although he has been fussing over a
satelite dish for sometime.
mike/lisa/claire
"Andy Burns" <usenet....@adslpipe.co.uk> wrote in message
news:13bphfn...@corp.supernews.com...
Is it hard to get the cabling right? What would it need? Sorry about all the
questions but our freeview box is a very basic one . I bought it for my
husband as a Christmas present about four years ago ( from Asda)
Andy Burns
Well, if your TV has a spare scart you shouldn't have a problem just add
the satellite there, just select e.g. AV2 to see satellite programmes
and AV1 to see freeview ones.
If not you can either daisy chain the satellite thtough a VCR/PVR if you
have one (and if the VCR/PVR has SCART in and out).
Failing that you could get a multiway SCART switch.
Or least favourite, if the satellite has a RF modulator you could feed
your normal aerial through the satellite so that it "adds" whatever
programme it's tuning, and the TV is able to receive it that way.
MJ Ray
> My husband wants us to have a satellite dish. We have Lord alone knows how
> many free view channels now with an aerial.
>
> Is there any point in getting a satellite dish instead of an aerial? Does
> it pick up more channels?
Yes (but have it as well as an aerial) and yes. I keep a list of some
Frequently Asked Questions at http://mjr.towers.org.uk/blog/2006/astefaq
which you might find useful.
Whether you want the channels depends what you want to watch. I like
skiing and cycling and there's much more of that available on satellite
for free, through Eurosport and other nations' international channels.
> Sorry for being so ignorant about such things.
No worries. We all start somewhere. Even though I knew the basics, I
found stuff like motorised dishes complicated and there's some conflicting
advice out there.
Hope that helps,
--
MJ Ray - see/vidu http://mjr.towers.org.uk/email.html
Free Sat FAQ: http://mjr.towers.org.uk/blog/2006/astefaq
Webmaster/web developer, statistician, sysadmin, online shop maker,
Workers co-op @ Weston-super-Mare, Somerset http://www.ttllp.co.uk/
Andreas Schulze-Bäing
> "Andreas Schulze-Bäing" <mib...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>> Silver Crest? That sounds like one of those satellite systems sold
>> occasionally by Lidl.
>
> Yes it is from Lidl. I am afraid I do shop there.
No worries, I regularly shop there as well - also to get some of my
favourite German specialities. :-)
> I am more interested in making it something easy enough to do without a lot
> of expense and a lot of messing.
>> You can just keep the existing freeview in parallel. No problem with that
>> as long as you have enough Scart connectors.
>
> How many would that be? Is there a trick to the wiring up?
Many TVs have two or more Scart connectors, some only have one. Just check
in the back of the TV if there is one not used at the moment. Maybe your
freeview box has a second Scart connector as well, for example to connect a
DVD player. You could connect the Sat receiver to that as well (or the
other way freeview through sat receiver).
>> If he wants it as an additional feature to play around with - you could
>> call this a hobby -
>
> You could call it a hobby although he is usually more interested in things
> electrical , especially electrical DIY but he is diversifying I suppose
>
The manual work is not that different to electrical DIY. The only tricky
bit is finding the satellite position. Make sure before buying the set that
you have a suitable place for the satellite dish!
Regarding the positioning of the satellite dish, this software should be
useful:
http://www.smw.se/FreeSoftware.htm
Andreas
Owain
> This kit is in Lidl. Its on the paper for a couple of weeks time. he wants
> me to get it with the shopping.
Unless you're queueing outside the door at opening time on the day, it
may have sold out by the time you get there.
This might be a blessing in disguise :-)
Owain
widgitt
get many extra useful channels from the Astra 2 satellite. A really
useful tip is to wipe out the existing pretuned channels for the Astra
1 and Hotbird satellites if you will not be aiming your dish at them
and then take the new box around to a willing friend with a sky dish.
Set the receiver menus up for Astra 2 (28 degrees East) and ask the
box to auto search that satellite. That will ensure that when you try
to align yout own dish, you will have a signal to look for.
Then use the on screen signal meter to peak the alignment of your
dish.
I spend much of my time installing satellite and have set various
boating and caravanning friends up with exactly the above arrangement
and they can now align the dish fairly easily themselves.
Regarding the channels, some of the most useful free ones are the
Travel channel, True Movies, Movies 24, Movies for men, Men and
Motors, Zone Reality, Zone Horror, Zone Thriller, Performance, Classic
FM TV, all the BBC and ITV regions and all the satellite radio
stations
harrogate3
"widgitt" <pra...@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:1187552435.1...@g4g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
The sad bit is that a quick visit to a DIY shed in the Calais area
(Leroy-Merlin or Mr Brico is a good start) will get you a similar
complete kit but with an 80cm dish for 79? or about £56. Still at
least we are getting there - against £30 each for the dish and LNB and
about £100 for a similar Rx in the UK general sat market.
--
Woody
harrogate3 at ntlworld dot com
tony sayer
widgitt <pra...@btinternet.com> scribeth thus
Actually theres some superb radio on the original ASTRA 19.2 east
settings:)
What a waste of a good receiver to act as a sky box;!...
--
Tony Sayer
Andreas Schulze-Bäing
> The Lidl sat kit is excellent value and if you can set it up you will
> get many extra useful channels from the Astra 2 satellite. A really
> useful tip is to wipe out the existing pretuned channels for the Astra
> 1 and Hotbird satellites if you will not be aiming your dish at them
> and then take the new box around to a willing friend with a sky dish.
No need for that - the Receiver is pre-programmed for a number of different
satellites, including Astra 2D ond 28.2E. You just need change the setup,
so that the Astra 2D is the first satellite - so usually replacing Astra on
19.2E (Diseqc 0/0). The only thing you might need to do once the dish is in
the right position is updating some of the transponders that changed
recently. There's no automatic update like on sky systems - it's all a bit
of handcraft :-)
> Set the receiver menus up for Astra 2 (28 degrees East) and ask the
> box to auto search that satellite. That will ensure that when you try
> to align yout own dish, you will have a signal to look for.
> Then use the on screen signal meter to peak the alignment of your
> dish.
It can be quite tricky to adjust the dish just with the signal meter on
screen. Plus there's always a bit of delay included, as it takes a while
for the receiver to decode the signal. The simple satellite finder which is
on offer at Lidl as well is well worth the 3.99 and makes the adjustment
much easier.
Andreas
zikkim...@connectfree.co.uk
> In article <1187552435.187297.222...@g4g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>,
> widgitt <prat...@btinternet.com> scribeth thus
>
> - Show quoted text -
On the other hand, if the only services that Hubby want's to get are
the Free to Air chanels at 28E, then a Sky box is a superb way to get
them (EPG, Autoview, no complicated set up, and for £20 one of payment
you can get C4 & 5 as well).
There was a deal via Currys and Asda, whereby you could get all the
nexessary kit plus installation, plus 2 months free "basic Sky
chanels" for £75. but that may take the fun out of it for hubby.
Alternatively, you could by all the necessary bits second hand (£10 -
£100 ish) and it will be nearly as challenging. This is what I did
(despite my wifes misgivings) and I thnk she now quite enjoys using it!
widgitt
absolutely straightforward to use and the problem with not removing
the other satellites is that it is quite easy to switch to another
satellite accidentally and wonder where everything has gone to. It all
depends who is going to use it. For myself I would always leave the
others in and, in any case I have multiple quad and octo LNB's and
Disec switching feeding these Lidl receivers with Astra 1 and 2,
Hotbird, and Atlantic Bird 3, and Sky boxes with Astra2. all from one
dish.
Also fully agree with using a sat finder alongside the on screen meter
and always suggest that to boaters and caravanners although the audio
tone on the Lidl receiver is quick to respond if you can have it all
set up so you can see and hear it.
It has to be said that as an installer, I find anything other than a
spectrum analyser and a satellite identification meter is very
frustrating.
mike/lisa/claire
>
> It has to be said that as an installer, I find anything other than a
> spectrum analyser and a satellite identification meter is very
> frustrating.
Not really related to the above. I need to ask more questions. I was all set
up to go and buy a Lidl satellite for beginners set but now my husband has
been reading round and seems to think he needs a bigger dish.
Whats a bigger dish got that his system wont have? How much bigger does a
satellite dish have to be?
Where might I get a package ( similar to the Lidl one for example with such
a dish?
I am getting worried I dont want Joderal Bank on my roof. How big really
does this need to be?
Adrian C
> "widgitt" <pra...@btinternet.com> wrote in message
> news:1187648212.4...@r34g2000hsd.googlegroups.com...
>
>> It has to be said that as an installer, I find anything other than a
>> spectrum analyser and a satellite identification meter is very
>> frustrating.
>
> Not really related to the above. I need to ask more questions. I was all set
> up to go and buy a Lidl satellite for beginners set but now my husband has
> been reading round and seems to think he needs a bigger dish.
I think your husband has some interests he maybe should be directly
sharing with the newsgroup. This 'third party' communication of yours
maybe missing out on some particulars which may help in folks suggesting
a sensible solution?
Men are quite direct. "I wanna watch ..."
Apologies, if there is a real reason why he is not "stepping up to the mic!"
--
Adrian C
mike/lisa/claire
"Adrian C" <em...@here.invalid> wrote in message
news:5j0683F...@mid.individual.net...
He is no good with computers - he has dyslexia and whilst he can read well
enough he cant spell at all and he is French although he is bi lingual ,
mother was English - does that help any?.
I did ask him what he wanted to watch. He has nothing in particular in mind
except he thinks there may be more films on Satellite. I am aware some of
these satellite dishes pick up material that might be considered riske - is
that what you are getting at? I understand you have to pay for those? Is
that correct?
I do not see the point in pay for TV and neither does he because at heart
he is almost as tught pursed as his Gaelic cousins ( The Scots - apologies
to the Scottish for the stereotypes)
I know he likes rugby rather than football . I know he likes films and he
is always channel hopping because there never seems to be anything on TV
despite having 80 odd channels on digital TV.
As far as I can gather the only reason he has got a bee on about this is
that his brother in law has recently got a system. I dont know anything
about this as I dont speak to his brother in law and only found out in
passing he had spoken to him.
It was one of the sites linked here that got him saying that he needed a
bigger dish. Someone mentioned an 80cm dish as being *better* than the 57cm
dish he was looking at.
I dont think he will be happy to write for himself but I will ask.
However, all the connection instructions you have given and details of
directions of satellites etc. has been taken down, printed off and stored by
him for connecting up especially the ones on how to connect the TV and
retain the freeview channels we have ( ie putting the satellite on AV2.)
mike/lisa/claire
>
> "Adrian C" <em...@here.invalid> wrote in message
> news:5j0683F...@mid.individual.net...
>> mike/lisa/claire wrote:
>>> "widgitt" <pra...@btinternet.com> wrote in message
>>> news:1187648212.4...@r34g2000hsd.googlegroups.com...
>>>
>>>> It has to be said that as an installer, I find anything other than a
>>>> spectrum analyser and a satellite identification meter is very
>>>> frustrating.
>>>
>>> Not really related to the above. I need to ask more questions. I was all
>>> set up to go and buy a Lidl satellite for beginners set but now my
>>> husband has been reading round and seems to think he needs a bigger
>>> dish.
>>
>> I think your husband has some interests he maybe should be directly
>> sharing with the newsgroup. This 'third party' communication of yours
>> maybe missing out on some particulars which may help in folks suggesting
>> a sensible solution?
>>
>> Men are quite direct. "I wanna watch ..."
>>
>> Apologies, if there is a real reason why he is not "stepping up to the
>> mic!"
He is still keen on the Lidl one as it does seem to cover all the stations
he was looking at. I think he thinks it might not be good enough.
Bill Wright
> enough he cant spell at all and he is French although he is bi lingual ,
> mother was English - does that help any?.
languages! I bet he writes an interesting letter!
>
> I did ask him what he wanted to watch. He has nothing in particular in
> mind except he thinks there may be more films on Satellite. I am aware
> some of these satellite dishes pick up material that might be considered
> riske
Your husband might find these risqué. Do you feel that is risky?
- is
> that what you are getting at? I understand you have to pay for those? Is
> that correct?
Yes, but you can make your own of course.
>
> I do not see the point in pay for TV and neither does he because at heart
> he is almost as tught pursed as his Gaelic cousins ( The Scots -
> apologies to the Scottish for the stereotypes)
I agree. I wouldn't pay for TV on principle. To do so undermines the spirit
of public service broadcasting.
>
> I know he likes rugby rather than football . I know he likes films and he
> is always channel hopping because there never seems to be anything on TV
> despite having 80 odd channels on digital TV.
I should get him a cheap fixed dish and a cheap free-to-air box. Point the
dish at 13E and by the time he has gone through all the channels it will be
tomorrow. I had an eccentric Duke as a customer who used to do that. I do it
myself. It annoys the hell out of Hil's visitors.
When he's gone though all the TV channels he can start on the radio ones.
> It was one of the sites linked here that got him saying that he needed a
> bigger dish. Someone mentioned an 80cm dish as being *better* than the
> 57cm dish he was looking at.
A 60 will do for 13E but an 80 is a bit morte reliable (less fade-out in bad
weather).
I'm aware that others have given more full information but I just felt like
putting my twopennorth in.
Bill
mike/lisa/claire
"Bill Wright" <insertmybu...@f2s.com> wrote in message
news:TYqdnWLl-6HHlVbb...@pipex.net...
> Your husband might find these risqué. Do you feel that is risky?
I meant riskey ( missed the y off and for some reason the spellcheck didnt
drop in on this because I was spelling it riskey) As in not the sort of
material you want to be watching when visitors call or even which might get
a knock on the door because its illegal in the UK.
Adrian A
There is nothing shown on satellite that would actually be illegal in the
UK, you would probably be quite surprised what is legal these days.
Andreas Schulze-Bäing
> "Adrian C" <em...@here.invalid> wrote in message
> news:5j0683F...@mid.individual.net...
>
>> I think your husband has some interests he maybe should be directly
>> sharing with the newsgroup. This 'third party' communication of yours
>> maybe missing out on some particulars which may help in folks suggesting a
>> sensible solution?
>>
>> Men are quite direct. "I wanna watch ..."
>>
>> Apologies, if there is a real reason why he is not "stepping up to the
>> mic!"
>
> He is no good with computers - he has dyslexia and whilst he can read well
> enough he cant spell at all and he is French although he is bi lingual ,
> mother was English - does that help any?.
In that case it might be interesting to aim the satellite at Atlantic Bird
3 at 5.0 degrees West. You get all the main French channels via this
satellite FTA, well except TF1 which seems to be scrambled.
For the details have a look here:
http://www.lyngsat.com/ab3.html
The signal should be strong enough for the south of the UK - the more you
go north the bigger the dish needs to be for this satellite - see here:
http://www.lyngsat-maps.com/maps/ab3_super.html
All of this of course implies that you have a free line-of-sight towards
this satellite from the intended position of the dish. Once that is working
- a further DIY challenge for your hubby could be to install a motor for
the dish that allows moving to different satellites.
Added to that - here is a list of all French channels that you can receive
in Europe, spread over various satellite positions:
http://www.lyngsat.com/freetv/France.html
> I did ask him what he wanted to watch. He has nothing in particular in mind
> except he thinks there may be more films on Satellite. I am aware some of
> these satellite dishes pick up material that might be considered riske - is
> that what you are getting at? I understand you have to pay for those? Is
> that correct?
Well - you might come across a weired mixture of various crappy channels,
which includes loads of shopping channels and some erotic channels mostly
from Italy, if that is what you mean.
> I know he likes rugby rather than football . I know he likes films and he
> is always channel hopping because there never seems to be anything on TV
> despite having 80 odd channels on digital TV.
There are sometimes good films on the German/French cultural channel Arte.
And you will come across a small number of channels showing old Hollywod
classics. Dutch television would be good as they have all films in original
language with Dutch subtitles - yet these channels are scrambled.
> It was one of the sites linked here that got him saying that he needed a
> bigger dish. Someone mentioned an 80cm dish as being *better* than the 57cm
> dish he was looking at.
I get mostly a clear signal from 13,19 and 28 via one 60 cm dish. Only the
13 signal is in some weather conditions to weak, such as heavy rain or
snow. So an 80 cm dish has more "reserves" for this case, yet is also a bit
more difficult to align.
Andreas
Bill Wright
You won't be allowing stuff like that into your home accidentally, unless
you go searching for it. And don't forget you can lock out a channel if you
once discover that it's unsuitable.
Whisky makes me risqué by the way.
Bill
buddenbrooks
>
>
> Where might I get a package ( similar to the Lidl one for example with
> such a dish?
>
From what you say and the following thread I think the Lidl kit will keep
you happy for a long time and the only thing you
might buy later is a bigger dish. Probably you will never buy a new dish.
The Lidl kit is good quality and excellent value.
Marky P
<insertmybu...@f2s.com> wrote:
>
>"mike/lisa/claire" <clairel...@hotmail.co.uk> wrote in message
>news:f_udnSmaAMx...@bt.com...
>> He is no good with computers - he has dyslexia and whilst he can read well
>> enough he cant spell at all and he is French although he is bi lingual ,
>> mother was English - does that help any?.
>Well it paints a picture if nothing else. Fancy being dyslexic in two
>languages! I bet he writes an interesting letter!
>
>>
>> I did ask him what he wanted to watch. He has nothing in particular in
>> mind except he thinks there may be more films on Satellite. I am aware
>> some of these satellite dishes pick up material that might be considered
>> riske
>Your husband might find these risqué. Do you feel that is risky?
>
> - is
>> that what you are getting at? I understand you have to pay for those? Is
>> that correct?
>Yes, but you can make your own of course.
I made my own once. The camcorder packed in that day, never to work
again. Er... There was a woman involved, it wasn't a solo effort.
Apologies for taking this thread below the belt :-)
Marky P.
widgitt
left over from the offer stock of a few weeks ago. Perhaps yours has
as well. They would partner the rest of the kit perfectly and provide
a more reliable signal in poor weather.
Certainly if husband is French it would be worth aiming at Atlantic
Bird as well.
You could aim one dish at that and the other at Hotbird. (Although as
I have said you can, with a bit of fiddle, mount Two LNB's on one dish
for two satellites).
A DISEC swith, which is controlled by the receiver, will let you
switch between the LNB's or dishes.
zikkim...@connectfree.co.uk
wrote:
> "widgitt" <prat...@btinternet.com> wrote in message
One point which may not be immediatly obvious to a satellite refusnic
like yourself, is that you probably don't NEED to have any dish on
your roof!
They generally work just as well between 2 - 8 Feet off the ground -
no need to climb high ladders, easier to set up, and hubby could just
mount it on a pole clamped to his workmate for starters, and swing it
around playing hunt the satellites before comitting to a location.
Mine lives about 8 foot up the wall which will make for easy
maintenence as and when necessary.
Some people think they look better/less obtrusive tied to the chimney
or even sharing the TV aerial mast (not recommended unless it's at the
bottom of a very strong mast), but I take the opposite view and think
they are less unsightly lower down.
I think my disk is a 45 cm eliptical (Zone 2 Sky dish) which is
supposed to be good enough for the North and parts of Scotland and as
i'm actually near the south coast gives stonking signal strength and
quality. I think it's roughly equivalent to a 40CM round dish.
For the most part I don't actually watch much TV, most of my pleasure
from my system (second hand Freesat from Sky) was in installing it
myself, and playing with all the features. If he installs it properly
(and points it at Astra 2), then it will bring in all the regular
channels (all BBC, All ITV and in my case 4 & 5) brilliantly with no
drop outs or pixellation.
There is some quite risque stuff available FTA from Astra 2, but as
others have said, you don't have to watch it. I don't think he'll
find much Rugby on there that he couldn't get via Freeview, but he
might find some on the foreign channels.
If you/hubby aren't already overloaded with info, have a look at
Heyrick's site
(Google +Heyrick +sky (The site is mainly about reception via a Sky
box, but a lot of it applies to FTA as well and some is specifically
FTA)).
Let us know how you/hubby get on.
harrogate3
<zikkim...@connectfree.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1187797506.0...@l22g2000prc.googlegroups.com...
A Zone 2 dish for the far north of England and Scotland is 55cm - the
45cm is for the rest of England and Wales.
I would entirely agree about the dish height. When we go away in the
caravan I use the tripod of a set of work lights but not extended and
clamp a 60cm dish to it, so it best it is only 6" above the ground -
and it worked reliably as far south as Burgundy!
One other ting is that $ky installers always put the dish so that the
cable run is as short as possible - and if that means on the front of
the house so be it. In fact the elevation of the sat the the angle of
dangle of the dish is such that for most of England the dish will
'see' over most roofs if it is as little as 2ft above the gutter at
the back of the house looking over the roof. The only problem of
putting it low is (a) cats/dogs/people/other animals barging into it,
(b) cats going to sleep on the LNB arm (oh yes they do!) and (c) in
particular the local scroats nicking it.
Bill Wright
"harrogate3" <nos...@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:vU%yi.23365$rr5....@newsfe1-win.ntli.net...
> One other ting is that $ky installers always put the dish so that the
> cable run is as short as possible - and if that means on the front of
> the house so be it. In fact the elevation of the sat the the angle of
> dangle of the dish is such that for most of England the dish will
> 'see' over most roofs if it is as little as 2ft above the gutter at
> the back of the house looking over the roof.
For more detail on this see
http://www.wrightsaerials.tv/reference/dish%20screened%20by%20roof.pdf
Bill
mike/lisa/claire
I thought you all might like to know that I arrived at Lidls ( my local
that is) at 8.10 am this morning ( opening time 8.00 am) , the car park was
surprisingly full but I had been told yesterday if I wanted this Lidl
satellite pack I was going to have to be quick on the uptake.
I saw a man leaving the check out with TWO satellite boxes in his trolly. I
went in and stood in a queue behind three other men ages ranging from 26 ish
to 86 ish and got my satellite dish pack and satellite finder for £3.99 .
Before I came out through the checkout another four men had come in and
purchased same and were going out in the same queue as me.
They had about 25 in the pile. I guess they would all be gone by 10.00 am.
I am now waiting from my husband to come home and see what he says.
Andreas Schulze-Bäing
> I thought you all might like to know that I arrived at Lidls ( my local
> that is) at 8.10 am this morning ( opening time 8.00 am) , the car park was
> surprisingly full but I had been told yesterday if I wanted this Lidl
> satellite pack I was going to have to be quick on the uptake.
>
> I saw a man leaving the check out with TWO satellite boxes in his trolly. I
> went in and stood in a queue behind three other men ages ranging from 26 ish
> to 86 ish and got my satellite dish pack and satellite finder for £3.99 .
>
> Before I came out through the checkout another four men had come in and
> purchased same and were going out in the same queue as me.
>
> They had about 25 in the pile. I guess they would all be gone by 10.00 am.
Well - that sound like a typical case of "toys for boys"... for all ages.
Although I have to say that there's typically quite a high percentage of
early retired people waiting for some of the bargains at Aldi or Lidl. The
last time I saw that was when Aldi had a bargain pressure washer on offer.
> I am now waiting from my husband to come home and see what he says.
I bet it will be like Christmas and birthday together for him :-) He will
need some patience though until he gets things running...
By the way - there's some useful information about satellite reception and
installation available on this shopping website:
http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/index.html
The layout of the site is a bit awkward and the information is scattered
around in different sup-topics - but if you give it a good read you can
find answers for some of the challenges that you will come across.
Andreas
mike/lisa/claire
> Am Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:37:04 +0100 schrieb mike/lisa/claire:
>
> I bet it will be like Christmas and birthday together for him :-) He will
> need some patience though until he gets things running...
Its actually a wedding anniversary present. This weekend is our wedding
anniversary and this year is our electrical anniversary apparently.
I had seen it previously and thought I might get one for Christmas but he
saw it too. So now he gets it for his wedding anniversary.
>
> By the way - there's some useful information about satellite reception and
> installation available on this shopping website:
> http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/index.html
Thank you.
Mike
On Wed, 22 Aug 2007 08:45:06 -0700, zikkim...@connectfree.co.uk
wrote:
>One point which may not be immediatly obvious to a satellite refusnic
>like yourself, is that you probably don't NEED to have any dish on
>your roof!
>
>They generally work just as well between 2 - 8 Feet off the ground -
The rule of thumb is two drunks high - or more precisely one drunk sat
on another's shoulders.
--
Bill Wright
> I am now waiting from my husband to come home and see what he says.
If it was me I'd be dead chuffed with you for making the effort.
Bill
Bill (Adopt)
brightside S9 <address@replyto_is_not.invalid> wrote:
> >I thought you all might like to know that I arrived at Lidls ( my local
[..]
> I turned up at LIDL's new store in Preston at 9:10 yesterday
> (Thursday) where there were two pallets full (about 50 kits at a
> guess) and there was only seven customers in the store, and only me
> interested in the sattelite kit.
Surprising - or do many of the shoppers in your area
happily pay a very large sum of money each month to
be labelled by the market polls as 'downmarket' Sky
consumers?
Last year all the LiDL Comag-Heron's SL65 units on
sale here sold out in just over 20 minutes. Similar
to the smaller camping kit SL65/12's which also sold
out by the end of the morning a couple of months ago...
Two years ago some 50,000 units were sold, right across
Europe, within the first 15 minutes of the stores opening,
(times adjusted)...
Most people who know, including 'WotSat', seem to rate
the kit - and the SL65 or smaller SL65/12 - as both
excellent and at least as competetive with any other,
regardless of price.
hh :))
--
Adoption InterLink UK with -=- http://www.billsimpson.com/
Domain Host Orpheus Internet -=- http://www.orpheusinternet.co.uk/
zikkim...@connectfree.co.uk
> On Wed, 22 Aug 2007 08:45:06 -0700, zikkimala...@connectfree.co.uk
> wrote:
>
> >One point which may not be immediatly obvious to a satellite refusnic
> >like yourself, is that you probably don't NEED to have any dish on
> >your roof!
>
> >They generally work just as well between 2 - 8 Feet off the ground -
>
> The rule of thumb is two drunks high - or more precisely one drunk sat
> on another's shoulders.
>
ROTFL
Are you thinking of drunk installers, or de-installers?
Incidently, being as a few folks round here don't perceive Sky's
employee's to be installers, I wonder what their "installations"
should be called? Monkeyations??
Owain
> Incidently, being as a few folks round here don't perceive Sky's
> employee's to be installers, I wonder what their "installations"
> should be called? Monkeyations??
Don't insult monkeys.
Owain
mike/lisa/claire
We are having difficulties. I need to know where it would be best to
position said dish.
Does it need to be clear of all tress and up high or can we get away with
dish just pointing in the right direction? There isnt really anywhere from
the house which doesnt have a tree or bush or tree in it.
It could go on the chimney , but I am not keen on this , ( this is a
bungalow) . This would require a long cable to the TV set. or we could sit
it on the flat roof of the main sun lounge ( where the TV is. This section
of roof isnt as high as the main roof but it is to the South of the house
and looks down over the valley which also has loads of trees . But I
thought a satellite had to point into the sky not across..
Might we get away with sticking it in the roof space.
The main house is set East to the front and West directly to the back ( and
South of course is right out on the side.
trying to find a point clear of all obsticles. I reckon we should just
connect it and try - have even suggested shoving it looking out through the
window and see what it does! ( that was the way I navigated the TV
aeriel )
tony sayer
<clairel...@hotmail.co.uk> scribeth thus
As long as it can "see" the bit of sky it needs to see it doesn't matter
where its located high up or low down. We have ours down the bottom of
the garden in the shrubs with quite a bit of feeder cable and no
problems. The signals comes in at a higher angle that you think.
I'm sure someone will be along with that website that shows the angles
involved!..
It won't work in the loft or indoors. Even some types of glass won't let
the signals through.
--
Tony Sayer
charles
mike/lisa/claire <clairel...@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
> We are having difficulties. I need to know where it would be best to
> position said dish.
> Does it need to be clear of all tress
yes.
> and up high
no
> or can we get away with dish just pointing in the right direction?
exact direction - not general direction.
> There isnt really anywhere from the house which doesnt have a tree or
> bush or tree in it.
> It could go on the chimney , but I am not keen on this , ( this is a
> bungalow) . This would require a long cable to the TV set. or we could
> sit it on the flat roof of the main sun lounge ( where the TV is. This
> section of roof isnt as high as the main roof but it is to the South of
> the house and looks down over the valley which also has loads of trees
Local height is irrelevant when you consider how far away the satellite is.
The important thing is to find a place where it isn't looking into trees
> . But I thought a satellite had to point into the sky not across..
upwards at about 30 degrees above the horizontal.
> Might we get away with sticking it in the roof space.
No
> The main house is set East to the front and West directly to the back (
> and South of course is right out on the side.
> trying to find a point clear of all obsticles. I reckon we should just
> connect it and try - have even suggested shoving it looking out through
> the window and see what it does! ( that was the way I navigated the
> TV aeriel )
Satellite signals probably won't even go through glass.
--
From KT24 - in "Leafy Surrey"
Using a RISC OS computer running v5.11
Bill Wright
>
> We are having difficulties. I need to know where it would be best to
> position said dish.
This is a bit abstract, but if you can find somewhere where you can look
south-east and up at about 30deg and see the sky then that's where to put
the dish. If in doubt rig it up temporarily (rest it on a sandbag or
something) and see if it works. Alignment is very critical.
Bill
mike/lisa/claire
>
> "mike/lisa/claire" <clairel...@hotmail.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:qeWdnTPl14ZujU3b...@bt.com...
>
> This is a bit abstract, but if you can find somewhere where you can look
> south-east and up at about 30deg and see the sky then that's where to put
> the dish. If in doubt rig it up temporarily (rest it on a sandbag or
> something) and see if it works. Alignment is very critical.
Thanks for all replies. I may have to chop a hazel tree but thats no real
loss. I thought we could very happily sit it on the end of the sitting room
( corner is directly SE). However, it seems my husbands fears are more to do
with appearances than function.
He wanted to mount on the NE corner pointing toward SE because he is afraid
our neighbours might get snooty abd look down on us because no one else is
displaying a freeview staellite , there are a few sky dishes though.
The SE corner which lookes clear and unobstructed across the valley and can
*see* loads of sky would also make it visable to everyone in the village.
Is this a French thing that we have to hide our dishes? Or am I missing
something here about culture and being posh?
tony sayer
<clairel...@hotmail.co.uk> scribeth thus
>
>"Bill Wright" <insertmybu...@f2s.com> wrote in message
>news:3JedncCTtbmtsE3b...@pipex.net...
>>
>> "mike/lisa/claire" <clairel...@hotmail.co.uk> wrote in message
>> news:qeWdnTPl14ZujU3b...@bt.com...
>
>>
>> This is a bit abstract, but if you can find somewhere where you can look
>> south-east and up at about 30deg and see the sky then that's where to put
>> the dish. If in doubt rig it up temporarily (rest it on a sandbag or
>> something) and see if it works. Alignment is very critical.
>
>Thanks for all replies. I may have to chop a hazel tree but thats no real
>loss. I thought we could very happily sit it on the end of the sitting room
>( corner is directly SE). However, it seems my husbands fears are more to do
>with appearances than function.
>
>He wanted to mount on the NE corner pointing toward SE because he is afraid
>our neighbours might get snooty abd look down on us because no one else is
>displaying a freeview staellite , there are a few sky dishes though.
There you are the English attuide to what's just a functional bit of
metal!..
>
>The SE corner which lookes clear and unobstructed across the valley and can
>*see* loads of sky would also make it visable to everyone in the village.
>
>Is this a French thing that we have to hide our dishes? Or am I missing
>something here about culture and being posh?
No they just think of le parabole as something you receive TV with...
>
>
Unlike over here:!..
--
Tony Sayer
mike/lisa/claire
As total beginners which of the satellites would people recommend to point
at for a first connection given we dont have a motor connected? Which has
the best set of programmes in your opinions - or even which is the easiest
to tune in if thats an important factor?
Dumb questions I know but please bear with the non techies.
By the way who are Maplins? We dont have one near us anyway.
charles
Maplins are a firm selling electrical/electronic items. They are mail
order as well as retail. www.maplin.co.uk
MJ Ray
> Sorry about this.
Don't be.
> As total beginners which of the satellites would people recommend to point
> at for a first connection given we dont have a motor connected? Which has
> the best set of programmes in your opinions - or even which is the easiest
> to tune in if thats an important factor?
In the UK, 28 east is pretty easy. You can probably pick it up on
a dustbin lid. Heck, even Sky mini-dishes can pick it up most of
the time. There are various lists of the free channels on it and
tips on aiming at sites like http://www.satellite4caravans.co.uk/ and
http://www.digitalsat.co.uk/ - both linked from my FAQ file (link below).
19 east is about as easy, then 13 east, then 16e, 23.5e, 7e, 5w and 5e
(depending where in the UK), 26e and then the extremeties. Note that
the satellites are arranged in an arc in the sky (as we see them),
so more extreme ones are closer to the horizon. It's not too hard,
but it's sometimes worth remembering that you're aiming at something
about the size of a small car positioned thousands of km above Africa,
with the power of a light bulb!
> Dumb questions I know but please bear with the non techies.
>
> By the way who are Maplins? We dont have one near us anyway.
High-street electronics shop, selling satellite cables and meters and other
handy goodies.
Hope that helps,
--
MJ Ray - see/vidu http://mjr.towers.org.uk/email.html
Free Sat FAQ: http://mjr.towers.org.uk/blog/2006/astefaq
Webmaster/web developer, statistician, sysadmin, online shop maker,
Workers co-op @ Weston-super-Mare, Somerset http://www.ttllp.co.uk/
Andreas Schulze-Bäing
> Sorry about this.
>
> As total beginners which of the satellites would people recommend to point
> at for a first connection given we dont have a motor connected? Which has
> the best set of programmes in your opinions - or even which is the easiest
> to tune in if thats an important factor?
Both the satellites on 19.2 and 28.2 degrees East give a quite strong
signal in most parts of the UK. Although this depends to a certain extent
to the beam of the specific satellite, which is the are covered with a
decent strength.
On the 28.2 position you get the largest selection of UK programmes. It is
basically all the programmes that are listed with an "F" in this list.
http://www.lyngsat.com/28east.html
As you can see from this list, this is also the position for the Sky
Signal. So you could simply aim your dish to the same direction as the sky
dishes in your neighbourhood. Yet, looking through the list of programmes
you might notice that you already get most interesting channels with
Freeview anyway.
On the 19.2 position you only get a small number of English languages
programs, mostly News such as CNN, Euronews, DW-TV, BBC World, Sky News.
Most of the free channels are German. The channel Arte might be interesting
as it is broadcast both in German and French.
There's even a special programme for "satellite enthusiasts" on 19.2
called Dr Dish http://www.drdish-tv.com/
Regarding interesting programmes, the Atlantic Bird 3 at 5.0 West might be
interesting as you can find a couple of French programmes on this
satellite: http://www.lyngsat.com/ab3.html
Yet the position of this satellite is quite a bit away from the other
positions mentioned before, so it might not be as easy to find.
>
> Dumb questions I know but please bear with the non techies.
>
No worries - it takes a while to understand all this.
One general recommendation... Before you start moving around the dish, you
should calculate the position to aim at specific for your location. The
position, for example 28.2 degrees East, only tells you this: When you
would stand on the equator on 28.2 degrees East, the satellite would be
directly above you. For the position of the dish you have to calculate the
Azimuth (degrees relative to North) and elevation (angles in degrees above
the horizon). For the elevation your satellite dish should have a vague
indication printed on the metal. For the Azimuth you might need a compass.
When you try to look for the satellite signal, use the signal meter first,
as it gives direct feedback of the signal strength. You will need to
connect it to the box as well, for the power supply. But the signal metre
will block the signal getting to the receiver box. Once you connect the
receiver directly, you should pick up a signal. The digital receiver always
has a bit of delay. So it needs some one or two seconds of a stable signal
to produce a picture on screen.
> By the way who are Maplins? We dont have one near us anyway.
Maplins is a chain of shops selling electronics components and load of
other electronic gadgets.
Andreas
Andreas Schulze-Bäing
> For the position of the dish you have to calculate the
> Azimuth (degrees relative to North) and elevation (angles in degrees above
> the horizon). For the elevation your satellite dish should have a vague
> indication printed on the metal. For the Azimuth you might need a compass.
I forgot to mention... this is a website where you can calculate these
values for your location:
http://www.satsig.net/ssazelm.htm
Here is a more detalied explanation for the UK. Just zoom in to your
location with the google map window and choose the satellite you want to
use. That gives you the right values:
http://www.satsig.net/maps/satellite-tv-dish-pointing-uk-ireland.htm
The easiest thing is probably to first find the right azimuth direction,
fix the dish and then move the dish up and down until you get a signal.
Andreas
mike
news:7f2dne4c6ounpU3b...@bt.com:
>
> Is this a French thing that we have to hide our dishes?
I think it's because they don't wash them.
(Or use much soap, but lots of parfum; official maybe a bit old EU stats)
;)
mike
mike
news:qbTJ43Qm...@bancom.co.uk:
>
> I'm sure someone will be along with that website that shows the angles
> involved!..
>
Not _that_ website, but there's an optical illusion involved.
I'm sure if I told you that about 10-00 tonight from the south of England
the moon will be about 15 deg high in the SE, and Jupiter nearly 10 deg
high to the SW, you would go out and look 2 or 3 times as high as they
actually are.
So 30 deg high sounds quite low, but looks waay high.
Lotsa stuff on the web, like this
http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/3d/moonillu.htm
And if I'm OT, have you tried watching telly lately - anythings better ;)
mike
mike/lisa/claire
"Mike Henry" <{$mrtickle$}@nospam.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:o0n2d3hnb5eo9aeq6...@4ax.com...
> In <VYydnVYA6fM...@bt.com>, "mike/lisa/claire"
> <clairel...@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
>
> There is no such company. Three otherwise very helpful people have
> already responded and got sucked into the same mistake, but I'm afraid
> the pedant in me can't resist! There is no company called Maplins, or if
> there is it's not the one you're thinking of. But there is one called
> "Maplin", ie with no "s" on the end. As in its website www.maplin.co.uk.
> It is a firm selling electrical/electronic items.
>
Well, I thought Maplin was a holiday camp.
Hi De Hi! :-)
Owain
> "Mike Henry" wrote
> Hi De Hi! :-)
Shall we throw Mr Henry in the Olympic-sized swimming pool? (Or is he
wearing a red armband?)
Owain
Dave Plowman (News)
mike/lisa/claire <clairel...@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
> By the way who are Maplins? We dont have one near us anyway.
Maplin is the correct name. But often has the 's' added (like Tesco etc
too) when referring to it the colloquial speech that is usenet.
Not sure how you know you haven't got one near you if you don't know this.
;-)
--
*INDECISION is the key to FLEXIBILITY *
Dave Plowman da...@davenoise.co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.
Andy Burns
> exact direction - not general direction.
considering you're aiming the dish at an object the size of a Transit
van which is three times as far from you as Australia is ...
Bill Wright
"Andy Burns" <usenet....@adslpipe.co.uk> wrote in message
news:13d3b4k...@corp.supernews.com...
Ah but it doesn't matter how big the satellite is or how far away it might
be. The signal comes to all intents from a point source in any case.
Necessary pointing accuracy is entirely a function of the directional
properties of the receiving apparatus.
Bill
John Rumm
> In article <VYydnVYA6fM...@bt.com>,
> mike/lisa/claire <clairel...@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
>> By the way who are Maplins? We dont have one near us anyway.
>
> Maplin is the correct name. But often has the 's' added (like Tesco etc
> too) when referring to it the colloquial speech that is usenet.
>
> Not sure how you know you haven't got one near you if you don't know this.
> ;-)
She could look here:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/StoreLocator.aspx?doy=27m8
--
Cheers,
John.
/=================================================================\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\=================================================================/
mike/lisa/claire
"John Rumm" <see.my.s...@nowhere.null> wrote in message
news:13d5pud...@corp.supernews.com...
> Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
>> In article <VYydnVYA6fM...@bt.com>,
>> mike/lisa/claire <clairel...@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
>>> By the way who are Maplins? We dont have one near us anyway.
>>
>> Maplin is the correct name. But often has the 's' added (like Tesco etc
>> too) when referring to it the colloquial speech that is usenet.
>>
>> Not sure how you know you haven't got one near you if you don't know
>> this.
>> ;-)
>
> She could look here:
>
> http://www.maplin.co.uk/StoreLocator.aspx?doy=27m8
I see they apparently have a store in the centre of Plymouth but no one with
any sense goes into Plymouth city centre ( cant park, cant negotiate the
roads and roundabouts, cant walk when you get there because they have put
cars through Royal Parade again - used to have under passes - and the place
is a tip - which is a shame to say because it used to be lovely and have
lots of car parks which were easy to get at!).
Plymouth is 20 odd miles away but the city centre is another 8 /9 on top of
that. I went to B&Q which is on a big retail park out of town.
I think I'll try and get the connectors by post. I don't want to go into the
city centre.
Maplin dont advertise in the local rag - so no advert not likely to be
known.
I have a suspicion that the shop is where a shoe shop used to be when I was
a little kid.
John Rumm
> Maplin dont advertise in the local rag - so no advert not likely to be
> known.
They do mail order and online as well though...
Andreas Schulze-Bäing
> "John Rumm" <see.my.s...@nowhere.null> wrote in message
> news:13d5pud...@corp.supernews.com...
>>
>> http://www.maplin.co.uk/StoreLocator.aspx?doy=27m8
>
>
> I see they apparently have a store in the centre of Plymouth but no one with
> any sense goes into Plymouth city centre ( cant park, cant negotiate the
> roads and roundabouts, cant walk when you get there because they have put
> cars through Royal Parade again - used to have under passes - and the place
> is a tip - which is a shame to say because it used to be lovely and have
> lots of car parks which were easy to get at!).
Railways exist - presumably even in Plymouth... :-) Why use the car when
it's not about getting a fridge or washing machine from A to B but some
tiny F-connectors?
>
> Plymouth is 20 odd miles away but the city centre is another 8 /9 on top of
> that. I went to B&Q which is on a big retail park out of town.
>
> I think I'll try and get the connectors by post. I don't want to go into the
> city centre.
That might be the more cost-efficient method, given your location.
> Maplin dont advertise in the local rag - so no advert not likely to be
> known.
I simply got to know about Maplin by searching for "electronic components"
on google.
> I have a suspicion that the shop is where a shoe shop used to be when I was
> a little kid.
I hope Al Bundy is not working there anymore :-)
Andreas
Dave Plowman (News)
mike/lisa/claire <clairel...@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
> I see they apparently have a store in the centre of Plymouth but no one
> with any sense goes into Plymouth city centre ( cant park, cant
> negotiate the roads and roundabouts, cant walk when you get there
> because they have put cars through Royal Parade again - used to have
> under passes - and the place is a tip - which is a shame to say because
> it used to be lovely and have lots of car parks which were easy to get
> at!).
Many Maplin stores are situated on the High Street so don't have their own
parking. Although there are others that do and others that are in shopping
malls, etc.
You make it sound like Plymouth are trying to discourage shoppers in their
town centre. Which I doubt. Motorists who just *have* to park outside a
store, yes. I dunno of any UK town where this is possible anymore. But all
will have alternative arrangements. If you can't go anywhere without your
car you'll either have to go further to a out of town place designed with
lots of parking or use mail order.
--
*And don't start a sentence with a conjunction *
mike/lisa/claire
"Andreas Schulze-Bäing" <mib...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3vuuevtmluwp.17...@40tude.net...
> Am Mon, 27 Aug 2007 16:12:51 +0100 schrieb mike/lisa/claire:
>
>> "John Rumm" <see.my.s...@nowhere.null> wrote in message
>> news:13d5pud...@corp.supernews.com...
>>>
>>> http://www.maplin.co.uk/StoreLocator.aspx?doy=27m8
>>
>>
>> I see they apparently have a store in the centre of Plymouth but no one
>> with
>> any sense goes into Plymouth city centre ( cant park, cant negotiate the
>> roads and roundabouts, cant walk when you get there because they have
>> put
>> cars through Royal Parade again - used to have under passes - and the
>> place
>> is a tip - which is a shame to say because it used to be lovely and have
>> lots of car parks which were easy to get at!).
>
> Railways exist - presumably even in Plymouth... :-) Why use the car when
> it's not about getting a fridge or washing machine from A to B but some
> tiny F-connectors?
Railways may exist in Plymouth but they dont exist where I live. There are
no bus services either. By the time I could travel and take my car as far as
either a rail station or a bus stop I would have arrived in Plymouth.
>
mike/lisa/claire
"Dave Plowman (News)" <da...@davenoise.co.uk> wrote in message
news:4f195df...@davenoise.co.uk...
> In article <o9WdnR_7He9kdE_b...@bt.com>,
> mike/lisa/claire <clairel...@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
>> I see they apparently have a store in the centre of Plymouth but no one
>> with any sense goes into Plymouth city centre ( cant park, cant
>> negotiate the roads and roundabouts, cant walk when you get there
>> because they have put cars through Royal Parade again - used to have
>> under passes - and the place is a tip - which is a shame to say because
>> it used to be lovely and have lots of car parks which were easy to get
>> at!).
>
> Many Maplin stores are situated on the High Street so don't have their own
> parking. Although there are others that do and others that are in shopping
> malls, etc.
>
> You make it sound like Plymouth are trying to discourage shoppers in their
> town centre.
I believe that may indeed be the case, I dont live in Plymouth but it is a
constant complaint in the local papers that Plymouth City Council are not
transport friendly. They are certainly not car friendly and there is little
car parking and apparently it is VERY expensive.
For people like me who do not have a bus or rail connection, and live out in
Cornwall, Plymouth is essentially a no g even though its the nearest city.
I can drive easily to out of town centres and most of the big stores are
not in town but on retail parks several miles out.
I will end up having to mail order these bits but I need to be sure I have
the right bit first.
Roderick Stewart
> > You make it sound like Plymouth are trying to discourage shoppers in their
> > town centre.
>
> I believe that may indeed be the case, I dont live in Plymouth but it is a
> constant complaint in the local papers that Plymouth City Council are not
> transport friendly. They are certainly not car friendly and there is little
> car parking and apparently it is VERY expensive.
I think most town centres are like this now, their layouts having evolved
through different times. There simply isn't room for everybody to go there by
car, yet public transport is awkward and time-consuming, and if you use it for
shopping you can only buy what you can carry. For things you have to see
before you buy, the big trading estates with free parking on the outskirts of
towns are cheaper, quicker and much more convenient, and for everything else
there's the internet.
This is bound to have a drastic effect on town centres in the next few years,
simply by altering the choice of things it makes economic sense to provide
there. Maybe there'll soon be nothing in town centres but theatres, cinemas,
nightclubs and drinking places. Who knows, but whatever happens, it's bound to
be different.
Rod.
d-t
...
> Many Maplin stores are situated on the High Street so don't have their own
> parking. Although there are others that do and others that are in shopping
> malls, etc.
>
> You make it sound like Plymouth are trying to discourage shoppers in their
> town centre. Which I doubt. Motorists who just *have* to park outside a
> store, yes. I dunno of any UK town where this is possible anymore. But all
> will have alternative arrangements. If you can't go anywhere without your
> car you'll either have to go further to a out of town place designed with
> lots of parking or use mail order.
The one in Cheltenham is a modern building with Blockbusters and Majestic
Wine next door. There is an enclosed parking space serving the shops, which
is monitored by a clamping team, who have been known to clamp withing
minutes of someone going into Maplin. There's supposed to be a 20 or 30 min
parking allowance (can't remember which), but these cowboys apparently
routinely ignore that. Complaints to Maplin have got nowhere. I know they
aren't resonsible for the clampers, but if I owned a shop there I wouldn't
be too happy at losing customers because of this practice. Although it's
never happened to me, I've vowed never to shop there again (also brought on
by a snotty e-mail from Ho when I complained about an entirely different
matter).
--
Chris
Ian Jackson
<cha...@charleshope.demon.co.uk> writes
<Lots snipped>
>
>Satellite signals probably won't even go through glass.
>
I would check this. It probably depends on the type of glass, its
thickness, the angle etc.
When satellite broadcasting was fairly new, at a Cable and Satellite
show at Olympia, one of the exhibitors was able to get a usable signal
by aiming the dish through one of the windows in the roof. He just
happened to be in the right place to be able to see the satellite.
--
Ian
tony sayer
Remove...@g3ohx.demon.co.uk> scribeth thus
>In message <4f17e3a7...@charleshope.demon.co.uk>, charles
><cha...@charleshope.demon.co.uk> writes
>
><Lots snipped>
>>
>>Satellite signals probably won't even go through glass.
>>
>I would check this. It probably depends on the type of glass, its
>thickness, the angle etc.
>
Depends on the metallic content. Some glass is much worse than others
some is designed to stop RF or at least reduce it....
--
Tony Sayer
Ian Jackson
<to...@bancom.co.uk> writes
designed to stop RF. However, reflective 'one-way mirror' glass (such as
used in office blocks) probably does attenuate quite a bit. Googling
reveals lots of info.
--
Ian
Bill Wright
"Ian Jackson" <IanJacksonR...@g3ohx.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:ttebWaBt...@g3ohx.demon.co.uk...
> It is unlikely that normal domestic glass (and most other types) is
> designed to stop RF. However, reflective 'one-way mirror' glass (such as
> used in office blocks) probably does attenuate quite a bit. Googling
> reveals lots of info.
The windows in some buses stops RF dead. I don't know why.
Bill
Johnny B Good
from "Bill Wright" <insertmybu...@f2s.com> contains these words:
Possibly to stop the nuisance of mobile phone annoyance or protect the
naive well to do folk that occaisionally use the bus from being mugged
by the regulars on routes that serve a deprived area.
--
Regards, John.
Please remove the "ohggcyht" before replying.
The address has been munged to reject Spam-bots.
Andy Wade
> It is unlikely that normal domestic glass (and most other types) is
> designed to stop RF. However, reflective 'one-way mirror' glass (such as
> used in office blocks) probably does attenuate quite a bit. Googling
> reveals lots of info.
Bear in mind though that almost all recent windows will contain
double-glazing units with a low-thermal-emissivity coating on the
outside facing surface of the inner pane - i.e. Pilkington's 'k-glass'
(originally called 'kappafloat') or similar products:
http://www.pilkington.com/Applications/products2006/english/bybenefit/thermalinsulation/kglass/default.htm
The coating is metallic (a tin alloy, IIRC) and does have significant RF
attenuation, at least in the UHF & microwave bands. The glass
manufacturers don't appear to give data on attenuation at non-optical
frequencies(!) but this document contains the results of some practical
measurements:
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/research/technology/spectrum_efficiency_scheme/ses2003-04/ay24462a/package7a.pdf
It quotes "average attenuation" figures of 15-19 dB at 1GHz, 18-19 dB at
2.4 GHz and 24 dB at 5.2 GHz. If the trend continues to Ku band you're
going to need a mighty big indoor dish to receive Astra 2 through a
modern window...
--
Andy
mike/lisa/claire
Ok , its me again. We have a satellite up and running it seems. It is
pointed to Astra 28E but everything is the same as on freeview - except for
a Chinese channel and an Asian? channel . It just brings in loads of ITV
from everywhere ( like Wales N.I ect). Is this right? Or is it just the time
of day? Or havent we got it quite pointed right or something? ( this is a
Lidl box)
Would we be better re tuning for 19E or something else, if so what? Whats
got the widest variety of channels?