Portable Satellite!

[Leltel]

Well my hubby went and got a portable satellite kit today. I thought portable meant small, but no, he has to get a 66cm dish! If we don't get any channels now on these dark nights I think he'll cry! If anyone is in the New Forest at the weekend and you see a grown man crying in front of a dish, you will know it hasn't worked. Mind you, I don't think it will there, but I won't mention that to him...... yet!

 

[misty]

Good luck,
for the first time getting a picture is a night mare,
i set mine up in the works depot before going away, great managed to get 284 channels wow a lot of repeated channels and radio but hey i was well chuffed,
first outing nearly an hour getting all the funny looks and not one channel not even a blip on the signal bar, effing thing had enough its going back,
aldi youve had it over thirty days it will have to be checked, sent away new LNB and checked in the works depot again i know where to aim it there yep its working,
second outing with it well it nearly never came back nothing again right peice of crap i thought gave it a swift belt with a right hander "Dont move it she shouts" we got a picture set it up and had tv all night wow bliss (you know the feeling when the good lady indoors gets the soaps)
moral of the story, be patiant and know where to point it, we were pointing it up to much, and have a freeview tv for back up with a vision 420 ariel
misty

 

[Leltel]

Hee hee, I can see that happening to us! Although we have a status ariel ( not sure which one) and a freeview telly, we've never yet managed to get a dicky bird on sites!

 

[Kontiki]

If it is the dish with the offset LNB (thats the bit you connect the wire to on the end of an arm) these are mainly the portable ones. Start with the dish vertical (might look odd as you think the signal is coming from the sky), if you haven't got a sat finder (I have one but find I don't need it) get the TV showing the signal strength preferably on Astra 28E on something which is usually a good strong signal such as Sky News. If you point the dish south then slowly turn it towards the East (to the left if you are standing behind the dish) the satellite you are looking for is 28 degrees East of South.

When I first bought my system I stuck it on the side of the van, connected everything up & had a picture . Went away to a motorhome show & spent 3 days messing with it & couldn't get a thing . Visited a few websites explaining how it works & how to set it up. Don't get frustrated once you get the hang of it you will find it simple.

 

[maingate]

For anyone who gets a Sky digibox (like me), the best way to find the right satellite is to start by pointing the dish to the East and swing it slowly to the South.

Before you begin, press 'services' on the remote, then option 4 and finally option 6. You should get the signal strength bar first and you need the signal quality to appear by very fine adjustment. Be aware that with the Sky system, there is a small delay after you have moved the dish before any change appears on the TV screen.

After a few attempts, you will get the hang of it. I just use a cheap compass to roughly get the direction before I attempt the fine tuning.

 

[Leltel]

Hilarious!

Well 4 hours in the rain yesterday & Ter finaly got a signal ...... on Hotbird satellite! I looked at the box this morning, he hadn't even selected the Astra 28.2......5 mins and I was tuned in!!!

 

[caspar]

For anyone who gets a Sky digibox (like me), the best way to find the right satellite is to start by pointing the dish to the East and swing it slowly to the South.

Before you begin, press 'services' on the remote, then option 4 and finally option 6. You should get the signal strength bar first and you need the signal quality to appear by very fine adjustment. Be aware that with the Sky system, there is a small delay after you have moved the dish before any change appears on the TV screen.

After a few attempts, you will get the hang of it. I just use a cheap compass to roughly get the direction before I attempt the fine tuning.

I do exactly the same but start at due south then stand behind it and turn it to the left, making sure I can see signal strength and quality on the TV screen. You very quickly get a "feel" roughly where it needs to be, but very slight movements make a massive difference.