Satellite Dishes and trees

Fisherman

Fisherman

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Do those with satellite dishes have problems when near trees.
I was considering a snipe system, but we regularly park close to trees.
Thanks.
 
It can be just one leaf in the way 🙄. In the last van we had the more powerful of the two Road Pro crank up‘s which was great. Now have a much larger Oyster which is generally great - apart from that one leaf!!
 
I had the snipe it worked well under some trees. I have the small maxi view dome paired with an avtex tv with built in sat tuner I’m honestly amazed at the places under trees this wee thing works it will keep turning until it finds something it even worked in northern France.
 
Tree cover can effect reception on our Snipe set up so we carry an Avtex ariel as a backup and if that doesn’t work we resort to Watching iplayer on my ipad mini paired with my phone.
 
saxonborg said:
Tree cover can effect reception on our Snipe set up so we carry an Avtex ariel as a backup and if that doesn’t work we resort to Watching iplayer on my ipad mini paired with my phone.
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You’re no getting a refund now your guarantee is up.😜
 
yeah they can be an issue. I got so skilled in knowing the direction of the satellite over the years I could drive onto an an aire which had trees on it and know exactly where to park and where not to. :D How far north or south you are makes a difference as well.

I always try to avoid shady pitches anyway even in Europe in summer unless its really Scorchio. I like a bit of light and a view. Its one reason I dont like European campsites. They are nearly always hidden away in a flipping rain forest.
 
barryd said:
yeah they can be an issue. I got so skilled in knowing the direction of the satellite over the years I could drive onto an an aire which had trees on it and know exactly where to park and where not to. :D How far north or south you are makes a difference as well.

I always try to avoid shady pitches anyway even in Europe in summer unless its really Scorchio. I like a bit of light and a view. Its one reason I dont like European campsites. They are nearly always hidden away in a flipping rain forest.
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Snap, especially after the Astra 2 profile shrank!
 
Yes definitely can be an issue. There is a free app you can use before you settle in fully and set up the dish.

Look for SatFinder Lite on the App Store and use a smart phone so you can see where the satellites are positioned in the sky compared to where you’re pointing through the camera’s eye.
 
**** said:
Snap, especially after the Astra 2 profile shrank!
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Yep that was a bit of a bummer. Ill probably sell my van this year (if its ever fixed) and I think ill leave the Camos Dome on it. You can be out of the footprint for UK channels within a couple of days now if your blasting south or east. Once upon a time we got UK TV down to northern Spain and as far east as Lake Garda.
 
I watched a guy walking around different pitches on an aire with a compass. Then parked, scurried inside looking at the telly, moved, and again.

I opened another beer and adjusted my chair to face the setting sun lol.
 
barryd said:
Yep that was a bit of a bummer. Ill probably sell my van this year (if its ever fixed) and I think ill leave the Camos Dome on it. You can be out of the footprint for UK channels within a couple of days now if your blasting south or east. Once upon a time we got UK TV down to northern Spain and as far east as Lake Garda.
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Leave it on and let it go Barry, I regret adding an Oyster 85cm dish as an extra two years ago if I’m honest (thinking it would keep us ahead of the Astra profile!). If I’d known at the time it might have been money better spent on a decent VPN with a local (to wherever you are) pay as you go sim card combined with a HUAWEI 5577, cheap antenna and a Firestick, I‘d never have asked for it as an extra.

Since being ’forced local’ the Firestick combination with a cheap antenna for the more out of the way spots, plus Firestick with live streaming apps, I find that I’m only raising the Oyster on the basis ‘if you don’t use it you loose it’. Live and lean ehh?
 
barryd said:
Yep that was a bit of a bummer. Ill probably sell my van this year (if its ever fixed) and I think ill leave the Camos Dome on it. You can be out of the footprint for UK channels within a couple of days now if your blasting south or east. Once upon a time we got UK TV down to northern Spain and as far east as Lake Garda.
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What about within the U.K. Barry, I don’t reckon I will be euro bound.
 
As has been said, trees can affect your reception with a dish. If using an aire or a site, looking at the rooves of other MHs already parked up, can usually give a clue where to pitch.

We also have a digital aerial as well which comes to the rescue most times. Failing that we just watch a DVD.
 
Fisherman said:
What about within the U.K. Barry, I don’t reckon I will be euro bound.
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Its fine everywhere in the UK and the elevation required the further north you go is lower which can be good news if there are trees above you but bad news if there are trees directly in front of you or even a sheer cliff or mountain if its steep enough if you are facing south.

The main reason we got ours in 2008 was we were sick of turning up at places in the sticks and getting no TV on the status aerial and knowing we would be heading into Europe for long trips it would have been nice to have reliable TV. However since then everything went digital and the signals got amplified so maybe (others may confirm this ) in the uk you can probably get away with just a standard status TV Aerial now. As has also been mentioned with data being so cheap you can just watch via a streaming service assuming you have good 3 or 4g of course.

For me personally Ive changed the way I watch TV anyway. I pretty much never watch live TV anymore. I just download or stream whatever I fancy watching when I watch it. On the last few long trips we did in the van most of what we watched I had downloaded before we left. IF there is a dish on the next van then fine but I dont think I will be splashing out £2k for a new one if there isnt.
 
In the UK the satellite signal comes down to ground roughly at 45 degrees so you can judge how far away from the trees you need to be :unsure:
 
Thank you everyone, I reckon within a couple of years 4g will become available in more areas. I tend to think that satellite might in effect become obsolete. Sky are currently working on a system without dishes, it seems this is the way forward. I can see why those who travel to Europe may use a dish, but we intend to remain within the U.K. and Ireland.
 
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