Sky TV

Micky

Micky

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Took me a while to decide if i should bother fitting Sky TV to the boat. Now all done and it's working great.
SWMBO is over the moon with the results. So easy to keep a women happy and only £150 for the whole package.

Well recommended to everyone thinking about fitting it.
 
We did this - on the cheap - bought a second hand multimo dish, second hand sky digibox and a £20 sky freesat card. You need the freesat card as things like channel four and five are still encrypted. This is why you also need a digibox with a slot in it to take the card. I think some of the cheap suitcase systems don't have this.
We checked the web for which way to point etc. We found the dish should be at 149 degrees and the elevation 23 degrees.
Connected everything up. Turned on. Using the digibox remote go settings - 4 - 6 and this gives a signal strength and quality, the satellite code number and if it is locked on. Move until you are on 07d4 at the bottom. Move very small amounts up down left right until the signal strength and quality are as high as you can get it and you are away.
Repeat for each new mooring.
Don't bother with the cheap satellite meters, they are not worth it. If you want something to use because you are changing mooring frequently, splash out on a laguna, wolsey or horizon pro sat finder. Otherwise, just do the standard set up each time.
For excellent info see here - How to do it
Hope that helps
 
Obviously its no good if the boat moves!

ok to set dish up on a NON moving surface...spose if boats on a pontoon and not much movement may be ok...and ive never had a problem with my cheap sat finder!...
 
Our dish is on the stern of the boat and we are based in a marina berth. We do get a little problem if it is very windy which is to be expected. We also lose signal in heavy rain but that happens to folks we know with dishes on houses.
 
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Don't bother with the cheap satellite meters, they are not worth it

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What evidence do you base this assertion? I have used a £15 cheapie for over 5 years now, all over France, Holland and Belgium as well as the UK. It has LEDs and a buzzer and gives quick, reliable results every time. Do you have first-hand experience or is this just heresay?
 
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Which package did you opt for?

How easy is it to set up the dish alignment each time you move the boat?

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Nauticat42
I purchased the complete set up from our local Sony retailer.
Price inc card £150.

I set the dish up on top of the wheelhouse. Closer to the center, the better as this area moves least when the boat swings on the mooring. However, so far there has been no problems, unless i purposely slacken off the boat rope's and swing the boat a good two feet+ away from the pontoon, then the picture/signal is lost for a few seconds. Normally my boat wont swing around that far.

Once i had set up the dish, i marked the pole.
The dish is locked with two bolts, these can simply be slackened off to reset the dish in other locations.

The whole set up is very simple and well worth the money.
 
A television on a boat, what next?

Don't you know boats are a way to escape life and live like a poor Victorian slum family shivering around a candle.

Heathen!
 
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Our dish is on the stern of the boat and we are based in a marina berth. We do get a little problem if it is very windy which is to be expected. We also lose signal in heavy rain but that happens to folks we know with dishes on houses.

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I was going to fit mine on the stern, but a mate told me that the stern or bows were the worse place to choose, as they swing about the most. His advice was to fit to the top of the wheelhouse as near to the center as possible, hence resulting in less movement and less chance of signal loss.

All to do with axis points.
 
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A wheelhouse, what ever next will they think off!!!!

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OH Dear!
Don't tell me you have not discovered the real boats with all the undercover comforts of home. The ones you can use all year round without getting wet/cold, fitted with heaters and nice big engines etc. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I guess you must have one of those summer time, boaty type things that appear on the water for about 6 months a year, the ones without a nice cosy wheelhouse. The ones that you see people on, dressed in eskimo clothing standing out in the rain etc /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Bit like those funny cars without a roof /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
If you live in a marina or otherwise have fast internet access, you can buy a box called the slingbox, which connects to your home sky tv box and broadcasts the signal via the internet, allowing you to change channels etc.
 
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How easy is it to set up the dish alignment each time you move the boat?

[/ QUOTE ]As another Nauticat 42 in the Med /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif I would ask firstly whether you are talking about UK or coming down to the Med again? In southern Spain to see the Astra north beam you need a 1.3m dish.

Directivity of a dish is a function of size. It's a bit like a searchlight; big searchlights give little spreading and little searchlights spread out very quickly. In the same way small satellited dishes are not very directional and you can mount them on a boat if the moorings are tight - and you will see that the expensive satellite TV radomes on some boats are quite small - bigger dishes would need far more correction by the servos. For use on a boat you are looking for a good strong satellite and the smallest dish possible with enough gain to receive that satellite.

Down here you could never mount your 1.3 metre dish on the boat - even laying a hand gently on the dish, on the dockside, is enough to lose weaker transponders such as Channel 5
 
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Saw these in Maplins window today...looked interesting:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?Modu...0cheap%20online


Certainly a cheap option but dunno how well suited to marine environment it would be....

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Can tell you they do not work, unless you put the dish onto a tripod and stand it on your pontoon. Also no channel 4-5 available.
Go for the £150 package, it's low cost for a lot of entertainment and the option to upgrade is there if you want it.
 
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