TV reception

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Does anyone know if these work ok on the boat while in the marina?-

Satellite Camping or Caravan Kit 28208R


Satellite Camping Kit with 38cm Dish + FTA receiver

Kit contents :-

12V Free To Air (FTA) Satellite Receiver
38cm satellite dish with compass and signal meter
Universal LNB (single-output)
230v AC or car powered
10m cable, F plugs, and AV cables supplied
Wall / car roof fixing kit (suction base)
Fast setup guide and full user instruction manual
Fully compatible with Sky Digibox (if required)
Weight (kg): 5.13
Tariff No.: 85287119
Country of Origin: CN China

Camping kit with 38cm dish, receiver and LNB £65.00
 
If the marina is calm then I don't see why not. If the marina suffers with wash or waves then probably not. If the marina is calm you may also get maddening drop outs when someone passes and rocks your boat, and if the boat moves when the wind changes you might spend your life adjusting it - I'm not sure what the tolerance is for aiming but I think it needs to be quite close.
 
We are moored at the end of a long floating jetty in a very busy commercial harbour and we have perfect reception for our satellite TV.

Ensure the pole is mounted rigid and not too high, mine is on a steel pole about head hight. Also get the right equipment to set up the dish correctly.

There are at least 3 others in out marina with the same setup as I have
 
Had a similar sized small dish a few years back. Stand alone unit with its own base plate. Used to stick it in the cockpit (mobo) or flybridge if we couldnt get the direction. Worked fine with a second hand sky box of ebay for a tenner. Easy to tune in once you got the hang of it (no signal indicator). Could take a bit of movement no probs (wash, wind etc)

Sort of superceded now with freeview and digital.
 
The smaller dishes have their advantages and disadvantages, on the plus point the smaller size tends to indicate a wider beamwith which makes alighnment much easier but the downside is their gain tends to be less so they tend to only give satisfactory results in the higher signal areas. In one marina we had a 1.2 metre dish (needed to get a signal) lashed to one of the marina piles. This worked fine though it did need a local expert to line up the dish. Many people screw their dish to their finger jetty and seem happy with the results.
 
As someone who used to work in the TV selling game can I offer the following observations:
Think about the channels you want to receive and where you want to use the equipment.
What are you used to at home is a good place to start.

Channels: If you want the Sky channels, inc movies you have to have a Sky sat system but if you just want free to air channels then a standard aerial to receive Freeview is more "robust" and easier to set up IMHO.
However it depends on the reception area for Freeview. Do you only want to receive it in your home marina or whilst visiting others? If just your home berth then it should not be too difficult to work out if you it is a problem area. Have a look at the aerials on the top of local houses. If they are on a long pole you have a problem. Still Freeview boxes and an aerial are cheap enough so it is worth an experiment.
If you want to use it whilst travelling you cannot determine the Freeview reception of the places that you are going to and, of course, it will only work in the UK.
This is where the sat system comes into its own. So long as you have line of site to the sat you are OK but you generally need to set the dish up fairly accurately.
If you dont want to pay a subscription to Sky get a Freesat box IMHO. We are back to the channels you want to watch. Check out the ones that you watch on all three systems.

A few other things to note:
You dont say where you are but in Northern England and Scotland you will need a larger dish.
If you buy the system online you have a short time to return it due to distance selling rules....7 days I think.
Tip: When assembling and disassembling a sat system make sure that you disconnect the power before plugging in the LNB or you could blow the receiver.
One final thing. I note that the system is 12V. I assume you are going to use it on mains because using a sat system and TV on 12V is going to drain batteries quickly.

I hope this helps.

Gerry www.sadler32forsale.com
 
maxi77 said:
The smaller dishes have their advantages and disadvantages, on the plus point the smaller size tends to indicate a wider beamwith which makes alighnment much easier but the downside is their gain tends to be less so they tend to only give satisfactory results in the higher signal areas. In one marina we had a 1.2 metre dish (needed to get a signal) lashed to one of the marina piles. This worked fine though it did need a local expert to line up the dish. Many people screw their dish to their finger jetty and seem happy with the results.
Click to expand...

Are there high and low signal areas with satelite signals? I thought it was pretty much blanket coverage within the satelite coverage region but have never set one up so very curious now you said that.
 
lustyd said:
Are there high and low signal areas with satelite signals? I thought it was pretty much blanket coverage within the satelite coverage region but have never set one up so very curious now you said that.
Click to expand...

No I understand dish sizes for northern England and Scotland are larger.

http://linuxsat-support.com/dishes/2123-required-dish-size-guide.html
Astra-5A --31.5 east -----80cm dish
Astra---2A 28.5-----45cm-60cm.
Astra 2D 45cm-60cm--------------It is not possible to receive reliable reception from Astra 2D outside the intended service area,
Astra-1E & 3A*90cm -120 *further West even bigger dish required
Astra-1--F-G-H-KR-1L 50cm -60cm.
Check out the channels that you want to watch to find the Astra Satellite that they are transmitted from.
Incidentally there are other satellites and channels but that is way beyond the remit here (and is beyond my knowledge anyway)

I have just found a potentially useful site http://www.satelliteforcaravans.co.uk/

I hope this helps.

Gerry www.sadler32forsale.com
 
gerryraby1 said:
No I understand dish sizes for northern England and Scotland are larger.

http://linuxsat-support.com/dishes/2123-required-dish-size-guide.html
Astra-5A --31.5 east -----80cm dish
Astra---2A 28.5-----45cm-60cm.
Astra 2D 45cm-60cm--------------It is not possible to receive reliable reception from Astra 2D outside the intended service area,
Astra-1E & 3A*90cm -120 *further West even bigger dish required
Astra-1--F-G-H-KR-1L 50cm -60cm.
Check out the channels that you want to watch to find the Astra Satellite that they are transmitted from.
Incidentally there are other satellites and channels but that is way beyond the remit here (and is beyond my knowledge anyway)

I have just found a potentially useful site http://www.satelliteforcaravans.co.uk/

I hope this helps.

Gerry www.sadler32forsale.com
Click to expand...

Thanks, I was completely unaware of that!
 
Beware that 12° East is east of south! Caught me out with a know-all neighbour in the south of France!

Divorced as I was from a compass, I used the sun to set up my dish. The shadow of the supporting mast on the wall gave a very precise indication (much to know-all's irritation!).
 
SlimRick said:
This was the only one that I have found that works ok where I am. The marina is surrounded by apartment buildings which doesn't help. This was the 4th type of aerial that I bought and the only one with a decent enough reception:

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9356504.htm
Click to expand...

Ah-ha- good, I have one of them bolted on the other house but never tried it. Bye the way is it just the aerial or have I lost some other bits like amp box etc?
 
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We use a camping satellite dish connected to a cheap Bush receiver. When tied up in a marina works really well, I just plonk it on the dashboard in the cockpit and bobs you uncle. Can get a bit dodgy if you have the canvas up and it's raining hard. Was rafted this weekend in Bembridge and used it there no problem rafted 3rd boat out...
A good idea is to run a cable from the receiver into a surface mounted connector discreetly hidden in the cockpit, that way you don't have cables trailing down the companionway.
 
So how much power do I need. I have x3 110 a/h domestics which will have to run the sat dish,26'' lcd tv and freeview box along with the usual lights etc. Will that cope for a couple of hours each evening with the alternator being used for a few hours a day.
 
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