Ultimatum - get Sat TV or you're boating solo

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Ultimatum - get Sat TV or you\'re boating solo

We're here in Majorca where it is raining not mainly on the plain but mainly on us and forecast to continue to rain until we leave on Wednesday so stuck in the marina. The family has thrown their collective toys out of the pram and demanded Sat TV on the boat otherwise I'll be boating solo from now on
I don't want a dish that works only on the pontoon so it looks like I'm going to have to splash out on one of those dome thingies. But which one? I only want Sat TV, not internet or phone and I don't want to spend a humongous amount of money 'coz I might sell the boat next year
Is it worth buying the kit from the US? Anyone got an opinion on whether having a Sat dome thingy adds to the value of a boat or makes it easier to sell?
 
Re: Ultimatum - get Sat TV or you\'re boating solo

You need an MF type power arial, loads of entertainment provided by trying it in different positions, especially when it only works with some ones head in the right position.
 
Re: Ultimatum - get Sat TV or you\'re boating solo

General consensus is that KVH make the best kit. Not neccesarily the cheapest, but been doing it for a long time therefore excellent reliability and performance.

The issue you've got in Mallorca is you need a 60cm system as 45cm won't give you the gain you need to get a decent picture. Take a look at the Tracvision M7 (this is the system we have chosen). You could transfer this to your next boat without much difficulty.

I can recommend someone on the Island who can supply and fit - Mark Wilson at Navicomm, (+34) 971 23 40 06. He setup our KVH G6 on our P67 and fitted some Hi-Fi kit for me.
 
Re: Ultimatum - get Sat TV or you\'re boating solo

AFAIK you wont get BBC1, BBC2 or ITV from anything that you can install on the boat.
That will just leave you with the Sky (mainly) subscription channels - unless anyone out there knows any better way of getting some English entertainment on wet and miserable days.
I bought the Raymarine 60cm ones because they have an auto skew facility - also it is easier to buy Raymaring kit through the discount stores and I felt more comfortable with kit that I can look after myself.
If you want to get the good old BBC channels that you get at home, you will either have to rely on anything that the marina pipe in or fit a big dish to the quayside - you would probably need at least a 1.5metre dish.

If I'm wrong, and you can get BBC off a 60cm on board dome, I'd be a VERY happy man - but I'm sure you cant.
 
Re: Ultimatum - get Sat TV or you\'re boating solo

BBC transmits in the clear on Astra 2D

It's transmission footprint can be seen here.

This is why you need a bigger disk in the med.

Although as you can see on this close up, you can be lucky in bits of the Spanish coast.
 
Re: Ultimatum - get Sat TV or you\'re boating solo

Yes - that was my point.
I hadnt seen the "close up" footprint though.

Question to those with TV Sat domes in the Med.
What channels do you get.
I assume that Sky/Astral is what is used but are there any others that people use - BBC Prime on Hotbird for example.
 
Re: Ultimatum - get Sat TV or you\'re boating solo

Hmmmm....

Is it me, or isn't the POINT of boating to get away from all that kind of thing?

When I was a kid my parents had a boat, we had NO telly, NO radios etc, and we actually HAD to talk to each other, play cards, play connect 4, othello etc....

I imagine the pressure on you is large, but perhaps you could suggest to the family you do something together!
 
Re: Ultimatum - get Sat TV or you\'re boating solo

Will the dome thingies pick up any more than a dish? With my dish (albeit small and bought from Lidl) I can only pick up Astra 1B and Hotbird from North Med Spain. OK for the odd UEFA cup final in German (SAT1) but unless your family enjoy Sky News, BBC News CNN or various pop channels then not much point IMHO.
 
Re: Ultimatum - get Sat TV or you\'re boating solo

That was my point to Deleted User
You need to be able get Astra 2D in order to satisfy the family's thirst for Eastenders!!!
He could just be wasting his money if thats what the family expects.

AFAIK Astra's South beam is good for most if the Med. I believe that all the Sky channels are available on this bean but all the BBC channels are only output using a very focussed beam from Astra 2D so all the good UK stuff wont work with a small dish - of the size that you'd fit in a KVH/Raymarine dome.
 
Re: Ultimatum - get Sat TV or you\'re boating solo

You should be able to get all the Astra 2A South progs, but not the 2A North. This means you don't get BBC channels, or ITV1, but you do get C4, C5 and most (but not all) the main Sky TV channels. You also get the movies, sports etc if you subscribe to them.

In SoF we have the KVH M3 and the picture is great, the unit is very small, and its very quiet. Our previous Raymarine unit was much noisier, but others on here do not report the same noise issue with it, so maybe ours had a fault.

I think the M7 is too big for your boat Mike, the M5 is probably a better option if the M3 is too small, same signal strength as the old G6, but smaller unit. I would ask around, or at the dealer, and see if anyone has the M3 and whether the signal is OK in Majorca. If so its a fair bit cheaper (4-5 k euro). Its a single cable for power and signal, so easy to install yourself if you can route the cable.

Sat TV is a great investment IMO, if it keeps swmbo and family happy on the boat.
 
Re: Ultimatum - get Sat TV or you\'re boating solo

A dome thingy is just a dish in a dome. Just like a radar sits in a dome - it's weather protection and a place to stick the makers name.
 
Re: Ultimatum - get Sat TV or you\'re boating solo

[ QUOTE ]

I think the M7 is too big for your boat Mike, the M5 is probably a better option if the M3 is too small, same signal strength as the old G6, but smaller unit. I would ask around, or at the dealer, and see if anyone has the M3 and whether the signal is OK in Majorca. If so its a fair bit cheaper (4-5 k euro). Its a single cable for power and signal, so easy to install yourself if you can route the cable.

[/ QUOTE ]
Our G6 was borderline for certain channels in Mallorca. The M7 is the same sized dome so would make sense over there.
 
Re: Ultimatum - get Sat TV or you\'re boating solo

[ QUOTE ]
Sat TV is a great investment IMO, if it keeps swmbo and family happy on the boat.

[/ QUOTE ]Well, if sat TV is required for family happyness when boating, in terms of investment it would be even better not to have a boat at all, if you think about it.
 
Get a Sling Box !

If you have got broad band internet to the Marina, why not use a sling box. Stick it on the back of your sky box in th UK (they also have a free view built in) and it will bounce all the channels you currently subscribe for over the net to wherever you want to view them. That is what I do in the SoF and no additional payments to Murdoch !!!

The sling boxes are great and cost less than a few hundred quid. I run the sling client on my laptoo and connect it up to an LCD TV with great results. Or your kids can take a laptop to the cabin to watch a programme.

Sling Site I bought mine in PC World in UK
 
Thanks for all replies

Magnum - many thanks for Navicomm contact. I phoned them this morning
Houghn - yes, preliminary opinion is that M7 is too big for my boat and Navicomm recommend M5 unit although quite why M7 considered too big, I don't know
Hurricane - yup, M5 dome will only get Beeb/ITV channels intermittently in Majorca (something to do with interference from other satellite?). Need M7 for better reception. Which model of Raymarine dome should I consider and where could I buy it at a discount?
ontheplane/Mapism - yup, I agree with you but I expect our parents thought we were spoiled brats when we were young so nothing has changed, just the expectations are different
Eeyore - I had 12 yrs of boating in the UK rain/wind, thanks, and the main reason we do our boating in the Med is to avoid that
Thanks to everyone else who replied
 
Re: Ultimatum - get Sat TV or you\'re boating solo

[ QUOTE ]
Well, if sat TV is required for family happyness when boating, in terms of investment it would be even better not to have a boat at all, if you think about it.

[/ QUOTE ]

My point was if you've spent all the fixed cost on the boat, berth, insurance, servicing etc., its a good investment to spend some more on Sat TV for the family, if it means you can spend more time on the boat, so all the fixed costs are amortised over more days on board.
 
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