Satalite TV

[PETERA]

Help and advise please.

As most of our touring will be abroad I have decided that we will need a satalite system and tv. The question is what type of equipment will I need.
Can I get a "normal" mains operated18 inch tv or do I need one that also operates on 12 v. I am right in asuming that most sites abroad will have mains connections. We don't really plan to set up in the middle of a field.
I have SKY at home and I am planning to take the SKY plus box with us along with a 65 cm dish and stand that I have aquired. Will this be adequate ?
Any help or advice greatly appreciated.

PETERA

 

[WatsonJohnG]

65 cm dish will be OK for most of France but further south you will need bigger and with a good LNB
You can operate a 230 Volt Tv off a good inverter and then 12V
Many LCD TVs are already 12V and have a transformer in the mains lead
You can often run them direct off the 12V but you may need a voltage stabiliser
Have a look on Leisure Power website for more detaile

www.leisurepower.co.uk

 

[airsiggy]

Very few sites in europe are without mains so you'll be OK for powering your Sky receiver and TV. I have been using a 60cm, Type 2 Sky dish all over a lot of europe including N.Spain, Croatia, and Austria without any problem at all. If you move out of the Astra 2 North Beam you will have to retune your Sky receiver to the Astra 2 South beam and this may limit a few of the channels you get.
In France and Germany you should have no problems and should not need to retune the receiver. Type2 - 60 cm dishes and LNB's are available for about £16 total on the internet with 24 hours delivery.
Go to David Sullivans excellent website for Sky abroad details on tuning, beams, etc.

 

[WatsonJohnG]

Its true that most sites in Europe do have electricity but many are only 6amps and many are overloaded at peak times
So if I were you I would try to get a 12V TV and run the digibox off a suitable inverter
Even in UK electric can be unpredictable and at CC site at Blackpool for one they unplug the mains leads to mow the grass so any recordings on Sky+ etc need to be set via an inverter

 

[JohnGriffiths]

We have toured abroad for a few years now with satellite dish/receiver/hard drive/dvd player but have never found any need to go 12v. 6 amps should be sufficient for the essentials including TV and various boxes, so I wouldn't want to spend extra on inverters and 12v TVs.

 

[Reg]

Volts x Amps = Watts
220 x 6 = 1320W
or 1.32Kw
or 22 60watt tungsten light bulbs
or 132 low energy light bulbs.
Most caravan lighting is on 12 volts.
The only things that should give you problems are Electric Kettles, Toasters, Water Heaters, Hair Driers etc..
LCD TVs, Sat Boxes, radios etc will present no problems.

Forget all about inverters you don't need them if you are on a electric hook-up site

 

[WatsonJohnG]

My point is not that 6 amps is insufficient but that often the site electrics is tripped out
We have been on sites in France where multiple adapters were used and where equipment didn't work OK because of the site voltage drop
When it rained the French adapters soon tripped out the site box
As quoted above the CC site at Blackpool for one disconnects the 230V when mowing
We are also able with a 12V TV and an inverter operated digibox to watch TV when overnighting waiting for ferry at such as Roscoff
It depends on what you need and how confident you are on the site electrics
We go to Sarzeau in Brittany every year on the C & CC rally and tripping out of the 10 amp electrics by someone or other is an everyday occurence

 

[PETERA]

Again, Many thanks to all for this info.

PETERA

 

[Steve L]

When satalite tv was first introduced to caravanning people were told they needed all sorts of special designed for camping kit and what a load of twoddle that turned out to be.
All you need is a TV 12v is great but 240v is ok and won't be too much of a drain on the battery when used with an inverter,
Your standard sky+ box is fine and so too is the houshold sky dish. Your standard sky+ dish comes with a 4 port LNB all you need is sufficient twin satalite cable to position your dish for a clear signal. I would suggest enough for you to site the dish upto 2 mtrs from front & rear of the caravan. As my TV cabinet is just behind the wheel on the righthand side of the van, I've gone for the direct approach and drilled a hole for the dish cable through the floor. Reducing the number of terminal connections does improve the signal strength. Also the battery box & mains plug in, are near by which means I can roll up the sky cable and stow it in there while on the road.
To mount my sky dish I found a camera tripod at acharity shop for a fiver and bolted the dish to the camera pad. i now have a fully flexable and infinately adjustable sat dish stand.
I use a 150W 12v inverter to power my sky+ box. This keeps program recording data when the van is unplugged from the mains.
The only specialist bit of kit is a £15 satalite finder courtesy of Maplins. It has a buzzer and a dial type strength meter which is a doddle to use and the instructions are crystal clear.

My only other accessory is a corkscrew dog tie down and a bungie cord, that I use to keep the dish stable when the wind blows.
After using the sat finder to set the dish I check the signal strength on the sky+ box by going to services on the remote, then select option 4 then option 6. This gives the signal strength & quality which is normally top end of the sliding bar scale.

Total time to set up on site about 5 mins.

 

[WatsonJohnG]

Agree with you Steve
Direct from dish to digibox is best every time

Using a tripod is a good foundation to work from and adjustable legs as on a camera tripod are an asset as you can then start with the mast vertical and so all angles are more accurate
I use the Maxview Semitronic on the van roof but my stand by tripod if things are in the way of the roof dish is modified with screw adjustable legs