Sky's the limit for your dish !!

[Steve L]

Just an observation, but on our site there seems to be a caravan olympics for the sky dish high jump!
Been here on a lovely 5* site where flags are banned and I even had to turn round my wind jammer aerofoil as it had "too much of a carnival going on", due to the holiday stickers of where we'd been to.

But now it seems to be acceptable to have a 12ft pole in place of the jockey wheel and plonk a dish on top. It even sails above the hedge which is tall enough to hide the caravans. It looks like a ruddy great peroscope.

I bet you they get a crap signal as there's no stay wires to steady the dish. I use a standard home dish set on a camera tripod stood over our tow hitch and hedl down with a bungee strap to the hitch. I've even put a wind break round it to make it less obtrusive. I even got a privit pattern break to disguise the dish as it does tell a tale of what TV equipment I have in the van. All year I've got full Sky+ coverage even on FX+1 (channel 165) which is the weakest transmission of them all.

So apart from making a spectical of one's self, I just don't understand the logic of the higher the better.

I wonder how many of you take the high road or thake the low road?

Atb Steve L.

 

[Dustydog]

Good job you're not near Jodrell Bank Steve.

We use a dish all the time but never at the height you mention. With a little afore thought and use of the compass it's very easy to gain a line of sight at a low level.
If you can get a sat picture at Morvich in Scotland no more than 3 feet high you can get a picture anywhere.

Dishes seem to be more common than ever and haven't caused me any concern. Well I haven't seen any at 12 feet high.

 

[WatsonJohnG]

We seem to get more and more posts complaining/belittling other caravanners
I wonder sometimes if its worth wasting time reading these forums and to answer some posters is futile with the attitude shown to others

 

[carper2]

I can't understand how they could get the dish in the right position to get a picture.
When we were at Rockley Park a few weeks ago I had to lift my dish up to about 4 ft but we were near the trees and fence. I generally have it at about 3 ft.

Les

 

[OmOnWeelz]

We've got a Sat Dish, pole and fixing for the A frame, signal metre, cabling, box o tricks, angle of dangle thingy and signal metre. It's been tucked away in the garage roof somewhere and the flat screen TV now hangs in the conservatory. Can't be _ _ _ _ _ to faf around with all that _ _ _ _ during my time off

All I hear is people chomping on about how poor the TV is these days and then we were dragging it around with us

Hard disk at Om records everything we might miss and Iplayer or the like will do for anything we're desperate to see

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

I have yet to fail to get a signal with the Status 530 aerial and we've been to some remote places. For what TV I watch that copes admirably and she who watches more than me says all she wants is the main channels so we are both happy.
Somehow I don't think I could find room for a dish, box etc. with all the other junk I lug about especially when returning home with all the boss's shopping.
Like Om, the boss records the programmes she watches on the hard drive but mostly when we've got back she's already watched them in the van. There might be the odd ones when we have been away from the van for the evening, mainly in summer when the nights are lighter.

 

[JohnnyV]

Can't see any advantage of Dish being another few feet higher - how many 000's miles away is the Sattellite ?
I use a tripod that for convenience puts the dish at chest height which makes it easier to align - but I also try to put it in the most unobtrusive spot that I can (close to the van - or tucked in against the awning).
Jon

 

[JTQ]

The only advantage that I can think of for elevating the dish is that it offers a better chance of seeing over any obstruction; thinking of the disadvantages is a much easier task!
We use Melksham Satellites neat "Fast Finder" dish with its intergrated, ground hugging tripod and this can be located wherever it can glipse the appropriate satellite, cable length permitting. Not yet failed to position it but have had it squinting through some pretty small hedge gaps where a higher unit could have looked over the top. It is certainly very stable relative to the more conventional tripod mounted units.
http://shop.satelliteonline.co.uk/fast-finder-portable-satellite-dish-kit-330-p.asp

 

[Robtel]

But now it seems to be acceptable to have a 12ft pole in place of the jockey wheel and plonk a dish on top. It even sails above the hedge which is tall enough to hide the caravans. It looks like a ruddy great peroscope.
I wonder how many of you take the high road or thake the low road?

Atb Steve L.

Steve, just wondering if they are close to the hedge and it is blocking the line of sight to the satellite?
I use a tripod for our dish and always try and have it as low as possible, also try and get it in a corner of the pitch out of the way if possible also.

 

[Steve L]

Nope Rob, they were smack bang in the middle of the site.

John I don't aim to belittle others as you put it, but when your on a site that bans colourfull wind breaks, wind direction socks etc. You don't expect to be looking at a dish 12ft in the air on a scaffold pole.

Like everyone else I can get a signal at no more than 4ft high and even where possable I set my dish up in the awning. I have for the last 3 years frequented the same seasonal site as a fulltimer and have to blend in with "the townies jess" so to speak.

The pole thing just struck me a totally un-necessary and to be honest an eye sore.

Although LB wouldn't get a picture at eardisland with his status thingy.

 

[Steve L]

We seem to get more and more posts complaining/belittling other caravanners
I wonder sometimes if its worth wasting time reading these forums and to answer some posters is futile with the attitude shown to others

Just looked at your intro pis and that wouldn't be a dish on the roof of your van John??

I prefer to keep a low profile it's easier to tweak the dish and it doesn't get blown about as much.

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Although LB wouldn't get a picture at eardisland with his status thingy.

Not bothered Steve

too close to home ......

 

[Steve L]

Although LB wouldn't get a picture at eardisland with his status thingy.

Not bothered Steve

too close to home ......

Me neither, but all those who visit without a dish do bother as they can't get corrie. I just settle for more fishing time myself.

 

[colinw1]

This has become a bone of contention with me..
Earlier this year, I witnessed an incident where a couple had set up their dish, but it moved in the breeze, they'd not clamped it up properly - the woman came out of the caravan and started to yell out 2 lads who were playing with a ball near her precious dish. She accused them of hitting the dish, but when the guy came out and discovered that he'd not tightened things up, there was no apology to the kids.

I will back any campaign to rid the sites of these dishes. If you cant miss corrie, enders, or strictly come x-factor me out of here. STAY AT HOME!!! - or series link it/ vcr it etc. It's really sad that someone cant live a weekend or week away from the idiot box.

We find it's not the be-all and end-all if we cant get reception on our tv. It's just tough, and I certainly wont go the the length others do.Besides, we find loads of other things to do.