Satellite TV

We didn't bother to take the TV on our recent trip to France. Can't say I missed it. Only comes into its own on grey chilly evenings in the UK.

Thanks so much for all the helpful advice.  It sounds as if the whole exercise requires quite a bit of electronic hassle for little gain.  We now plan to go back to the basics, i.e. buy a second Kindle and cut down on the amount of paper books we take away.

It was when we started to go on longer trips of a couple of months at a time that we first started to take a TV with as we are quite keen F1 fans and din't like having to rely of campsites having a race on if there was another major sporting event at the same time. For years we manged with a free standing satellite dish but when we got the motorhome that was not as convenient because of storage. We eventually decided to bite the bullet and have a roof mounted automatic system installed. At the same time we purchased an Avtex Combi TV with the built in satellite receiver to minimise gubbins inside the van. It has been one of the best investments we have made as it is so easy to use. Margaret is an avid reader of both paper books and she uses a Kindle. However she says that can't read all day as it starts to affect her eyes so she needs a rest from it which the TV provides. Having said that she still seems to get through a mass of books whilst on holiday! The roof mounted dish has proved to be an excellent investment as its so easy to operate. If you want a TV to provide entertainment it might be an idea to buy one with a built in DVD. The Discs are easy enough to store in a soft pouch container if you want to save space.

David

I can only agree with David Klyne. We go to France roughly three times a year and have self seeking Oyster Vision 85cm dish. Since UK TV is an hour later in France we find it very useful in the late evening. Our decoder is in a cupboard above the fridge / freezer and both the TV and satellite run on 12 volt. In addition the TV also plays DVDs so on the odd occasions we are unable to get a signal we been watching the Downton Abbey boxed set.

The Avtex Snipe is a brilliant system built in GPS and Auto Tuning, order from Germany and you get the mounting plate included.

Works fine down to mid france, beyond this dish size has little effect as reception is limited by the satalite footprint.

Thanks David,  That is most helpful.  How far South have you received reception?  We tend to go down to the Spanish border but are considering going to Spain and Portugal next year.

If we do it at all it will be a roof mounted one.

The furthest south we have been has been Carcassonne. Can't really speak for further south but it would seem that you would be hard pushed to get UK FTA programmes that far south. You do hear a bit of anecdotal evidence of people picking up signals in unexpected places in Spain but I am not sure that can be relied upon. On the other hand if you have Sky you will be able to pick up their exclusive programmes which would include the likes of Sky News but not BBC/ITV.

David

Thanks so much.  There is a lot to think about.....

We've got a roof-mounted dish, 85cm.  Last trip down to the south of France, La Grande Motte, Marseillan Plage and Loupian, as well as St Remy-de-Provence and Sisteron to name a few areas further south, we were able to receive UK TV most of that time.   Occasionally it dropped out, due to weather conditions.

Same here InaD, we have an 85cm fully automatic with autoskew Oyster dish and receive full British tv channels in the South of France. We have also received channel 4 and a few obscure channels like Challenge, in Northern Spain (Salamanca) and Bay of Roses.

The main problem we have found by having a roof mounted dish is that it does prevent you from parking the MH where you want to and more about where you can get a clear signal. Trees are a pain especially at the back end of the year when they are in full leaf. The Spanish favour the Mulberry trees, they grow at a terrific rate and by the end of June trying to get a signal on some sites is very difficult.

This is where the portable dish on a tripod is better as you can easily move it round the pitch to dodge the trees  setting it up is not for the faint hearted though. OH had done it for many years prior to having one installed on the MH roof, its now his favourite toy