Freesat and dish

[PPRuNe Pop]

The cost of these vary for the box and the dish installation. Anyone have news of the cheapest (not necessarily for the box) price for the combination?

HNY....

[frostbite]

Are you thinking of all-in-one package, or the package for self-installation?

[Spitoon]

Humax hardware seems to be getting a good write-up. It's no guarantee but I've installed a Humax Freeview box for someone and it's good quality rx, easy to use and well-built.

Do the prices for Freesat boxes vary greatly? Whether you want SD, HD or PVR, the prices for camparable facilities seem to be about the same at the moment. Installation will vary depending on where you want the dish. It might be worth getting a price for installation from a local aerial man and buying the hardware. It's not difficult to put up the dish yourself - plenty of help on the ASTRA website along with (last time I set up a dish) a little application to show exactly how to align it.

[crewmeal]

Panasonic have introduced a new range of LCDs with freesat and freeview intergrated into the set itself. I guess you have to hook up a satellite cable directly in the back. But it gives you a chance to watch in HD as well. Not sure how it works if you want to record something though.

What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision - Blogs (http://whathifi.com/blogs/television/archive/2008/06/10/exclusive-review-we-test-panasonic-s-freesat-integrated-th-46pz81-lcd-tv.aspx)

[green granite]

I have a Humax foxsat box not cheap but it works very well and HD can be stunning.

There is no reason why you cant use an old Sky box to receive freesat, it just wont present the channels in an intelligible order

[dazdaz]

I know that Argos charge £80 to have a dish fitted if you purchase their Bush freesat boxes SD (around £50 for box) or HD (around £149 for box). Lucky for me I live in a block of flats that has a communal SKY dish so I just connected my freesat to the wall socket.

Maybe a local Ariel company might fit one for less.

[PPRuNe Pop]

Thanks for the input people.

Am I right in thinking that if an established dish is already on a neighbours wall I can tap into that - as they have said I can. I then only have to pay for the cable run installation.

It is an HD box that I need btw.

[Spitoon]

To run two receivers off a single dish I think you would need a 'double' LNB - after that it's simply a case of running the new cable to your box.

Double LNBs seem to be easily obtainable - where I live you can pick them up in the equivalent of Comet although I must admit I've not seen them so commonly stocked in the UK.

One other thing to consider - and I don't know whether it is an issue - is the length of the cable run to your box.

Good luck.

[dazdaz]

POP
Can't see why not, I live in a block of 20 flats and were all linked up to the (one) roof dish. Furthest flat has about 80ft of cable run. Some flats have bought the HD Freesat box. No problems. Hope it helps.I'm using the SD box.

[Oilandgasman]

When wiring up your double LNB, remember that the power from the LNB is coming from your neigbour's satellite receiver. Your output from the LNB is then connected to the aerial input on your receiver which is not powered. On the back of your receiver both aerial inputs are indicated. Make sure you use the correct one. I am not sure what happens if you get this wrong but I suspect a smell of melting plastic!
Lots of places in GLA to pick up a double LNB and the cable you require. (Big electronics shop 100' from the junction of Buchanan Street and Argyle Street sells single, double and quad LNBs)
..and whilst on the subject, many Blu-Ray Players on the market, anyone come across a Blu-Ray recorder and player which can record HD TV?

[shaky]

While the experts are around may I ask what is probably a daft question. Is it possible for a dish located in the attic to receive a usable signal?

[Spitoon]

Not unless you have a hole in the roof too....

[Earl]

Satellites (http://www.satellites.co.uk/)

Here is a good website that may answer many questions on freesat.
This website is free to join.
I worked in Saudi Arabia and Turkey for a quite a few years, lots of free programing there with the Nilesat, Hotbird and Albadr Satellites.
Some of these Satellite foot prints will cover Europe as well.
Used this site quite a bit over the years, lots of good info there.
From Dish size, Installation, to programing.
You can do all this yourself, not all that difficult and save quite a bit of money.
If you are scared of heights hire the pro for the installation, saving a bit of money is not worth getting hurt.
As long as you have a clear view of the sky in the proper direction and elevation without buildings or trees blocking the signal you can get quite a bit of free programing.
Dual or triple LNB's should be available from satellite dealers.
Once the dish is aligned properly changing/upgrading the LNB to a double or triple or even quad is a easy task, just 2 screws new LNB and the added coax cable for the additional receivers.
Enjoy.

[Background Noise]

I have a Humax freeview twin-tuner DTR which is very good so keeping with Humax I am tempted by their twin tuner freesat DTR. Their own (contracted) dish installation costs look good too - just under £100 for installed dish with double LNB and twin cables to a single location. I had a quick look around and the hardware alone would come to over £50.

Incidentally, why does the LNB have to be at the dish-end?

[spekesoftly]

Is it possible for a dish located in the attic to receive a usable signal? Satellite microwave signals do not easily pass through roofs, walls or even glass windows, so satellite antennas need to be outdoors.

Incidentally, why does the LNB have to be at the dish-end? The dish collects the signals and focuses them at the LNB, hence its location in the dish centre.

[Coconutty]

Incidentally, why does the LNB have to be at the dish-end?

The satellite dish has a parabolic shape ( more precisely it is a section of a parabolic dish, designed so that the LNB supporting hardware does not interfere with, or block the incoming signals ).

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d129/coconut11/parabolicdish.jpg

The dish collects the low level microwave signals broadcast from the satellite, and the shape of the dish reflects these to the focal point of the parabola. A "Feedhorn" - as shown above, is fitted at the focal point and directs the signals onto the LNB ( Low Noise Block ).
( The term LNB these days refers to one device which combines the feedhorn and LNB ).

The signal is then amplified within the LNB, converted to a lower frequency, and sent along the cable to the indoor receiver.

Remember - when considering your installation - if you are using Sky+ or a dual/twin receiver, you will need two feeds - one for the channel you are watching and one for the one you want to record.

If you have two Sky+ boxes running from one dish you will need a Quad LNB. ( 2 feeds per Sky+ box ). These are readily available from popular auction site(s) for around ten pounds. :ok:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d129/coconut11/Coconutty.jpg

[Background Noise]

Thanks coconutty - yes I understand parabolas and focus points but that bit about frequency changing answers the question.

In ref to the dual feed, the system and quote I mentioned was for exactly that - 2 cables to one location, and that was what sparked my question ie why it couldn't be a single cable with the 'splitter' at the tuner-end. Ta.

[NRU74]

Coconutty
When 'Sky' etc went Digital c 1999 I kept the old Analogue Dish/LNB [pointing at 19.2E] and the Box so that I could continue to watch the free German Channels / ARTE [in French] and the few English language Channels.
Now many of the Analogue channels are disappearing, is it reasonably straightforward to fit a digital LNB on the circular dish so I can watch the free digital signals from 19.2 E -either using my present 'Sky' box or using the spare one I have in the shed ?

[Coconutty]

NRU74 - the answer is "maybe" !

I am NOT a Sky TV engineer - Google is a wonderful thing :ok:

Take a look at this forum : Old analogue Sky dish any good? - Technical - Digital Spy Forums (http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=946351)

Someone else had the same idea, has tried it and it apparantly works - the dish needs a bit of re-aligning to point at the new digital satellites..... and you might need a new LNB.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d129/coconut11/Coconutty.jpg

[frostbite]

I would guess Astra at 28.2º would give you the best selection, including the majority of the current UK terrestrial channels.

[The Flying Pram]

As a "mod" on a satellite forum may I add a few comments?
A dual or quad LNB is 2 or 4 independent units sharing the same feedhorn. This allows twin tuner boxes like the SKY+ to access different frequencies and signal polarities at the same time. So there is no reason why you couldn't share a dish with your neighbour. For the small price difference go for the quad. Using an "old" dish pointing at 19.2 E is also perfectly feasible. These were usually 60cm or larger, so are actually bigger than minidishes used in the same area. You will need to replace the LNB with a current "Universal" one though, or you won't get the full range of frequencies. There isn't much English Free To Air programming on that satellite position though, but the German analogue channels are moving to digital. If you want some more choice then there are 2 options: 1) multiple LNB's on one dish and 2) a motorised system. The first is only suitable for a limited range (typically no more than 15-20 degrees apart, but has the advantage of instant switching between satellites. The motorised route requires careful installation and takes time to move from one to another, but opens up a whole new world for the enthusiast.