I've just bought one of these mainly for our forthcoming trip to France, but it looks so complicated to find a signal, although they do include a finder and compass! Perhaps it's just me, i've no previous experience with this type of equipment! Also, it can be wall mounted for home use, or for the van there's a suction pad. I'm thinking i'll probably take it back unless anyone can come up with an idea how to mount it at ground level, because I dont want it on the roof? Any suggestions?
I am confident you will find the dish is much too small to get a signal in France except possibly around Calais where the English Channel is at it's narrowest. You certainly won't get far south before you lose your signal.
Does it have a clamp? The one I have came with a clamp that can be used to fix it to the jockey wheel.
We had one and like Legsdown said it will be to small, it was ok Calais side but it just wouldn't pick up a signal any further, we invested in a bigger dish in the end,one that does most of Europe , we tripod mount ours.
------------- "I'm a fool for my dogs"
Adopt a rescue, rescue dogs make great pets, don't support puppy farms.
The road can be tough and rough,but what you put in you get back 10 x more.
I bought one recently and ebayed a tripod to mount it on using the wall bracket and two u bolts from an arial shop. Planned to experiment with it last weeekend on the Broadway site, but got struck down with gout and didnt leave the van for four days so had no chance to try. When I can walk again I might try it out in the garden just for fun(practice).
Brian
------------- there are 10 types of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
Quote: Originally posted by brianjose on 04/6/2011
I bought one recently and ebayed a tripod to mount it on using the wall bracket and two u bolts from an arial shop. Planned to experiment with it last weeekend on the Broadway site, but got struck down with gout and didnt leave the van for four days so had no chance to try. When I can walk again I might try it out in the garden just for fun(practice).
Brian
Don't do what we did lol, first time we used out tripod didn't think to peg it down , wind got up really bad, dish acted as a sail and away it went
------------- "I'm a fool for my dogs"
Adopt a rescue, rescue dogs make great pets, don't support puppy farms.
The road can be tough and rough,but what you put in you get back 10 x more.
We ended up using a dry stone wall last time we were away. Have got a mount for the jockey wheel but if the van's in the wrong spot that's no good. Could do with something else. Was considering a small metal plate to pop under one of the steadies, with a short pole attached to it, but the tripods seem easier to store.
I've never had a problem with the jockey wheel. You do get an extension that goes between the dish and the clamp so you have more than a 180 degree range you can see. Not 360 degrees, agreed but probably about 250 degrees. So far I have always managed to get a signal but I agree there is an element of good fortune in that unless sites are deliberately being arranged so that all pitches are about 90 degrees to the satellite.
Maplins sell tripods for disco lighting which are cheaper than the satellite ones and appear to be of similar quality but have the ability to go a lot higher.
Would this be suitable? Might need holes drilling in its feet to peg it down. Guess you just don't use the top section and mount the dish quite low down.
Quote: Originally posted by davidmbell on 05/6/2011
Are the ebay tripods any good?
We ended up using a dry stone wall last time we were away. Have got a mount for the jockey wheel but if the van's in the wrong spot that's no good. Could do with something else. Was considering a small metal plate to pop under one of the steadies, with a short pole attached to it, but the tripods seem easier to store.
David
I have one of the tripods from eBay I paid about £25 for it and it is perfect for the job and very easy to store. There is no need to spend any more.
We bought an Argos portable rotary clothes line - remove the rotary part and hey presto cheap 2 section tripod - just right for the job - even has screwpegs to hold it down - job done
------------- The things that come to those who wait, may be the only things left by those who got there first.
Would this be suitable? Might need holes drilling in its feet to peg it down. Guess you just don't use the top section and mount the dish quite low down.
David
Looks very similar to one I had set up in my back garden for a while a couple of years ago trying to get the Race of Champions for free on some satellite or other (not Astra 2) It worked really well, despite being set at about 12 feet high to see over a shed that was on another level. Rather than drill is ind led moisture get between the powder coating and the aluminium, I would be inclined to put three guy ropes on it and fasten it with those. It seems to work fine with the clubs flag poles.
Got this one from Maplin. Went down and had a look first and looked sturdy enough. They had one on display with a light on it, so couldnt' fiddle. Asked the young lady assistant if the legs splayed a little more (that sounds dodgy!) and she said "a little.."
Anyway, bought it on the basis of if its no good it can go back.
Got it home and very pleased. If anything its a bit tall, but could be cut down by a foot I imagine if you wanted to. The legs fold and go very wide, making it very sturdy. Nothing to peg it down with at the mo, but was thinking of some sort of rubber bungee around the feet.. We'll see. Comes with a horizontal T bar that I could even hang my washing on - and two extending inner sections so it can raise to about 7ft high!
Anyway, here's a pic. Don't have dish to hand as its in the van.
Legs normal position.
Legs folded out wide/flat.
Seems very good quality, good fixings, and sturdy 30mm steel tubing.
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Topic: Aldi`sMini Satellite Dish
