I have a few questions that i hope can be answered :)
We have just spent 5 days away in our new (for us anyway) caravan. It was great to have almost everything we needed, as apposed to our old caravan (2 berth 1984 perle ..!!!)
Whilst away we couldnt get a TV signal at all, im pretty sure that the ariel isnt up to digital as its one of those old omni-directional thingys .. with a booster but wouldnt work anyway ... I'm all for getting a satelite setup as we did miss the telly on the rainy days we had.
Q1) Has anyone got a satelite setup? I've been looking on ebay and found a full kit, including the sky box for just over 50 squid and wondered if it was "worth" it
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390180248407&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
Any advice on satelite setups is appreciated btw ...
Q2) Awning carpets ...
Are they any good? worth buying?
our pitch was pretty bald and muddy where the awning covered, so i was hoping that an awning carpet would prevent us getting manky in future .. ?
Q3) Awning Storm straps ...
One of the days we were away, it was fairly windy, the awning wasnt in any danger of flying away really but it did make me think that it might be a good idea to invest in storm straps ... I take it any universal storm strap on ebay will do ?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Inaca-Awnings-Universal-Storm-Straps-/220786828323?pt=UK_Campervan_Caravan_Accessories&hash=item3367eba423
Q4) CC and C&CC membership ...
Which one do I join ? which is best .. and why ?
... Sorry for all the questions, but theres no point me making loads of threads when one will do .. is there?
Q3. Get a pair of 5mts cheap ratchet straps.
Cut off the 'hook' from long length and sew a small loop into end. Attach loop into centre extension pole of awning and lead it to outer extension poles, then down to ground where ratchet part of strap is attached and fastened into ground with dog lead 'curly wurlys. Result, no chafing of material and awning firmly anchored
------------- How come when some people visit the fountain of knowledge, they only gargle!!!
About the tv - we bought a proper digital TV for the caravan, one that runs off 12v & mains. Its has a built in digital tuner & it picked up most of the freeview channels through the status aireal. (sorry can't do tech speak).
We have a breathable carpet in the awning, its much nicer to walk on than bald earth (but something else to clean)
About clubs - everybody has an opinion, good or bad. The best advice seems to be join one for a year, then join the other one for the next year, and decide which suits you best.Or not join a club at all - depends what you're looking for from a club I suppose,
Another tip I picked up from here is to always put on storm straps, but my husband has always done that so that he can attach the solar fairy lights!!
at Jusy
I've been on that satalite website, its very good, and ill be using his tips to setup my kit once i get it.
I was really looking for personal experiences with an eBay kit though.
at emmitdb
Great idea! and my next purchase :)
The three exterior awning poles have hooks on them so attaching straps shouldnt be hard.
at homebird2003
I'm sure the site had very poor digital reception so i was never going to get anything :(
Clubs ... from reading the threads linked buy Jusy, i'm not sure i want to join any ... the discounts dont seem that good and i really dont want to be camping in a very quiet non-EHU field eiher .... i'll research some more though
Try popping along to some local sites to see what they offer. We dropped in to a few CC sites over the last few months when on days out and liked what they had to offer in terms of facilities for our baby and the general up keep. We have decided to join them for 1 year and see how it goes, we also saved a bit on van insurance by being members so after a few weeks away the £40 should pay for itself. We didn't go for the C&CC as didn't want to go too mad in our first year.......although the AA camping and caravan guide is worth a purchase for other sites. We used to use this when we went camping and their gradings are a good guide on the standards to expect. The only downside with the CC is they don't take deposits when booking so quite often the sites near us in the new forest are always showing as fully booked but if you phone a few days before can often get a space due to no shows (one of the wardens told us this!).
Being a ex satellite system buyer, seller and installer I'm wondering why they are selling a very old Panasonic DSB 30 with this system. Firstly its 240v only, and its as big as an old VCR, but back in the day I used to get a lot of money for these as they have very strong receivers and were bought by ex pats in Europe (mainly Spain)
Lidl and Aldi used to sell suitcase Satellite setups for around £50 and the receivers run off 12v and only consume 10 watts of power. There are quite a few different versions with slightly bigger/larger dishes, different manufacturers of receiver but they are all much of a muchness.
Some have metal dishes, some plastic, some receivers support different cams for decrypting feeds, and some are just a box that connects to a scart socket on a tv. Some even have an easyfind LNB which has an LED which remembers the last position of the dish along with an audible bleep on the receiver.
One note is a dish under 40cm may not get a great signal in Scotland but should be fine anywhere else.
Another note is to make sure the TV you are using matches up with the outputs of the receiver; It is usually SCART & Composite (Yellow video + red/white audio)
You can of course use any old Sky box and even the old dish but they take up more space and have to be run off 240volts.
I bought a Comag suitcase satellite system off Ebay for £50 (plus a Flat TV Satellite Coax Cable) and a 9" LED Freeview LCD TV from Maplins for £60 (B grade but mint)
Both the TV and Satellite system only draw 20w so for occasional use over a weekend it should run for a few hours before the leisure battery needs charging.
Anyway I realise that what I've put maybe a little too technical so If you need any help just HOLLA!! ;)
------------- Serving the Vauxhall Community since 1996 VauxhallOwnersNetwork.Co.Uk
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the satallite set up we use , is a suitcase type, dish, box, coax cable, and signal finder, can be used either in the suitcase ,attched to the 'van roof via suction cups, or as we do ,on a tripod. it's not let us down yet.(got it off fleabay too)
we use a breathable awning carpet, again works for us, but being breathable, if ground is really wet when it goe's down ,moisture can still get through.
can't help with storm straps never used any.
as for which club, i hedged my bets and joined both, this being our 1st year as caravanners, but next year think i'll only be re-newing my c&cc membership, if any at all
------------- no tin tent outings booked as yet ,just another cruise in Sept' booked so far
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Post quick break questions ...
