Hi.
We are due to get our first van this week. The dealer has went over everything with us yesterday but we never took delivery as our tiwbar hasn't been fitted. Anyway my question is.
Can anyone recommend what satellite system we need to watch tv. The dealer says they have a system at £175 but need our own receiver. I have seen other systems less than £100 on the web. Help!!!!
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You can buy second hand boxes from sky engineers whose vans you will easily spot in streets where they are working. I believe they are self employed and will in my experience sell you all you need for a lot less than £100.
Then google "satellite for caravans" and you will get to the best ever website with all the free information you will ever need.
If you are only touring in this country and don't watch lots of channels then why not wait to see what you need before spending the money. Now that digital is everywhere the reception is much better with the aerial on the van.
Like others have said, you don't actually need a satellite system to watch tv in a caravan. A simple portable tv with built in freeview and an aerial of some sort will work just as well in most areas. If you get a tv/freeview/dvd player combi, then you can watch a dvd if you have no signal whatsoever.
Quote: Originally posted by Jax365 on 04/2/2013Like others have said, you don't actually need a satellite system to watch tv in a caravan. A simple portable tv with built in freeview and an aerial of some sort will work just as well in most areas. If you get a tv/freeview/dvd player combi, then you can watch a dvd if you have no signal whatsoever.
Quote: Originally posted by Aldoscott on 04/2/2013Thanks everyone for the advice. I was under the impression that we needed to have a satellite to view a tv ( informed of this by the dealer ).
I got that idea from your question! Probably the dealer thinks this is the best way forward, (or he's making a bit extra on the side)!
Just a small portable with freeview built in and an aerial is all you need in a lot of areas. Some camp sites advise that you need satellite to get a signal. I use one where this is the advice, however, I always manage to get a few good freeview channels with the usual set up.
Many on here do have satellite systems, but its a matter of choice, not strictly necessity!
I have an older version of something like this but 10" - but you will need a decent aerial to go with it, those little things that come with them are practically useless. I got an avtex aerial which works well with mine.
I have an Avtex with Freeview which is great in areas with good digital reception. But some areas are very poor. I bought a Maplin Camping setup as suggested above and it was Free-to-Air but an amazing little bit of kit. FTA is ok and gives most common channels and the dish is so easy to lock onto the sattelite without any extra seekers, tuners or gizmos. I then went and bought a cheap £80 (on offer) Grundig Freesat Tuner, again from Maplins and Hey Presto - I have Freesat, Freeview and Free-to-Air, and am able to see TV on any site. I think the whole kit cost me about £150ish, including the tripod I bought to mount the dish on.
Really depends on how keen you are to see TV and how much you are prepared to spend. I just wanted a setup that would work in virtually all areas in the UK without too much hassle
Hope this helps
Cheers Fred
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