Satellite TV

[bunty]

AT the moment I have a dish and the box to enable me to watch CNN,eurosport etc.
As I have been told that I can now watch BBC for free please help me!
Would I been able to get the BBC channels with the same dish and box and just realigning the dish or would I need a special box?
Any suggestions and help will be gratefully received.
I live in Granada so don't really know who to ask as there are hardly any Brits living here that I know of.
Thanks, Bunty

[Lion]

How big is your dish? - I am not sure about Granada but here in Malaga region you need at least a 1.5 Metre dish to receive terrestrial channels such as BBC.

If your dish is big enough you will also need a Sky viewing card for your digibox.

[Beachcomber]

As Lion says, dish size requirements vary but assuming you have one big enough to receive the signal you will not need a viewing card to watch any of the BBC or ITV channels.

You just need to get someone to point the dish at the Astra 2 satellites and line it up properly. Because the signal from the Astra 2D satellite on which these channels are carried is fairly weak the orientation and azimuth of the dish and the LNB skew need to be spot on.

You can receive the free to air channels with any free to air satellite receiver. You do not need a Sky digibox but you will need to tune the channels in manually. The free to air receivers are usually made to a much higher specification than Sky digiboxes so you may be able to manage with a smaller dish size if necessary.

[Lion]

I never realised you didn't need the viewing card or digibox to achieve a signal

[Beachcomber]

You used to need both for the UK terrestrial TV services but about three years ago BBC went free to air and last autumn ITV followed suit. You still need either a free to view card or a Sky viewing card and digibox to receive Channel 4 and Five at the moment.

As you are recent recruit you may not have seen this thread which is quite informative. It may be of some use to Bunty too.

[costakid]

i have 2 dishes, i 45cm the other is 60cm and i recieve sky news cnn bbc prime and live football and about 250 other channels all via these 2 small dishes. the only draw back is when they scrammble them you have to take your box in and have it re coded. you never lose all the channels in 1 go though. gradually they all go off.

[Julie]

HI

We live on the coast at Granada and use a 1.2 dish to recieve all free to view english channels

[petert74]

Ive got a 80cm dish but can nor get any BBC except BBC World. Apart from CNBC, CNN,Clear TV, Travel sky news etc is there any other english language Channels that I can get with my dish.

Unfortunately as I rent my landlord wont allow and Big dish so I have to make do with what I have.

BBC world and Sky news hava always got a very weak signnal and always breaking up.

Any help would be appreciated.

thanks

[Beachcomber]

You will be receiving these channels from Eutelsat not Astra.

It is unlikely that you will get signals from Astra 2D which carries the ITV and BBC channels with an 80 cm dish although there is a UK company which claims to sell a free to air satellite receiver that will do so.

You would receive Sky News and a few other channels which will mostly be pop, shopping or religion. You would, however, receive BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 4 with no problem also Heart 106.2 and several other radio stations.

[spanish_lad]

HI

We live on the coast at Granada and use a 1.2 dish to recieve all free to view english channels

i hate it when people say that !!! granada is in the mountains! theres no coast there ! do you live IN granada or in the province ? its a BIG area, and what you might recieve IN granda varies greatly with what you might recieve on the COAST of the granda PROVINCE.


beach - while ur watching this thread, and its about sky, my signal is breaking up all the time. we dont always recieve bbc1 (although switch to bbc1 N.I or Scot and its fine ?) and itv is just a half pixilated screen i think the dish may need re-aligning? (as our gypsy neibour accross the road uses it as target practice with his air rifle)

[Beachcomber]

It certainly sounds as though your dish or LNB needs some attention although it could also be the cabling. Does it have any joins or could it be compressed.

Have you checked the signal strength and quality?

[pmb]

Ive got a 80cm dish but can nor get any BBC except BBC World. Apart from CNBC, CNN,Clear TV, Travel sky news etc is there any other english language Channels that I can get with my dish.

Any help would be appreciated.

thanks

You should also get Raceworld a motorsport channel as it sounds like the dish is pointed at 19.2East. Also if you are interested in football then Wigan - A**enal is on DSF (with german commentary) tonight and Blackburn - Man United tomorrow. The site doesn't like the full team name hence the stars!

[bunty]

Sorry.I should have said Granada city.

Thanks to all who have tried to help me

[samizdat]

I live in Granada City and cant get any UK Tv - thats with a big dish i.e. 1.5m

If you find someone who can install English TV I would be interested as well.

As Spanish Lad points out theres a few mountains in the way of the signal!

[Bongtrees]

I live in Granada City and cant get any UK Tv - thats with a big dish i.e. 1.5m

Here in Valencia area we need a 2.4m dish to receive all channels 24 hours a day.

Cost 1,375 Euros for dish, Pace receiver and free sky card

Have just spoken to someone who insists that her son (a soldier in Irak) receives all the channels on a tiny dish(in Irak) and that she should buy a cheap receiver in uk for 40 pounds and a card off ebay.

I think she is about to make a big mistake as I thought that not all receivers are equal. I know first hand that a 1.4m dish is inadequate here because I have just upgraded to a 2.4

Mike

[petert74]

Thanks for the tip about DSF, Ill check that out tonight!!!

[Beachcomber]

I live in Granada City and cant get any UK Tv - thats with a big dish i.e. 1.5m

According to this footprint map you need a dish of between 1.8 and 2 meters in Granada city.

Unless you are living literally at the foot of the north face of a mountain it should not block the signal from the satellite.

[samizdat]

According to this footprint map you need a dish of between 1.8 and 2 meters in Granada city.

thanks, that probably explains why I cant get any I think I may have a problem with a dish that big hanging on the roof!

[Rossini]

Hi

We live to the west of Granada in the hills and have a 1.2m dish up and get all channels we very rarely get a weak signal.

The local tv shop owner got us the dish and put it up etc.. We supplied the box, he charged 210 for his labour, dish, lnb and cable.

Rossini

[samizdat]

could you let me have details of the supplier? would he come out to the City?