180cm Satellite Dishes South of Perpignan

[rhys]

The satellite dish I have at the moment - pointed towards Astra ( and still receiving loads of channels though none of the ones I would like )

could it be re-pointed to whatever satellite is carrying the French TNT channels ? - and if correctly orientated would it just receive thes channels following a re-tune ?

Seems a shame to throw away a perfectly good digibox. ( And it is a 'nume'rique' one - it says so on the box itself.

[Merisin]

Don't think it will work. TNTSAT is encrypted so you will need a card and compatible box of tricks.But there is a load of free stuff on that satellite. Great if you speak German or Spanish! But, according to my OH, if you've got a Freesat Freeview Box you're probably not going to tune it in easily.

Mary

[martyn94]

The satellite dish I have at the moment - pointed towards Astra ( and still receiving loads of channels though none of the ones I would like )

could it be re-pointed to whatever satellite is carrying the French TNT channels ? - and if correctly orientated would it just receive thes channels following a re-tune ?

Seems a shame to throw away a perfectly good digibox. ( And it is a 'nume'rique' one - it says so on the box itself.

The French TNT channels are encrypted on satellite: you will need one of the boxes which can de-code them. Jobbing back a bit, have you given up too soon on the old-fashioned way, using an aerial? Trees do not block the signal to the same degree as with a satellite. How do your neighbours get on?

[rhys]

I have not actually tried as yet with a non-satellite TNT aerial.

Reason being that I have this great big tree about three metres from where my aeriel would have to be in the direction of the transmitter ( I assume from the fact that that is the direction that the other half dozen caravans have their TNT aerials posted towards ).

None of them have trees in the way - only me.

Additionally, I already have a full -on dish ( quite large ) and a nume'rique digibox so I was hoping that these cd be brought into play to just aim the dish at the TNT satellite and receive the programmes ? Non ? Make do and mend and so on...................??????

[montgolfiere]

yes, you can use your Dish it would need it pointing at Astra 1 - 19e
but as explained above, you need to buy a TNTSat Decoder with a FTV TNT Viewing Card to access the encrypted French Channels.

i think it was just being pointed out that an Aerial might be a cheaper option.

[russell]

Trees do not block the signal to the same degree as with a satellite.

That's right. The signal attenuation in a thick forest at terrestrial TV frequencies is between 0.1 and 0.2 dB per metre of forest. A single tree has less attenuation than that besides which at these frequencies, unlike satellite TV, the signal can find it's way around obstructions. So the signal loss you see just for a few trees is unlikely to be significant.

Give the aerial a try. Unless you are in a very poor signal area it is likely to work.

Russell.

Ref: CCIR, “Influences of terrain irregularities and vegetation on
troposphere propagation,” CCIR Report, 235–236, Geneva, 1986.

[Lizzie]

What joy! After 3 months we are now tuned in to BBC1 courtesy of a 180 cm dish. HD is not as it should be but everything else is working. Will keep you posted but clearly a dish this size is a possible option for those of us south of Perpignan.

[Nigel]

Where are you situated ?

[Lizzie]

In Terrats, near Thuir, and watching breakfast news as I write!

[martyn94]

In Terrats, near Thuir, and watching breakfast news as I write!

Not really a topic for this thread, but I wonder how long it has taken others to lose the taste for, eg, UK breakfast news. I no longer know the minor celebrities; the UK-based news is mostly trivial (Nigel Farage might seem a threat or a hero if you lived in the UK, but he's hardly even funny at this distance); and the proper news is done better on World Service.

The good news, for me, is that you don't replace it with a taste for the French equivalent. Which gives you back weeks of your life, over time, for important things like finding the second-best baguette when the half-decent boulangerie is on closing day.

[rhys]

On subj of world service BBC I attempted to find on short wave radio but was completely unable - has it disappeared from short wave ?

[Ariègeoise]

Not really a topic for this thread, but I wonder how long it has taken others to lose the taste for, eg, UK breakfast news.

When we moved here over 8 years ago we made a conscious decision not to have UK TV - we watched it only rarely in the UK and it just didn't seem worth it. I did think I'd miss R4, particularly John Humphreys and the Archers (!), but thought I could always listen via internet.

Actually, I've never missed either! On the rare occasions when I've been back to the UK and stayed with friends who have TV, most of it's gone over my head and feels irrelevant to my life here. I made a point of listening to the Today programme - once my daily fix - and lasted about 20 minutes before wanting to throw the radio out of the window.

We do have French TV and while we don't watch it much, I do find some good stuff there, particularly on Arte but also some of the dramas and documentaries on other channels. Films and some other progs are broadcast in VM (version multilangue) so if you're watching, say, an English language programme you have the option of watching it in its original version rather than dubbed.

[martyn94]

Not really a topic for this thread, but I wonder how long it has taken others to lose the taste for, eg, UK breakfast news.

When we moved here over 8 years ago we made a conscious decision not to have UK TV - we watched it only rarely in the UK and it just didn't seem worth it. I did think I'd miss R4, particularly John Humphreys and the Archers (!), but thought I could always listen via internet.

Rather the opposite in my case: I only got UK tv (or any tv at all) for my home here when I moved in full time, after 20-odd years making maximum use of it as a résidence secondaire. What surprises me in retrospect is how much I watched and listened merely out of habit (as with other things like my Private Eye sub) before realising quite suddenly that I mostly can't be bothered. Though maybe that will change when I run out of "le Tout Maigret": 52 down, only 13 to go (plus a few short stories).

[Steve]

Lizzie,

Sent you a PM

Steve

[russell]

On subj of world service BBC I attempted to find on short wave radio but was completely unable - has it disappeared from short wave ?

Yes, it has disappeared from short wave in Europe. It's still available on short wave in parts of Africa and Asia but it's easier to find it on the internet: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldserviceradio
Unlike television you don't need a fast connection.

Russell.

[martyn94]

On subj of world service BBC I attempted to find on short wave radio but was completely unable - has it disappeared from short wave ?

I listen to World Service radio on line, but I was thinking of what used to be World Service TV - forgetting that it is now called BBC World News (not to be confused with the UK channel BBC News, with which it shares some content). You can get it by satellite or online (details eg here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_World ) but for convenience I pay €0.25 a month to get it on my freebox.

[Tatra Man]

What joy! After 3 months we are now tuned in to BBC1 courtesy of a 180 cm dish. HD is not as it should be but everything else is working. Will keep you posted but clearly a dish this size is a possible option for those of us south of Perpignan.

Where are you situated ?

In Terrats, near Thuir, and watching breakfast news as I write!

Great news, Lizzie. Can I ask where you managed to get a 180 cm dish? They seem ridiculously expensive in France and while I did manage to get a 50" plasma telly in the back of the car (stood upright behind the front seats!) there's no way I can transport a 180 cm dish unless it's a petal type.

The ski season has started and I need to get back down to Saillagouse as soon as possible and get something sorted as internet solutions are useless for recording HD while I'm out on the piste!

By the way - there's likely to be a spare Gibertini 125 available in the near future if anyone further North and/or East is interested!

[montgolfiere]

Please be aware that the Signal is very 'High' at the moment ( as i measured at the Perpignan level +/- a week ago) with reception on much smller Dishes than earlier in the Year. I am suprised that you have some issues with the HD Signal on a 180 (if the signal hasn't changed). ... i am on holiday up in Germany at the moment, so havent any data on how the signal is at the moment

[Tatra Man]

When I get down there I'll try to remember to see what the 125 drags in and report on it. - Hopefully in the next week or so.

[Tatra Man]

Crossing the Channel on the 7th so should find out if the 125 is still there on the 8th or 9th.

Just a thought but there are quite a few expats in Andorra. How come we have no news whatsoever from them?

[Nigel]

Just for info we have been receiving flawless reception on our freesat box with our 120cm dish for the last three months when the system was set up

[Davidsimon]

I'm watching a crystal clear Channel 5 on a UK size Sky dish here in Argeles(OK I know it's only C5 but.........).No other standard UK channels though,would a 1.25 pick up more channels or is it just a seasonal signal anomaly?

[Allan]

I'm watching a crystal clear Channel 5 on a UK size Sky dish here in Argeles(OK I know it's only C5 but.........).No other standard UK channels though,would a 1.25 pick up more channels or is it just a seasonal signal anomaly?

The satellites that broadcast UK channels are not exactly stationary in relation to the earth and their position is adjusted every now and then to keep them focussed on the UK. For a while now their position has meant that we have been receiving stronger signals. So at the moment you would probably get BBC and ITV with a 1.25m dish but if recent history is anything to go by then adjustments in the position mean that you won't get reception for all of the year. In Argeles for year round reception you probably need a 1.8m.

I live North of Perpignan and have a 1.5m dish but still occasionally lose channels.

[Tatra Man]

When I get down there I'll try to remember to see what the 125 drags in and report on it. - Hopefully in the next week or so.

Crossing the Channel on the 7th so should find out if the 125 is still there on the 8th or 9th.

Just a thought but there are quite a few expats in Andorra. How come we have no news whatsoever from them?

Amazingly the 125 was still in place and with a minor tweak we had everything except the usual BBC, ITV, Ch4 and Ch5 channels. However, today everything changed and this morning we got broken reception of BBC1 South and a few others so I set about fine-tuning the alignment and by lunch time even had BBC1 HD, BBC2 HD, BBC News HD, ITV HD and Ch4 HD on my old Panasonic plasma and Blu-Ray recorder. The HD channels gradually faded out by late afternoon but we've had rock-solid SD all day.

Location:- 66800 Saillagouse
Dish:- Gibertini 125
LNB:- Inverto Black Ultra quad

[Davidsimon]

C5 lasted about an hour

[Tatra Man]

Just checked reception without venturing out to check the dish alignment:-

Conditions - light cloud cover in direction of satellites.

TV:- Slight break-up of ITV and no HD
Blu-Ray recorder:- All SD channels OK and badly broken-up HD

For comparison with other equipment for those not familiar with Panasonic products, my old Pace $ky box (non-HD) is slightly more sensitive than the Blu-Ray recorder and is the first thing to get pictures on a bad day.