Snipe 2 Satellite Dish.

sennen523

sennen523

Free Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2007
Posts
45
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Location
Rhos-on-Sea, Conwy, North
Funster No
485
MH
Coachbuilt.
Exp
Started 2007.
Hello All, I'm thinking of buying the Snipe 2 dish with single LNB.

Has anyone got one of these, would appreciate ANY advice problems etc.,

Regards, Al. sennen523.:unsure:
 
A single LNB is kinda yesterdays news, but it depends what you want to do with it? If your just going for freesat with no recording facility then it's never going to be a problem. However, if you get down the road a bit & want recording ability, you'd have the whole thing to replace.
 
Watching with interest.
 
I have one works well for me. Never thought or wanted to record whilst on holiday so single lnb is fine.

The Snipe 2 is better made than the first one I am told.
 
Had been having problems with the normal aerial not getting many channels so had a Snipe2 fitted in August and use it with an Avtex TV with built in Sat.

Really please with the system, quick to setup and put down, easy to get updates from internet...and really easy to change satellites with so you can watch the Grand Prix on RTL when it's not on Channel 4!!

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RichardB said:
Had been having problems with the normal aerial not getting many channels so had a Snipe2 fitted in August and use it with an Avtex TV with built in Sat.

Really please with the system, quick to setup and put down, easy to get updates from internet...and really easy to change satellites with so you can watch the Grand Prix on RTL when it's not on Channel 4!!
Click to expand...

Richard would you be kind enough to let me know which box you use as mine are old and I need to get a new one.

Cheers
Bill
 
Billy23 said:
Richard would you be kind enough to let me know which box you use as mine are old and I need to get a new one.
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I don't, I use it with an Avtex TV that has a built in sat receiver - although I have tried it once with my Sky box and it worked fine
 
We've not had the Snipe 2 long, but impressed with it so far for he coin. We also use it with the FTA receiver in our Avtex tv, no need for a separate satellite receiver box (e.g. Freesat) if you can live without the full EPG.
 
I also have a single LNB Snipe 2, and either direct connect it to an Avtex TV (to watch RTL for the F1 like RichardB, with the IPAD F1 App for Audio) or connect it to a single LNB Humax HB-1000S (with attached hard disk) for recording and advert skipping. Have only used it a few times so far (more often at home for the F1 than away) and as we don't watch much TV while away I haven't found having a single LNB a problem.
I use a Manual F connector switch to swap between the TV and PVR.
Compared to a manual dish on a tripod it is a massive improvement - the only real issue I have had is having to pick pitches at campsites more carefully, to make sure trees do not get in the way.
 
Got a twin lnb snipe 2 and use it with a humax recorder on a small invertor all great

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Fitted our own Snipe 2 and we are well pleased with it.

You need to be aware that they presently seem to be issuing software upgrades every month and you have the option of downloading these from the maker's website and transferring them via a USB stick onto the controller to upgrade it. I have done so a couple times but there is no information (that I have found) to say what the changes are!
 
We bought the Snipe 2 in July traveled around Holland, Belgium and down to the Black forest in Germany picked up nearly all the freesat channels on our Avtex tv no problem I will add that I have not fixed it to the roof but use it as a portable device so that we have no issue with trees and the supplied leads are more than long enough fantastic product as for double or single LNB's if you have a Avtex tv I believe you can record to a usb or memory card direct if you need that facility I don't
 
I'm looking at buying the auto-tracking Snipe V2 receiver for roof mounting on a new MH.

At the risk of asking the bleeding obvious, I take it that the control box supplied with the Snipe 2 has no TV programme tuning function and I will need to keep my (Maxview) Satellite TV tuner from my old MH? The telly is just a telly.

Also does anybody happen to know the weight of the roof mounting plate (or the whole thing fitted)? Ta.
 
magicsurfbus said:
I'm looking at buying the auto-tracking Snipe V2 receiver for roof mounting on a new MH.

At the risk of asking the bleeding obvious, I take it that the control box supplied with the Snipe 2 has no TV programme tuning function and I will need to keep my (Maxview) Satellite TV tuner from my old MH? The telly is just a telly.

Also does anybody happen to know the weight of the roof mounting plate (or the whole thing fitted)? Ta.
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The control box for the Snipe 2 is for satellite selection, there is no inbuilt receiver/tuner to receive th channels on your tv so you will need one (we use the Avtex tv with built in FTA satellite receiver). I think the Snipe 2 unit is in the region of 10 or 11kg from memory.
 
Ok first snipe 2 i got opened and died but it was a controller and they have good support. Replacement works perfect. I use a single LNB as most TV sets now record to a USB which allowes you to take programes with you and increase storage. Maybe someone can see a reason for 2 LNB's but no need as far as recording goes. Locks on in worst weather and only failure was with a mountain in front. I found the best value TV was a cello, having an internal freeview and satalite tuner.

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Used ours for the first time this weekend at Meathop fell In the lakes, worked fine no problem so far Impressed with how quick and easy it is to use, we have the dual LNB not for recording but for 2 TVs, one using built in Avtex satalite and the other via sky HD box both working great
Impressed so far
 
Dafydd_Cymru said:
Ok first snipe 2 i got opened and died but it was a controller and they have good support. Replacement works perfect. I use a single LNB as most TV sets now record to a USB which allowes you to take programes with you and increase storage. Maybe someone can see a reason for 2 LNB's but no need as far as recording goes. Locks on in worst weather and only failure was with a mountain in front. I found the best value TV was a cello, having an internal freeview and satalite tuner.
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Can you record a different TV channel to the one you're watching with only one LNB?:unsure: Seriously thinking about a Snipe 2 and watching all the threads on this.:)
 
The recording becomes dependent on the TV function. So on mine yes and also while in standby.
 
Had a Snipe on the last van did have a couple of problems with it but a brilliant bit of kit for the money.
Just fitted a Snipe 2 to the new van not used it in anger yet as waiting on DVLA for registration.
Snipe 2 weighs 10,5kg the plate is aluminum about half a kilo.
We also have a Cello Traveller TV but fitted an Icecrypt sat receiver as the Cello sat receiver is naff, takes 20-30 mins to tune into a satellite and when you change channels it looses all your favorites.
 
Lenny HB said:
Had a Snipe on the last van did have a couple of problems with it but a brilliant bit of kit for the money.
Just fitted a Snipe 2 to the new van not used it in anger yet as waiting on DVLA for registration.
Snipe 2 weighs 10,5kg the plate is aluminum about half a kilo.
We also have a Cello Traveller TV but fitted an Icecrypt sat receiver as the Cello sat receiver is naff, takes 20-30 mins to tune into a satellite and when you change channels it looses all your favorites.
Click to expand...

How difficult are these to fit, ours just came with the usual Status aerial and I'm looking to get a better bit of kit, some of the satellite systems seem ridiculously expensive and I don't want to spend a fortune on it in case we upgrade the van.

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Been using our Snipe 2 for the last four weeks down the length and breadth of France, so here's the feedback:

Firstly, hugely more easy than faffing about with our manual crank Maxview 55cm dish and a custom-made silva compass. More costly, yes, but not as costly as the Maxview auto-tuning dish so a good compromise. Plus if the wind got up, the Maxview had to be taken down - the Snipe doesn't. Worth every penny to save the aching arms and frustration I reckon.

Signal reception in France seems pretty close to what we were getting with the Maxview, plus our new in-built Avtex telly tuner does HD whereas the old tuner box didn't. We got all channels down to the Auvergne/Dordogne area provided we had an unrestricted line of sight in the more southern places, ie no trees or lumps of France in the way. Ile de Re was fine too, with no blocking trees.

By the time we got to Narbonne/Biarritz in the deep south we were only picking up Sky News and a few retro music channels like Heart, NOW, Vintage TV, and the usual religious chanting. Great if you like shite news coverage, endless 1980s hits, and religious claptrap, but we opted for DVD boxed sets instead. Somewhere south of Bordeaux and Grenoble I reckon the mainstream Freesat channels will fade out for this receiver.

Occasionally it failed to locate the satellite and it got confused, but I suspect this might have been me not waiting for the blue GPS light to go solid. Anyway, all I did was return it to the Home position and start again, and the problem went away. Also, don't forget that once it's in position you can turn the power off until you need to retract it.

For some reason on our telly, ITV HD (channel 3) drops out quite quickly as you go south, but it can be found again on Channel 155. Not sure if the channel numbers are universal though.

Absolutely love using this gizmo compared to the last one. Our MH didn't have the wiring available for the Snipe to retract when the ignition key went on, so to avoid leaving it up when we set off I always put a food dish on the dashboard as a reminder. You have not been charged for this top tip :)
 
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Not difficult at all, bonding a mounting plate to the roof, drilling a small hole through roof or maybe feed cable down fridge roof vent if you have one on the roof, feeding the cables via or at the back of cupboards and maybe setting up near a 12v feed - which you should have near the TV anyway, the kit i purchased like many others came with everything needed - even a little baby roof gland for the hole in the roof... If not done anything like this before it may seem a little daunting, especially drilling a hole via the roof - but if you take it to a dealer its only what they will do.. only advice i can give and maybe its the best advice, is planning, plan where you want it on the roof, plan your cable run from the TV, where you will fit the controller ect, its not rocket science, and once you have done it you will ask yourself what was all the fuss about - an mainly why the fk you would pay someone £a couple of hundred to do the same job.
Just read above post - regarding the dish going down on ignition, I read somewhere but have not tried/tested it yet, if you forget to put the snipe down when driving off it will automatically retract once you reach about 25mph
 
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Kool Kroozer said:
Not difficult at all, bonding a mounting plate to the roof, drilling a small hole through roof or maybe feed cable down fridge roof vent if you have one on the roof, feeding the cables via or at the back of cupboards and maybe setting up near a 12v feed - which you should have near the TV anyway, the kit i purchased like many others came with everything needed - even a little baby roof gland for the hole in the roof... If not done anything like this before it may seem a little daunting, especially drilling a hole via the roof - but if you take it to a dealer its only what they will do.. only advice i can give and maybe its the best advice, is planning, plan where you want it on the roof, plan your cable run from the TV, where you will fit the controller ect, its not rocket science, and once you have done it you will ask yourself what was all the fuss about - an mainly why the fk you would pay someone £a couple of hundred to do the same job.
Just read above post - regarding the dish going down on ignition, I read somewhere but have not tried/tested it yet, if you forget to put the snipe down when driving off it will automatically retract once you reach about 25mph
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Thanks for the info (y), I have a 12v feed to the amplifier that comes with the standard aerial so I guess I could just take everything into that cupboard or is that too simple?
 
I should have added something if you're installing it yourself (I didn't). It's worth positioning the grey aerial lead's connector plug (from the receiver) in a place inside the MH where you can reach it if you need to. Our MH had a problem with the factory fit internal aerial lead being connected to the wrong outlet socket when it was made, and I was only able to prove this by connecting a TV set inside the locker where the grey lead came down from the roof to show a clear signal. Also worth thinking about if you want to split the signal to two different points inside the MH.
 
Dave K said:
How difficult are these to fit, ours just came with the usual Status aerial and I'm looking to get a better bit of kit, some of the satellite systems seem ridiculously expensive and I don't want to spend a fortune on it in case we upgrade the van.
Click to expand...
Very easy, like fitting anything to the van the hard bit is working out your cable routes. It is a case of fixing the mounting plate to the roof and connecting 2 cables, obviously you have to drill the roof for the cables. One cable goes to the tuner or TV the other to the controller.

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Dave K said:
Thanks for the info (y), I have a 12v feed to the amplifier that comes with the standard aerial so I guess I could just take everything into that cupboard or is that too simple?
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Sounds ok to me - keep it as simple as possible, why make more work for yourself (y)
 
Lenny HB said:
Very easy, like fitting anything to the van the hard bit is working out your cable routes. It is a case of fixing the mounting plate to the roof and connecting 2 cables, obviously you have to drill the roof for the cables. One cable goes to the tuner or TV the other to the controller.
Click to expand...

Thanks Lenny, having read your previous posts you make everything sound easy :), I'm still trying to get my head around van electrics so I'll apologise now if I bother you again :D
 
Kool Kroozer said:
Sounds ok to me - keep it as simple as possible, why make more work for yourself (y)
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The only think I need to think about is the tv point is the other side of the van but I'm sure I must be able to use the aerial lead that goes back to that box, hopefully
 
Kool Kroozer said:
keep us updated on how you do with it (y)
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Will do (y) would you know if I would invalidate any warranty that I have by working on the van myself, I have a 10 year anti ingress warranty, just wondered if drilling holes in the roof would affect it

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