Dish or Dome ??

[RS SPIKE]

I have a Avtex STH3000 Portable aerial which is ok if there is good coverage in the area where you are parked.
We have been away this xmas and struggled a bit to be honest,so we are thinking of going down the satellite route.
So not sure which route to go dish or dome ??
Can't be doing with the fuss of a portable dish so it will have to be fixed and pref auto tuning.
Look forward to your comments phill

 

[SuperMike]

@NickNic we have a Sky box at home with the full Sky package, and I've often thought about putting the box in the van when we go off, but never done it. Any issues/problems with the Sky service from your experience? Gary

Nope. Buy second hand box off FleaBay and then just move card when you go away, saves all of the phafffff. To ensure you get all of your channels, just visit the Sky website and pair the card, seconds work. Upon return, just pair the card back to your house box. Excellent.

 

[SuperMike]

Never ceases to amuse me when I watch these nice posh vans with domes or dishes mounted on the roofs juggling back and forth trying to get a decent satelite signal. Happened again over Christmas when my mate moved his van four times so that SHMBO could catch up on one of the soaps.

Don't understand that. Park van with a clear view SE ishhhhh, press button, dish locks on, watch tv. Why do they need to jiggle ?

 

[Shrimp]

We have a Dome, works well except on heavy snow, in VERY heavy rain the picture pixelates a bit for a short time until the water clears off!
We also have a small aerial for spots where the Dome can't get a signal.
We have said tho that we aren't sure whether we would have a dome again, would probably just use an aerial.

 

[Bailey58]

Nope. Buy second hand box off FleaBay and then just move card when you go away, saves all of the phafffff. To ensure you get all of your channels, just visit the Sky website and pair the card, seconds work. Upon return, just pair the card back to your house box. Excellent.

At one time you had to call Sky to pair a card and too often may have raised suspicions so we always take our box from home. Is there a facility to pair on the website now?

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[scotjimland]

Be like me, keep it simple!! Works fine in UK and a good part of Northern Europe.

Been there, cut my satellite teeth with manual dishes..

Started out with a cheapo camping dish from Maplin.. but it was no use in Spain.. so bought a 85cm domestic dish in a Spanish supermarket.. and lashed to the RV rear ladder or onto any available fence post.

Got fed up with that, no use when just parked up for one night .. too much hassle.. particularly when it's wet .. so bought a Maxview crank up .. worked ok provided it was calm, any wind and it was knocked out of alignment.. wouldn't buy another.. piece of expensive crap.

I used to watch others with auto dishes and thought.. yes.. one day I will get one.. and so it came to pass..
I bought and fitted the Alden AS4..

Granted , it is not as much 'fun' just pressing a button and viewing... .. but still enjoy watching others aligning manual dishes.. or chasing the dish and tripod as it flies up the site.. a bit like tugger watching..

 

[eddie]

I bought a Sky+ box from cash converters, phoned Sky organised an additional viewing card and I to all intents and purpose have "multi room"

The only difference is that Sky think that I have multi room in our dining room instead of the motorhome lol

This works well for me, as we tend to series link etc to the motorhome rather than the house as we are more likely to watch a couple of episodes of something good on TV when we are in the motorhome than at home.

 

[Lenny HB]

We had an 85cm Oyster on the last van, forever taking it down in anything above a force 5 or 6 wind and in gale force wind even when down you could hear it banging about would never have a large dish again.
Fitted a cheap Snipe to current van, yet to come across a wind strong enough to affect performance & it performs across Europe almost as well as the big Oyster for a fraction of the price, gets Astra 2 UK channels as far south as northern Provence.

 

[SuperMike]

At one time you had to call Sky to pair a card and too often may have raised suspicions so we always take our box from home. Is there a facility to pair on the website now?

Yeppp, here. www.sky.com/quickfix

You will need a Sky ID. You can make one on the log in page, just like this forum.

 

[Deleted member 29692]

@NickNic we have a Sky box at home with the full Sky package, and I've often thought about putting the box in the van when we go off, but never done it. Any issues/problems with the Sky service from your experience? Gary

None whatsoever

The dish has a twin LNB so if I connect both cables the record facility works.

Obviously you won't get interactive or on demand services unless you can find a good internet service to connect it to but that's no big deal.

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[HymerB544]

Thanks @NickNic I will give it a try next time out, Gary

 

[RS SPIKE]

Well after a lot of thinking i decided to go for a 40cm Dome.
But after making a couple of phone calls to two different suppliers,i might change my mind.
One told me i would pick UK Tv up mid way down France,the other said i would not receive anything in France because the foot print had changed with the sats.
Can anyone confirm this please as i'm totally confused now

 

[DavidG58]

we have a maxview dome and got BBC down as far as Bordeaux last year, not sure what size our is, but would guess the dome is about 500mm so the same as you I would reckon

the only time ours is an issue is with trees close by, but that must apply to both , sometimes we are near trees and I presume it wont work and it does

used in Durness (top north west Scotland) last January in serious gales 60 / 70mph + gusts, picture excellent 99% of time, occasional pixilation

 

[Techno]

I was Ok down to La Rochelle last year

 

[eddie]

With most equipment if you draw a line in an arc to take in Bordeaux and Lyon you will start to loose all the BBC's ITV's Channel4 and Channel5 and all of the derivatives past that line, and definitely if you slide the line down to the Alps and the Pyrenees

Some report better performance but it will vary with time of day and atmospheric conditions, so we alway underplay the performance rather than over egg it

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[RS SPIKE]

With most equipment if you draw a line in an arc to take in Bordeaux and Lyon you will start to loose all the BBC's ITV's Channel4 and Channel5 and all of the derivatives past that line, and definitely if you slide the line down to the Alps and the Pyrenees

Some report better performance but it will vary with time of day and atmospheric conditions, so we alway underplay the performance rather than over egg it

I can live with that,just don't want to spend £1500 and can't get any TV !!!

 

[eddie]

It is well documented and tested (lol shall I call you RS or Mr Spike)

I lost all my BBCs etc about 100k south of Bordeaux back in August but sat happily watching Sky sports and Sky Movies at Las Dunas in the Costa Brava

Using a Free To Air box (FTA) you would need to switch to English speaking stuff on Astra1 at Las Dunas

 

[musson]

Roadpro dome works well wind /rain does not affect it.

 

[RS SPIKE]

Roadpro dome works well wind /rain does not affect it.

That's the one I looked at,but I was put off today when I was told it won't work ANYWHERE in France???
Just need someone to confirm they work (or a dish) at the minute, before I commit to buy !!!

 

[JeanLuc]

That's the one I looked at,but I was put off today when I was told it won't work ANYWHERE in France???
Just need someone to confirm they work (or a dish) at the minute, before I commit to buy !!!

That is complete rubbish I'm afraid. I have the previous Camos 40 (supplied by Roadpro via Dave Newell). The current Roadpro branded version is the later and, I believe, slightly improved version. It will definitely pick up UK free-to-air channels well into France. Eddie Vanbitz has given a fair assessment above: if you draw an arc round from Bordeaux to Lyons that will give a good idea of where UK channels will be available for most satellite systems.
As you move toward the East, the southerly boundary reduces and once you get into Germany, the dome will struggle beyond the Western edges of the country. Atmospheric conditions have a noticeable impact on reception once you reach the fringes of the dish's/dome's range so it is not possible to define a firm reception boundary.

Andy, who owns Roadpro, has spent a lot of time travelling in Europe testing the systems he sells. I urge you to look at the customer reviews tab on the Roadpro 40 Dome website page and in particular the one at the top which is dated 2015: Broken Link Removed

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[Larrynwin]

I had a Neta dome on the RV , faultless.
I now have a dish on the Hymer works well but nervous in high winds, always holds signal but how strong are the roof fixings, could leave a hole or two if blown off

 

[Broadsman]

Have been following this with some interest as we have the same dilemma, dish or dome. Pretty sure we are going to go the dome route, has anyone any experience of the latest SatFi RV dome as we can't decide between this and the RoadPro.
Thanks

 

[Big Nick]

The more of these threads I read the more confused I am on which system to buy!

The Oyster Cytrax seems to be getting good write ups but it's quite expensive...anyone shopped about for the cheapest UK price recently?

 

[eddie]

That's the one I looked at,but I was put off today when I was told it won't work ANYWHERE in France???
Just need someone to confirm they work (or a dish) at the minute, before I commit to buy !!!

Unless you were discussing the SatFi UK dome designed for the UKmmarket, primarily for smaller vans and caravans, the person you spoke to was talking rubbish

I had a Neta dome on the RV , faultless.
I now have a dish on the Hymer works well but nervous in high winds, always holds signal but how strong are the roof fixings, could leave a hole or two if blown off

dishes will always be susceptible to wind and lightening. Ask yourself how often do you say, the weather is great, really sunny, let's go inside the van? No? Your right, it's blowing a gale and you sit in the van and can't put the dish up for fear of damage lol

Have been following this with some interest as we have the same dilemma, dish or dome. Pretty sure we are going to go the dome route, has anyone any experience of the latest SatFi RV dome as we can't decide between this and the RoadPro.
Thanks

the Sat FI RV has a larger reflecter internally and is a newer design. Both good though

The more of these threads I read the more confused I am on which system to buy!

The Oyster Cytrax seems to be getting good write ups but it's quite expensive...anyone shopped about for the cheapest UK price recently?

Cytrax is excellent, over comes the wind issue with Oyster dishes, but will only marginally out perform a dome that will come in at circa £1299 less 10% (with Van Bitz and Funsters discount For example) so at lot more expensive. If a big dish won't fit or your worried about wind, and a dome won't fit the Caro or the Cytrac are a solution albeit at a price

 

[dabhand]

I have a book or two, they too are a pain in the wind and rain as the pages get soggy or continuously blow about, it's great for getting away from the TV though and works all the way through Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

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[Big Nick]

Will the £999 version of the Satfi dome still get Astra 2 in northern France @eddievanbitz ??

 

[eddie]

No not officially, it may do on a good day, the same as in a boat along Poole to Weymouth you often receive "Welcome to France" messages

 

[Larrynwin]

I would prefer a great big dish but mounted on a flimsy mhome roof always the risk of wind damage, unlike being fitted with rawlbolts to a brick wall.
A dome and a big portable dish in the garage is favourite for me.

 

[Lorryman100]

The Cytrac performed very well in the high winds since it was fitted in November. Never felt the need to lower the dish except when we went to bed. Though with the road pro dome fitted to the tin tent I never gave it a second thought in gale force winds as it was fit and forget.

 

[Shiney]

We have a Satmark 40cm dome with AutoSkew and Dual LNB. We get UK free channels down to Bordeaux and Sky HD all over France and Spain. Not been all the way to south Spain yet but certainly mid Spain and the Pyrenees are no problem. The SKY subscription is on a much wider footprint that the Uk free to air channels. Nor problem for me as I only want the Sky channels!!!