Is there still a need for satellite dish on a motorhome

[Vansflyer]

Interesting debate. When we got our new van I decided to not bother with an auto dish again and we carried a 65cm Triax in one of the lockers. Rarely used it as terrestrial reception was fine for what we wanted. Two months in Spain early 2020 and never got the dish out more than about 4 times as we streamed everything on a 100gb a month Voda contract. Summer in Scoland last year was very mixed for streaming and reception for terrestrial channels. We now are planning to spend more time in Spain starting in March and the new Voda deal limits us to 25gb roaming instead of the full fat 100gb. Rather than mess about with local sims in the mifi I has just purchased a 85cm auto sat system I will be fitting to the roof ASAP. We can live without TV and only tend to put it on when the sun goes down or after dinner, but I do need the radio in the mornings. Yes we do swing the dish round to 27.5 west once we are down through France and whilst that option remains we will use it.
So we have come full circle now and looking forward to pushing a button and watching what we want without worrying about being hit with high roaming fees. Yes we would have got a lot of roaming charges for the price of the dish but I hate surprises.... and the dish will retain some of its original value if we decide to sell it. Oh, and removing the dish, tripod and cable has freed up a complete locker ready for essential supplies of wine and gin.

 

[The Wino]

I think there are two distinct questions. One is if you have a working sat dishe is it worth scrapping it. The other if you don't have one is it worth fitting one. On the first opinions vary on the second as they're becoming less popular the value added on resale must be virtually zero making the cost per use if using a firestick as well a lot of the time pretty high.

 

[steve69]

I have a Huawei Mifi internet box on a USB rechargeable connection and a Giffgaff sim pay as you go. Definitely is sufficient in the UK.

Pay as you go?.....Surely the most expensive way to watch TV?......You can move in and out of a "contract" with giffgaff anytime. I buy a "goodybag" as a one off each time i go away in the Moho. Surely the cheaper option?

 

[Lorryman100]

I'll be getting another fitted to our next van whenever that will be. The satellite dish is just to handy when we want to watch a bit of telly in the evening, as in the last few years I can only think of one time we couldn't see the southern sky and so no signal. My view is that as long as Freesat is still broadcasting on Astra 2 and the dish has a view of the southern sky, its a no hassle way to watch telly, push a button and a few seconds later you have a picture (Oyster Cytrac system). Admittedly the Cytrac satellite dish also does very well in windy conditions and have only felt the need to drop it in high winds a couple of times. We also have an Avtex aerial, still new in box in the garage just in case along with a fitted 4g router and 5G ready aerial on the roof using a large EE data sim. We can use a firestick with the data settings on low for other channels along with Netflix, Amazon prime and Now tv. We also take along a few books for when there is no Satellite, Terrestrial TV or phone signal. And even though we have all this technology, half the time its not even on and we end up chatting, but its still nice to have the option if we so desire.

 

[CAClase_Justin]

I'll try not to be biased but TV via satellite is still one of the easiest, flexible, and still a cost effective way of watching your favorite television while touring and since the pandemic, we have seen a reasonable increase in sales so satellite domes and dishes are far from obsolete.

But this does depend on your touring regions and time of year. Go very rural like the highlands following the popular North Coast 500 you'll definitely need satellite TV however, use a site on the fringes of a major town or city then streaming wins but did anyone try streaming in the west country this summer we know from experience that the mobile networks really struggled with the demand and that's where DVBS or DVBT wins. TBH you need both DVBS or DVBT for general mainstream continuous TV then pop the Firestick on for a late night movie or catchup TV.

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[The Wino]

I'll try not to be biased but TV via satellite is still one of the easiest, flexible, and still a cost effective way of watching your favorite television while touring and since the pandemic, we have seen a reasonable increase in sales so satellite domes and dishes are far from obsolete.

But this does depend on your touring regions and time of year. Go very rural like the highlands following the popular North Coast 500 you'll definitely need satellite TV however, use a site on the fringes of a major town or city then streaming wins but did anyone try streaming in the west country this summer we know from experience that the mobile networks really struggled with the demand and that's where DVBS or DVBT wins. TBH you need both DVBS or DVBT for general mainstream continuous TV then pop the Firestick on for a late night movie or catchup TV.

There is......shock horror........the possibility of when outside mobile internet reach not watching the TV with the bonus of quite likely in effect a free bottle of wine on what you save on the sat dish and installation!

 

[bigtwin]

A firestick with a mifi router is the common solution these days. It works well as long as there is a decent internet service so it pays to have more than one option, hotspot with your phone on a different network.

Thanks Pablo, we have a fire stick and a mifi router so I was thinking that really the satellite system on the roof is probably redundant technology now. I don’t think Sky even use them any more.

I think you're right, the latest Sky glass is streaming only now I believe.

We have an oyster sat dish and a fire stick. We rarely use the sat dish now as the fire stick is way more versatile with what you can access as we have Netflix and Prime.
If I change the Motorhome I doubt I would fit another sat dish.

We ditched our satellite dish when we bought our new van in 2019, and haven’t missed having it - also freed-up some payload too!

edit: forgot to say, we now have dumb tv, Firestick and mifi/router……

Most will now be looking at a MiFi type solution rather than satelite. If you can get a decent cell data connection and package, combined with your streaming service, it's probably the simplest modern option. A good 4G connection will be ample for most SD and HD streaming, just watch that data allowance.

we have just had 6 nights in the 5 nights in the lakes with no TV reception so streamed from iPlayer on the Smart TV, we watched a few hours a night and used 25gb of data so happy with that, if there had been no mobile service at all I suppose I could have read a book.

get rid of it, save some top heavy weight, streaming is only going to get better

Agree with all of the above IF, and it’s a big IF, you don’t venture over the channel!

Last year I would have said don't bother with a satellite but now with roaming charges coming back in I'm sitting on the fence.

This is absolutely it, a year ago it was an entirely different picture but now, satellite is part of the solution to offset data roaming caps.

Ian

 

[Gordie1]

My sat dome mysteriously was sheared off and I have no idea where! Anyway, it’s not being replaced. i have a generous data allowance on my mobile phone which is OK but I intend to purchase a removable aerial and a mobile router which I can use - for example if I am away from the van. Any recommendations on aerial and router would be most welcome!

 

[RedFrame]

Hi
I was wondering what you’re opinions are and experience is of the satellite system on a motorhome. Ours is old, rarely works as it has a bit of a wobble going on. However, we did have the software updated and the wobbly bolt can be replaced. When in Europe we were rarely able to access much through the satellite though. With smart tvs etc, do we really need one? I was thinking of getting it removed and replacing with a second solar panel. Would be interested to know your views. Many thanks in advance, Corrinne.

Depends on your needs, we don't watch a lot of TV when on adventures so we don't use a lot of data when streaming.

I installed a Huawei router and decent omnidirectional ariel and removed our sat dish and wiring, installed a solar panel in it's place as you suggest, have not had any issues getting a signal when we wanted, in fact we have reverted to the van internet when our phones were getting no signal at all so could be seen as a safety feature being able to make IP calls when the phones are out of range?

We do use separate networks for the router and phones as has been suggested.

Again as suggested we use a Firestick.

I know there may be an issue with data roaming in the future, but it's not difficult to buy a european sim when out there.

After moving to streaming over two years ago would I go back to a sat system - not a chance, having a sat dish is soooooo "last year".

Hope this helps in your decision making.

Cheers
Red, Chris and Bannock

 

[Fdhadi]

Didn’t think you could get away with Sky Q as it’s linked to your home broadband how did you manage to take Q box with you without sky knowing where it was?
we used to take our sky + box and got away with it but now updated to Q

Sorry for the late reply Speve

We have never had a problem at all taking the SkyQ. It was the same as taking the Sky+ box.
Obviously not supposed to take Sky Boxes away with you but tell all those expats in Spain that or those tuggers in the lakes.
Don’t need the Internet but don’t get all things like Sky Store or download anything. Can still record or watch recordings.

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[steve69]

I'll try not to be biased but TV via satellite is still one of the easiest, flexible, and still a cost effective way of watching your favorite television while touring and since the pandemic, we have seen a reasonable increase in sales so satellite domes and dishes are far from obsolete.

But this does depend on your touring regions and time of year. Go very rural like the highlands following the popular North Coast 500 you'll definitely need satellite TV however, use a site on the fringes of a major town or city then streaming wins but did anyone try streaming in the west country this summer we know from experience that the mobile networks really struggled with the demand and that's where DVBS or DVBT wins. TBH you need both DVBS or DVBT for general mainstream continuous TV then pop the Firestick on for a late night movie or catchup TV.

Did the North 500 in 2019 over a 2-week period. Internet only TV with Giffgaff (O2). Perfect reception everywhere we went. Plenty of channels and no buffering at any time. Yes, I was as amazed as anyone.

 

[jongood]

Four sims, one for each of the main suppliers, in our two mobiles and we still have a sat dish as we don't get mobile service in a number of places in Scotland!

Exactly! it depends where you go

 

[jongood]

Agree with all of the above IF, and it’s a big IF, you don’t venture over the channel!



This is absolutely it, a year ago it was an entirely different picture but now, satellite is part of the solution to offset data roaming caps.

Ian

I think its dependent on where you go but also what you want to watch. If you're heavy users then get a dish but unless you re handy with the various ways round the geographical limits then you're going to have problems going to southern Europe. But if like us you only want to watch specific things and a lower usage, then a firestick is the perfect answer.

We ve been in Spain between Benicassim and mojacar, currently at Benidorm and been fairly regularly using the firestick just tethering g off the phone. OK sometimes get a bit of buffering, but last time we were here in winter with an 85cm Oyster we could only get sky news etc.

We re on a sky mobile deal that £10 / month x2 gives us calls and texts and 8gb of data which it saves unused amounts. I've just checked and last month we used an additional 47gb from our piggy bank. With no problems or extra charges and it allows us to select what we want and when it's convenient to watch it, much like we do back home.

 

[Southdowners]

We’ve got a dish because it was on the vehicle but wouldn’t buy one if it hadn’t been there already. We never use it as we have a fire stick.

 

[Fdhadi]

Did the North 500 in 2019 over a 2-week period. Internet only TV with Giffgaff (O2). Perfect reception everywhere we went. Plenty of channels and no buffering at any time. Yes, I was as amazed as anyone.

Did you manage to get Sky or Bt sports ok?

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[Ditcha]

We are in Spain at the moment we both have BT double data (80GB) each on our phones which has been flawless over the last few months, but I love to here the TV on even if I am not watching it, sad I know so dish hasn't been down for weeks the 5 main UK channels and Radio, TV on first thing till last thing when we go out we even leave it on for the dogs they love the TV.

So it suits us to have a dish even more so now with data caps etc. We do have firesticks on both TV,s which we use as well and terrestrial area which we do use quite a lot in in the UK.

So yes in my case I would have another dish but only if I was touring abroad.

 

[Gaston aires]

You could keep the satellite dish base and mount a solar panel on it so you could point it at the sun. Even a little one will produce more than a big one flat on the roof

We have an Alden solar tracker. Amazing output, but even that couldn’t work in the Peak District thick cloud we had for a week once.

 

[Realist]

Didn’t think you could get away with Sky Q as it’s linked to your home broadband how did you manage to take Q box with you without sky knowing where it was?
we used to take our sky + box and got away with it but now updated to Q

The connection to the internet is only for multi room purposes, taking the main box to the van is fine it will still work but NOT the mini boxes at home, they need the main box to work.

I’ve just purchased a 6 month old Maxview seeker system and Maxview are sending me the bits to convert it to Sky Q and this is going on my caravan ……… yes a dish is handy.

A few times I’ve been on site without internet or signal so the dish I had on my old Motorhome was very handy indeed.

It’s up to the individual if they need one or not but having a dish, WiFi, freesat/view or a firestick gives you options and regardless of where you are you’ll always get tv.

 

[AndyPK]

It’s up to the individual if they need one or not but having a dish, WiFi, freesat/view or a firestick gives you options and regardless of where you are you’ll always get tv.

So, perhaps a small portable dish and a tripod would be a (much cheaper!) option…..?

 

[The Wino]

So, perhaps a small portable dish and a tripod would be a (much cheaper!) option…..?

We had one carried it around for a while then ditched it. Probably a good idea if you're not sure as it saves drilling holes and paying for fitting. If you do use it you can always get a dish fitted later

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[eddie]

Internet broadband via satellite came and went and is obsolete, as is conventional DVB-S (Satellite TV)

in 2018 we took delivery of our new camper and debated whether we could be bothered to fit satellite TV or not, in the end we decided that it was probably one motorhome too early so fitted one, which we have hardly used

We have a new van on order which will be delivered later this year and we wouldn't dream of installing a satellite system. We hardly ever watch BBC1 ITV 4 & Five at home preferring on demand Netflix and Prime

When we go away we are the same and as we have a EE Mobile broadband contract at home, we simply chuck it in the bag along with our iPads, Kindles and last minute stuff the morning we leave

We even took it to Iceland to watch the Rugby

 

[eddie]

Last year I would have said don't bother with a satellite but now with roaming charges coming back in I'm sitting on the fence.

I think if you already have a system installed, there is no point not using it if data would cost you money

If your thinking about having one installed, that is a different matter

We get very few enquiries about satellite now, literally a handful and those we do get want to know about Intelsat and are surprised when we tell them that it is illegal to hack it or download it!

Personally don't fancy breaking Copyright and data laws in a European Country now we are out of the EU for the sake of watching Eastenders lol

 

[63720]

Love data and we use it while travelling abroad to listen to UK radio and using Google mapping, can't do that with satellite.

 

[Arthur01]

Currently full time in the RV & the fitted satellite system has failed to find anything as we are near some trees.
My son in law gave us a ROKU device (apparently £13 from Curry’s) & we have a HUAWEI mifi with a Smarty sim (£15 per month unlimited data). Over the last few months we have used 260-300g per month with internet & tv. The Roku unit gets all the channels but not sure how it would work over the water & the sim is restricted to 12g per month anyway.
Probably would look at getting a couple more Roku units for the other tv’s but then again might find something else to do instead of watching tv.

 

[DumfriesDik]

We had a dish already on the second hand motorhome, but it will not rise up just now. I may book it in for a service with Oyster.

I have also, just yesterday, ordered a Firestick to see how that works out when connected to my phone.

It is the data usage that concerns me the most. Another sim card to pay for, not sure if that will be value for money. And I would miss the faint blue glow at night of the dish standing to attention.

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[Gellyneck]

but it will not rise up just now.

Welcome to the male Funster world!

 

[steve69]

We had a dish already on the second hand motorhome, but it will not rise up just now. I may book it in for a service with Oyster.

Obviously lubrication is required somewhere.

 

[DumfriesDik]

Obviously lubrication is required somewhere.

I hope it's that simple.

 

[zaskar]

We are in Spain at the moment..................................................... so dish hasn't been down for weeks the 5 main UK channels and Radio, TV on first thing till last thing when we go out we even leave it on for the dogs they love the TV.
................................................So yes in my case I would have another dish but only if I was touring abroad.

I'm curious to know.............
a/ where you are in Spain
b/ what size dish you have
c/what decoder you are using
d/ which sat you lock on to

I ask because as I understood it, it was very difficult to receive the "big 5" down in Spain?
We go to Aguilas (about 100miles south of Alicante) and have Sky+ box and 85cm tripod dish. If we used the dish, we'd get most of our subscription progs but no way would we get BBC.
Not a prob for us as...........
a/ we'd be happy enough with Sky news and
b/ as it happens, the site we use has wacking great big dishes dotted about the site that we can hook up to and run our Sky+ through it.

Just curious to know how you've managed it.

 

[Ditcha]

I'm curious to know.............
a/ where you are in Spain
b/ what size dish you have
c/what decoder you are using
d/ which sat you lock on to

I ask because as I understood it, it was very difficult to receive the "big 5" down in Spain?
We go to Aguilas (about 100miles south of Alicante) and have Sky+ box and 85cm tripod dish. If we used the dish, we'd get most of our subscription progs but no way would we get BBC.
Not a prob for us as...........
a/ we'd be happy enough with Sky news and
b/ as it happens, the site we use has wacking great big dishes dotted about the site that we can hook up to and run our Sky+ through it.

Just curious to know how you've managed it.

a/ Los Alcázares
b/ 85 Oyster
c/ the one I use they don't make any more.
d/ couldn't say incase the copyright police from the UK are on our site

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