Satellite Dish or Wi-Fi

[Sunseeker]

Hi Earlier this year I ask about getting a Satellite Dish for use both UK and France/Spain but the overwhelming feedback was to opt for Wi-Fi. I have looked at a few options and am looking for further feedback the ones I've viewed are Avtex AMR985, Maxview Roam and Poynting various models.

Any Recommendations Thanks

 

[Gellyneck]

We have a EE account with 3 sims, two phones and one data in the van router. Total data 100gb with roaming inclusive. We toured Scotland and Hebrides in November, and never lost signal on the van. Places where phones had no signal, dead, the router always had two bars or more. What’s up call works. That’s with a poynting mimo on the roof. On two bars we could stream on firestck with little or no buffer. Even in the middle of Cairngorms we had good signal, where the map shows a void.

As examples, no EE reception at Gairloch, Garleston, etc on mobile. Understand fitting a Mimo will deliver a data signal however wouldn't install to replace the sat dish and incur additional hardware and ongoing data contract costs.
Ongoing annual costs for us is around (4 mobile sims + mifi data sim) £150 which is significantly less than a single data package would cost us with reduced reception implications.
Not knocking streaming but just not best solution for us.

 

[Gellyneck]

But you wouldn’t need to spend £20/month for each of your contracts. The sensible thing to do would be to spread the equivalent 200G/month across all four contracts; less Gb/contract = less £/month. Sounds like you could optimise the cost/Gb across all four contracts.

For the same reasons as you, we run three contracts (one large Gb and two small GB, all with data rollover) from different providers at a total monthly cost of £38. We also have a satellite dish but there are times when it’s too windy to put the dish up. We think that we have a flexible arrangement that minimises potential ‘down time’.

Ian

Using your figure of £38 \ month that gives us an annual cost of c£450 \ annum whereas we're currently around £150 \ annum for sat dish and 4 mobile phone sims + mifi data sim. As I said in previous post not knocking streaming but doesn't seem to be the optimal solution for us.
Not saying we won't encounter an instance of stormy weather that would impact dish usage but had our Snipe up in winds of greater than 50mph without issues. If the wind is that strong we would just revert to pre-recorded box sets \ movies.

 

[Gellyneck]

it really does depend where you want to go. The Op said France and Spain.even with a 90cm dish its now pretty pointless in most of Spain, so we're using a firestick with Sky mobile s, works absolutely fi ne and cost s us £20/ month total so £240 / year but that is also our total phone bill. Yes there places where the phone signal is not perfect, but I also had occasions where I couldn't get a satelite signal or it was too windy to put it up.

Don't disagree but it's horses for courses.
Our total annual cost for 4 mobile sims + data sim is around £150 and is the optimal solution for us.

 

[edzt]

Doesn't also depend on what you want to watch, Netflix, Prime etc, you need data

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Gellyneck]

Doesn't also depend on what you want to watch, Netflix, Prime etc, you need data

Yip but we don't subscribe to those services?

 

[Myles Ward]

At present we're using a sim from spaininternet.com 10gb capacity per day for nearly 3 months at a total cost of 118 Euro. Absolutely excellent addition with Express VPN and fire stick.

 

[Kups]

Don't disagree but it's horses for courses.
Our total annual cost for 4 mobile sims + data sim is around £150 and is the optimal solution for us.

Yes agree and it's a lot lot cheaper than buying and installing a sat dish

 

[Krumpli]

We have been happy for the last few years watching prerecorded movies, etc on the laptop. However I can see that there are many more options. Can someone please explain everything?
For example Firestick
and what about "a sim from spaininternet.com 10gb capacity per day". How do you use the sim from spaininternet?
What do you actually do with "4 mobile sims + mifi data sim"?
Can you see what I'm getting at. Those of you with this kit seem happy but to me it's just jargon.
Help.

 

[Gellyneck]

Yes agree and it's a lot lot cheaper than buying and installing a sat dish

c£260 cost for self-install of ours (2nd user, obviously!).

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[63720]

Just out of curiosity, how much data do you use on your Firestick?
We took ours away for 3 days and maybe watched 1-2hrs TV per night for the 3 nights and it drew nearly 10GB of data in those few viewings!

You can change the settings to use less data. Go through the Firestick Settings menus to find Data Monitoring, turn it on, from there you can change the video quality to use less data. If you dial it down you probably won't see any difference.

 

[Kups]

You can change the settings to use less data. Go through the Firestick Settings menus to find Data Monitoring, turn it on, from there you can change the video quality to use less data. If you dial it down you probably won't see any difference.

Yes that's right, our mh tv is only HD 1080 so no need to spend data on a quality that the tv cannot handle.

 

[bigtwin]

We have been happy for the last few years watching prerecorded movies, etc on the laptop. However I can see that there are many more options. Can someone please explain everything?
For example Firestick
and what about "a sim from spaininternet.com 10gb capacity per day". How do you use the sim from spaininternet?
What do you actually do with "4 mobile sims + mifi data sim"?
Can you see what I'm getting at. Those of you with this kit seem happy but to me it's just jargon.
Help.

A firestick uses wifi to access the internet to run various Apps (eg BBC iPlayer, BBC Sounds, SkyGo, etc). It, effectively, turns a standard TV into a Smart TV. If you already have a smart TV, you shouldn’t need a Firestick.

Wifi access to the internet can be via your home wifi (if at home) or via the use of a data SIM installed in a suitable device.

A suitable device can be either your phone or a MiFi device. Both of these ‘convert’ the 3/4/5G data into a wifi connection to the internet. The advantage of a mifi device is that, on some devices, you can connect an external aerial that has much greater sensitivity than your phone (ie, can pick up a signal where your phone might not).

Thus, a Spanish data SIM can be inserted into your MiFi (or phone) to provide wifi through which internet access can be obtained.

Ian

 

[Lenny HB]

Just out of curiosity, how much data do you use on your Firestick?
We took ours away for 3 days and maybe watched 1-2hrs TV per night for the 3 nights and it drew nearly 10GB of data in those few viewings!

Our last trip to France & Spain in 6½ weeks we used 110GB but didn't have the tv on every night.

 

[Gellyneck]

What do you actually do with "4 mobile sims + mifi data sim"?

There are 4 main mobile carriers in the UK, 3, EE, O2 and Vodafone. Each, generally, have their own mast infrastructure which results in better \ poorer signal strength depending on your location in respect of the mast\s.
In densely populated areas there is, generally, no issues in obtaining an acceptable signal strength as all carriers will have local infrastructure. In sparsely populated areas, eg north \ west Scotland infrastructure is less so signal strength can be highly variable. Having a sim from each carrier maximises the possibility of a usable signal strength.
bigtwin has covered of the mifi sim aspect but in addition all main carriers have sims appropriate to mifi devices.
As you will know there are numerous mobile sim providors, eg Asda, Virgin, Tesco, etc, etc, etc ....... but they all piggyback on one of the main 4 carriers services.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[flyboyprowler]

We are currently in Spain and watching TV on a firestick using the local internet and no problems (as yet) We have mobile wi-fi as well and use around 4gb a night when local wi-fi is not available. We also have a dish that gives us music, and a few other English speaking channels and CNN etc. Worth noting that only 25GB should be available in Europe on UK sim cards. Some people seem to be able to get more, but that could be stopped. We use both dish and stick.

 

[Neil S]

Lots of UK channels available using an 85cm automatic dish in Spain if you subscribe to SKY
Ok no BBC or ITV no great loss but you get SKY news , Sky 1 , Witness , Eurosport , History , National Geographic , Gold , SKY sports and Movies and many other subscription channels .
More than enough for evening viewing

 

[flyboyprowler]

Lots of UK channels available using an 85cm automatic dish in Spain if you subscribe to SKY
Ok no BBC or ITV no great loss but you get SKY news , Sky 1 , Witness , Eurosport , History , National Geographic , Gold , SKY sports and Movies and many other subscription channels .
More than enough for evening viewing

So, with a UK SKY subscription, how do I get that on my dish in Spain? Really need to know this!! Christmas greetings.

 

[Neil S]

So, with a UK SKY subscription, how do I get that on my dish in Spain? Really need to know this!! Christmas greetings.

You need to take your SKY box with you and plug it in just like you would at home
We use our SKY plus Box from home in the motorhome plugged into a an automatic Maxview Target 85cm twin LNB with autoskew .

 

[VXman]

Trouble with wifi/data is most suppliers limit to 12GB in europe now. (Superdrug excepted - however long that may continue)

We found buying a data sim in Spain was cheaper, Orange was 15 euros for 50GB. - no contract.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Al n Val]

Lee Rasberry

I’ll ask this question here as it may be revelant to other funsters

I’m struggling to find room on the roof of my new motorhome for my 85” Maxview dish so the question is

When mounting the dish has it got to face rearward when closed down, with this I mean towards the rear of the moho or can it be mounted sideways on. I’m thinking of potential problems whilst travelling if sideways on

If the answer is rearward then unfortunately it will not fit and will be up for sale

Al

 

[dunnah01]

Lee Rasberry

I’ll ask this question here as it may be revelant to other funsters

I’m struggling to find room on the roof of my new motorhome for my 85” Maxview dish so the question is

When mounting the dish has it got to face rearward when closed down, with this I mean towards the rear of the moho or can it be mounted sideways on. I’m thinking of potential problems whilst travelling if sideways on

If the answer is rearward then unfortunately it will not fit and will be up for sale

Al

Rearwards according to our instructions so maybe a bit awkward for you

 

[Al n Val]

Rearwards according to our instructions so maybe a bit awkward for you

that’s what I didn’t want to hear but thanks for the info
Anyone want to buy a 85cm Maxview satellite system complete with twin LNB and receiver

Target - Roof Mount Fully Automatic Satellite System

Satellite TV for Caravan and Motorhome - Maxview Target - Fully Automatic Roof-Mounted Satellite Dish for Caravans and Motorhomes

maxview.co.uk

 

[Lee Rasberry]

Lee Rasberry

I’ll ask this question here as it may be revelant to other funsters

I’m struggling to find room on the roof of my new motorhome for my 85” Maxview dish so the question is

When mounting the dish has it got to face rearward when closed down, with this I mean towards the rear of the moho or can it be mounted sideways on. I’m thinking of potential problems whilst travelling if sideways on

If the answer is rearward then unfortunately it will not fit and will be up for sale

Al

Hi Al,

We advise that it’s mounted facing rearward, but we do know of people who have mounted them sideways due to limited roof space. Unfortunately we haven’t tested it thoroughly to be able to ensure customers that it won’t cause any issues. I’ll speak to the support team when we’re back in and see what the options could be.

Regards,
Lee

 

[mitzimad]

i can never believe how important tv is to so many people ,we go away in the van to be out we can stay at home and sit in front of the gogglebox

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Neil S]

i can never believe how important tv is to so many people ,we go away in the van to be out we can stay at home and sit in front of the gogglebox

Yep we’re all different , some to like to watch TV in the evenings .
Others like to drink and socialise or eat out in restaurants.
Some folks prefer only their own company and keep to themselves .
Good job we are not all the same or the world would be a boring place

 

[flyboyprowler]

You need to take your SKY box with you and plug it in just like you would at home
We use our SKY plus Box from home in the motorhome plugged into a an automatic Maxview Target 85cm twin LNB with autoskew .

Ah yes, but unfortunately this will not work in the south of Spain as the satellite pattern is weak. We have a 1.9m dish at our house and get all but some HD SKY programmes but at our friends in Malaga they get nothing since the satellite was repositioned,

 

[Lorryman100]

We have both, belt and braces approach as the amount of places we go where we either don’t get a mobile signal or a clear view of the southern sky.

 

[Neil S]

Ah yes, but unfortunately this will not work in the south of Spain as the satellite pattern is weak. We have a 1.9m dish at our house and get all but some HD SKY programmes but at our friends in Malaga they get nothing since the satellite was repositioned,

Are your friends in Malaga using SKY or just reliant on Freesat ?
The pan European beam from astra covers virtually all of Spain , Portugal and carry’s most of SKYs subscription channels.
I had no problem down at Nerja receiving Eurosport and other channels with my roof mounted 85

 

[Dogsense]

With our phones for £20 each per month we get 100gb of data with no restrictions abroad, for us with just the purchase of an Amazon Firestick to use with our existing TV and tether to the pnones it's a no brainer to go data.

Happy Christmas. May I ask which provider you are getting the 100GB?

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Dogsense]

Yep - do all that but use nearer to to 200Gb / month but luckily unlimited in the UK and Europe but not sure for how long we can stay under the radar

Who you are with for the data Sim? Contract or monthly Rolling?