New Satellite setup help

abpnog · 14 Jan 2015 at 19:04

Hi! I'm planning to buy a satellite dish and a receiver in order to have access to:

hotbird 13b - Europe
and
Eutelsat 28A - Freesat UK or Astra 28.2°E - Freesat UK

(I'm based in London)

My plan is to get a 80 cm dish with two LNRs but I'm struggling to decide which receiver/box to buy. My plan would be to have the satellite box working as a receiver as well as a media player.

I've been thinking of the Amiko A3 but would like to have any other suggestions or opinions on this.

Thanks!

Tesla · 14 Jan 2015 at 20:51

Have you considered two receivers? A proper Freesat receiver or Sky box (very good epg/guide) then some other receiver for Hotbird.

filter2000 · 14 Jan 2015 at 21:24

Icecrypt, manhattan or a dreambox might be what your after. If you go for a dreambox make sure it's a real one as there are so many fakes about. Have a look at www.satellitesuperstore.com

Kobi · 14 Jan 2015 at 21:37

Tesla said:
Have you considered two receivers? A proper Freesat receiver or Sky box (very good epg/guide) then some other receiver for Hotbird.

That was my dilemma. Getting sky's basic package and getting it installed for 12 months is only £268. Roughly the same price as one of those freesat boxes.

SexyGreyFox · 14 Jan 2015 at 21:49

I've been into motorised systems since the mid 80s but recently went to a smaller 80cm dish with a DISEQC motor and an amazing VU+ Solo2 receiver.
You probably won't be able to get 28.2 and 13E from the one dish because of the angles so you might as well go motorised.
I can record up to 3 channels at a time (transponder dependent) and I also use the box as a media player.
The VU+ Duo is also a good machine but I wasn't overly impressed with the expensive VU+ Duo2.

abpnog · 14 Jan 2015 at 22:16

Thank you for all the answers!

Is it definitely very difficult to get both satellites with one 80 cm dish?

Which box/receiver would you advise around £150?

How difficult would a DIY installation for a motorised system be?

Thank you!

SexyGreyFox · 14 Jan 2015 at 22:30

abpnog said:
Thank you for all the answers!

Is it definitely very difficult to get both satellites with one 80 cm dish?

Which box/receiver would you advise around £150?

How difficult would a DIY installation for a motorised system be?

Thank you!

Normally the twin LNB goes between 19E and 13E which is a 6 deg angle but you want to go 15 deg which I doubt will work.

VU+ have just made a receiver called the Zero but it uses an external hard drive.
There is a VU+ Solo but only records 1 channel.
(I'm a VU+ fanboy).
What you need is a receiver that gets plenty of support and VU+ are the best supported.

DISEQC makes the job very easy.
You basically point the dish with the motor set on 0 to South.
Choose a Freesat channel on 28.2 and the dish should move to that satellite but you will now need to adjust the dish/LNB to get a signal.
Once you've got the signal the motor will know all the other satellites.
There's a bit more to it than that but that's the basics.
I only use satellites 28, 23, 19, 16, 13, 5 and 1W.

abpnog · 15 Jan 2015 at 17:38

Hi Dimple!

Thanks for the advice!

I wasn't planning on using a twin LNR but two LNRs in a bracket, on the same dish.

Would that be feasible for the 2 satellites?

Thank you!

SexyGreyFox · 15 Jan 2015 at 19:28

There's a guy in Edinburgh who says he gets 28.2, 19 and 13 on a fixed 80cm dish so it must be possible.
Why are you interested in Hotbird?

Oh and they are LNBs.

abpnog · 15 Jan 2015 at 19:53

Oops, yeah, LNBs.

A few european channels I'm interested in are on Hotbird.

Thanks for your help!

abpnog · 15 Jan 2015 at 19:58

A quick last question: is there a receiver that has integrated wifi and allows access to iplayer, etc?

Thanks

SexyGreyFox · 15 Jan 2015 at 21:04

I know the VU+ Duo2 has but it is very expensive.

You are probably best asking on here because I will just shove you up the VU+ path with a DISEQC motor.

abpnog · 15 Jan 2015 at 21:47

Thanks!