Installing FREESAT yourself

hedge666 · 06-07-2008

Hi - I've just moved into a new house and have just discovered that the aerial and it's amp have been taken!! I therefore cannot get any reception rendering my freeview equipment useless!!!

I've been considering Freesat for a while but am loathed to pay for instalation if it's possible to do it yourself!

Is it as simple as buying a dish (a Sky mini dish for example), attaching it to an external wall in the correct position and then running a cable from the dish into the house and straight into the reciever box? Do I need to buy a signal amplifier or any other equipment?

Also, if I want to put recievers in two rooms (lounge & bedroom for example) will I need to take ONE cable into a 'signal splitter' and then run it from there??

I'm pretty new to all of this and would grately recieve any advice you guys could give to me on the subject!!

(I'm planning on getting a Humax Foxsat HD reciever but am gonna try and hold out for the recordable version - but don't know if I can go without TV for that long!!!)

Cheers!

**rolfw** · 06-07-2008

It is as simple as installing the dish and if a second receiver is required, fitting a quad LNB, as they each require a separate feed.

You will need to align the dish accuratly, down to 1 degree or so, but getting the approximate position can be achieved by looking at your neighbours' dishes.

The easiest way to align, is to use a portable TV and put it where you can see it from the dish, then you can see the signal strength and quality readings, may be worth investing in a cheap signal meter, you can buy one for around £10 from our forum advertisers.

**gerryl** · 06-07-2008

yes dishpointer(.com) will show you where to place the dish, consider dual feed LNB for second box!

**Robbo71** · 06-07-2008

An ideal position is on a south (ish) facing wall, i.e towards the River. Your elevation will be approx 25 degrees. Sky minidish QUAD LNBs can be got dirt cheap from fle Ebay

.

portly · 06-07-2008

It aint hard to put up a dish , ive just done it and i had no understanding of satellites or how they worked

till i join this forum a few days ago

it took me around 30mins all in all to put the dish up and position it correctly and its only cost me around 70-80quid max for the reciever and dish setup, with coax, plugs ect.Ive got astra and eurobird at 90% strenth and 70% signal.i can even get turksat1b and arabsat 2b although not great strenth but can view ok

My 70cm dish is on a south wall only 6ft off the ground it not the best dish or setup but it works fine

**Topper** · 06-07-2008

Originally Posted by portly

My 70cm dish is on a south wall only 6ft off the ground it not the best dish or setup but it works fine

Would therefore recommend not inviting any basket ball players round for a barby

portly · 08-07-2008

Originally Posted by Topper

Would therefore recommend not inviting any basket ball players round for a barby

nice one

***Yorks*** · 08-07-2008

Originally Posted by Robbo71

An ideal position is on a south (ish) facing wall, i.e towards the River.............

A good quality divining rod may take the place of a satellite meter in this case.

droodroo · 14-07-2008

I'm liking this thread... I'm in two minds about buying and installing a disk myself. I don't like the idea of putting a dish up the side of my house though!

Is it worth picking up a 99 quid model from B&Q or would you guys recommend getting another model from Ebay

or an indy seller?

Also, I'm quite intrigued about pointing the dish somewhere else in the sky and getting weird foreign channels! How easy is this? And is there a definative list of channels from available satellites anywhere?

Also, what about decoding? I'm assuming it wont be possible to get the SKY channels, but what is the story with the foreign channels?

Looking forward to the replies!

D

**Robbo71** · 15-07-2008

Installing a fixed dish is relatively easy. For less limitation a motorised dish is much better. Installing is within the capabilites of anyone reasonably competent.

Lyngsat is the main bible of channels available on the various sats, there is also flysat and kingofsat.

Not sure what the B&Q one is but it is bound to be the cheapest and nastiest.(could be wrong)

Check out our site supporters (see my sig) One or two of them do motorised kits including receiver. The Technomates are good.

As for pay channels, you can buy a foreign subscription, which is what I have, there are also some packages you get get with appropriate software, not really kept up to date with what is currently available though.

Robbo

**Topper** · 15-07-2008

Originally Posted by droodroo

And is there a definative list of channels from available satellites anywhere?

As a rough guide the Clarke curve runs from 60deg East to 60deg West in central UK. Thus checking here shows you the satellites available due East of South and here give you sats due West of South. Your can drill down on each position and see the channels available. South is of course being the highest point of the arc for us in the central part of the UK which roughly speaking because the Greenwich meridian longitude is 0 degrees. For you in Belfast 5 deg West will probably be the top of your arc, thus roughly speaking your field of scope will be 55East to 65 West. Everybody on earth has an unseen arc but the satellites are there.

portly · 20-07-2008

I must admit mine is not an expensive dish or setup for that matter ,it wont last a lifetime, but norr will i

i got mine from wizard satellite as a kit.But it does the job for a first timer.I cant see the point in paying out loads of dosh if you are not sure your going to become interested in the subject.I have freeview, terrest and fta or is it ftv

that will do me for now

**trigger** · 20-07-2008

Originally Posted by droodroo

I'm liking this thread... I'm in two minds about buying and installing a disk myself. I don't like the idea of putting a dish up the side of my house though!
D

The dish does not have to go on the house. You could install a small concrete pad in the back garden and install it there. Bury cables in conduit (not ideal as you probably wont be using underground cable) but will be fine for many years or simply clip to the fence etc. What about the shed? Screw it to that.

There are usually many alternatives to it going on the house if you are prepared to do the work yourself.

Good Luck

Nebulous · 20-07-2008

Well I got my whole set-up for £20. I have a Lidl box and dish. It was on special offer for £29.99 My wife went to get one and the chap said we only have one left and the box has been opened so I'll knock a tenner off! Half an afternoon installing it - the kit comes with a device that takes the cable through the seal on the window without having to bore a hole right through the house and I have an extra 400 channels or so. Film 4 is more than worth it on its own. It has whetted my appetite and I will want to move to HD with possibly a motorised dish at some point, but at the moment it hardly seems a priority.

**tomthebomb1968** · 20-07-2008

Originally Posted by droodroo

I'm liking this thread... I'm in two minds about buying and installing a disk myself. I don't like the idea of putting a dish up the side of my house though!

Is it worth picking up a 99 quid model from B&Q or would you guys recommend getting another model from Ebay or an indy seller?

Also, I'm quite intrigued about pointing the dish somewhere else in the sky and getting weird foreign channels! How easy is this? And is there a definative list of channels from available satellites anywhere?

Also, what about decoding? I'm assuming it wont be possible to get the SKY channels, but what is the story with the foreign channels?

Looking forward to the replies!

D

If you want to have a look at my setup m8 your more than welcome. i only got started myself at the start of the year. i did the whole setup myself with guidance from the guys on here. it aint rocket science but it is a pretty precise procedure. My total outlay for all my gear has been around £300 and that includes getting stung with a fake dreambox that i paid over the odds for as i thought it was a genuine one. Got a 90cm dish complete with a .2 lnb for £20 in Maplin(Connswater) Im watching 1000s of channels and it could be a lot more if i could get anything past 28.2 east and 8 West. Any more west is impossible due to neighbours house but i reckon my dish is big enough for 36 and 42 east but i cant seem to get anything. Not unduly worried but it niggles me that it aint perfect. i think it could be trees and an apartment complex about 200 metres from my home as these sats are pretty low on the horizon from our location(i think). Take the plunge m8, you wont regret it.

p · 23-07-2008

hedge666, did you get it sorted?

If not and youve got all the bits, im not too far away, well allways about in romford, and if you cables run, i'd say about a 15min job to drill, fix, connect and aline a small dish.

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