How to identify friend's satellite source?

Penners

I'm a non-techie!!

I'm staying with an English friend in southern France. He receives UK TV via a large dish and a Sky Free-to-air account. The dish is over a metre in diameter and appears to have a twin LNB.

My friend wanted to be able to record TV programmes to a hard-drive recorder, so he bought himself a Sky Plus box. However he has subsequently discovered that, in order to use this, he would have to have set up a Sky subscription account. He doesn't want to do this.

So at present he receives the free-to-air Sky service through the Sky Plus box, but the slot in the box marked "Interactive card" is empty.

Having given you the background, I have a question for you satellite TV experts, please.

1. If he bought a Humax Freesat PVR box instead of the Sky+ box, is his dish likely to be pointing in the right direction to receive Freesat channels? How can I find out which satellite he is currently receiving from?

Any thoughts and advice would be much appreciated, please.

satelliteman

If he is receiving sky programming and using a sky digibox then the dish will be pointing at the correct satellite 28.2/28.5, just a matter of swapping over the receivers and going through the initial set up procedure.

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Robbo

...which would include inputting a UK postcode, yours will do.

Penners

Wow! Thanks for those high-speed responses, Satelliteman and Robbo!

Your answers are very encouraging. Actually my friend also has a UK address, so he could use that postcode. Presumably Freesat wouldn't throw a wobbly if the receiver isn't actually located within the registered postcode?

Robbo

The receiver doesn't know where it is, it could be absolutely anywhere that gets a good enough signal. It just goes by the postcode you tell it.

The receiver has no means of talking to Freesat, so they would not know where it was either.

Penners

OK - many thanks to you both for your advice.

Much appreciated.

PaulR

The postcode is only used by the Freesat receiver to make sure that you get the correct regional BBC and ITV1 programmes. With a few exceptions (Scotland and the smaller ITV regions) you could put any valid postcode you liked in and get the regional prorammes that you want.

PaulR As I get older I find myself thinking about the hereafter - I go into a room and then wonder what I'm here after.

Penners

Thanks for that clarification, PaulR. It's a handy detail, because my friend still likes to keep tabs on what's going on in his old stamping ground in the UK. So he will get the correct regional news.