Costa Blanca Spain- British TV availability

[jaffa1999]

Yes, it's true, the south beam and most of Eurobird can be received well in Spain using 60 -80 cm dishes. The receiver has to be manually configured to change the default transponder. Not worth doing unless you subscribe to Sky. A Sky HD box will receive Channel Four HD on this dish size.
We recommend installing a backup battery (UPS- from Carrefour or PC City) to prevent the receiver losing its settings during the many power cuts and voltage spikes in Spain.
A large dish is only needed to receive Freesat channels such as BBC and ITV. Some ITV regions, E4 Ireland, and Channel Four Ireland can be received on smaller dishes as they are on the north beam, and scrambled. A viewing card from Sky is needed for these channels. Take advice from someone here on the dish size for the north beam in your area, it should be slightly smaller than Astra 2D.
Hardly surprising you have got misinformation, installers want you to go for the most expensive option.

So the long and short of it is if i've got a sky subscription take my box and card to spain and hook up a 60 or 80 cm dish i will pick up the south beam without any hassle champion. I'm going over to spain to install a system for the in laws and just wanted to know exactly what i was going to put together for them. Cheers for the advice.

 

[pipino]

So the long and short of it is if i've got a sky subscription take my box and card to spain and hook up a 60 or 80 cm dish i will pick up the south beam without any hassle champion. I'm going over to spain to install a system for the in laws and just wanted to know exactly what i was going to put together for them. Cheers for the advice.

to be honest with you all i knew in a similar situation end up putting a huge dish, after all it´s simply poor having only the south beam ,i´m talking about 95% of ppl i dealt with in the past...regards

 

[jaffa1999]

to be honest with you all i knew in a similar situation end up putting a huge dish, after all it´s simply poor having only the south beam ,i´m talking about 95% of ppl i dealt with in the past...regards

what would i gain from a larger dish receiving the north beam?

 

[pipino]

what would i gain from a larger dish receiving the north beam?

north beam with fewer more sky channels and surley part of astra 2d (vertical and some horizontal) good specialy for BBC and ITV

 

[jaffa1999]

If i want the freesat listings i would need a larger dish for the north beam looking at 2D. Thanks for the advice.

 

[satelliteman]

Don't forget as mentioned, if your using a small dish for South beam and cannot receive the North beam default transponder for the EPG, you'll need to set default to a Tp on the South beam. Normally 12.129 in the Canaries.

See all channels on

Astra 2d: _http://en.kingofsat.net/sat-astra2d.php

You can also look over all of Astra2 : _http://www.flysat.com/28east.php
The beam is shown over on the right hand column.

SM

 

[dxsat]

It really depends on your taste in TV. Many people are happy with Sky Sports and Sky News- both are on the south beam.
It means you are locked in to paying for your TV viewing.
The only BBC TV you can get is BBC News, Parliament and BBCi via the red button on ch. 503. You'll also get most of BBC radio on a 60 cm.
You'll get the BBCi interactive streams which can be good on sporting events, Last Night of the Proms and other specials.

 

[kb2304]

Hi All

I Had telemicro also ,Now its gone I have a new 1.8 mtr dish and a grundig digibox . Had a gut line up the dish ,this worked ok for a few days then a power cut and no cant get anything screen just says no signal. can anyone advise on how to re-set the box, Also my neighbour gets ITV and BBC and all he has is a 1 mtr dish and a silvercrest box any help greatly recieved.

KEV

 

[dxsat]

if you get a power cut in the afternoons it's quite common for a sky box to report no signal when it re- starts. As power cuts are a regular occurrence in Spain this is a big problem. You need to either wait till later in the evening or tomorrow morning, when the north beam will be strong enough, and it'll all be back to normal.
You can also change the default transponder if the power goes in the afternoon, but it will always revert after a few hours.
You need to improve the north beam reception to prevent it happening.

 

[kb2304]

Thanks snap.

To be honest I have no idea how to change transponders etc. is there a manual or some instrutions I can get for my digibox ( grundig dgs 200 ) I am in uk ( kent also ) at moment so need to get hold of something for when I go back

 

[satelliteman]

To change the default transponder setting on a digibox, you will first need to:

> Access the hidden INSTALLERS SETUP menu

> First press the SERVICES button on your Sky remote

> Then '4' to access SYSTEM SETUP

> Although it is not displayed, you will need to press '0' then '1' then SELECT to access the INSTALLERS SETUP menu

> Then select '2' to enter DEFAULT TRANSPONDER

> Select 'Frequency (GHz)'. By typing in the relevant numbers, change the settings from 11.778 to 12.129

> When the changes have been made, select 'Save New Settings'

> Press BACK UP to return to main screen

On the screen you will then see the Sky Welcome Channel or it will say 'searching for listings' please wait

Wait until Sky Welcome Channel appears and then start viewing

Upon return to Northern Europe, the system will automatically default back to the North beam default transponder frequency.

SM

 

[pipino]

...edited...cheers ;)

 

[bigkahuna]

I have been getting excellent results using a 1.4 dish just outside Torrevieja with a 0.1db LNB to receive sky tv using the channel Islands frequencies, CH4 shows up as TT on 4 and is working 24/7 ITV BBC ETC all working great. Got a Humax Foxsat HD box on order as the HD channels are a lot stronger than standard and I do not want to loose my Humax PVR from the living room.

 

[Topper]

receive sky tv using the channel Islands frequencies,

I beg your pardon, what channel Island frequencies are you referring to?

 

[bigkahuna]

I beg your pardon, what channel Island frequencies are you referring to?

Channel 4 - tagged as "TT on 4" on 12.480 V 27.5 2/3
BBC Channel Islands 10847 V 22000 5/6
ITV Channel Islands 10906 V 22000 5/6

These have been added to sky box using "add channels"

 

[Huevos]

I have been getting excellent results using a 1.4 dish just outside Torrevieja with a 0.1db LNB to receive sky tv using the channel Islands frequencies

You only need a 1.2m there for BBC1 CI. It's further north you need a big dish.

 

[bigkahuna]

I think I could probably use a 1 metre dish in Torrevieja if I used a Humax Foxsat HD box as the HD frequencies are stronger tham the SD transmissions. If you want to receive ITV and CH4 then a 1.4 dish is the smallest dish that I would even consider installing as any smaller would not work when any clouds or rain come along and in Spain this is when you would be indoors watching tv.

 

[Huevos]

If you want to receive ITV and CH4 then a 1.4 dish is the smallest dish that I would even consider installing

ITV is fine on a 1.2m dish. Signal strength on 10906 and 10758 are almost the same as 10847. C4 on the North beam is not reliable on a 1.4m and on 2D horizontal requires a 3.6 to 4m dish (same as BBC2 and Channel Five unencrypted version).

 

[bigkahuna]

ITV is fine on a 1.2m dish. Signal strength on 10906 and 10758 are almost the same as 10847. C4 on the North beam is not reliable on a 1.4m and on 2D horizontal requires a 3.6 to 4m dish (same as BBC2 and Channel Five unencrypted version).

3.6 to 4m dish - In Costa Blanca? urgh OK?

I do not know of any installers working with dishes over 3.1m, this is usually the Famaval 2.4 with extension petals attached?

Do you know where 3.6 and 4m dishes are sold?

WOW would love to install one of those 4m bad boys on my roof, safe in the knowledge that it will drive my "I dont watch TV neighbour" nuts!

 

[Huevos]

3.6 to 4m dish - In Costa Blanca? urgh OK?

I do not know of any installers working with dishes over 3.1m, this is usually the Famaval 2.4 with extension petals attached?

Is that a question or a statement? Many installers in Spain seem to fit what is easiest for them and what extracts the maximum possible profit from their victims. The reality though is 3.1m is too small to get horizontals 24/7 from Astra 2D and the Famaval 3.1m having only 55% efficiency is not going to help.

Do you know where 3.6 and 4m dishes are sold?

Anywhere that does professional grade dishes. Andrew, Patriot, Prodelin, and SinoAero, among others, make several dishes in that size range.