Im planning to purchase a dish can anyone tell me what is needed and approx. costs please im tottaly green about the requiremets to set this all up.
Any help is appreciated.
Hi Adrian.....If your budget allows,SatKing is the way to go.Fully automatic....just press a button on your remote,and the dish,about 500mm x500mm (guess) rises from the travel position on the roof of the van and spends a couple of minutes searching for the best signal.If you forget to put it down before you travel,it closes automatically once you start travelling.Works anywhere except absolute tip of Cape York,I believe? I bought mine from a place in Logan..... Cheers
Thanks so no annual subscription or anything else to set up other than the dish?
There is no subscription fees on the VAST free to air network. You need to re-register every six months as a traveller however.
This is free & can be done online.
Also online you CAN advise them if you change location, WA to SA/NT or any eastern state so you can get local news at correct times if that is important to you or leave it on your home state to get news from there & use the time difference to your advantage.
The system mentioned would set you back north of $3000 and is no doubt the ultimate if you can afford it but you can set up a manual system for under $700 which is in some ways better.
Depending where you are I would suggest contacting SatPlus or Access Antennas, both very reputable suppliers that won't rip you off.
Thanks so no annual subscription or anything else to set up other than the dish?
Hi Adrian...As per another posters message,no fees etc.It is not a dish,but just a flat box about 500x500 (guess) that sits on the roof,and stands up at whatever angle it determines gets the best signal for the area youre visiting,once you press the Go button! No bldy great dish to store,and you dont waste time and effort setting it up,when you couod be relaxing with a beer! Doesnt matter if it is pouring rain when you end the days travels....just press the button and watch the footy. (League!) Cheers
The automatic dish on the roof is easy, however if you like to park under trees for some shade the trees may block the signal. So in that case a free standing dish with a long (at least 15 meter) cord is a better option - the van can be under shade while the dish is in the open. Also the smaller dishes are useless if you are going up the west coast. The further north you go the bigger the dish that's needed. I have just seen that you can get free standing dish to move around but it has an automatic sat finder built in - sounds great. Have heard that a few people who have the smaller square receiver have had issues getting a signal. Buy from a reputable dealer who offers telephone back-up.
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Jenny and Barry
2009 Roma Elegance / 2013 Colorado. Permanent travellers 2011-2015 now just travel for 4-6 mths
you will need
1- a satellite dish
2- a tripod
3- approx 30 feet of cable from dish to van to allow for good placement choice
4- a vast decoder box
5- a satellite finder
6 appropriate cables for inside van
If buying new approx cost $650- $700
can pick up on gumtree etc for about 1/2 that
Thanks after I purchase these items nothing else needed? I thought you had to buy a deal like Foxtel?
remember you will only have access to 'free to air' channels - no foxtel programs . If you buy from a reputable dealer they will also handle the registration process for which there are no on going costs. The 6 monthly re-registration is easy to do on-line at no cost
-- Edited by villatranquilla on Wednesday 8th of August 2018 11:28:24 AM
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Jenny and Barry
2009 Roma Elegance / 2013 Colorado. Permanent travellers 2011-2015 now just travel for 4-6 mths
Nothing more to pay. Keep in mind that what you are getting with the vast satellite system is the free to air channels only .you will have to register and renew every 6 months which is free as others have already said. If you go second hand just make sure that the vast box has the card with it ( like an efpos card ) as it is useless without the card
The main thing is to make sure you buy the 95 cm dish not the sixty cm to get a better signal. The Sat king will cost between $650 and $700 depending on the store
Idea for dish storage...I mounted a 1.3m length of 50mm ally tube on the drawbar. From here I can position the dish for reception....provided I park facing the right direction...I remove the LNB bar for travelling and secure the dish so that it is edge on to the direction of travel. I could post a pic but can't see how.
Cheers.
Just something I noticed some time back. We were in a coastal caravan park and had normal TV reception. In came a BIG motorhome to park opposite us. He setup and then up comes the dish and rotates etc for 10 mins. Then out comes the owner to have a look. Nope the dish is up OK so round it goes again several times. Still nothing and someone was cranky.
I could have told him the high trees were blocking his 'view' of the north but he did not seem in the mood. Saw it searching several times till I left. So if he knew what he was doing instead of only knowing how to press the button he might do better. Or have a long cord with a cheaper dish
We had a manual set up, we had nothing but problems with it, occasionally we could get a signal with it, but too many afternoons were spent with my husband getting more and more aggravated over it not working. Finally we stopped taking it which made life at camp much nicer. A couple of years ago we put an automatic dish on the roof, we love it. Push a button, dish goes up, find signal and thats it. Yes occasionally you can't get a signal because of trees to the north, but we check where north is and usually can get around that when parking the van. If we can't then its ok, we know we can't get reception and thats that, he doesn't have to keep trying.
