hi folks, ok its 2020 and we are organising life to hit the road. Yrs ago we had sat dish but it was a pain to get up and running, so here 2020 what is now better/ user friendly etc
cheers..
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If you aim for nothing.....you'll hit it every time.
If you are handy I suggest an auto sat dish on the roof of your van $2200 or less.
We have an 80cm elliptical dish on the A frame of our caravan and can lock onto at Sat while the van is still hooked onto the Cruiser, but getting the cable, gear, setup etc, will only do this if staying more than one night, so some nights in the bush No TV. We also have a Wingard for local TV.
Hi all; Setting up a dish is still a pain in arse, finding a clear spot for the dish is only half of the problem. One thing i would do is to try and set the dish up at home several times, Practice , practice, and more practice . Do a couple of short trips into different areas and you do not have to go far and set up your dish again each time you move camp. I use a reasonable good compass ( yes i know there are other ways to get your bearing on where to point the dish ). But the more practice you have will instill more confidence in your self. A reasonable good satellite meter ( marriage saver !! ) can also take the pain out of setting your dish up. Take the caravan out for the day and set up in a couple of different council parks ( after the virus as gone of course ). Maybe a couple of free camps in your area, just to have the experience of the setting up of the dish, maybe a spot of lunch as well . Move to a different location and set up again. It will not take you that long to get the hang of it. Take your time with the set up and you will have the setting up down pat. Only then take two beers out of petty cash,sit down and enjoy !!
Once set up and every thing working correctly the reception is first rate. The only thing i find is the advertising ( add's ) all come from north Queensland, and the NT.
hi folks, ok its 2020 and we are organising life to hit the road. Yrs ago we had sat dish but it was a pain to get up and running, so here 2020 what is now better/ user friendly etc
cheers..
Hi Russell......Satking Pro Max Fully Automatic.Simply press a button,and by the time you get a beer from the fridge you have 114 channels. Takes up little room on the van's roof,and if you forget to lower it before you again set sail,it automatically lowers itself once the car speed reaches 5km/hr.(?) Faultless so far,but I do carry another TV collapsible antenna "just in case".Cheers
We have Satking Promax Fully Automatic. You will still have problem if trees/buildings block the view to the satellite. With the VAST system you only have access to your home state channels. eg we are in WA, if we travel to VIC we still only get WA channels. All ABC & SBS are available Australia wide You can pay a fee and get access to local channels if you wish
If you use a portable dish like us the starting point is where to position the dish, the best way to do this to use an app like wikicamps that has a satellite locator, that has a camera mode, this way you can position your dish free of overhead obstructions.
You dont need a flash Sat finder, as long as you use one it's only a matter of minutes before you have it tuned in, as long it is 60% you will have a good picture. If you want to fiddle around and get 80% signal and quality, it just means minute adjustments to dish angle, lateral position and LNB rotation.
For me 60% is good enough.
We have Satking Promax Fully Automatic. You will still have problem if trees/buildings block the view to the satellite. With the VAST system you only have access to your home state channels. eg we are in WA, if we travel to VIC we still only get WA channels. All ABC & SBS are available Australia wide You can pay a fee and get access to local channels if you wish
Cheers Jeff
Hi Jeff....I know little about technology,but I simply call vast 1300 993376 and,after confirming ownership of the unit,they will switch you to the relevant state.In lower NSW I used to watch Queensland TV,my home state,but now I can view NSW programmes,and a bit of Vic.Please don't ask me to explain.....I simply press the buttons the Vast lady tells me to.Cheers
We have Satking Promax Fully Automatic. You will still have problem if trees/buildings block the view to the satellite. With the VAST system you only have access to your home state channels. eg we are in WA, if we travel to VIC we still only get WA channels. All ABC & SBS are available Australia wide You can pay a fee and get access to local channels if you wish
Cheers Jeff
Hi Jeff Not sure if you fully understand the VAST system, All you need to do is register which state you are in to receive the local ABC first and then the commercial channels for either the Eastern seaboard or WA. You can change whenever you prefer. No one that I know of has ever paid to get access to local channels. Not sure where you got that Info but VAST is free to air. Cheers Daz
I personally would not travel with out my Sat t/v, if you have Wiki Camps on your computer or Ipad they have a special program for finding and setting your dish up and this is very good ,however,I recommend you purchase a Sat Finder which you can attach to your sat cable and fine tune your spot on dish location. I also run my Foxtel thru the same set up but you need a dual LNB for two cables to your Foxtel set top box. Hope this helps,I enjoy just setting it all up so good luck,
I have an app called Sat Finder. This gives me the direction to point the dish and the elevation of the dish. Once I have those 2 it is often just small adjustments to get good reception. My instruction book says you should aim for 75% quality, however I have had an excellent picture with 45%.
You can access Vast to make changes any time as after business hours you go to an automated menu. I have transcribed the steps to a pdf document which enables me to make changes, re-register and so on quite painlessly.
As for trees they can be a right royal pain in the rear but I have had reception through trees that do not have a lot of leaves.
We have Satking Promax Fully Automatic. You will still have problem if trees/buildings block the view to the satellite. With the VAST system you only have access to your home state channels. eg we are in WA, if we travel to VIC we still only get WA channels. All ABC & SBS are available Australia wide You can pay a fee and get access to local channels if you wish
Cheers Jeff
Hi Jeff....I know little about technology,but I simply call vast 1300 993376 and,after confirming ownership of the unit,they will switch you to the relevant state.In lower NSW I used to watch Queensland TV,my home state,but now I can view NSW programmes,and a bit of Vic.Please don't ask me to explain.....I simply press the buttons the Vast lady tells me to.Cheers
You receive ABC and SBS Australia wide, as yobarr said, just phone the VAST office and they will set you up.
