TV/satellite at LMS
Discussion
This year, we will mostly be in our motorhome. We have a freeview TV with usual camping flat telescopic ariel. Works well in Uk once tuned in.
I understand from the Gadgets Forum that I wont get much from that. Without having to spend too much, can anyone recommend a satellite and receiver system I can buy, nothing too complicated or big which will work at Le Mans. Obviously, it must pick up Eurosport for the race !!!
It has been suggested to me to get a good dish and take my sky box with me. Will this work ? Maplin sell a system for £129 but this doesn't get Eurosport. Gentlemen, start your answers ........
I understand from the Gadgets Forum that I wont get much from that. Without having to spend too much, can anyone recommend a satellite and receiver system I can buy, nothing too complicated or big which will work at Le Mans. Obviously, it must pick up Eurosport for the race !!!
It has been suggested to me to get a good dish and take my sky box with me. Will this work ? Maplin sell a system for £129 but this doesn't get Eurosport. Gentlemen, start your answers ........
sherman said:
Is it possible to rent a Kangaroo tv unit and plug that in to the TV in your motorhome from its USB port somehow?
They dont work in lots of areas round the circuit and many parts of the campsites, you have to be near a transmitter dotted round the circuit. Nice idea though !Edited by sherman on Thursday 6th January 11:01
Sure this has been covered somewhere here and also on the Beermountain fourum, but here it is again.
The portable satellite system from Maplins (12v & 240v) works well in France, at the moment they want £130 hang on a while as they often do a deal and it sells for £80.
This will give you all the UK Freeview programs plus loads of foreign stations. If you want to watch the race then you need to bring over your own Sky receiver and use this provided you have the Eurosport subscription that is. (You will of course then need a 240v supply for the Sky receiver).
OR just purchase a complete dish and LNB and use your Sky receiver. If you go down this route then go for a bigger dish.......the bigger the dish the more chance of finding the correct satellite.
Setting up the dish is the hardest part, finding the right satellite can be tricky as there are 2 very close together. Search the net you will find details on how to do this BUT dont waste you money on a satellite finder as they do not tell you what satellite they have found!
Also they do not need to be mounted high in the air they just need a clear view to the satellite, no trees, building, cars etc in the way. Mine here at Le Bounty is ground level.
I would also have a go at home 1st that way your LNB and dish setting wont be too far off when you set up in France.
I use a TV to set mine up and have it close to the dish so I can see when I get a signal and not rely on other telling me which is a bit of a pain.
One thing with the Maplin receiver it dose have not just a signal and quality meter to help tune in it also has a audio high pitch sound which is handy.
A tip when you arrive at where you are staying have a look round and see who has already set there system up and copy there dish angles lol
The portable satellite system from Maplins (12v & 240v) works well in France, at the moment they want £130 hang on a while as they often do a deal and it sells for £80.
This will give you all the UK Freeview programs plus loads of foreign stations. If you want to watch the race then you need to bring over your own Sky receiver and use this provided you have the Eurosport subscription that is. (You will of course then need a 240v supply for the Sky receiver).
OR just purchase a complete dish and LNB and use your Sky receiver. If you go down this route then go for a bigger dish.......the bigger the dish the more chance of finding the correct satellite.
Setting up the dish is the hardest part, finding the right satellite can be tricky as there are 2 very close together. Search the net you will find details on how to do this BUT dont waste you money on a satellite finder as they do not tell you what satellite they have found!
Also they do not need to be mounted high in the air they just need a clear view to the satellite, no trees, building, cars etc in the way. Mine here at Le Bounty is ground level.
I would also have a go at home 1st that way your LNB and dish setting wont be too far off when you set up in France.
I use a TV to set mine up and have it close to the dish so I can see when I get a signal and not rely on other telling me which is a bit of a pain.
One thing with the Maplin receiver it dose have not just a signal and quality meter to help tune in it also has a audio high pitch sound which is handy.
A tip when you arrive at where you are staying have a look round and see who has already set there system up and copy there dish angles lol
I bought a dish and tripod off ebay for about £20. Add in some cable and connectors and take your box from home.
We always have Sky+ so if anything interesting happens we can watch it again if we are at the track. If you have Sky at home just unplug the box and off you go. The Sky box doesn't know it's in a field in France.
We cooked roast beef with all the trimmings after the race last year, whilst watching the Canadian GP. Might take the HD box this year........
I couldn't do a motorhome though, caravan is best mate then you can use the car to get about once you're set up.
We always have Sky+ so if anything interesting happens we can watch it again if we are at the track. If you have Sky at home just unplug the box and off you go. The Sky box doesn't know it's in a field in France.
We cooked roast beef with all the trimmings after the race last year, whilst watching the Canadian GP. Might take the HD box this year........
I couldn't do a motorhome though, caravan is best mate then you can use the car to get about once you're set up.
I wrote this and posted it on Beermountain.com a couple of years ago, you might find it useful...
With the slow demise of analogue broadcasting the only surefire way to get uninterrupted race coverage (with English commentary) in your gazebo is via a Sky TV setup. The current broadcast channel is Eurosport and they split coverage between Eurosport UK 1 and Eurosport UK 2.
The fundamentals of a digital set up are no different to an analogue one, but it requires a bit more precision and there are a few myths which can put people off.
What you need
1. TV with scart input.
2. Sky Digibox - I use a plain old Panasonic decoder that someone gave me, I see no reason why a Sky Plus or HD box wouldn't work. Don't forget the remote and scart lead.
3. Sky viewing card. This must have a subscription to the channels you want to view. At the time of writing, the cost of adding Eurosport for one month is £1. Contrary to information floating about the web, the viewing cards are not "paired" to the decoder for the purposes of viewing most channels. You can use any card with any Sky decoder and Europsort will work. The only time this is an issue is if you want to be able to view Sky Sports or Sky Movies.
4. Satellite Dish and LNB. Any dish with a Universal LNB works. The LNB is the receiver thingy on the end of the dish arm that the cable connects to. The larger the dish the stronger the signal. It's tempting to go for the biggest dish you can get, but larger dishes have to be alighned more precisely. I use a cheap 60cm dish from Ebay (£20). As the Sky signal is focused on the UK, a standard 40cm Sky Minidish might be too small for a reliable signal in France.
5. Dish mount. It is important the dish is mounted securely. If you can't clamp it to something sturdy like a motorhome, I would suggest a tube hammered into the ground, steadied by guy ropes.
6. Satellite Finder. This is a little gadget that indicates signal strength to help you align the dish. I don't use one, but it would probably speed the dish alignment phase.
7. Compass. The poor mans satellite finder. Allows you to get your dish pointing in roughly the right direction.
8. Cable. At least 10m of coaxxial cable fitted with F type connectors. This will allow you to position the dish and the digibox/tv independantly for maximum viewing pleasure. Readily available from any DIY store or the web.
9. Power source. If your not fortunate enough to have electrical hook up, this can be a real headache, in every sense. The obvious solution is a generator powering the setup directly. The quieter alternative is to use the generator to charge a leisure battery. A 12v/240v inverter can then be used to power your tv and digibox. This means you don't have to run the generator the whole time you have the tv on.
How do I get it working?
Mount your dish and get it pointing in roughly the right direction using the compass. The dish must have direct line of sight to the satellite. Trees, tents, motorhomes and beermountains will all interfere with the signal. The alignment info for Le Mans is:
- Azimuth (the compass direction): 145.7 degrees magnetic
- Elevation (how much you tilt the dish up): 28.6 degrees. There is usually a scale on the dish bracket to help with this one.
- LNB skew: -15.4 degrees. This figure represents how much you need to rotate the LNB in it's clamp. In this case 15.4 degrees clockwise. Graduations are marked on the LNB clamp for this.
Connect the dish to the decoder, decoder to the tv and switch it all on. Navigate the digibox menus to the signal test screen via the Services button on the remote.
3) You will now need to fine tune the dish position to get a signal. It is easiest to do if the person moving the dish can see the signal strength bar on the screen.
You should only adjust one thing at a time, either direction or elevation. I found it works best if you lock off the direction first. Use the compass to align a stick on the ground directly under the dish, and then match the dish to that. If you try to use a compass near the dish the metal affects the reading.
Now adjust the elevation, starting low and working up. It's worth noting that there is a delay on the signal strength display on the tv, so you must only move the dish very slowly and in small increments. It very rapidly goes from no signal, to full signal, and back to no signal in a very small range of movement.
When you are getting a good signal the signal test screen should show the following:
Signal strength: At least half
Signal Quality: At least half
Lock: OK
Network ID: 0002
Transport Stream: 07d4
The bigger your dish, the trickier this will be, but you'll get a stronger signal when it's right.
Once you have a half decent signal strength reading, do a bit of channel hopping to make sure you are receiving what you need then lock the dish off so it can't move.
With the slow demise of analogue broadcasting the only surefire way to get uninterrupted race coverage (with English commentary) in your gazebo is via a Sky TV setup. The current broadcast channel is Eurosport and they split coverage between Eurosport UK 1 and Eurosport UK 2.
The fundamentals of a digital set up are no different to an analogue one, but it requires a bit more precision and there are a few myths which can put people off.
What you need
1. TV with scart input.
2. Sky Digibox - I use a plain old Panasonic decoder that someone gave me, I see no reason why a Sky Plus or HD box wouldn't work. Don't forget the remote and scart lead.
3. Sky viewing card. This must have a subscription to the channels you want to view. At the time of writing, the cost of adding Eurosport for one month is £1. Contrary to information floating about the web, the viewing cards are not "paired" to the decoder for the purposes of viewing most channels. You can use any card with any Sky decoder and Europsort will work. The only time this is an issue is if you want to be able to view Sky Sports or Sky Movies.
4. Satellite Dish and LNB. Any dish with a Universal LNB works. The LNB is the receiver thingy on the end of the dish arm that the cable connects to. The larger the dish the stronger the signal. It's tempting to go for the biggest dish you can get, but larger dishes have to be alighned more precisely. I use a cheap 60cm dish from Ebay (£20). As the Sky signal is focused on the UK, a standard 40cm Sky Minidish might be too small for a reliable signal in France.
5. Dish mount. It is important the dish is mounted securely. If you can't clamp it to something sturdy like a motorhome, I would suggest a tube hammered into the ground, steadied by guy ropes.
6. Satellite Finder. This is a little gadget that indicates signal strength to help you align the dish. I don't use one, but it would probably speed the dish alignment phase.
7. Compass. The poor mans satellite finder. Allows you to get your dish pointing in roughly the right direction.
8. Cable. At least 10m of coaxxial cable fitted with F type connectors. This will allow you to position the dish and the digibox/tv independantly for maximum viewing pleasure. Readily available from any DIY store or the web.
9. Power source. If your not fortunate enough to have electrical hook up, this can be a real headache, in every sense. The obvious solution is a generator powering the setup directly. The quieter alternative is to use the generator to charge a leisure battery. A 12v/240v inverter can then be used to power your tv and digibox. This means you don't have to run the generator the whole time you have the tv on.
How do I get it working?
Mount your dish and get it pointing in roughly the right direction using the compass. The dish must have direct line of sight to the satellite. Trees, tents, motorhomes and beermountains will all interfere with the signal. The alignment info for Le Mans is:
- Azimuth (the compass direction): 145.7 degrees magnetic
- Elevation (how much you tilt the dish up): 28.6 degrees. There is usually a scale on the dish bracket to help with this one.
- LNB skew: -15.4 degrees. This figure represents how much you need to rotate the LNB in it's clamp. In this case 15.4 degrees clockwise. Graduations are marked on the LNB clamp for this.
Connect the dish to the decoder, decoder to the tv and switch it all on. Navigate the digibox menus to the signal test screen via the Services button on the remote.
3) You will now need to fine tune the dish position to get a signal. It is easiest to do if the person moving the dish can see the signal strength bar on the screen.
You should only adjust one thing at a time, either direction or elevation. I found it works best if you lock off the direction first. Use the compass to align a stick on the ground directly under the dish, and then match the dish to that. If you try to use a compass near the dish the metal affects the reading.
Now adjust the elevation, starting low and working up. It's worth noting that there is a delay on the signal strength display on the tv, so you must only move the dish very slowly and in small increments. It very rapidly goes from no signal, to full signal, and back to no signal in a very small range of movement.
When you are getting a good signal the signal test screen should show the following:
Signal strength: At least half
Signal Quality: At least half
Lock: OK
Network ID: 0002
Transport Stream: 07d4
The bigger your dish, the trickier this will be, but you'll get a stronger signal when it's right.
Once you have a half decent signal strength reading, do a bit of channel hopping to make sure you are receiving what you need then lock the dish off so it can't move.
The satellite that you want is 18.7 Deg east of due south, I suggest that you set it up before going to Le Mans. I have installed systems for friends here near Le Mans and a standard Sky dish will do. If you spend time setting up before arriving on site it will be much easier. Use the same mount, tripod, whatever, so the dish is roughly the same height, and get the inclination set in the UK. Then when you arrive all you have to do is point the thing just to the left of south.
A signal meter is much more sensitive to signal and is used at the dish. The Sky box and TV sometimes take time to sort the signal out and by then you have moved the dish to try again.
A signal meter is much more sensitive to signal and is used at the dish. The Sky box and TV sometimes take time to sort the signal out and by then you have moved the dish to try again.
Gassing Station | Le Mans | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff