DIY satellite dish instillation guide for expats

 

there are two types of dishes - off set and prime focus.
the difference is where the LNB is located in relation to the dish.
on a prime focus dish, the LNB is positioned directly above the centre of the dish, an offset dish has the lnb positioned at an angle to the dish.

in my area the best make of prime focus 1.8 and 2.4 dishes are famaval, made in portugal. there will be other makes but i personally one use the fams.

best to go for a one piece dish - some of the segment dishes are a pain to set up correctly, some you cannot move just the dish to do your alignment, but you must move the whole dish and support - not good for the fine tuning! - a member on one forum said that a 2.4m segment dish performed about as good, if not lesser, than a 1.8. again performance will depend on where you are in spain!!

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The Sat and PC Guy - Costa Blanca Satellite TV Installations - Recommended satellite installer by "The Spain Forums"
Valencia Costa Blanca Information

 

Last weekend I managed to get my old 80cm dish & Sky Digibox picking up a few channels from 28degrees. Thanks to one of The Sat & PC Guy’s earlier post I was able to watch some of the Olympics on BBC News Interactive multiscreens, including the closing ceremony. This week I’ve found a few more channels so at least we have some things in English to watch. It’s very noticeable what a better quality picture you get via satellite compared to the poor quality picture & sound with Telmicro. But, it was a cheap way to get BBC, ITV etc and having paid 12 months in advance, we hope they come back on.

Like Lee, we’re coming round to thinking we may need to invest in a big dish instead though. We’re also in Catral and luckily have the space for a 2.4m dish. I’m more interested in a supply-only if possible.

I don’t know if he’s still in business but when we used to have a house near Camping La Marina there was a (Dutch?) man on the Costa Bella urb who supplied and fitted dishes. He had a shop in Guardamar called Electrodomesticos Guardamar in C/ Luis Rivera (near the Suma office) – sad I know but I still have his card in the sideboard drawer! Next time I’m in Guardamar I may call in if he’s still there.

 

well done on using a 80cm dish I tried just to see but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Normally we would be happy to so supply only but there is just not enough stock around, keeping us with enough work to do although these last two weeks not that much as we had no dishes at all. plus we were restricted on how many we could buy as the suppliers are trying to give small orders (say in tens) to as many installers as possible

 

Guido,

You could save some if we used your old sky box if that helps, and we would still cover the LNB warranty

Guy

 

If you have room for a big dish, you must be a member of Catral's elite 1400 club.

So far the enquiries we have made about DIY as opposed to having a unit installed has been about 100 euro difference in price

Thats if you can even get through to a supplier or installer

I dread to think what damage this is doing to Telmicro's customer list

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I know its a pain watching someone else do something that maybe you could do yourself but with us at least your covered and in the unlikely event you lose pictures just as Eastenders or Corrie comes on you can pick up the phone and moan at your installer rather than taking the wrap for it, and being told "I told you not to do it" its worth the thought!!

 

Moaning at and abusing your installer is not recommended to anyone.

Trust me on that, through my own experience of engineering.
Put yourself in the same situation, two people call for assistance, one moans like hell, the other offers you a brew on each visit or is always polite.

Which one do you reckon would get the better service

Thats how I responded to service calls in another unrelated trade in the UK.

Telmicro have released an update on their statement.
The reason for the above addition to their statement

There are rumours circulating that another company or other companies that offer a similar service are doing their service at a reduced price if they can take the Telmicro equipment away with them when they install their own equipment.

There are a lot of rumours circulating at present.

Some people have also been offered retunes of their boxes to another companies system along with having their dishes repointed towards other broadcasters equipment.

The end of the day, it could end up costing you more money to have everything put right again.

I feel sorry for the Telmicro team, who if and when they finally get back on air, what will still remain of their business and how many customers will still be there.

And the final rumour

Telmicro are aiming to be back broadcasting in some areas in the next ten days.

William Hill etc are not taking bets on that one
But we live in hope

 

We have found a supplier, but they don't deliver. Now working out how big a dish you can fit on the roof of a truck thats 2m wide.

And if I can be trusted to drive it with out playing with the 4ltr V6 under the bonnet like normal One of my bad habits when driving

Working out what kind of wind drag etc it would cause if you motorway driving and if the overhang each side could be a nickable offence with the present police crackdown on all cars

 

Is there a river nearby ? you could use it as a boat and paddle it home

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When I was here I wanted to be there. When I was there, all I could think of was getting back into the jungle.
I've been here a week now. Waiting for a mission, getting softer.
Every minute I stay in this room I get weaker. And every minute Charlie squats in the bush he gets stronger.
Each time I look around the walls move in a little tighter.

 

2.4m dishes are all sold out at most suppliers now.

Delivery expected Monday to most installers

Wonder if Portugal go on the same August shut down as Spain