Satellite for caravans. (Satellite TV at home and abroad)

Satellite for Caravans
(using )

Acknowledgements
This website has always benefited from the help and advice of others, without whom I simply couldn't have produced it. The people concerned are too numerous to mention individually but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate you!
So if I haven't mentioned you by name, please be assured I'm very grateful for your input!

Index:

Section 1.
Section 2.
Section 3.
Section 4.
Section 5.
Section 6.
Section 7.
Section 8.

Introduction
What equipment do I need?
How to aim your dish.
Using a Humax HD receiver.
I still haven't got a picture! Help!
Getting BBC/ITV/C4 in marginal areas.
How to add non-freesat channels.
Good and bad points.

1. Introduction

First let's demolish a widely held belief. Many people have heard that freesat uses the Eurobird 1 satellite which has a beam that covers much of western Europe. Thus, the belief goes, people in Europe will be able to watch the BBC and ITV without having to carry or install a huge dish. Sorry to disappoint, but it ain't going to happen. freesat does indeed use the Eurobird 1 satellite but only to carry the EPG (Electronic Programme Guide) and the operational software. All the TV channels will continue to come from whichever satellite they currently use. In the case of the BBC and ITV, this is and will continue to be Astra 2D. Furthermore, Channel 4 and its stablemates E4 and More4 have also switched to the 2D. Thus these channels will continue to be difficult or impossible to pick up much beyond France.

The other thing to understand is that regardless of what kind of receiver you use to pick up satellite channels all the UK channels come from the same cluster of satellites - the cluster known as Astra 28. This has a major consequence - that a dish set up for Sky will work perfectly well for freesat or any generic free-to-air receiver as well. So with a multi-port LNB on your house dish, you could if you wish have a Sky receiver in one room of your house and a freesat receiver in another. So if you have one receiver specifically for caravan use away from home, you can make it work for its living at home as well!

So, what about freesat? Well the first thing to say is that it's written as freesat (with a lower case 'f') because that's how the trade name is registered. It might also help to avoid confusion with Sky's own version, Freesat from Sky, so from now on, this website will refer to it as freesat, even at the start of sentences (where it will be displayed in bold). freesat was launched on May 6 2008 with around 80 channels on the EPG to begin with, including high definition versions of BBC1 and ITV1 (the latter at that time being exclusive to freesat), and about 140 channels by the beginning of 2009. Channel 4, E4 and More4 were available at launch and Channel 5 joined 6 months later on 18 November. A DTR (Digital TV Recorder - a hard disk drive recorder like Sky+) went on sale at the end of November 2008, and a number of TVs with a built-in freesat tuner are also available. For a while, the DTR was in short supply for two reasons. Firstly it proved very popular and created its own demand; secondly one of the first lorries bringing the boxes into the country was stolen with the loss of around 5000 units!

This page is designed to get you set up in a simple and straightforward way. It only deals with the freesat platform so anyone who wishes to tune into the mainland European or other satellite systems will have to look elsewhere. Neither are other designs of receiver dealt with here, though there is a limited page devoted to generic FTA receivers - click here. Apart from that the only advice I can give in such situations is to use Google to find the manufacturer's website. Even foreign ones will generally have an English option, failing which you might be able to use an online translation facility to get a rough guide to the meaning.

Buying the equipment for mobile satellite TV is easy. freesat receivers are available on the high street (John Lewis, Argos, Comet and Currys) as well as a number of independent mail order companies. Dishes can be purchased from a large number of suppliers which will almost certainly include, as freesat becomes more established, DIY outlets such as B&Q and Homebase. The cost of a basic freesat receiver is from about Ł30, and for a HD DTR Ł200.

So let's look at what freesat is. It's an alternative method of receiving satellite TV that doesn't require you to use a Sky digibox. As mentioned above, the signals will continue to come from the same satellites and any existing dishes will continue to work. Don't be beguiled by reports that the signals will come from the Eurobird 1 satellite (and therefore make reception of the BBC easier in Europe). That is emphatically not going to happen; only the EPG and operating software comes from Eurobird 1 and although some channels swap around for operational reasons, in general they will continue to come from whichever satellite currently transmits them.

freesat has a 7-day EPG (Electronic Programme Guide) and there are several different types of receiver available, from simple SD single-tuner boxes to HD DTRs (Digital TV Recorders - twin tuner hard drive recorders). The big difference between freesat DTRs and Sky Plus boxes is that they will be free to use.

Sky digiboxes allocate your local region of BBC1 and ITV1 to given slots in the EPG based on your postcode recorded on a viewing card. freesat doesn't use any kind of viewing card at all and you choose your preferred region via an initial set-up screen. This screen asks you to enter your postcode which will then regionalise the set for BBC and ITV. Thus the complaint that many people have who live on the boundary between regions (that they are forced to watch a region that isn't appropriate to them) disappears - if you don't like the region you've been given, just change the postcode. The set-up menu can be used at any later date to amend your preferred region.

When it comes to using a freesat receiver away from home, it's important to remember that your postcode still works and therefore you don't need to reprogram the receiver in any way, unless you want to access a different region. The receiver uses your postcode for no other purpose than to filter out, from the multitude of different frequencies hitting your dish, the specific ones for your local version of BBC1 and ITV1 (and of course BBC2 and C4/S4C if you live in Wales, Scotland or N.Ireland).

2. Equipment
So, what equipment do you need? Obviously you need a dish, and a method of fixing it rigidly so that it can't move once it's positioned. You also need a freesat receiver and preferably a signal meter to help aim the dish the right way. Oh, and a television would be good . . .

As far as acquiring the receiver is concerned, they are available off the shelf from a number of high street retailers such as Argos, John Lewis, Comet and Currys, and online. They are available in a number of different options, including HD (High Definition) and DTRs (Digital Television Recorders). DTRs have a built-in hard drive on to which up to 2 different channels can be recorded simultaneously. For people familiar with Sky equipment, the Sky equivalent is the Sky Plus box. The freesat website (www.freesat.co.uk) has a list of all suppliers online and in your postcode area. Some freesat boxes (eg Grundig) have the additional advantage for caravanners that they will work from a 12 volt supply, though it would be prudent to use a voltage stabiliser such as those marketed by Amperor (www.amperorassociates.co.uk).

In the UK, more or less any dish will do, though it must be fitted with a universal LNB (buyers of secondhand European motorhomes with an installed dish beware, it might be analogue only!). For caravanning abroad, it will have to be a compromise between size/weight and what channels you want to watch. Throughout the Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg) and most of France, a 60cm dish will be sufficient. Further afield, a progressively larger dish will be needed if you want to watch the BBC and ITV, although even in southern Spain you'll get some channels with a small dish. (The reason for that discrepancy is explained towards the end of this section.) So it would seem that larger is better - unfortunately it isn't as simple as that! Small dishes are more tolerant of poor alignment and you'll normally get a signal a degree or so either side of spot-on. A larger dish has to be aimed more accurately and that, combined with its extra weight, will make it much more awkward to handle. The choice is yours but I would advise you to consider seriously whether a large dish is worth the hassle.

As for supporting the dish, it is possible to buy a tripod designed for the purpose; it will set you back about Ł40-50 from a caravan dealer but you'll get one a lot cheaper from eBay. Just search for "satellite tripod".

And when you've bought it, do make sure you peg it down firmly. However wide the base, your dish will still be top-heavy and I've wrecked 2 by the wind catching the dish and toppling it!

You might also notice I use yellow cable. I found through long experience that black cable is almost invisible on grass, especially in poor light, and becomes a hidden hazard for people walking around the van. Satcure sells cable in various colours so I bought a length of their yellow cable.

An inclinometer is a useful addition to your kit. Once calibrated, it makes setting the dish elevation a simple job. You'll find full details here .

Now for another tip! Satellite cables are usually connected to the dish and the receiver by means of what's known as an F connector. Why 'F' I have no idea (ideas on a postcard please!) but basically they are screw-on connectors rather than the traditional push-fit connectors. This is fine in a permanent domestic installation but can be a pain in the butt for caravanners having to set up each time (and temporarily connect a signal meter as well). So here's the good news - it's possible to buy push-on adapters. They have a threaded male connector on one side and a female push connector at the other. Simply screw on to the end of the F connector and you can connect to and disconnect from the dish, signal meter and receiver with ease. They are available from various places including Satcure (www.satcure.co.uk) where they cost (as at September 2008) 64p each or Ł10 for 20, (although postage is an additional Ł2.50 regardless of quantity!). They are also available from other outlets such as Maplins but in fact by the time you've added the cost of your fuel to get there and back, Satcure is probably still the cheapest option.

English-language digital programmes are broadcast by the Astra 28 system which is located roughly to the south east (at longitude 28.2ş E above the equator), so the first thing is to find the approximate compass setting. Professional dish installers use a satellite finder that specifically seeks out the Astra 28 signal. They are excellent pieces of equipment, and so they should be at over Ł200 each. The type of signal meter advertised in caravanning magazines on the other hand is a lot cheaper ... and nowhere near as good.

I used to view most such devices as a waste of money but to be fair I have to say that a number of people didn't agree. In any case, prices have now dropped dramatically (below Ł10 in some cases) so the economic argument has all but disappeared and there now seems little point in denying yourself that extra level of help. I don't wish to discourage anybody from buying one but if you do decide to buy one remember they vary widely in price and in my view anything over Ł20 is a rip off - I can see no reason for paying more than the Ł10 mentioned above but my only recommendation apart from that is to choose one with a rise-and-fall tone, I think you'll find it easier to use. (Some have a clicking noise where the speed of the click increases as you get closer to the satellite but I find that less precise than a variable pitch tone.) A list of suppliers can be found on my Links page.

Despite the fact that signal meters have come down a lot in price, their instructions for use are still rooted firmly in the Dark Ages, with the result that I continue to receive emails along the lines of "My meter shows a very strong signal but there's nothing on the TV. What am I doing wrong?". I have therefore written this separate page that spells out precisely how to use the things. (Now if only the manufacturers would pay me for doing their job for them . . .)

As for dishes, you have a wide choice and it might not be necessary to purchase a large diameter dish unless you travel down to southern Europe. The BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 will require a larger, more powerful dish in southern Europe and only you can decide whether it would be worth carrying! (See here for more information).

The Astra 28 system consists of 4 satellites close together in space so that your dish will 'see' all of them as if they were a single unit. All 3 transmit signals aimed at Europe but the coverage on the ground varies considerably. Two of the satellites - 2A and 2B - can be thought of as flood lights, lighting up a huge area of Europe. They each transmit a north and a south beam. The other two, the 1N and the 2D, are more like spot lights focused on the British Isles. For the sake of convenience the signals are referred to as the north beam, south beam and narrow beam.

All the beams cover the UK so all channels are viewable. However, as you travel further away from the UK, some channels can only be obtained with a large dish. The terrestrial channels will be the first to be lost - the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, all of which variants transmit on Astra 1N or 2D, the narrow beam satellites.

There is also a 5th satellite used by freesat. It's Eurobird 1, located at virtually the same point in space as Astra 28. It carries the freesat EPG (electronic programme guide) and operating software and is therefore needed for dish alignment. It transmits a wide beam across most of Europe so you should not have any difficulty in picking up the EPG (though not necessarily all channels for the reasons already given).

The following diagrams show the footprints of the different beams that carry the freesat channels (the Astra 1N isn't shown but is similar to Astra 2D). A standard Zone 1 oval minidish (the type you'll see on houses across England and Wales) will be OK in the inner pale blue area, whereas for the outer yellow band a 1.2 metre dish is recommended. However these Astra maps are somewhat pessimistic and although you'd be wise not to stretch them too far, you'll probably get away with a smaller dish than recommended - many people have written in to say they got BBC/ITV on the Côte d'Azur with a Zone 2 domestic minidish (the slightly larger oval dish used in Scotland). I've even had a report from someone who got ITV1 in Gibraltar with a 90cm dish whilst someone else got it in Faro, Portugal, with a 60cm dish but they're exceptional - don't rely on doing the same! This map, published by Martin Pickering of Satcure and reproduced here by kind permission, is a useful alternative to the Astra map of the 2D footprint. It is based not on Astra's official projection of theoretical reception, but on practical experience on the ground.

One point worth making is that not all channels on a given beam transmit at the same power. Some BBC1 and ITV1 regions are stronger than others for example. So in marginal areas you could find that some channels are easier to obtain than others on the same beam.

Images Copyright Société Européenne des Satellites and Eutelsat S.A.

All of the information in this section, together with extra information about what's available in the market place, is contained in this separate page.

3. How to do the business.
Well now you've made it this far I have to warn you that pointing the dish is not just a case of doing a Harry Potter, shouting ''Instantatum!' and hey presto, there's the picture - the first time you try it you might well end up cursing me! It took Mandy and me a while to get a signal the very first time we tried it, because of the need to experiment with the angle of elevation as well as the direction, but practice undoubtedly makes perfect - it usually takes us only a minute or two these days.

The elevation is the trickiest to get right but after you've done it once, the elevation won't change significantly as you move from one place to another and subsequent attempts will be much more straightforward. (Just recently - September 2010 - I received an email from someone who had created a ridiculously simple way of getting the elevation right. You'll find his method on this separate page.) The other bit of good news is that with small dishes at least, there is a little leeway in pointing the dish - you have to get it reasonably spot-on but a slight error doesn't matter too much. And finally, it's a definite boost to the old ego when it works and the dish locks on to a signal!

So, follow these steps to tune in the system. I make the assumption, incidentally, that your television is already tuned to the receiver output. If it isn't, refer to your instruction manual - there's only so much I'm prepared to do!

There's one other thing I should point out. This website is aimed primarily at caravanners and motorhomers. I am well aware that people use it as a guide to installing a dish at home as well, but it needs a word of warning. Working up a ladder is a hazardous business so unless you know exactly what you're doing, get a professional instead. Whatever his fee is, your life is worth more! OK, now to the business.

If you choose to use a separate signal meter, you should still use the following technique because it is the quickest way of ensuring that you've found the correct satellite system and that the dish alignment is fully accurate. Any references to the use of a meter in the rest of this section will be in bold italics and in a separate panel like this. I've also written a separate page on the topic - see here.

One last thing before we set up the system. Unlike Sky boxes where the menu layout is basically the same regardless of manufacturer, freesat boxes have different menu screens and therefore the following instructions will vary. On the basis that caravanners will probably use basic freesat boxes rather than HD recorders, I'll concentrate on those. The basic boxes are all made by the Alba Group under the Bush, Goodmans and Grundig brand names and the following instructions and screen shots apply specifically to them. However you'll find instructions for using a Humax HD receiver in the next section - click here.

OK, at this stage you can simply carry on reading this fascinating article , or alternatively you can pause and watch a YouTube video (of me making an idiot of myself!)

First, make sure there are no trees or other obstacles in the way of the dish (and while you're doing that, remember that many campsites, especially in mainland Europe, have hookup posts that can be some distance away from your pitch, even on the opposite side of the adjacent roadway in extreme cases. Therefore it's not uncommon to have to drive your vehicle over your own mains cable, or to find that someone else is driving over it. It can be annoying but unlikely to cause damage to the cable. However such activity will cause irreparable harm to a satellite cable. Therefore if you need to site your dish away from the caravan in order to get a signal, do make sure that no vehicle needs to drive over the cable. It might seem an obvious point but I've seen it happen).

Then connect the dish to the receiver, via a meter if required, and switch on the power. (Warning: The dish cable carries a small electric current, and a voltage of up to 18V, so never connect or disconnect it while the receiver is live; otherwise some of the electronic components could be damaged by arcing - always switch off at the wall socket first.) Don't worry if the remote control doesn't react immediately - after switching on the power the receiver can take several seconds before it will respond. On the remote control, press Menu and Information. This will display an Information screen. Ignore the Signal Strength and Signal Quality bars for now - they're not needed for this tuning process. Against Network ID and Transport Stream will be blank.

Screen images copyright Freesat (UK) Ltd

If you're using an offset dish, set the dish so that the rim is roughly vertical. The exact angle will vary depending on where you are in Europe but vertical is a good starting point. This is important - one of the most frequent mistakes made by newcomers to satellite dish aligning is to aim the dish too high. The signal has to strike the dish at an angle so that it is reflected downwards to the LNB. Direct focus dishes such as a Multimo, on the other hand, do have to be aimed directly at the satellite and you should refer to the elevation scale marked on the dish. Place the television where it can be seen while manipulating the dish, (or if this isn't possible, get someone else to watch the TV while you do the business with the dish), then point the dish to the South using a compass or even the position of the sun and time of day if you prefer, and a bit at a time turn it eastwards until the Network ID changes to 003b. The change will be quite sudden so go carefully to avoid swinging the dish too far. If you don't get a Network ID of 003b, you're not pointing at the right satellite system.

However, this is not necessarily the case if you're using a twin tuner recorder - a glitch recently (August 2011) came to light in a forum discussion with some makes of freesat PVR. So if you're using a PVR you should ignore the readings it gives for input 2 as they can sometimes present the wrong information. Instead, concentrate on the readings for input 1 and use the network ID and signal strength readings for input 1 to align the dish.

Screen images copyright Freesat (UK) Ltd

[The Eurobird 1 satellite is actually situated at 28.5şE of S, but that figure refers to the value of Longitude at which the satellite system is parked over the equator so the actual compass bearing does depend on whereabouts you are at the time (for example, if you travel to Constanta on Romania's Black Sea coast, which just happens to be on Longitude 28şE, your dish will need to point directly south.) The further west you travel, the more easterly the satellite system will appear to be, and at its most extreme around Lisbon it will be fully 50şE of S. Look at this page for settings for major towns and cities in various European countries, or go to www.dishpointer.com.]

Some people prefer to start to the east and work southwards, on the basis that the Astra 28 system is the most easterly of all and therefore the first to be reached as you swing the dish round. Actually it isn't the most easterly - there are at least 2 other systems (Astra 1D/2C at 31.5 degs and Eurobird 3 at 33 degs) also providing services to Europe. So start from the east or the south - it's your choice!

As soon as the Network ID and Transport Stream values change from zero a digital signal is being received. Clamp the dish, then press the Menu button on the remote control to return to the normal screen. Finally sit back with a cool glass of beer and enjoy the unfailing gratitude of your family and the envy of the people in the next caravan.

If after aligning the dish, you get a signal but there is interference on sound or vision, it is almost certainly caused by the dish elevation or direction being slightly out of alignment. Move the dish very slightly and carefully up/down/left/right and watch the Signal Quality bar on the Information screen for the greatest value. Anything over about 50% should give good reception and allow some leeway for signal degradation in bad weather.

My freesat receiver in use (before I altered the aspect ratio!) Note the size of the unit.

If you want to use a signal meter, I suggest you swing the dish until you get the highest needle deflection or audible tone (though see the following note) then maintaining that horizontal angle, raise or lower the elevation of the dish to see if the meter will go higher still. At the highest signal level, watch the screen for the digital readout changing.

(Just remember one important thing however. You'll probably find that the signal strength fluctuates up and down as you swing the dish around. That's because the meter will pick up signals from more than 1 satellite system. Don't make the mistake of assuming the strongest signal is the right one because that might well be Astra 1! If you don't get a Network ID of 003b, you're not pointing at the right satellite system. However, this is not necessarily the case if you're using a twin tuner recorder. In this case you should ignore the readings it gives for input 2 as they can sometimes present the wrong information. Instead, concentrate on the readings for input 1 and use the network ID and signal strength readings for input 1 to align the dish.)

4. Using a Humax HD receiver
For Humax Foxsat HD receivers, you have a choice of methods.

One is to go to the Diagnostic screen. Press the Menu key and then tab down to System and right to Diagnostics. With an unaligned dish, the Strength and Quality bars will be blank. Once a signal is acquired, those bars will change.

But an even quicker and easier method is to simply select a channel, say 101 BBC1, and start turning the dish. As soon as the box detects a signal the picture will appear, no need to wait for the EPG to populate! And the other advantage is there's no question of hitting the wrong satellite - when a picture appears, you know for certain you have the right one.

However, whichever of these methods you choose, you really need to set the box up first using a pre-aligned dish. It seems Humax boxes don't take kindly to being set up straight out of the box unless the dish is already pointing the right way - the signal strength and quality bars don't alter! After it's been set up for the first time, the box will happily pick up the Eurobird signal as soon as the dish is aimed correctly.

[There are also other makes of freesat HD receivers on the market, about which I know nothing at all, and a Panasonic freesat Blu-ray recorder, ditto. If anyone has one of these and wants to send me an instruction set for using it in a caravan, I'll be happy to add it to this page. However, before you all rush out to buy the Panny, I should warn you it costs around Ł1000!]

5. It hasn't worked! What now?
OK I admit it, sometimes it isn't absolutely straightforward! There are one or two things that can go wrong. Because there are several different satellite systems between south and south east, it is possible for the signal meter to pick up a signal from one of them instead of Eurobird 1. However, your box isn't programmed to decode those signals and therefore no picture will appear. A common error is to assume that Eurobird/Astra 28 are actually at 28ş E (equivalent to a compass bearing of 152ş) from wherever you happen to be. In fact as explained above, it will generally be further to the east than that. In Britain for example, the compass bearing will be roughly 145ş, fully 7 degrees further to the east than you would expect. If you swing the dish from the east and thus approach the satellite from the other direction, Eurobird/Astra 28 is the first system you will reach, thus reducing the possibility of catching another system by mistake.

If the zeros remain unchanged, and assuming there is no obstacle in the way, there are a few possibilities. First, make sure you're not simply swinging the dish too quickly - if you do you could swing it right through the beam and out the other side before the receiver has a chance to react. Otherwise, the most likely is that the dish elevation is wrong. All dishes have an elevation scale marked on the mast clamp which is hinged vertically and secured by nuts. On a slightly diagonal line from North Wales through to about Hull, the elevation should be 22-23ş. The further south and east you travel, the higher you will need to point the dish (the amount is slight - roughly a degree for every 100 kilometres, 25ş in London, 35ş in Barcelona for example). Alter the elevation slightly by loosening the nuts that secure the hinge and try again. (If the clamp on your dish is secured with hexagonal nuts, replacing them with wing nuts will make the job easier.)

Copyright D.Sullivan. Not to be used without permission.

Estimating the amount to raise or lower the dish isn't easy but two people, Bill Naulder and David Monkman, have each come up with ideas to make it simple. See this page for more information.

[If you're using a domestic minidish, the scale marked on the dish can be very misleading. I've had reports from people who reckoned the scale was indicating an elevation of 15 to 20 degrees higher than the above diagram suggests. (Of course the manufacturers assume that such dishes will always be installed professionally, but that surely begs the question why bother putting a scale on them in the first place?) Anyway as a general guide, in northern England for most offset dishes the dish face should be roughly vertical. Remembering that the elevation rises by about a degree for every 100 miles you travel southwards, you should be able to estimate how much higher to tilt the dish - not much is the answer; even in southern England the dish face will be barely above vertical. It only really starts to point significantly upwards as you travel down through France.]

The other possibility, especially if this is your first attempt, is that the cable connections have been assembled wrongly. I have had any number of queries from people who found that to be the problem and everything was OK once they'd rewired the connectors. In 2 instances, without mentioning names, both units were manufactured by supposedly reputable companies, well known to any caravanner! You need to make sure that at each end of the cable, the copper-mylar foil and braided copper shield are properly folded back from the central core and that there is no possibility of them touching. (See this separate page for more information if required.)

There's no getting away from the fact that one's first attempt can be a slog, for the reason already mentioned about getting the dish elevation right. Theoretically, the technique is infallible - given patience and a clear line of sight to the satellite, you WILL get a signal. The problem is that, especially if you have a large dish, your accuracy in aiming it might have to be pretty high, and it could be all too easy to swing the dish right through the signal beam and out the other side without realising it. You simply have to be patient and move the dish very gradually, both horizontally and vertically. Whatever you do, don't just wave the dish around, even slowly. The trick is to be methodical - set the dish elevation roughly using the scale marked on the back of the dish, and then scan the sky slowly and in discrete steps across an arc from SE to SSE before altering the elevation slightly and scanning again. I usually swing my dish about 1 degree at a time and at roughly 1-second intervals. (However some makes of receiver react faster than others, so depending on which make/model you have, you might need to increase the pause between each movement of the dish.)

Note that once a signal has been detected the receiver will retain its settings, so if the dish is subsequently moved for any reason, causing a loss of picture, it will be necessary to unplug the power for about 30 seconds in order to reset the Network and Transport Stream values before attempting to align the dish again.

Improved reception, especially in marginal reception areas or in bad weather conditions, can also be obtained by skewing the LNB (the box at the end of the antenna arm). Loosen the locking screw if there is one and the LNB will then rotate within its housing. There is usually a scale marked under the housing. Turn the LNB one position either way while you watch the Signal Quality bar on the Signal Test screen. If the quality improves, continue rotating the LNB until the quality is at its highest.

Finally, the other thing that can go wrong of course is your equipment. Receivers can and do fail. I have also had a handful of reports over the years of faulty LNBs. They are normally extremely reliable but as with any manufactured product you can get the odd faulty one. So if you've tried everything else, it might just be worth checking your equipment and if necessary the LNB.

Just to clear up a query raised by several readers, the elevation referred to in this section is that of the satellite above the horizon. Most dishes are of the offset focus type - i.e. the signal is reflected downwards to the antenna - and therefore the dish itself will appear to point some way below that angle. Indeed, as mentioned earlier, in the UK the dish face might well be almost vertical and in the far north of Scotland it could even appear to point down into the ground!

6. Getting BBC/ITV/C4/C5 in marginal areas.

As described elsewhere in this article the regular standard channels transmit their satellite signals via the Astra 1N and 2D satellites. These have a much narrower beam than the 2A and 2B satellites and therefore the signal becomes rapidly weaker and more difficult to receive as you travel away from the British Isles. There are several things you can do to lessen that problem, though the likelihood is that at some stage you will travel too far for the signal to reach and you'll eventually lose the BBC/ITV/C4/C5 channels. The single most important thing you can do is to use a bigger dish. See here for that information. However there is a limit to how large a dish you can use, because of (a) the impracticality of carrying it, and (b) the effect it will have on the remaining strong signals on the north and south beams in overloading the receiver.

You might also find that some regional variations of ITV1 and BBC1 are stronger than others. I've found for example that BBC1 NorthWest might begin to break up (and ITV1 Granada disappear altogether) but I can still get perfect reception on BBC1 London and ITV1 Tyne Tees. So experiment with the different regions - in most cases all you'll lose will be the local news. [Note that a few regions of ITV1 are currently on wide beam transmissions and are therefore still encrypted. (Details here). This means they can only be picked up with a Sky digibox and viewing card. The situation is likely to be temporary]

The other thing you can do is to check that your existing equipment is performing to its maximum efficiency, and this means ensuring that your dish is accurately aligned and that the LNB is properly skewed. Unlike Sky boxes, with freesat receivers the Information screen displays the quality of the signal carrying the viewed channel. So select one of the BBC or ITV channels from the EPG and then press Menu and Information.

Now tweak the dish, paying particular attention to the LNB skew, to get the signal quality bar as high as it will go. This will maximise the dish alignment for the 2D beam.

7. How to add non-freesat channels.

freesat currently (Jan 2011) carries around 140 channels on its EPG. That number will increase over the coming months but some channels might never join freesat (I can imagine Sky News might be one of them!) However the good news is that all freesat receivers are now capable of supporting such channels and this section will tell you how to go about it. The exact routine might vary depending on whether you have an SD or HD box, so please accept my apologies if it doesn't go quite to plan. This routine should work for all SD boxes. I have chosen Sky News as the example but you can search for other required channel frequencies here.

Press MENU and select the second option, Settings, and scroll down to Add Non-freesat Services. Press OK, select Manual Scan and you'll be presented with a tuning screen. For Sky News, type 12207 into the MHz box, press the Down arrow button and then Left or Right to select Vertical polarisation, down again to Symbol Rate and type 27500. Down to SCAN and Right. The box will scan for any channel matching the frequency details (Sky News in this case) and store it in the non-freesat EPG, starting at number 3000. Now back out to the Settings menu again and set the Show Non- freesat Channels to ON. You only have to do that bit once!

Finally press MENU to return to the normal screen. You can now toggle between freesat and non-freesat channels by pressing the CH LIST button. While the LIST is displayed, press the SWAP button to toggle between them. Initially you will see that several different versions of Sky News have been stored. You can delete the duplicates by selecting each one in turn, pressing the Right arrow key and then typing the Delete Code 0000.

For Humax boxes, click Menu, tab down to Setup and right to Manual Tune. On Transponder, go right and right again to select the Frequency display. Keep going right until 12207 is shown, then tab down to Search. Click OK. Sky News will be found, click SAVE, then click Menu to exit the Menu system. Alternatively you can select All instead of selecting a specific frequency but be warned, you'll end up with hundreds of obscure channels!

To select Sky News (ie switch between freesat and non-freesat mode), click Menu, go right to Settings and tab down to STB Mode. go right twice to swap from one to the other. Finally press Menu to exit and Sky News will be on the screen.

Note that in non-freesat mode, the red button processes don't work, nor can you set a recording.

8. Good and bad points.

OK, let's summarise freesat's good and bad points compared with the Sky platform.

The obvious first advantage, is one of cost. freesat does not involve any ongoing payments after the initial purchase cost of the equipment. The same is not true for Sky HD or for Sky+, both of which incur a Ł10 monthly charge. Basic freesat receivers start at around Ł30 compared with 3 or 4 times that for a Sky box if bought without a contract.

The second clear advantage, especially for caravanners, is the size of the receiver - just 10" wide x 7" deep x 2" high (25cm x 18cm x 5cm) for the basic SD box, compared with a Sky digibox of typically 14" x 10" x 3" (35cm x 25cm x 8cm). freesat HD receivers are slightly larger but still smaller than any Sky box.

The EPG is tidier, showing only those channels that can be received (Sky's EPG shows all channels whether you have a subscription capable of receiving them or not). And unlike Sky, a freesat box will also allow you to delete from the EPG any channels you're not interested in.

At present there are only 4 HD channels available on freesat - BBC1 HD, BBC HD, ITV1 HD and Channel 4 HD.

ITV2/3/4 HD and Channel 5 HD might join freesat in the future but there are no imminent plans. And all the other 50 or more HD channels are subscription-based and can only be watched on a Sky HD receiver with a valid viewing card.

freesat remote controllers are not capable of operating the TV; Sky remotes can be programmed. To be strictly accurate, freesat remotes do have a volume control but it alters the volume at the signal stage, not the TV amplification stage. The result is that if you record the programme for later watching, the altered sound level will also be recorded (and if it had been muted for any reason, by accident or design, it will remain muted on the recording!)

Sky remotes are a triumph of standardised design. freesat remotes on the other hand are not - each manufacturer thinks it knows best and the result is a complicated mishmash of multi-function buttons!

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