One serious disadvantage with telly-watching in Europe is that the 1 hour time shift means that some programmes finish too late into the evening (especially after a day spent sampling the local vino). For some years a video recorder solved the problem but all too often we set the recording times wrongly. And of course regardless of who set the video, it was always my fault! So last year (2010), I decided to take my Freesat+ recorder to France instead. It meant some changes to the caravan cabling, and this is how I did it.

The main cable lengths are then fitted with F connectors at both ends and connect to the dish’s LNB at one end and the caravan sockets at the other. It means that each cable has a lot of connections in its route from the dish to the receiver but I’ve never found it to be a problem and I’ve been using that system for several years, first with just the single cable and now with the two. Rewiring the caravan was the hardest part. I already had a Maxview external cable fitting on the outside of the caravan (with dual connections - a coaxial socket for an external aerial and an F socket for a satellite dish) so I replaced that with one containing twin F sockets (about £15 depending on where you buy it).

Cutting a hole through the side of the caravan is scary to say the least and you might wish to leave it to the professionals but it’s a straightforward enough job provided you measure up carefully. In my case I’d already cut a hole for the previous fitting so it was now just a case of feeding the two new cables along the same route as previously to a new double F wall plate inside the van. The cable enters the van in the cupboard below the TV/worktop and then into the recess behind the power panel (easily accessed by unscrewing the top shelf – this is in a Lunar Clubman, other models will obviously vary).

The internal wall plate wasn’t difficult to source but you need to be careful. Many on the market have solder points on the reverse side of the plate. You need to buy one with double-ended screw fittings which is a lot easier to connect to using conventional F connectors. Satcure sells one (code S112-327 shown below) for £3 plus p&p but there'll be other suppliers as well.

Some modern caravans are now pre-wired for satellite but they only have a single socket (the manufacturers obviously haven’t heard of twin tuner recorders yet!). The cabling usually terminates in the battery locker and it might be possible to add an extra socket. You’d still be left with the problem of taking the second cable through (or under) the vehicle and getting it to the inside where it’s needed. My caravan wasn’t pre-wired (the new Clubman is but I’m not ready to change yet!) so I’ve not investigated how easy it would be to fit an extra cable and sockets.

In 2011, having used the Freesat+ box successfully in 2010, we decided to take the SkyHD box to France instead. This was equally successful, although it does present 1 or 2 extra problems. The disk drive is slightly more noisy than in the Humax, though not enough to keep us awake at nights, and the box is also slightly heavier. The main problem however is its very slow response times if you're using the Signal Test screen to align the dish. You really do need a separate meter, otherwise it becomes a prolonged exercise.

I also made one further change. In 2010, I took 2 separate cables but quickly realised they get easily entangled in storage and disentangling them was a right sod (or a bit of a nuisance for all you refined folks out there!). I've therefore replaced them with a single length of white twin-core cable. The drawback is that it's far less flexible than single cables so I also bought one of those cordwheels used for mains hookup cables and store the twin-core on that.

One final point. Strictly speaking it isn't absolutely necessary to have a twin LNB and twin cable. With some modification, Sky+ and Freesat+ boxes will operate (albeit with reduced functionality - only 1 channel at a time) with just a single input. In the case of a Humax Freesat+ box, all you need do is connect the dish cable to the LNB1 In socket, and connect a short cable from the LNB1 Out socket to LNB2 In. Other Freesat+ makes may be different and the procedure for Sky+ boxes is definitely more complex. It can be done but it's messy and I don't recommend it. If you insist on doing it, you'll find details on any of the online forums!