Satellite

March 24, 2014

It looks like Le Mans is JUST within the new Astra 2E spot beam

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As any readers of my blog will know, I have a little Sky HD multi-room box in my caravan “kit”, as well as a little folding arm satellite dish, which is for use on any site where Freeview / terrestrial reception is not possible (I have been to one such site in Appletreewick in the Yorkshire dales).

I also plan to use the dish and receiver when in France later in the year, for use at the 24 hours of Le Mans. The idea is to watch the race on Eurosport whilst we are at base, but also to watch some of the world cup, and specifically the England V Italy match on the Saturday evening!

The UK free to air satellite channels have recently moved to a new satellite with a tight UK spot beam, meaning reception of these channels (which will air the England world cup games) is much more difficult outside of the UK. Thankfully, the official reception “spot” for this satellite looks to extend to the Le Mans region of France, but only just!  This means my little 50cm dish should pick up BBC and ITV channels no problem, although alignment may be a little more critical than it is at home.

I would imagine that for Eurosport, and other encrypted channels, reception will be no issue whatsoever as these services are on a satellite with a much wider pan-European spot.

March 17, 2014

I took the caravan for a spring “shake down” at the weekend

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As the caravan has been sat in storage since October last year, I wanted to take it out for a “shake down” to check everything was healthy. I have purchased various bits  over the winter, such as LED bulbs (specifically for trips when off EHU) satellite dish, sky receiver, etc… and I wanted to test them out!

I swapped the  little spot light bulbs, the toilet / shower light bulbs, and the awning light bulbs for SMD LED models. The results are superb; the light output is far superior to the previous bulbs, and although I don’t have an ammeter to test, they should consume significantly less power (up to 90%).

I also tested my new Triax satellite dish with folding LNB arm. I tested this on the caravan jockey wheel with a bracket I have, and it was superb. It was very easy to set-up and locate the satellite. I also tried the little HD Sky multiroom box I bought, and that worked a treat for viewing Motors TV!

I used some Milton to disinfect the water pipes and hot water tank, and fitted a new water filter to the system. The site I was staying on for the night had a water supply and grey water drain directly on the pitch which was brilliant, as it made this task a breeze. It is so convenient having “mains water” and not having to fill a barrel, or empty the waste. I really must book more plots that have this “full service” option as it is so much better!

I tested some food gadgets too;  I tested my mini chopper, which is a tiny food mixer, to make a beef Madras from scratch. I used the chopper to grind up the spices, and to blend the garlic, tomato and ginger. I used my new pan too!   I also tried my milk frother to make myself and a friend a couple of decent cappuccinos!

The shake down was a success, and  (pending a successful service today) I will be going away for two nights with the family this coming weekend! We cant wait!

January 21, 2014

How to view the encrypted Motors TV channel for free in the UK (satellite)

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Having purchased a little Sky HD “multiroom” box for £18 on ebay, to use in the caravan, I have been playing with the box and setting any Free-to-Air channels (FTA) as favourites, so that I can have a basic channel list to easily view those channels that will work without a card.  After reading some info on-line, it appears  that at least two channels are FTV on Sky (Free-to-View). These are LiverpoolFCTV and Motors TV. Free to View channels are channels which are encrypted by Sky’s software, so need a Sky box and card to decode, but they are free channels, and aren’t included in any of Skys channel packages.

Motors TV is actually a channel I would like to be able to receive, as they cover the World Endurance Championship, The Rolex series, and loads of other Motorsport. Why they are operating as an effectively “free” channel, but behind Sky’s encryption system, is beyond me. If they would broadcast encryption free, the channel could be viewed by anybody with any satellite receiver, such as Sky, Freesat, or generic hardware.

Oddly you can actually view MotorsTV with a Sky viewing card, even if the card is no longer linked to an active account. Some cards get deactivated, and these wont work, but most cards appear to remain as a “freesat” card after a customer cancels their contract, and in this state, the card will decode Motors TV. I bought a card on ebay for a few £££ to test this theory, and sure enough, the card works for Motors TV!

This is quite interesting, as I may well buy another of these HD boxes to stick  under the living room TV, specifically to view this channel. The multi-room box will receive all the HD and SD channels that Freesat hardware would receive, but additionally, as it is a Sky box,  it will decode Motors TV!  It will be handy to have this as a backup too, I suppose, should my YouView box or aerial fail.

For anybody interested, older Sky digiboxes can be obtained for almost nothing, and if you can obtain a Sky viewing card (you can purchase a Sky “freesat card legitimately, in your own name, for £25 from Sky) you too can view Motors TV for free.

January 15, 2014

ASTRA 2E currently moving into final orbital position, signals an end to UK TV for many expats?

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Currently many of the satellite based FTA (fee-to-air) services broadcast by the UK channel operators, primarily the BBC, originate from their temporary home on ASTRA 1N. This satellite has a wide footprint meaning that these services can be received all over continental Europe, and as far as southern Spain. Many thousands of expats rely on this to receive our UK TV abroad.

With the imminent arrival of ASTRA 2E at the 28.2E position, it is expected that many FTA channels (Sky and Freesat) will migrate to this satellite. As 2E has a much tighter spot beam focussing on the UK and ROI, it is likely that receiving these broadcasts will become much more difficult the further south it is attempted. People in the south of France and beyond are likely to require bigger and bigger dishes until the signal drops of completely at some stage.

This is bad news for those people who live in Europe, or who holiday there, who enjoy the ability to receive UK FTA or even subscription satellite TV.