Electrical Foxtel in the van.

[Crusty181]

Hi @john hayward. Via Foxtel satellite we get the FTA channels I listed above. Our account is registered to Melb (home) so we only get the Melb FTA channels ie Melb channel 7 ... im watching the Melb channel 7 broadcast of the tennis as I type, via Foxtel satellite, and im sitting in the van in QLD.


When they break to the news etc, I get Melb channel 7 news .... and all the advertising is Melb based .... regardless where in Oz im parked because thats where the STB is supposed to be and they think it is.

The Foxtel FTA broadcast channels are not connected to Imparja, Win, Gwin or Southern Cross .... you need the proper sat decoder for those .... how are you getting Imparja via the Foxtel STB.

We only have the Foxtel iQ with us, our other two old sat decoders havent seen action for years

Weve been on a Foxtel 12month sweet heart deal for 4 years .... and as soon as they refuse to extend when I ring every 6mths, ill disconnect and get a VAST decoder .... but while its $49/mth, ill keep it

 

[grinner914]

There are multiple signals coming from the Optus / Foxtel / VAST satellite, each signal carries a few channels, and are either horizontally or vertically polarised.

On a basic Foxtel box or VAST box (non recording), as you change channels, the box knows whether the channel you are watching is Horizontal or Vertical, and sends a signal to the LNB to change the polarity. (I think it does this by changing the voltage going to the LNB).

The complication comes when you want 2 signals from the LNB, either for Foxtel IQ, or as in my setup, a Foxtel basic box and a VAST box. By just using a splitter, there is a possibility that one box will want to watch a channel with a Vertical signal, and the other box with a Horizontal signal. Conversely, with Foxtel IQ, you may be watching a channel with a Vertical Signal, whilst recording a channel with a Horizontal signal. This scenario will not work with a Single line LNB and a splitter.

This is why Foxtel install dual LNB's in most IQ installations. A dual LNB will allow you to watch / record both Horizontal and Vertical signals at the same time.

As a side note, at this stage, I believe that all VAST signals are Vertically polarized, so only in the case of VAST, you can get away with a single line LNB and a splitter.

Jason

 

[Brenton]

How do you guys find the satellite and set the kit up? I bought one for my dad and we tried taking it camping a couple of weeks ago with his foxtel IQ box and couldn't get it working. Dish has twin LNB etc so it is all correct we just couldn't get picture. I have an app on my iPhone called dish align and sat finder lite which helped pinpoint the dish location but obviously the elevation or lnb wasn't aligned properly. The dish has markings on the back for elevation but the LNB only has -20 or +20 and for memory we needed +38 or something at noosa so how do I go finding the right position?

The kit is one of these, I had a tripod at home so we modified it to be portable

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Starter-...AU_Television_Accessories&hash=item41844edf1e

I should mention it does come with one of the cheap sat finders, but we didnt have small coaxial cable so couldn't use it. As the LNB has two cables, does it matter which one the sat finder is plugged into? Will this also help me get the LNB in the right position?

Thanks!

 

[Crusty181]

Hey @Brenton. Youll be doing very well to setup a satellite dish without using the Sat Finder unfortunately .... as cheap as it may be. The Sat Finder is a simple signal strength meter, so it doesnt need to be expensive or elaborate ...... but you do need it to pin point the position of the satellite relative to the dish.

The App's, charts, compasses and calcs will give you the general position of the satellite but the Sat Finder then takes over to fine tune the pointing and hit the satellite .... a cm off in any direction can result in no signal. You cant use the Foxtel box and Dora the Explorer as a makeshift Sat Finder ... the box needs to absorb some correct signal for a bit before it will produce a picture.

You also need to check the skew (twist) of the LNB is correct for your location, although the skew is generally fairly tolerant of accuracy deviations

As for which cable to use the Sat Finder on .... either one that lights up the Sat Finder and makes it squeal when you adjust its dial. The dish bracket mount may have other holes to relocate the bolts which changes the "active scale" to one maybe located on the opposite side of the bracket, which if there is such holes will give you a higher angle scale. Failing that, theres nothing wrong with lifting the front legs of your base ... or burying the rear legs, to get the right angle.

You would have likely been very very close to success, just needed the fine tuning with the Sat Finder

 

[AndrewC]

We were told when we bought ours that anything outside of the -30 to +30 lnb skew should be limited to just that. Eg If it says you need +38, go no more then +30. Always worked a treat for us.

The good sat Finder is the key to success tho.

 

[Crusty181]

We were told when we bought ours that anything outside of the -30 to +30 lnb skew should be limited to just that. Eg If it says you need +38, go no more then +30. Always worked a treat for us.

The good sat Finder is the key to success tho.

Good to know

 

[Brenton]

cheers guys, will have a crack at home for success and see how we go. Appreciate it

 

[Deano]

How do you guys find the satellite and set the kit up? I bought one for my dad and we tried taking it camping a couple of weeks ago with his foxtel IQ box and couldn't get it working. Dish has twin LNB etc so it is all correct we just couldn't get picture. I have an app on my iPhone called dish align and sat finder lite which helped pinpoint the dish location but obviously the elevation or lnb wasn't aligned properly. The dish has markings on the back for elevation but the LNB only has -20 or +20 and for memory we needed +38 or something at noosa so how do I go finding the right position?

The kit is one of these, I had a tripod at home so we modified it to be portable

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Starter-...AU_Television_Accessories&hash=item41844edf1e

I should mention it does come with one of the cheap sat finders, but we didnt have small coaxial cable so couldn't use it. As the LNB has two cables, does it matter which one the sat finder is plugged into? Will this also help me get the LNB in the right position?

Thanks!

Hi @Brenton and Welcome to the forum.
I have been using Fox on the camping trips with no issues. Twin LNB allows free to air and Fox. Either connection will you give you both. I have a digital SAT finder for the correct position for the Northern Sky.

 

[john hayward]

I agree that it is almost impossible (unless its your lucky day) to obtain a signal from the satellite without the use of a SAT finder. A cheap one is ok once you become familiar with the procedure but a good quality finder can take a lot of frustration out of the process. It is almost impossible to use the signal strength indicator on the Foxtel box to obtain a signal whereas the VAST (for free to air digital channels) encoder provides an easy to use signal finder. This method is even easier to use than a SAT finder but you need to see the TV screen or have someone tell you when you locate the satellite and the variations in strength to get the fine tuning correct (otherwise your signal will drop out).
I note that you were in Noosa so if you are in the Sunshine Coast area see John at SatPlus at Maroochydore and he'll put you on the right track.

 

[Crusty181]

@john hayward we only have the Foxtel, and although VAST is likely in my future I have no experience with it. Im reading from your post that the VAST STB has some kind of inbuilt signal strength indicator?? Visual only I presuming??

Do all the VAST decoders have that, or is one brand better than others

 

[john hayward]

I currently use the Satking VAST decoder which allows us to watch all digital free to air channels (about 200 I think). I just looked up the SatPlus website and it retails for $245.
On the menu it has a signal location option which shows a screen with 2 bars which indicate signal strength.
You will need to have an idea of required dish elevation for your location ie. Noosa would be 58-59 degrees.
Then you will need to locate North using your phone app or a compass.
Get someone to stand in front of the screen while you slowly move the dish until a signal is located.
Then move the dish even more deliberately both vertically and horizontally until the maximum signal strength is obtained. Then press ok button and the encoder will search and show all available channels.
Although I now have installed a manual dish on the roof of the expanda I can normally find a signal within a minute every time without fail.

 

[Crusty181]

I currently use the Satking VAST decoder which allows us to watch all digital free to air channels (about 200 I think). I just looked up the SatPlus website and it retails for $245.
On the menu it has a signal location option which shows a screen with 2 bars which indicate signal strength.
You will need to have an idea of required dish elevation for your location ie. Noosa would be 58-59 degrees.
Then you will need to locate North using your phone app or a compass.
Get someone to stand in front of the screen while you slowly move the dish until a signal is located.
Then move the dish even more deliberately both vertically and horizontally until the maximum signal strength is obtained. Then press ok button and the encoder will search and show all available channels.
Although I now have installed a manual dish on the roof of the expanda I can normally find a signal within a minute every time without fail.

How does the manual roof dish work ... how do you adj and raise it etc

 

[Bluey]

Is all this expencive to set up ????????

 

[bigcol]

Is all this expencive to set up ????????

my guess @Bluey - yes - and probably horribly expencive

 

[Crusty181]

Not so @bigcol, less than the cost of a couple of slabs of XXXX (blahhhhh uke. And if you use the cash you had set aside for the XXXX, you'll live longer too ...

@Bluey, with Foxtel/Austar (assuming you already have satellite service connected at home and you take our own Foxtel box in the van), you could get it all happening with a cheap basic system with second hand Foxtel dish, a stand, cable and signal meter for well under $100. You could also spend $$$thousands on a roof mounted auto dish, but although I do so so much want one, you don't have to.

If you don't have satellite Foxtel/Austar, VAST is just an acronym for the Free To Air tv delivered via satellite, and that will cost you the $100 as above plus an extra $200ish for the VAST box (satellite receiver). The beauty of VAST, unlike Foxtel/Austar is no ongoing costs or fees.

Realistically setting up a reasonable VAST satellite system with travel designed satellite dish and other goodies ..... $400

When we first started using satellite 7 or 8 years ago, there weren't too many around and we got some really weird looks .... but now days half the vans you come across have dishes

 

[Bluey]

Not so @bigcol, less than the cost of a couple of slabs of XXXX (blahhhhh uke. And if you use the cash you had set aside for the XXXX, you'll live longer too ...

@Bluey, with Foxtel/Austar (assuming you already have satellite service connected at home and you take our own Foxtel box in the van), you could get it all happening with a cheap basic system with second hand Foxtel dish, a stand, cable and signal meter for well under $100. You could also spend $$$thousands on a roof mounted auto dish, but although I do so so much want one, you don't have to.

If you don't have satellite Foxtel/Austar, VAST is just an acronym for the Free To Air tv delivered via satellite, and that will cost you the $100 as above plus an extra $200ish for the VAST box (satellite receiver). The beauty of VAST, unlike Foxtel/Austar is no ongoing costs or fees.

Realistically setting up a reasonable VAST satellite system with travel designed satellite dish and other goodies ..... $400

When we first started using satellite 7 or 8 years ago, there weren't too many around and we got some really weird looks .... but now days half the vans you come across have dishes

No foxtel at home no tv reception in van now at port Elliott and bad weather would be good for kids and us at night when trapped inside

 

[mfexpanda]

Here you go @Bluey

 

[john hayward]

What crusty181 said is basically correct. The initial set up for a VAST system if not expensive, even with new equipment and in my opinion well worth the outlay. It can take a little patience in the early stages to locate the satellite and get it all up and running. But like everything else the more you set it up the easier it becomes.
I helped a mate who was having trouble in the early stages ( and had given up and stored it in the shed) and now he's an expert.
To answer Crusty181's other question the manual "on roof" satellite dish is operated by a control on the roof of the van. I posted a message titled "my new toy" with pictures of the dish and control when I had it installed. There is a wind up lever in the control to give the dish the (approx) correct elevation from the chart provided and then the dish can be turned to the north with the dial. Using the signal indicator on the TV it is then just a matter of fine tuning.
To answer Bluey's question(?) from memory it cost about $1500 and is worth every cent.
As I said previously I can have it up and running in less than a minute and have never had anything but perfect reception.

 

[Meanderthals]

Not so @bigcol, The beauty of VAST, unlike Foxtel/Austar is no ongoing costs or fees.

And the downside of VAST is that you're stuck with FTA and way too much reality TV.

I wanted to go with a roof mounted sat system but with what's up there already there isn't the spare real estate to cope with it, at present.

 

[Crusty181]

View attachment 31295 Here you go @Bluey

Thanks ..... nose adequately rubbed in it. Does it really need to have "here" plastered across it like a pimped up drag queen; like it thinks i might be able to miss seeing it