# TV aerial



## 97201 (Jan 7, 2006)

Having broken the aerial while passing under low branches, should I replace or wait until I instal a Sat system. I have had a quote for £875 to include a set top box and all the trimmings for S.Spain BUT a dish size of 62cm as the installer says that in my RV would have to be in the centre line of the vehicle to accomodate an 80cm dish and automatic downpole.

For Linda, a couple of shots.

Ian


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## Sparrow (May 10, 2005)

Cant help with your decision making process re the satellite system. 
However having recently suffered problems with my aerial I found a couple of cracks/splits in the plastic bit at the top of the arm which has superglued and held firm since. 
Short term fix I know, but may help. 

regards 
Mike


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## Scotjimland (May 23, 2005)

Hi 
I would forget the Winegard and buy a sat dish and digi box from Maplins, they have quite a few at £100 or less .. 
I bought one recently that I can either mount on a pole on the rear ladder or stand free on the ground .. it came with a patio stand and an audible sat finder thingy bob. :wink:


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## shortcircuit (Mar 19, 2006)

I bought digi box from ALDI £69.00

On a change of subject, the background of the roof photo shows a lot of loose paint. Is this normal, as I am no expert, and what is the rest of the roof like


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## LC1962 (Oct 6, 2005)

Hi Ian

Got your PM thanks (back in the land of the living after a very busy weekend). And thanks for posting the pics....

Not so sure that would superglue 8O unless you could cobble together a new fitting for the top out of something quite strong I would say that is past its best.

Jim is quite right in what he says...unless you are a total purist and want to keep the RV as it was, changing the system altogether might be a better option, considering a new amplified head would set you back in the region of £75-£80.

Shortcircuit.......DON'T mention the roof!! :lol: :lol: 

Cheers
Linda


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## 97201 (Jan 7, 2006)

*TV Aerial*

In reply to Shortcut

THE SAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!     

Thanks Linda. As I said somewhere else, I don't think I bought a Turkey but probably a very large chicken     
Had to fix the rear bumper which I knocked loose on the trip home after buying. Guess what? It 'aint the correct one for this model, none of the rivet holes matched up!

Ian


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## 97201 (Jan 7, 2006)

*TV Aerial*

Thanks ScotJimland

An externally mounted pole, now there's an idea.

Anyone else with an 80cm roof mounted dish on an ARV out there?
Where is it positioned? Front, rear, on the centre line or offset.

Reading other posts I believe I need 80cms to get a decent signal in S Spain.

Ian


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## TonyHunt (Oct 10, 2005)

You wont get any more signal out of an 80cm dish in spain than the smaller ones. To get the uk progs like ITV you would need possibly a 2 metre dish like the campsites use then its not perfect. The signal tends to disappear late at night. I was parked next to a guy using one of the small multimo dishes in Benidorm we had our squarial Katerine and he was getting all the channels available on the southern beam the same as we were. This southern beam carries some of the sky channels but not the ones like ITV, BBC, SKY Sports etc. Luckily to keep the missus quite ie soaps such as corrie and eastenders the campsite ( El Raco) had piped satellite from their 2 metre dish on all the pitches. Like I said earlier this signal from their dish even tended to drift away around ten every night, not so good if you were in the middle of a film.


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## 97201 (Jan 7, 2006)

*TV Aerial*

Thanks for the info Tony.

Regards

Ian


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## 97201 (Jan 7, 2006)

*TV Aerial*

Tony

Just a thought. Why does the signal fade? In my ignorance I thought that geostatic orbit meant you had a signal all the time.

Ian


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## TonyHunt (Oct 10, 2005)

Dont know Ian but regular as clockwork while we were there it faded out at the same time every night. Must be something to do with being on the edge of the footprint maybe and the earth spinning. like you say its supposed to be stationary up there so should always have a signal. Perhaps somebody else can answer that. Dont waste your money on buying a larger dish such as an 80cm because you wont get any more on it than the smaller dishes that most people use. I was looking around at what other people were using on their campers and the large majority of the dutch and german vans were using the small Katerine square arials.
Dont know which sat they were tuned in to though.


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## 88927 (May 10, 2005)

Hi Ian
DON'T MENTION THE ROOF :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Re your aerial problem.... We had an aerial on the roof, like a flat, round flying saucer type of thing that failed to work... When the top was removed it was obvious that it had been leaking and resembled a fish pool..... So it was taken off. I have considered buying a replacement aerial but with analogue TV going west in a couple of years time it seemed like a waste of time and money. I have bought one of the £60 Maplin satellite dishes to try it out and it seems to work very well if a bit fiddly.... However I may consider buying one of these next year when the piggy bank is a bit fuller :lol: :lol: :lol: 
http://www.omnisat.co.uk/crankup.htm
I think they are great because there is no pole to fit into a wardrobe, it just sits on the roof and is apparently quite easy to use.....

Regarding your comment about buying a turkey... I guess that we all have problems with a new to us motorhome so don't despair, we are £000's into ours and we love the RV, it is all about spending wisely and getting the best for your buck mate....
You will love it once it is all done :lol: :lol: :lol:

Keith


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## 89338 (May 20, 2005)

I have just fitted a dish to my RV. I did not want to have a pole through the roof so fitted the Maxview crank up, which folds flat and winds up manually. I have to say I am very pleased with it. For it to clear all the bits on the roof it ended up in the centre towards the rear, behind the air con. Worth looking at. Got it from Towsure 345.00, free sat sky card 2o.oo and a box off ebay 40.00.

Regards

Lampie


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## NormanB (Sep 8, 2005)

Hi. Just fitted my Maxview 66 crankup this week and pleased with the way it works.

Like many (I would guess), I had to fit it on the centre line, just aft of midships, to get a place where it did not foul roof lights etc.

Didn't screw it down, just used the Sikaflex 512 sealer-adhesive.


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## 97201 (Jan 7, 2006)

*TV Aerial*

To NormanB and Lampie
Thank you for the info. and the sentiments below.

To Keith
It never ceases to amaze me the amount of moral support on these forums. One day I hope to run into ScotJimland in Spain (in the near future) Rapide and of course yourself - is the week-end after this still ok?

Ian


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## 88927 (May 10, 2005)

Hi Ian
The weekend of 29 - 30th is still OK with me mate.... Do you know something I don't??? :lol: :lol: :lol: Do I need to drive fast to beat the angel or what???? :lol: :lol: 

I will be in touch next week to arrange everything mate....

Keith


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## 89338 (May 20, 2005)

I did screw my one down and used the same filler 516 or whatevever it is called to seal the plate. My choice of dish and fixing method was all based on info from this great site. I was all for paying out and getting the automated system 1700 / 2000 pounds but why. Thanks to this site I have saved money that can go to fuel to take me away and enjoy !!!!. The crank up dish is easy to use and fit and looks nice on the underside of your roof ! no pole etc. And it does what it says on the box. Only thing I would say is the small bar that comes through the roof, when it says mark at ceiling level and add 32mm , add more. I had to cut that and extend it afterwards, but have the tackle to do it so was ok. If any of you want to know what it looks like PM me or I might get round to putting a photo on. Off to france for a month end of next week so replies might be late.

Regards to you all

Lampie


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## 89338 (May 20, 2005)

Glad someone else said it is good. I was all up for spending the money on the automated systems 1700.00 / 2000.00 pounds. But thanks to this great site I opted for the crank up maxiview and I screwed it down but used the sealer reccomendended 512. All done for 405.00 with sky card and box off ebay. The spare cash is going in the tank for time away !.

If I get a chance I will take photos, if not look it up on maxiview web site on the inside it looks fine, no poles etc. Simple to use and it took me two hours to fit. ( most of that making sure where it popped out bellow ) as I was always told" measure twice cut once".

Wish you well with your choice but look at what we have, it fits nice and no poles !


Regards

Lampie


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