Heres a PM Mighty Warrior sent me about it. hope he doesnt mind
First off get to a newsagent and buy yourself a copy of WHAT SATELLITE TV magazine – The April edition is handy too, as it has a step-by-step guide on how to install a dish yourself.
To get HOTBIRD 13 E satellite:-
You have two options:
1/ Contact a satellite installer, or engineer, and get him to do the job for you. Your local yellow pages will list a few ( or there’s loads of ads in above magazine ) so ring around and get a decent price. It will cost less if you don’t need the dish on your roof – a low down side wall, maybe outside a window – will make things a lot easier.
( Check where your Sky digital dish is pointing ( or your neighbours ) your new dish will need to point in roughly the same direction. As long as there’s no buildings or trees in the way, you can point dish from a fairly low vantage. )
2/ Install it yourself – for the DIY enthusiast. Check the above magazine, have a read of how to do it and decide for yourself. If you want to go ahead, contact me and I’ll give you some advice/help.
You’ll need the following items ( cheaper if you supply them yourself when getting an engineer to install I think – but again, check as you may have a local guy who will do you a great deal ( forget Sky, they wont do it ) he’ll probably charge around £100/150 to put up dish for you….
Items Needed:
70 cm Dish ( about twice the size of Sky digital dish ) around £20 to £40 ( should come with wall mounting bracket )
Universal Digital LNB – around £20 to £30 – Attach this to the “arm” that sticks out from your dish.
Satellite cable, long enough to reach your TV & receiver from dish and
2 F-connectors ( these screw onto either end of your cable. ( cable and connectors can be picked up at most electric shops, B&Q, Maplins etc ) not expensive at all.
Digital receiver – a pretty basic one will do. I bought a 2nd hand Sky Pace box off e-bay for £75 – check e-bay or there’s loads advertised in above mag too.
I’ve got my dish pointed at Hotbird 13 E – you don’t need a smart card and you’ll pick up around 40 free stations – I’ve watched boxing on these stations: Italian RAI 1,2 & 3 / German ARD and ZDF / Romanian 1 / Polish TVN.
There’s others but I’m not sure who shows boxing, but I check the listings when fights are coming up.
What Satellite Magazine lists all the channels, and the frequencies you need to enter on your receiver to pick them up too.
I’ll give you more details on how to DIY once you’ve checked the mag and made you mind up.
Also, check sean’s posts over at ESB – he has a motorised dish and gives a detailed explanation on how to do it – about a week ago I think.
Cheers for now
MW
