SPECIAL : SATELLITE TV became a whole lot easier. My TV Village- supplied Cello TV has an in-built Freesat satellite receiver which enables me to watch a good selection of free-to-air channels (see box) but the principle of signal finding is the same regardless of the system used – that is to harness a transmission that, for the majority of us, comes from one of the Astra satellites. Choosing the right spot to site the dish is vital. As with all satellite reception, decent No signal here... Nearly there... Got it! ‘line of sight’ is crucial and obstacles such as trees or nearby buildings can severely impede or even block the signal. So a bit of My Aerial Shack-supplied Easy Find INFORMATION forward planning with a compass works satellite finder does exactly what it says FREESAT CHANNELS wonders: 145˚ is roughly where you need on the tin. Select the Astra 28.2 satellite to be pointing – or somewhere between from the Easy Find menu and then swivel The following free-to-air channels can normally be received using the Freesat service (you will need a Freesat box or a built-in system South and South-East for those who like to the dish until the light goes from red in your television): navigate using the sun and the stars. (no signal) to amber (nearly there) to ➜ BBC channels – including as 1, 2, 3, 4, News, Parliament, CBBC Select Astra 28.2 (or Astra 1N until green (job done). and CBeebies 2013/2014 should you need to specify The dish now needs securing in place ➜ ITV 1, 2, 3, 4 and CITV which Astra satellite*) from the satellite and it’s worth checking this twice as, in my ➜ Channel 4, More 4, E4 and Film 4 ➜ receiver (set-top box or inbuilt system) experience, the dish is only ever blown out Channel 5, 5 Star and 5 USA ➜ CBS Drama, Reality and Action menu and, if possible, swivel the TV so of line when you’re tucked-up in bed and ➜ Various news, sport and children’s channels that you can see it from the satellite dish. never while fully-clothed. ➜ Various lifestyle channels, such as Wedding TV You can make life an awful lot easier for With the hard bit done, all that’s left is and Food Network yourself by investing in a cheap ‘satellite to perform a simple channel search in ➜ True Movies and Movies 4 Men finder’ (these are available from as little as much the same way you would when ➜ 11 music channels ➜ 9 special interest channels, such as Renault and Psychic TV £7) which will help you fine-tune your re-tuning your Freeview TV. Both my dish ➜ dish positioning. and TV operate on 12V, so 12V-only rallies 19 shopping channels ➜ A vast array of radio stations With your satellite finder connected, or CL sites do not pose a problem. turn the dish slowly from East to South- The world of beamed-from-space TV Further Freesat information can be found at freesat.co.uk FINE East. Keep an eye on the finder which, via a needn’t be full of intrigue and trickery. needle or system of lights, will indicate how Indeed, once it’s mastered, you’ll wonder OTHER OPTIONS close you are getting. A compass will help what all the fuss is about. If you get the If you have Sky installed at home, you may have signed a contract you find the magical 145˚ sweetspot and chance to have a dry-run at home, it’s time obliging you to keep your Sky box connected to the phone line for 12 months. After this period, however, taking your box on holiday is will undoubtedly save time as the dish well spent and far better than a wet and a possibility with signals available from the same 28.2 East needs to be turned slowly to first find the windy affair after a five-hour ferry trip. ■ location. There are other receivers available which can pick up a tuning satellite signal and then produce a picture. wide range of English and European television channels. Having trouble with your satellite TV reception on tour? Follow Lee Davey’s essential guide As with all satellite reception, and you’ll always be able to watch the perfect picture INFORMATION decent ‘line of sight’ is crucial ASTRA SATELLITES *With a lifespan of 12 years, the Astra 2D satellite ended its working “ life in February this year and has been temporarily replaced by the The ‘LNB’ is the box that hanks very much,” I ” Astra 1N satellite. This is the one to tune into until the Astra 2F is collects the signal from the dish remember saying. Without brought into service in 2013 or 2014. This may sound complicated and transmits it to your TV even asking, the kind folk but, with 1N having taken the position of 2D, you’ll only be affected if who sold us our caravan also your receiver specifies which Astra satellite (2D, 1N, etc) it needs to look for instead of simply ‘Astra’ at position 28.2. gave us a satellite TV kit. “We’veT never had a great deal of luck with TRAVELLING IN EUROPE it,” they said, “but it’s probably something work and other times it simply didn’t want While Astra 1N provides a great deal of choice throughout the UK and we’ve done wrong.” For a great many to know. Plus, with our crowded skies, beyond, travelling further into European territory, away from 1N’s caravanners, the world of satellite TV can finding the correct satellite wasn’t always broadcast footprint may require a change of satellite. As the names be a dark and mysterious one. easy. I’d be there with compass and spirit suggest, Astra 2A/B South covers Southern Europe, Astra 2A/B North covers Northern Europe and Eutelsat 28A (formerly Eurobird On my travels, I’ve seen many weird and level in hand, waiting for a “That’s it!” 1) covers a great deal of both North and South. Home-grown wonderful ways of trapping those precious shout from inside the caravan, which, channels, however, may be limited. signals, from a scaffold pole-mounted, sadly, rarely came. I can remember the house-style aerial to a self-seeking, excitement in France when my wife said CLUB INFORMATION LEAFLET roof-mounted dish that requires little more we had found some programmes – shame The Club has produced an in-depth document on using your than the push of a button. they were in German… television at home and abroad. See caravanclub.co.uk/ Initially, time spent with our freebie But once I’d taken on board the basic expert-advice/using-and-maintaining/advice-and- guidance/portable-televisions/ dish was bewildering. Sometimes it’d principles of satellite finding, matters

46 www.caravanclub.co.uk August 2012 The Caravan Club Magazine 47