Recommend an installer in Hertfordshire

[dentarthurdent]

Hi

I am thinking of replacing my zone 1 minidish with a 90cm motorised system but, as I don't like ladders, I'm thinking of having the dish installed professionally.

If anyone can recommend an installer, or give me an idea of what they might charge, I would be very grateful.

Thanks!

[BGonaSTICK]

Hi there.

Can't reccommend anyone myself, but if you get a good job done for under £100 then you've not done too bad. £60 is very cheap.
You can find some typical prices for parts elsewhere on the site here, or check yourself on the 'Net.

STICK

[dentarthurdent]

Hi STICK

Thanks for taking the time to reply!

I've got the equipment sorted out: a 90cm Triax dish, lnb,wall mount, Motek 2100A motor, cable and a Technomate TM1500CI+.

An aerial and sat installer, ATI in Hitchin, have e-mailed me with a quote for £55 which seems very cheap. I'm not sure whether to use them for the install as their website is full of errors. On the other hand they are the only company that has bothered to reply to my e-mails. I'm going to try and visit them over the weekend to see if they look 'professional'.

Thanks again

dentarthurdent

[BGonaSTICK]

No problem.

It's always tricky sussing installers. I think having a nose at their premises sounds like a good idea if you have the time. Also, try asking them a few questions and see how they respond. Have a read of our installation guide here to get some sneaky ones :roflmao:

If you don't have a proper 'adjustable' wall mount system (rather a standard fixed dish mount) then it might make their job a little tougher. You really need T&K brackets to obtain a perfectly vertical mast on which to mount the motor.

Just make sure that they select the installation position with plenty of care so that you can see as many satellites as possible, and ensure that your receiver can lock and scan three sats properly before you let them leave your gaff.

Somewhere in the middle of the arc where you are (1W) and one on either extreme of the visible arc is the way to check the install.

If you can get Turksat at 42E and Hispasat at 30W then you'll get nearly all the decent TV, but if you can reach from Express AM 22 at 53E round to PAS 9 at 58W then you're reaching geek/obsessive status

Bad websites put me off too, but you're not paying them to write HTML code, so as long as they can do satellite motors properly then we'll let them off eh?

Let us know how it goes

[dentarthurdent]

Hi

Finally got round to visiting the installer in Hitchin and was surprised to find that it's a private house in a small residential road.

I'm a bit reluctant to entrust the install to someone that operates a business from home and mis-spells satellite on their website, but they were the only people that could be bothered to give me a quote.

This is their website if anyone wants to have a look: http://www.ati-services.co.uk/services1.htm

Thanks

[BGonaSTICK]

To be honest, apart from the poor grammar and spelling mistakes I thought the website was OK, so that wouldn't put me off too much. From the jobs section it looks like they may just take independent installers to match their workload.

At the end of the day, it just depends on the skill of the installer you get. It's only his satellite dish installation skills your after.

Keep us posted.

STICK

[dentarthurdent]

Hi

Finally got the motorised system installed today!

I gave up on ATI services as they stopped responding to my e-mails and wouldn't answer the phone. Found a company in Hemel Hempstead called Satellite Television Contractors Ltd. I can't totally recommend them as they cancelled the installation date twice, but when the installer arrived this morning he was very professional and knew what he was doing.

They charged £120 which is pretty good as he spent over 2.5 hours and charged a lower hourly rate than I had been quoted. i.e £60 per hour instead of £68 + VAT per hour.

Thanks for your help and Encouragement!

dentarthurdent

[BGonaSTICK]

Hey, congratulations 8)

I wondered if you'd managed to sort anything out.

What did you have installed? Did you get the Triax and the Moteck? Which satellites can you get?

What am I thinking? You'll be spending the next x-many days flicking through endless channels, not checking the forum!

Well, when you're ready, we need all the details

[dentarthurdent]

Hi Stick

The equipment list is:

Moteck 2100 motor
Technomate 1500
Triax TD88, 95cm dish
Twin output 0.3dB lnb
18" T & K brackets.

Haven't managed to spend much time playing with the system yet, but I'm impressed at how quiet the motor is. The dish looks HUGE compared to the SKY dish that it replaces. Switching from 28E to Hispasat only takes about 30 seconds.

I'll try and take a pic of the dish sometime over the weekend and post it next week.

Thankyou again for your help and encouragement - some sites and forums are not exactly friendly toward sat virgins so it makes a nice change to visit a site like this where people are friendly and helpful.

[BGonaSTICK]

Hey, no problem.

Yeah, upload a picture into our gallery if you get a chance