taking the plunge...

[dinkle]

Hello,

I have finally convinced my missus that all this is a good idea. She popped into the local lidl (unprompted ) whilst I was laying some tiles for her brother (she owes me one ) and informed me that they still have the Silvercrest receivers and other technical bits and bobs related to them.

I am therefore proposing to do this:

- Pop to Lidl and get a Silvercrest box and anything else useful that is left

The questions:

1. Aside from the Silvercrest box, dish, mount/bracket, lnb, satfinder and cable, what else do I need?

2. Does anyone know if Lidl do Monoblock LNB's or would I need to get one elsewhere and if so how much should I expect to pay for one?

3. I live in south wales (near Neath) what size dish would be appropriate?

3. I don't fancy getting on the roof and currently don't have a long enough ladder to get up there :roflmao: - would it be ok to mount the dish at the bottom of my garden - if so does a longe cable run = less quality signal? (25m run)

If this sounds ok and if I manage to procure the correct equipment - I would like to test the water and then replace the silvercrest box at a later date with a technomate and flog the silvercrest one on ebay.

Is this a plan?

[satsid]

hi m8,first thing is to check your line of sight for satellits you can see.this is important.get a compass and point to west,this will be your south facing wall.your find this is where 1 west is.now from there hold your arms out,@ about 30% going up @ 1 west is a clear line to see a satellite.now remmber on the clark belt other satellites get lower from 1 west moving east or west.now if sight is good go for a dish with a motor,its well worth spending just a small bit more.a meter dish should do nice this will make a big difference in what you see i see many people by a dish sat @ 80cm then want that bit more from it.@ this size if you like sports footie youv a much better chance for finding feeds.what i say here is worth giving thought to.@ the end of the day if sight is not good then maybe a fixed dish is better.now @ 25m run with top cabel not the cheep stuff,i reckon you should just about be ok.now on the Silvercrest receiver i here thay are a blind scan fta.think my comag SL55 is the version before without blind scan.but are same make.my advice is try to just by the receiver,then get a motor & dish from else where.hope this helps you out for stepping into satellite.
all the best.
from
sid

[BGonaSTICK]

Hi dinkle.

I would agree with Sid to a certain extent, but at £15 for an 80cm dish, £4 for an LNB and £2.99? for the mount you'd be daft to turn them down. You could be up and running by the end of the day!

You may well want to upgrade at some time in the future, but at that price you can probably afford to just drop the dish in the nearest bin :roflmao:

I would get everything you mentioned. If you could find some better cable, then I would do that. After all, it's quite cheap to buy good stuff, and it can be a pain to replace depending on where you have to route it.

I would say get the box, dish, mount, and LNB. Get the cable if you can't wait, but CT100 is what you really want. That's double shielded in copper and fully digital compliant. The stuff in Lidl is probably rubbish.

We've had a few folks through here that have not found the satfinders of much use, as they tend to be way too sensitive.

The SL65 DOES have blind scan, and is great value for money. If you only want FTA for now, you need to get down there ASAP. A bargain.

Good luck, and I'm sure you can find something the Mrs would like to watch too

Sounds like an excellent plan. A great way to get started. A 25m cable run is no problem if you get proper coax.

Lidl don't do monoblocs AFAIK. Try eBay or one of the big e-tailers.

The bottom-of-the-garden location is great, and not enough people consider this option. You can even paint your dish green to blend in with any cabbages you might be growing down there

Check your line of sight though as Sid advised. Hotbird is at 13E and Astra 1 at 19.2E.

STICK

[dinkle]

thank you sid and mr stick!

I want to do this on a budget first - I like to do things cheaply. If I get hooked I will of course be prepared to spend more cash.

I need to check, but I think the line of sight from the bottom of the garden is pretty cool - and I can see which direction the sky dishes are all pointing (which from my limited understanding means I now know approx which direction to point at).

The useful thing about siting at the bottom of the garden (apart from not having to go on the roof) is that I can drive in a pole to mount it and it should not upset any of the neighbours.

- Does anyone know what is a good price for a monoblock?

I've read people have picked them up for a few quid, but 'buy it now' on ebay tend to come in at about £17 inc postage (cheapest I've found).

Cheers - I think an unscheduled trip to Lidl might be in order this morning.





Dinkle

[dinkle]

Just got my mits on a £59.99 kit. I hope a 60 cm dish is alright here

Thanks for help thus far - I will report back with progress, won't be in a position to install and play until tonight (should be working now).

Cheers

[BGonaSTICK]

I think the 60cm dish is a bit on the small side for a monobloc, but you might just squeeze enough signal out of both halves.

Anyway, I don't want to rain on your parade just yet. You're going to have some fun either way

Did they have any 80cm dishes left?

Don't rush the install, or expect instant results. 'Temporary' lash-ups performed in an excited frenzy often end in frustration and disappointment. Take your time and try to find Astra 2 to start with.

[dinkle]

Hi Mr Stick,

Yes they had a few 80cm dishes - I might get one yet. They had them locked away in the 'staff only' area. I thought I might as well get the set as I can always go back later or tomorrow and get an 80cm if I have no luck. Also racing through my mind was the thought of my wife taking a knife to a sensitive area if she came home and saw an 80cm dish. Believe you me - I have been lucky to get this far!

I don't yet have a monoblock - will try the LNB that comes with it and if it looks promising will get a monoblock and an 80cm dish (after clearing it with the boss) ops:

It's a democracy outside - but not in here, though I am working towards it.....

BTW, is £17 - 18 (inc post) ok for a monoblock?

Cheers,
Dinkle

[BGonaSTICK]

LOL, yes, start small

My wife OK'd a minidish, and now I have a 1.1m and an 88cm dish too :roflmao:

I told my wife that my 1.1m dish was a vertical birdbath

[jontydog]

17 to 18 pounds sounds fine for a monoblock m8 I got one on the cheap off ebay and I am now regretting it. I am sure you have seen my post it would have been better for me to just buy another LNB and use my smaller dish. If I had got a decent one in the first place I am sure I would have been sorted by now.

Welcome to our world Dinkle you will soon be addicted

[BGonaSTICK]

Yes, sorry Dinkle. Jontydog's right, it's about the right price.

If you think that cheap LNBs are maybe a fiver, and a switch about a tenner, then you're in the right ballpark.