Astra 2 reception in Tenerife

[dallasboyes]

Hi everybody

I wonder if anyone can help me?

I have just relocated to Tenerife in the Canary Isles and I brought my sky box and card with me. I have not paid anyrhing on my card for 8 months so I can only get the freeview channels.
I cannot afford to buy BBC1/2 and Itv3/4 the cost for connection and the set top box is €600

Far too expensive for a pensioner.

I was on the Internet earlier and saw an advert for satellite tv by pc using a skystar 2 card, does anyone know if this would work over here, the cost was £49 which if it works together with a pc to tv router would be less than £100 expensive but cheaper than €600.

Can I ask for assistance here or am I in the wrong place, if I am sorry new to all this

[Analoguesat]

Yes the skycard 2 will work in Tenerife, but it isnt going to help you get the BBC & ITV channels. You cant get them as they are transmitted on a beam (footprint) focused onto the UK. You would need a dish AT LEAST 2.4m in diameter to get the Astra 2D channels!

BTW - you have to watch the TV on the computer unless you have a video card with video out on it you can link to the telly. (Most dont)

[dallasboyes]

Thanks for the information, all I need now is to find out how the skycard 2 works. Plus what else do I need to buy

[Analoguesat]

What do you have at the moment??

[Robbo]

Originally Posted by dallasboyes

Thanks for the information, all I need now is to find out how the skycard 2 works. Plus what else do I need to buy

Why do you want to buy a Skystar 2?

If you want to watch it on your main Telly, and not muck about with the computer an ordinary FTA satellite receiver would be better.

But either way you will need a satellite dish, and somewhere to point it. What channels are you hoping to get?


Not sure what a Skycard 2 is, anyone??

[LesAshmore]

Originally Posted by dallasboyes

Hi everybody

I wonder if anyone can help me?

I have just relocated to Tenerife in the Canary Isles and I brought my sky box and card with me. I have not paid anyrhing on my card for 8 months so I can only get the freeview channels.
I cannot afford to buy BBC1/2 and Itv3/4 the cost for connection and the set top box is €600

Far too expensive for a pensioner.

I was on the Internet earlier and saw an advert for satellite tv by pc using a skystar 2 card, does anyone know if this would work over here, the cost was £49 which if it works together with a pc to tv router would be less than £100 expensive but cheaper than €600.

Can I ask for assistance here or am I in the wrong place, if I am sorry new to all this

Hi, All you will need is a sat dish that can receive Astra 2, all the other equipment you have will work fine, You will be able to receive BBC1/2 and Itv3/4 with your existing freeview card, I live in Greece and I have done exactly the same as you but I have a 3.5 metre dish, I managed to buy one second hand and have it installed for 275 euro, I then saved up and purchased a Dreambox 7025 and now I can get many more channels in English, I watch Yorkshire TV as well as all the BBC channels, if you go that way what you need to do is phone Sky (The number on the card) and ask to be put through to the Free to Air department then explain about you wanting the freeview channels activating ie Ch 4 Ch 5 etc they will ask for your STB No and your card No and then after a few hours it is activated and no more probs

[Robbo]

Originally Posted by dallasboyes

I have not paid anyrhing on my card for 8 months so I can only get the freeview channels.

LesAshmore,

OP already has the Free to view Channels, so he doesn't need to ring up sly. His ex subs card will work in any Sly dodgybox as a Free to View card. ( Not freeview)

[LesAshmore]

Sorry mate but you are incorrect, I have literally just done it, after the card has been unused for a few weeks (Mine was 3 weeks) some of the channels are blocked ie Channel 4 Channel 5 in my case and I asked why, They then informed me that Sky use an update system and if they are not updated regularly the cards get some channels blocked, They just reactivate them with no charge, My mate has also encountered same problem and also another friend who has a Sky FTV box in his caravan if he doesnt use it for a while he also has to phone them up to get reactivated.

[Robbo]

Originally Posted by LesAshmore

Sorry mate but you are incorrect,

Moi?

No.

The card will update by itself, without having to ring up Uncle Rupes gang. Had mine discnnected from the dish for about 4 months, reconnected,waited a while, and back they came after a day or so.

But, if ringing them up can make the update process quicker, then that is worth knowing, if you don't mind paying for calls to non-geographic telephone numbers.

[LesAshmore]

I tried that to start with, I had a then defunct Sky box but It would'nt enable it, I was told by another ex pat that if it was the registered card that had expired (Stopped paying subscriptions) then the card was registered to a specific STB and would not reactivate unless it was to that same box well mine wasnt as I originally has Sky+ and I left that one in UK for my son so I had to phone them, I Think it took about 3 hours but they did tell me it can take upto 24, Having said that I now use the Dreambox and it doesnt matter at all now as the STB numbers are not needed.
Fantastic thing evolution