How do i test kit

[skiddly]

H i have been given a 54 inch grey sat dish, and a thomson skydigibox (by 2 seperate people) how can i test that dish will work with receiver without buying freesat card i want to use this kit when touring in caravan i did connect with dish on floor and it said no satellite signal total numpty needs help ty colin

[nvingo]

Best way to start would be to creep round someone with a working Sky setup and who'll let you try your receiver connected to their dish - remember to disconnect the mains power first, then the coax feed into the receiver's LNB in, and connect the coax to the other receiver before the power - you don't want to kill someones kit while experimenting with yours!
If the function of the Thomson receiver is confirmed you should be receiving BBC, ITV and C4 channels plus lots of others without inserting a card.
Then when you know the receiver works, connect it up to the other dish, power it up and point the dish in the same direction as a Sky one, keep moving it in tiny amounts until there is a signal reading, then adjust the aim finely to maximise the signal.
To mount it on the wall use the same basic principle but by adjusting the left-right swing and up-down of the bracket.
A larger dish will require finer adjustment than a Sky minidish as it's focus is tighter, but that may not matter as the satellites at 28.2ºE which carry the Sky channels throw a lot of energy towards the UK.

[skiddly]

cheers ill be extra nice to the neighbours who have sky and ask them .