Satellite Dome

Has anyone fitted a satellite dome to a Warwick XL?

I have been speaking to Vanbitz, who were very informative, and they want to recommend a Sat Fi RV dome. The problem is that the footprint is 83cm diameter. I have tried to measure an available space on my roof and it seems I may have 83cm but it's going to be very tight between the 2 forward skylights. (I have a solar panel fitted to the back end)

I don't want a UK only satellite but one that covers most of France as well.

Any recommendations welcome.

Hi David

My immediate thought is, "Would any dome cover most of France?" now the footprint has been quite savagely pruned??

I don't know - but it would be worth making sure before parting with a lot of cash.

Having said that, Eddie Jones (VanBitz) is as good as they come, and he certainly wouldn't try to sell you something that won't do what you want. If he says it's OK, then I would be happy with that.

Dave

Hi David.

Did you sort out your dilemma re a satellite system, I am in the same situation.
As Gromit said, VanBitz is good so is Roadpro of Daventry.
I don't wish to spend a fortune on a system that may not work below Bordeaux.

Leighton.
Leighton.

Hi Leighton

Coincidence or what - I mentioned this earlier today in another thread.

Have a look at the Maxview Crankup.
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Not too expensive, and I always found it more than satisfactory. I was usually sitting back and watching telly while the auto-seek systems were still going round in circles on nearby vans. I reckon that with a bit of familiarity, two minutes at most.

Easy enough to fit yourself too, and you could get half a tube of Sikaflex under the mounting plate if you wanted to be really sure it's water tight.

Dave

Hi Gromit.
Looks good and price good too, do you have the 85cm dish or 65cm one?
Also does it work in the south of France And Spain?

I'm also looking at Roadpro's Camos crank up Planers system, similar to the snipe, very light and compact with a performance of a 65cm dish. Price good too.

Thank you for the info, sadly, it gives me more for my aged brain to process, but I am grateful.

Regards Leighton.

Hi Leighton

I don't have the Maxview any more. We watch very little TV in the van so it wasn't worth bothering when we got the new one.

We did have the 65cm dish, but I can't give you any reliable info about how far South it would work now, as we had ours before they reduced the satellite footprint.

I don't think anything is likely to work reliably in Spain. You hear of some successes, but I think it's pot luck if you can get a good signal. I think it would be OK for at least two thirds of France.

The thing I liked about the Maxview is that there's nothing to go wrong. It was perfectly stable in all but a howling gale. Domes can be used in any weather conditions of course, but have you seen a cut-away at any of the shows? The dish inside most of them is tiny, and often a weird shape. Can't possibly be as good as a big bowl!

Hope this helps a bit.

Dave

Bad Penny wrote:Hi Gromit.
Looks good and price good too, do you have the 85cm dish or 65cm one?
Also does it work in the south of France And Spain?

I'm also looking at Roadpro's Camos crank up Planers system, similar to the snipe, very light and compact with a performance of a 65cm dish. Price good too.

Thank you for the info, sadly, it gives me more for my aged brain to process, but I am grateful.

Regards Leighton.

I have the crankup plus and it has excellent performance and is safe up in high winds as well. It doesn't matter what you have you won't receive Astra 2 in the south of France or Spain. There are plenty of other satellites but the English language programmes are mainly limited to news channels such as BBC world and Sky news.

Peter you are correct, all my research suggests that much beyond Bordeaux, if one gets a picture, it's luck.

We don't watch much tv, therefor it is pointless spending a large sum of money. A crank up I can live with, this will give us the opportunity to keep up with the latest news etc. I believe the Camos plus crank up will pick up about four or five other satellites as an option, so for £369 seems a good buy.

Leighton.

Do a bit more research Leighton.

I've also had an Alden planar system which is very much like the Camos in principle. It wasn't as good as the Maxview.

Can't say more than that, and the system may be much improved by now, knowing how quickly technology moves on. Just a quick caveat though.

Dave

Thanks Gromit, will do.

Leighton.

You need to make sure your receiver is 'free to air' not freesat to get the full range of satellites.