moving sky out of GB

[Godfather]

Yep. I bought a second hand Sky digibox (therefore no contract) and got a free viewing card from the BBC and now I've all the free-to-view channels in my holiday flat in France.

[JohnS]

Where do you get the free channel card??

[Berno]

I think the free channel cards are available from the BBC.

Hang on.......

Yep. Just found this on the BBC website:

To get your free-to-view card please call Free-to-View Customer Service on 0870 243 8000 between 8.30am and 11pm daily (UK national rate - some calls recorded to help training). The Minicom number (same hours) is 0870 2412704. This service is only available if you're a UK licence payer.

Hope this helps

[marcoeser]

Does anyone have experience taking Sky Digital out of england?

[JohnS]

Thanx Berno!

[marcoeser]

This prospect has just got me a little excited, but I have a few questions:

what free to air channels can you recieve, is it only the bbc's or are there ohers?

Where do you suggest i get a second hand digibox, and about what price should they go for?

Thanks, Marc

If you already have Sky, then it's a piece of cake....just take your digibox with you to wherever you are going, and get a local sat dealer to put a dish up for you. If you've had your box fro more than 12 months it doesn't need to be connected to the phone line anymore. Obviously this works best if you're within the footprint of the Sky satellite!

The key is not to let Sky know you're outside the UK, as officially and legally Sky are not allowed to broadcast outside this area.

I took my stuff to Germany but I still use my parents UK address and I pay Sky direct debit from a UK bank account.

Depending on where in Europe you are, you might need a bigger disk...I'm in southern Germany and get away with a normal small Sky digital dish. I can receive all channels except those on Transponder 55 (I think it's 55 which includes Hallmark, Sky Travel, Tara) as this has a smaller footprint which doesn't reach this far down.

If you don't already have Sky, or for some reason can't maintain a UK address, there are lots of companies here in Germany (and I'm sure in other European countries too) that specialise in Sky for ex-pats. It costs a bit (going rate here is around 450 UK pounds, basically because you can't get the BIB-funded discount for having your box linked to the phone line). They will do everything you need, including setting up UK address and paying from UK bank accounts if required.

[RMCF]

Marcoeser

If you are looking for a 2nd hand digibox, check out the auction sites. I got my Panasonic DSB30 for £120, and an Amstrad one for £110 shortly before that. If you are not fussy then you can pick up less featured ones for cheaper (and depending on the bidding). Try www.ebay.co.uk, www.yahoo.co.uk, www.loot.com.

[Godfather]

I picked up a silver Panasonic for £55 a few months ago on the classifieds forum at www.thedvdforums.com

[Godfather]

Originally posted by marcoeser:
<STRONG>what free to air channels can you recieve, is it only the bbc's or are there ohers?</STRONG>

The free channels that I can think of are: BBC1, BBC2, Channel 4, 5, BBC Knowledge, BBC Choice, BBC News 24, Sky News, Bloomberg, TCM (Turner Classic Movies). I think these are the main ones but there're quite a few more, and also many radio stations.

I was in Tenrife a few months back & I went in an English bar & they had Sky Digital rigged up. The sound & picture were spot on, even on the BBC channels.
Cheers, Neil

[RMCF]

You might find this link useful:
http://www.SatcoDX2.com/0282/eng/

It gives a list of channel information including footprints.

I have a friend who has digital installed in Sweden. He seems to have no problems but he uses his own 1 metre dish, not a minidish.

[geof]

I jus set up a sky box in holland with a 1 metre dish too. u can use this link to work out where you need to aim your dish. all u need is a compass.
http://www.ses-astra.com/satellites/fleet/astra1.shtml

i dont hav a card at the moment but i get bbc1,2,3,4 an sum other crap.

i'm tryin to hav it on 2 tvs but im not gettin sound on my 2nd tv(via coax cable), any1 know y?

[Heinz121]

Originally Posted by geof

i'm tryin to hav it on 2 tvs but im not gettin sound on my 2nd tv(via coax cable), any1 know y?

A UK Sky digibox outputs PAL I (the UK standard).

Your 2nd TV is not PAL I.

QED.

[geof]

so new tv necessary, cheers, it was driving me mad!