told freesat install a no go, but still want to percevere

Quaddy

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hi guys

i am planning on getting freesat

i have just moved into a property in hawick, scottish borders.

i have bought two foxsat hdr boxes, one for the main lounge and one for the snug

i purchased sky pay once watch forever to get the basic install done and was then going to get the engineer to throw up a quad and two dual cable runs with some cash in his hand on the premise of futureproofing me for two sky+ systems ;)

they turned up this morning and after a quick survey said there was no chance of getting it installed on the property (large trees everywhere, and a sloping site with trees on horizon)

my fault for assuming area would be ok, this was news to me though

they did have a quick look in the garden and pointed out a spot at the very end of the garden on a wall which they said should be ok, but that they cant do that kind of install being with sky apparently, and i would need to get a local firm out and they would charge a fair bit.

off they went.

now having invested such a lot on the freesat kit, 2 boxes and having upgraded them both upto a 1tb pipeline drive and bought new VDH flat hdmi cables, heh, i am loathed to walk away with this now, i am stubborn to carry on a get freesat no matter what :rolleyes:

so, knowing that i want a quad lnb and two dual runs of cable, and the fact that it will have to span a gardens length and then be somehow 'hidden' as it goes over a drive, into the house, it wont be cheap, or even plausible for an installer, so thought i would go about it myself and source quality components (which frankly, the local guy here wouldnt use - i have used him before re. aerials and he uses basic supplies)

i would prefer ct125 cable to minimize degradation over such a long length on the circa 80m run.

the invacom c120 quad lnb looks to be a good one but i need advice on a dish, that will work with that lnb (is that even suitable for freesat?)

i have read that the longer the run, then its best to get a big dish than compensate with an amplifier, but am not sure at what size it becomes overkill, 60cm?, i keep seeing references to zones etc, how do i find out what zone i am in?? :confused:

any advice on the dish would be appreciated, and the lnb to be fair as i am only going on what i have quickly read and am a newbie to satellite stuff.

cheers for any info/addages to what i have mentioned :thumbsup:
 
hi guys

i am planning on getting freesat

i have just moved into a property in hawick, scottish borders.

i have bought two foxsat hdr boxes, one for the main lounge and one for the snug

i purchased sky pay once watch forever to get the basic install done and was then going to get the engineer to throw up a quad and two dual cable runs with some cash in his hand on the premise of futureproofing me for two sky+ systems ;)

they turned up this morning and after a quick survey said there was no chance of getting it installed on the property (large trees everywhere, and a sloping site with trees on horizon)

my fault for assuming area would be ok, this was news to me though

they did have a quick look in the garden and pointed out a spot at the very end of the garden on a wall which they said should be ok, but that they cant do that kind of install being with sky apparently, and i would need to get a local firm out and they would charge a fair bit.

off they went.

now having invested such a lot on the freesat kit, 2 boxes and having upgraded them both upto a 1tb pipeline drive and bought new VDH flat hdmi cables, heh, i am loathed to walk away with this now, i am stubborn to carry on a get freesat no matter what :rolleyes:

so, knowing that i want a quad lnb and two dual runs of cable, and the fact that it will have to span a gardens length and then be somehow 'hidden' as it goes over a drive, into the house, it wont be cheap, or even plausible for an installer, so thought i would go about it myself and source quality components (which frankly, the local guy here wouldnt use - i have used him before re. aerials and he uses basic supplies)

i would prefer ct125 cable to minimize degradation over such a long length on the circa 80m run.

the invacom c120 quad lnb looks to be a good one but i need advice on a dish, that will work with that lnb (is that even suitable for freesat?)

i have read that the longer the run, then its best to get a big dish than compensate with an amplifier, but am not sure at what size it becomes overkill, 60cm?, i keep seeing references to zones etc, how do i find out what zone i am in?? :confused:

any advice on the dish would be appreciated, and the lnb to be fair as i am only going on what i have quickly read and am a newbie to satellite stuff.

cheers for any info/addages to what i have mentioned :thumbsup:

Your problem comes in 3 sections . Firstly, installing the satellite dish. Secondly, running the cable to the house (how long?). Thirdly, distributing the signal around the house.

Basically, I think the Sky engineers gave you good advice, to get an installer who specialises in this type of work. Clearly, you haven't got much confidence in the local installer, so find someone else i.e. check the CAI list.

The first thing that needs to be done is to check that you can get a FREESAT signal at the end of the garden, an installer with a temporary dish and a proper meter to measure the signal level can do this and advise on the appropriate size of dish. Until you can be sure of getting an adequate FREESAT signal, there is no point in doing anything else.
 
temporary dish and meter, right, gotcha, thats sounds exactly what is needed, before going to any more expense - thanks for that, sound silly, but now i have the terminology i can mention that over the phone and the installer will get the gist then most likely!

appreciated
 
Another thought on your problem. I think you are wrong in assuming installers wont do this sort of work. There are companies that will, although it is obviously going to be a lot more expensive than a simple single install. Although, as you have no doubt discovered buying the equipment/materials required isn't cheap. I think you need to look for what the CAI calls system installers, used to installing aerial systems in flats, who are used to the problem of dealing with long cable runs.

However, no point in doing anything until you can be sure of getting a signal. If you can get a signal you might as well get an estimate for the rest of the work.
 

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