Vehicle mounted Sat TV

Submitted: Saturday, Nov 12, 2011 at 17:00

ThreadID: 90058 Views:3499 Replies:6 FollowUps:6

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JimDi

I intend going down the road of building a slide on camper,hard roofed, roof rack etc. When the caravan is sold.

Purchased 2011 Toyota 79 series diesel this year. Have selected a builder and gone thru the optional extras and so on. Finish price is starting to become less hazy and firming.

Researching possible TV options I stumbled across a Victorian based firm called ZYLUX. www.zylux.com.au. Had trouble with the link,sorry.
They have two Sat TV receivers. One is all auto and comes with a price tag of $2500, which is above budget.
Second option is called model no ASI portable 46 and comes in around $550.
Importantly for me it is small and light and there is a possibility that it may be able to be mounted atop the vehicle but still removable.

Dish diameter is 460mm ,height is 430mm and weight is 4kg.
Has anyone had any experience with these products. i would appreciate any input.
And before anyone says otherwise...yes I do sit around the campfire and yes we do enjoy looking at the night sky.
Regards
Jim

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Reply By: willawa - Saturday, Nov 12, 2011 at 17:32

Saturday, Nov 12, 2011 at 17:32

Hi Jim
as a rule (depending where you are going) the larger the dish the better the reception.
They say (who ever they are) the further you go south the larger dish. i.e in Vic & Tassie fofr example the minimum size should be a 65cm dish.

suggest you check out a few on google.

Good luck

Ed

AnswerID: 469847

Follow Up By: JimDi - Saturday, Nov 12, 2011 at 18:21

Saturday, Nov 12, 2011 at 18:21

Thanks Ed,
You are right as I have heard this before on other threads. Apparently when it comes to Sat dishes bigger is better. Altho for the life of me when you consider the distance between the satellite and the receiver dish sitting in the back of beyond whats a couple of centimetres.

I intend to contact this company next week and have a yarn. They must be reasonably sure of their product otherwise I guess they would not be in the market.
Jim

FollowupID: 744283

Reply By: Member - Rod N (QLD) - Saturday, Nov 12, 2011 at 18:31

Saturday, Nov 12, 2011 at 18:31

From what I can interpret, what you are talking about is only the dish, not the actual receiver. You would need to purchase one. VAST is the only way to go now. Check out some of the VAST systems available at various places. You could get a complete system for not much more than the antenna you are looking at.

AnswerID: 469852

Follow Up By: JimDi - Saturday, Nov 12, 2011 at 18:47

Saturday, Nov 12, 2011 at 18:47

Thanks for the reply Rod. Rereading their ad suggests that it is only the dish and I would need to purchase a decoder/receiver box.

I appreciate what VAST supplies on price but again I am looking at size. This dish has a 46cm dish as against 75-85cm. I dont want to suck it and see as the pundits say so I guess I will have to hope that someone out there has some knowledge of these particular dishes.
regards
Jim

FollowupID: 744288

Reply By: Ozhumvee - Sunday, Nov 13, 2011 at 07:33

Sunday, Nov 13, 2011 at 07:33

As I guess you are going for the slideon so as to be able to reach more remote and bush camping locations as well as having less internal living space that you may find you spend more time outside enjoying the surroundings.
Personally I would wait till you are actually travelling before buying sat gear for tv.
You may find as many do that it isn't needed, you spend the evenings chatting to others, sitting around the campfire etc.
Your biggest battle will be weight and exceeding the GVM of the ute, there may be plenty of things you have to leave behind that could be carried in the caravan.
We've spent months on the road and never miss the TV.

AnswerID: 469886

Follow Up By: JimDi - Sunday, Nov 13, 2011 at 09:45

Sunday, Nov 13, 2011 at 09:45

Peter thanks for the reply. Yes, we are going to the slide on to enable us to travel the harder to get to places. We have been a couple of years on the road with the van.
I understand the battle with weight as we continually review what we have in the caravan. it is amazing what one accumulates even when full time on the road.
We are still a few months away from finalising the slide on and have started to go thru the process of what we can or cant load into or onto it.
The TV came into our thoughts after the manufacturer suggested it could be done. This started after a simple comment like "well there goes the TV' after looking at the space available on the demo model.
Our intention on completion is to still travel full time until one or both of us says enough. Interspersed with a little house sitting.
Anyway I will continue scribbling on the drawing board in the meantime.
Regards
Jim

FollowupID: 744324

Reply By: Member - Alan H (QLD) - Sunday, Nov 13, 2011 at 10:05

Sunday, Nov 13, 2011 at 10:05

Jim

The dish size getting bigger down south is about getting further away from the satellite and having the signal traverse through a lot of atmosphere and interference as opposed to being under it and the signal just travelling through minimum atmosphere.

The satelilite is up over New Guinea somewhere.

Size matters

Alan

AnswerID: 469899

Follow Up By: JimDi - Sunday, Nov 13, 2011 at 11:33

Sunday, Nov 13, 2011 at 11:33

Thanks Alan,
The reason I got into this thread in the first place was because I stumbled across the above mentioned firm selling smaller dishes. I am staying away from the usual sat dish because of size and trouble stowing on a slide on.

The type of dish I originally mentioned is being marketed as suitable for use with caravans motorhomes etc and seems to be way smaller. I have an option of using a small free to air digital aerial for use around populated areas. This aerial will be easy to stow and carry , erect and so on.

I agree with your advice that bigger is better when it comes to dishes and that has been one of the reasons I have stayed away from satellite TV whilst travelling over the last few years. I decided that the dish was just too big (for me) to stow conveniently.

At this point in time it looks like the digital aerial will be the go.
Regards
Jim

FollowupID: 744332

Reply By: gragra - Sunday, Nov 13, 2011 at 12:12

Sunday, Nov 13, 2011 at 12:12

You are seriously being taked advantage of at these prices, look at www.satplus.com.au where you can buy a complete VAST setup for under $550. They are super people to deal with.

The dish supplied with this kit is adequate for anywhere in Oz, the Optus satellite is very powerful.

AnswerID: 469907

Follow Up By: JimDi - Sunday, Nov 13, 2011 at 13:18

Sunday, Nov 13, 2011 at 13:18

Gragra,
Thanks for your reply and your concern.
I have not as yet spoken to the company concerned let alone put my hand in my pocket.
The last retailer that took advantage of me was in 2006 and he ended up in court (not small claims) and it cost him $2500 above what he took me for. And I got my money back plus interest and costs. But all that took 12 months and interferred and disrupted my travel plans.
So I am now the customer who expects the retailer to back up his sales talk.

The reason I am staying away from VAST at this point in time is size of dish. If I cannot have a small dish then I cannot have Sat TV. The reason for this thread was to enquire if anyone knew of the ZYLUX type of aerial. I have fired off an email to the company concerned and will get as much info as I can before purchase. They indicate that this receiver will work on caravans and motorhomes and it is half the size of the norm. Now if it only covers reception in half of OZ then its no good to me.
Regards
Jim

FollowupID: 744352

Reply By: gragra - Sunday, Nov 13, 2011 at 14:50

Sunday, Nov 13, 2011 at 14:50

JimDi,

My advice would be to talk to Satplus and lay out the problem, they seem to know what they are talking about. As they do not represent a single solution they are likely to give you advice that you can trust. Including information on the various dish options available.

Goof luck.

AnswerID: 469923