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Jasperodus · 02-09-2010, 18:13

Hi.

Bought the standard (non-HD) Ross kit form B&Q. I guess I must have been very lucky - at least with the dish alignment. Here's my experience:

Had to return faulty decoder straight off.

Supplied wall mount was no good because dish needed to be almost at right-angles to wall but mount arm gave insufficient clearance for this. Had to buy a mast bracket and I managed to get hold of a suitable length of mast. I set the dish alignment for 28.2 E and then fitted the mast/dish to the wall bracket and gave the dish enough clearance above the gutter for it to be able to not be obstructed by the fairly shallow roof pitch.

This was all done with just a chair on the porch roof outside a bedroom window. I had the decoder connected to a tv in the bedroom. I had enough length of mast below the wall mount and so placed the chair under the mast, having tightened the mount/mast clamps so I could still just turn the mast slightly.

For initial aim, I had checked out the Dishpointer site, which overlays a bearing on a map for your location and requirements. There were a couple of other dishes around as well. Anyway, first picked up all the German channels. So, having read that I was close, I marked the mast vertically with the clamps, and was just a couple of mins before I was there - pretty good quality across a spread of channels so I marked that position as well, tightened everything up and re-checked signal.

As the dish was above gutter height (and obviously difficult to reach) I left it at that an ran the cable to the downstairs tv, checked setup/quality, and everything's fine. Been using the system for a couple of days with no issues and perfectly good quality.

So, yes, I would have liked to have had a meter. I would have liked a compass. But, however unlikely/lucky, I have what I want - access to the usual UK channels. We live in a VERY naff area for terrestrial reception. Wife is now really happy and I am just a bit pleased too.

Sorry for the length of post. Oh, legth of post yes, I did cut the excess mast below the wall bracket

Good luck to anyone else thinking of the DIY route. I was very lucky (?) it seems.

Thanks.

02-09-2010, 18:13	#139
Jasperodus Inactive Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 7	Re: B&Q Satellite - Ross freesat box and dish Hi. Bought the standard (non-HD) Ross kit form B&Q. I guess I must have been very lucky - at least with the dish alignment. Here's my experience: Had to return faulty decoder straight off. Supplied wall mount was no good because dish needed to be almost at right-angles to wall but mount arm gave insufficient clearance for this. Had to buy a mast bracket and I managed to get hold of a suitable length of mast. I set the dish alignment for 28.2 E and then fitted the mast/dish to the wall bracket and gave the dish enough clearance above the gutter for it to be able to not be obstructed by the fairly shallow roof pitch. This was all done with just a chair on the porch roof outside a bedroom window. I had the decoder connected to a tv in the bedroom. I had enough length of mast below the wall mount and so placed the chair under the mast, having tightened the mount/mast clamps so I could still just turn the mast slightly. For initial aim, I had checked out the Dishpointer site, which overlays a bearing on a map for your location and requirements. There were a couple of other dishes around as well. Anyway, first picked up all the German channels. So, having read that I was close, I marked the mast vertically with the clamps, and was just a couple of mins before I was there - pretty good quality across a spread of channels so I marked that position as well, tightened everything up and re-checked signal. As the dish was above gutter height (and obviously difficult to reach) I left it at that an ran the cable to the downstairs tv, checked setup/quality, and everything's fine. Been using the system for a couple of days with no issues and perfectly good quality. So, yes, I would have liked to have had a meter. I would have liked a compass. But, however unlikely/lucky, I have what I want - access to the usual UK channels. We live in a VERY naff area for terrestrial reception. Wife is now really happy and I am just a bit pleased too. Sorry for the length of post. Oh, legth of post yes, I did cut the excess mast below the wall bracket Good luck to anyone else thinking of the DIY route. I was very lucky (?) it seems. Thanks.