I was in my local caravan dealers today and was on the verge of buying one of the Maxview Satellite Kits for the caravan (either the 54) or new eliptical 66 dishes.
I would really like to upgrade to Satellite but was jusdt a little concerned about leaving such an expensive piece of kit outside the van of a day when out. As they are such a hassle setting up I would not really want to keep putting it the van if not on site, has anyone had problems with these being pinched at night or during the day whilst off site?
I dont have one myself, but from what i have read there are a few people who put the dish inside the awning whilst out, if you do a search in the caravan section im sure thats where i saw it, someone had a great idea involving a couple of tent pegs to make it so you dont have to re-align every time.
check out maplin, i think they have an offer on at the mo for the maxview kit with box for 79.99, its www.maplin.co.uk its on the home page
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Your concerns i would think are very common, We too were dubious about leaving the dish set up when clearing off for the day, our dish is bolted to a pole which is deeply hammered into the ground in the A-frame, for added security we have a chain and padlock securing the dish to the pole, which although not impossible to remove makes it much more of a deterrent for the opportunist thief. But as with anything, if a thief wants it he will take it no matter what security devices you have on it.
If you want 100% security then taking it down and putting it back up everytime you go out is the only answer.
i think you can get a bit paranoid about leaving bits outside a dish is only about 15 quid an aquaroll is more expensive also this week lidyl or aldi are doing dishes etc real cheap
Been on holiday twice with the satellite dish and set it up at the rear of the caravan fitted to a small tri-pod. I then pin the tripod into the ground with ground pegs. Suppose how busy the site is and if you feel confident enough to leave the dish outside for the duration of your holiday.
I have a 66 cm dish on a maxiview tripod and leave it outside it has 3 tent pegs down through the tripod legs into the ground to hold it down.
For security I went to B&Q and bought a garden security set £14.99 which comprised of a 10 foot long plastic covered wire with loops at both ends and a security padlock. I thread one end down through the bracket for the dish and through the tripod legs between the brackets then through the corner steady... by the time anyone gets it off it's only going to be use for scrap.
Hi Rolls Royce, I agree with you to a point...I do not bother about leaving the aquaroll incl the float and water hook up pipes/ wastemaster etc. Most people have these already. However with the satellite dish I was looking at the better / bigger dish kit with tripod from Maxview. One is £175 the other £185 you get the Satfinder and cable etc (No decoder of course). Which means most of the money is in the dish LNB and tripod!! With this it's the other way round.... a lot of people have the skybox but not the portable outside receiving equipment.I decided not to go for the cheaper version as we do a lot of European touring and the larger dishes should be better for this.
I like your idea Sparky, just the job. Nothing can be made 100% secure but at least this would give some peace of mind if left out all the time. I will look at getting the kit and garden security set this weekend.
dave 11 check out aldi or lidyl save yourseelf a load of dosh. i made a great tripod for £3 its an old video tripod see loads of them at car boot sales. people have asked me on site about it. it looks realy pro (although i say it myself) also the money saved is another week on hols in the van== rolls
hi dave 11 found it -- lidl on monday 28 -- sat finder £4-- lnb £4--dish £15--complete system--dish/twin lnb/receiver/cable/bracket all for £60 and that means you have got £110 to spend on the tripod (dont think so do you)
I have been using Sky on analogue, digital and now Sky+ with the van over a 15 year period or so and nobody's nicked one or have I ever met anyone who has had one taken.
I bought a 66mm dish,tripod,compass and finder for £40 off ebay, all new,it usually takes about 5 mins to set up,the picture is superb every time,I have seen similar set ups for £180 in mags.
sometimes I use a smaller dish and the picture is just as good
another cheap method instead of a tripod-- i use to use a parasol base filled with water- put the sat pole into the top- make it secure and hey presto a sat base for about £6