FreeSat Question(s)

LeeroyG

Hi Everyone

My first post - I've done a little search and couldn't really find an answer to my question so thought I'd post a new one.

We move house on Weds, to an area without Freeview - and also without cable. In our current place (central Manchester) we have Freeview & watch (almost exclusively, BBC, C4, E4 and More4). It therefore suits us perfectly.

At the new place, there is no terrestrial aerial - the current owners have Sky - since it blew off in a storm and wasn't replaced. So.....my questions:

1. With a working Sky dish, is there any way around paying the £150 installation charge for Freesat. I rang Sky, and they said no - the engineer would replace the exisiting dish if he thought it necessary. But it seems a bit of a waste, since it clearly already works.

2. Does anyone know if E4/More4 are set to come to Freesat soon? I really don't fancy paying £15/mth for the basic family package, simply for Ugly Betty & Without A Trace etc... And having seen Sky at other people's houses, I know for sure I can live without all the 200 other channels.

3. Does Sky have a complete monopoly of satalite television in the UK? Or is there another supplier? (NB We don't have cable, so Virgin not an option).

Any advice greatly received - for instance, can one just buy a Sky box off ebay and 'plug it in' to the Satalite dish?

Leeroy

missile

1. Sign up for years contract and get installation, equipment and maintenance for a year free. Your friend could recommend and claim from Sky.
2. No idea
3. Yes
4. You can buy a box for circa £30 off FleeBay, but as the dish blew off in a storm, it may need re-allignment which will cost you £50+
5. There are some variations between the channels on "Freeview" and "Free to Air" see the respective websites

deca_321

can any1 tell me is it really that simple to install a sat dish and receice turksat?

l got everything except the detecting device, l got a compass though.

navig8r

deca_321 wrote: »

can any1 tell me is it really that simple to install a sat dish and receice turksat?

l got everything except the detecting device, l got a compass though.

A compass is ok for general direction which you will need to know but you need a sat finder to align correctly. You can buy one at Maplin and I have used one ( from Lidl at half the price of Maplin but only available from time to time)to set up dishes for several of my family and friends ..nothing to it if you dont mind heights:D ..although I sited one in a garden ..

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=48325&criteria=sat%20finder&doy=3m4

Dave

ScoobieGirl

1) Get a box either free through Freecycle or off ebay or even better someone you know who no longer subscribes to sky. Buy a Freesat card direct from Sky for £20 or you should be able to use one (again) from someone who no longer subscribes, it should still give all the free-to-air channels. If you dish is still aligned it should be plug and play, maybe a call to Sky to activate the card if it is new.

https://www.freesatfromsky.co.uk.

From thier site

"I already have digital satellite equipment - what else do I need?

All you need to get access to the free channels available on the digital satellite platform is a freesat viewing card which costs just £20."

2)Sadly E4/More4 is highly unlikely to come to FreeSat soon. I forget the exact reason, but I looked into it when I signed up. It was some kind of conflict of interest. Along the lines of the Sky/Virgin spat they are having now.

3)Currently there is no other supplier, but BBC/ITV plan to lauch sometime later in the year

http://www.dtg.org.uk/news/news.php?class=&subclass=&id=1129