Where there's a will, There's a way!

Some thoughts and updates since writing Sky Satellite TV with No Problem

Looking back today on what I wrote, and picking up on some comments from here and other places, I thought I would just update and also correct something I said …

“Having moored send someone out ready to swing the dish, switch on the Tele and receiver.”  Says I… nope wrong way round!  Swing the dish to the east before switching on the tele and receiver.  If you do it in the order I said originally you may well just catch the wrong satellite if you swing it to east via south!

“Do you loose the signal at all if anyone rocks the boat?” asks Derek Andrews

Nope, and the signal won’t be lost even if the boat moves two or three feet forward and back if a boat passes.  Once that satellite is locked on, it takes an awful lot to shift it out of lock.

Andrew Denny on his site Granny Buttons “I'm strongly tempted to give it a go….. What do you do if you are single-handed?”

Well single-handedness is a knack on a narrowboat, as I am sure Andrew knows. .  But as ever, where there’s a will there’s a way of doing anything!.  So my tips then for single-handedly finding the ‘dot in the sky’… 

• If the TV is close to the front of the boat… most times it is… turn the screen to the window on the side you are standing to line up the aerial, turn aerial bend down and look through the window… repeat as necessary!
• If the window is a tiny porthole…….. aim the screen through the front doors and duck down as above and view through the front deck doors, again repeat as necessary! 
• Rig up a mirror system, or install a periscope through the roof!
• Rig up your webcam pointing at the screen, connect the webcam to the laptop. Take the said Laptop to the roof and sit it by the aerial, and watch the screen!!

I have seen some motorised dishes…. they are very expensive, and if you can afford it, then I suppose that is a way to go, but I bet I can get the satellite quicker by hand than any motorised dish can!