You can phone us on 01 4526039 between 9 am and 7 PM Monday to Friday for advice and information on the products we sell. You can also find the answers to most frequently asked questions by clicking here
We can install the freesat system in the Republic of Ireland subject to installer availability
Satellite DIY Information
Below is a very useful article written by a member of the satellite Forum of Boards.ie called "Pye Continental" reproduced here in edited form with his permission.
"Recently I put up my own satellite dish and I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was. I think that anyone who is competent with general DIY tasks will find the same. There were a few things I learned along the way, so I've decided to write this to help anyone who is thinking about installing or has decided to install a satellite dish themselves.
To put up the dish, you'll need a ladder, a spirit level, hammer drill, a screwdriver and a couple of spanners or a ratchet and sockets (13 mm and 10 mm). To help point the dish, a compass is handy to find the rough bearing. A "Sat finder" signal meter is useful too.
A quad LNB would probably be enough for most people (you need one connector per satellite tuner, and there are two tuners in a PVR such as the Humax Foxsat-HDR). Regarding the cable, CT 100 cable is better quality as it uses copper shielding whereas the RG6 uses a silver coloured foil.
A nice advantage of a satellite dish over a TV aerial is that it doesn't have to be at a great height. Unless there are any tall objects such as trees or houses very close to you, mounting it on a wall which has a view of the southern sky will be just as good. You will probably have a choice of two or maybe even three walls on your house. This is safer for you, as you don't have to climb on to the roof, and will probably mean that the dish will be more sheltered from wind and rain. It's a good idea to put it up high enough so that it's out of reach of people from the ground.
To fix the mounting plate and L-shaped pole, you'll need to drill holes for four 10 mm plastic wall plugs. Use a spirit level to keep it straight and mark off your drilling points. 13 mm bolts are used to hold the mount in place. Once you fit the dish on to the pole and secure it, you can then go on to align (point) it correctly.
In the case of Freesat, this is the Astra 2 satellite group at 28.2 E. This is the same satellite group that Sky uses to transmit its channels from.
You could use a compass to find due south, and then move the dish back 28.2 degrees towards East. However, using these web sites, you can choose your location and the satellite you want to point at, and it gives you all the figures you need to align your dish correctly. It will also draw a map of your location and draw a line along where you should be pointing. This can give you a surprisingly good guide to line up against, especially if you compare to any landmarks or road intersections.
For the most accurate reading, I used a normal GPS car satnav to find out my coordinates, from the "current location" screen. I then put these in as my location. If you don't have a GPS, you can choose your approximate location on the map, or you can also get pretty accurate coordinates by going to Goggle maps and zooming in on your location, then right clicking and choosing "Centre map here", then right click again and choose "What's here?". The GPS coordinates will then be displayed in the search bar.
As for the vertical alignment of the dish (aka: elevation, or beam elevation) you can let those web sites calculate this figure for you. In Ireland it's going to be somewhere roughly between 20 and 22 degrees. The elliptical style dish looks like it's almost horizontal when it's correctly elevated, but because of the shape of the dish and the way the LNB is skewed, its focus is actually much higher. There's a gauge with notched markings on the back of the dish which allows you to tighten the bolts off at whatever the correct degree of elevation is for your area.
At this point, the "Sat finder" tool is useful for fine tuning the dish alignment. You turn up the sensitivity dial until you hear the squeak and the dial reads max, and then turn it down until you can just barely hear it and it is only slightly registering. Then you move the dish left and right ever so slightly, finding the middle point between where it cuts out and comes back. Lock off the horizontal axis (this is also called Azimuth by the way). You can go through the same process to fine tune the vertical axis (beam elevation) if you like also. Check the strength and quality readings on your satellite receiver to confirm.
There are actually lots of satellites all along the southern sky, from east to west. They are all in geostationary orbit at the earth's equator. This "belt" of satellites is known as the Clarke Belt, in honour of the science fiction writer, Arthur C. Clarke, who once predicted that satellites like these could one day be used for telecommunications.
While trying to align your dish, it is quite easy to think you have it pointed at the right satellite, but actually have it pointed at something else by mistake (often Astra 1). Keep this in mind if you appear to be getting a strong signal but can't seem to tune anything in. Satellite signals can also bounce off windows and metal, such as garage doors and caravans. Bear this in mind too if you seem to be getting a signal but it's not coming from where you think it should be.
Once you have your dish pointed correctly at the Astra 2 satellite group, you should also be able to pick up transmissions from the Eurobird 1 satellite because it is so close, at 28.5 E. There are some channels which you may wish to tune in manually, and you can get a list of them all with their tuning info at http://www.lyngsat.com/28east.htm
You might need to put a bit of thought into how to route your cables into your house and the best route to take. The type of tiles on my roof allow me to lift them very slightly so I can slide the cables underneath them and into the attic. Once there, I can distribute them where they need to go around the house. It's good to keep some slack outside and below the point of entry so that water is less likely to be ducted along the cable. Try not to make the cable runs much longer than they need to be though, so as to keep signal attenuation to a minimum. Your receiving equipment actually powers the LNB in your dish by sending a voltage up to it through the satellite cable too.
In addition to using the protective rubber boots at the end of the cables to the LNB, I also cut an empty plastic bottle in half and used some electrical tape to fix it over the connection points to help further shelter it from wind and rain. I put a cap in the top of the L-shaped pole and wound more tape around that. I smeared copper grease on all the mounting nuts and bolts to help protect them from rusting also."
I bought a freesat box from you and it asks me for a postcode, what do I enter?
The Freesat system is UK based and it has regional variations so uses the postcode system to determine what region appears. Obviously in Ireland we do not have UK postcodes so you decide what region you wish to watch and enter the appropriate post code.
For example for Northern Ireland you could use BT7 1EB for London you could use SW1A 1AA
If I have a Sky set up, i.e.. dish & LNB installed, can I buy a Free to air box and get the Free to air channels (ITV, BBC etc) from the Sky (astra 2) satellite?
Are Irish and UK channels available on satellite in Ireland
RTE, TV 3,and TG4 are available in Ireland via a normal TV aerial. They are however currently not available on free to air satellite unfortunately as they are contracted to sky TV.
Unfortunately no "free to view" viewing cards are available for RTE,TV 3 etc, a subscription to Sky television is required. At present these packages start at €21.50
BBC 1,2,3,4, ITV 1,2,3 ,4 and CH4,CH 5 and many more are available on Freesat/free to air. .
How can I edit channels on the DIY receiver
CH4/Film Four and other channels are not appearing , how do I get them back?
From time to time broadcasters changed their transmission parameters so occasionally you need to update your receiver as shown below.
Frequency details: CH 4 ,Film Four 10.714H 22000
CH 4 +1, More Four 10.729 V 22000
Ch5 10773 H 22000
BBC News 11954 H 27500
Men and Motors 10891 H 22000
How to add a channel in the Ferguson FTA receiver 3100 CK ,press play and please use the updated frequency details above. . If you do not have a fast internet connection we also have text instructions below video:
1. Push Menu.
2. Installation
3. Password default: 0000
4. Edit TP. (transponder)
5. Add TP
6. Enter Frequency details: From info above E.G. 10.714 H 22000
7. TP search
8. Push ‘OK’ to scan.
9. Exit all and scroll to end of your channel list (below number one) to watch these channels.
10. If you wish you can enter ‘channel edit’ in the menu and move these channels up the list.
We have TV also in Bedroom will that need an extra box?
To watch freesat channels on a second TV you need a second freesat box with a cable coming from the dish.
What areas can you install Freesat in?
We can install Freesat system anywhere in the Republic of Ireland. The DIY system we sell also works anywhere in Ireland.
Is it possible to collect orders?
To keep prices low (avoiding rates etc) we sell by shipping goods direct. Even with shipping added I think you will still find us cheaper than buying over the counter from other suppliers in Ireland.
Presently we have an aerial from which we get RTE 1, RTE 2, TV 3 and TG4 does freesat affect this.
Installing Freesat will not affect your existing aerial in any way and you will continue to use it in exactly the same way
I am a subscriber to the NTL basic channels (about 16) Can I have Free to Air Satellite installed and can I use both systems. How easy or difficult is it to change between them?
Yes a free to air satellite box is connected to your TV via a Scart's lead so all you need do is change channels on your TV to switch between satellite and cable or satellite and an RTE aerial.
I have a sky system installed & was wondering if I could connect A free to air box to same dish & use in a different room
In order to connect a free to air box you need to change the LNB (the part on the front of the sky dish where the cable connects to) to a multi output LNB called a quad Quad LNB (click here) . Obviously you also need a receiver such as this one , Free To Air box (click here) as well as cable and F connectors which you can see here , please click on CT 100 (click here)
Is it possible to use the BBC interactive (Press the red button) service on a Free To Air system?
Yes on an official Freesat receiver .
How can I watch German and Italian Free to Air Channels
Italian stations are available using our free to air receiver and an 80 cm dish pointed to the Hot Bird satellite. To watch German channels you can use the same system pointed at the Astra satellite or even better why not have both satellites Astra 1 and Hot bird on the same dish.
I was wondering if there such a system as a free to air receiver for an apartment without a dish .As I cant put up a dish in the apartment block
Unfortunately not, all satellite systems require a dish so unless a single dish and distribution system were installed when your apartment block was built you are unable to install your own free to air receiver
I'm looking for a satellite system that will allow me to view BBC channels and Hot bird Free to Air channels. Do I need to purchase two satellite systems to achieve this
A single receiver with an 80 cm can accomplish this using a multi LNB bracket.
Do Free to Air receivers have EPG's on them i.e.. can you receive something similar to Sky Guide with basic listings for Free to Air channels?
Yes a seven day guide is now available on official freesat receivers.
What is meant by standard installation?
Standard installation include 20 m of cable run , allows for most installations carried out by us. However, should additional bracketry, cabling, or labour for example be required, this may incur an additional fee which will be discussed with you before work commences.
I would like to get a satellite dish to see Italian channels as well as the Sky package (English) channels. Does this mean that I need to have two satellite dishes ?
An 80 cm dish with a multi LNB bracket can accomplish this.
How many sets can I run off one satellite box?
It is possible to watch the same channel on many TV's using the Ferguson box but we find that most people choose a second box for greater viewing flexibility.
Do I need a digital TV and video?
Digital satellite equipment will work with your current TV and video equipment giving improved quality picture and sound as long as they have a Scart's socket which most TV's will have made in the last 10 years.
Where is the mini dish placed on my house?
The dish points in a southerly direction so if you can see where the sun is between 11 am and noon then that is the direction you are pointing. If this is at the front of your house do not despair, we can usually supply extra brackets to mount the dish at the back of your house (extra charges apply to this). We strongly recommend you do not use chimney mounting as this is against the code of practice as issued by the confederation of aerial industries, however if your chimney is the only option available we can supply a lashing kit at a small additional cost.
Will I have to tune in all of the channels myself?
No. This will be done for you when your set is installed.
Who will install the digital satellite equipment?
We carry out all our own professional installations in the Dublin and Wicklow areas. All other installations are carried out by our installation partners around the country.
Is the digital equipment stereo compatible?
Yes, stereo and Dolby (surround) compatible.
Can you tell me what size dish I need?
You can use the Sky Digital Mini dish anywhere in Ireland for reception of Astra 2 ( BBC, ITV etc.) For Astra 1 and Hot Bird an 80 cm dish is recommended
