•Written by John Sidwell• ••Wednesday•, 08 •July• 2009 17:06•
[Editors Note: Want to know about free satellite hook ups in France? John Sidwell of Big Dish Satellite is your man. Here is an abridged installment of his latest Big Dish newsletter]
News from NordNet: NordNet, a subsidiary of France Telecom, has recently introduced Telephone via Satellite as an optional extra to their very competitive packages. Nowadays, the kit is issued free as long as you undertake to have the service for 24 months and all for 34,90 euros per month. Internet via satellite is perfect if you can’t get broadband via France Telecom’s copper wires or Wimax.
Even though we have France Telecom broadband here at Big Dish Towers , we also have the NordNet system so that we can demonstrate the system and, more importantly, back up the France Telecom system when it fails, which it does whenever there is a light shower over Limoges. Now, we have added the Telephone by Satellite option so our business can continue whenever Nature intervenes. So, as well as being able to demonstrate the NordNet system to visitors, we can also call you from a satellite phone so you can hear the quality for yourself.
The main reason why we have become a significant re-seller and authorised installer of NordNet systems is that we actually use it ourselves … and we pay just the same as everyone else. So we know how it works and how NordNet responds to problems.
Free to Air News: TalkSport has changed frequency recently and if you have a free-to-air receiver, you may have noticed that it has disappeared. To get TalkSport back , you will have to do a Manual Search on Frequency = 10906, Polarity = Vertical and Symbol Rate = 22000 … as usual, we tell you how to add channels on our website here:
Cordless Speakers: Our very popular Vivanco cordless speakers have sold out again and Vivanco won’t have any more until September. We have brought in a different type of speaker, again from Vivanco, but this one works on the same frequency band as WiFi. The speakers are more expensive at 169 euros, but they have superior audio quality to normal VHF and are splashproof. They are ideal for outdoor use. We will be demonstrating the new speakers at Eymet next week and they will almost certainly be tuned in to the Test Match.
New Product: If you buy a Freesat Plus or Sky Plus receiver/recorder, you will know that these boxes need two independent satellite feeds from the dish so that you can watch one channel and record another. It’s not always possible to add a second feed from your dish, so we have a device called a Stacker/Destacker which effectively converts one cable into two and your new Freesat Plus receiver performs just like it had two cables attached.
You have to fit a Twin Output LNB to your dish and the two outputs connect to the Stacker . The Stacker then shifts one of the satellite feeds upwards and combines the two feeds down the one cable. The De-Stacker then separates out the feeds into the two inputs necessary for the Freesat Plus receiver. The technology is not new but, in the past, the equipment wasn’t very good and problems ensued. This new system works fine and we have tested it here and it does what it says on the tin. The caveat is that the existing cable has to be of good quality … if it’s poor quality, then it won’t be capable of carrying the shifted high frequencies.
And Finally:
As usual, in August, our Installation Service is closed and won’t open again until September. This only applies to installations because our Mail Order service continues as normal and we will be here to answer queries and sort problems. So, if you need an installation doing this month, you will have to be quick as the diary only has a few dates remaining. It’s always the time of year when we make changes behind the scenes and this year will be no exception with new accounts software and website changes to be implemented.
Enjoy the summer and tune in to the Radio Treat of the year on Radio Four Long Wave ... in crisp digital sound via satellite. [For more information go to http://www.bigdishsat.com/about.php ]
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