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Message: <blockquote data-quote="easysat" data-source="post: 28543" data-attributes="member: 175305">Difficult to give a comprehensive reply in a few words so I'll throw a few things and hope others will add their comments. The channel you want to watch is free-to-air, i.e. the signal not scrambled to restrict it to paying subscribers. This means anyone in the coverage area (most of Europe), see <a href="http://www.eutelsat.com/satellites/13ehb4_popd.html" target="_blank">http://www.eutelsat.com/satellites/13ehb4_popd.html</a> , can pick it up. You will need a 60cm dish as a minimum based on the 50dBW signal strength shown on the map. You also need a clear view in the direction of the satellite from wherever you want to position the dish. The exact direction depends on where you live: east of due south in London or almost due south if you live in Berlin. Any obstructions (trees, buildings) need to be more than twice as far away as they are high, as a general rule of thumb. You can get some free software from <a href="http://www.smw.se" target="_blank">http://www.smw.se</a> for calculating the directions.As for the receivers, any digital satellite receiver will do. The cheapest cost around £60 to £100. The better-known brand names tend to offer more in the way of support and software upgrades although this is less important for a simple free-to-air receiver. Bear in mind there are some distinctly unholy channels  'O' broadcasting from Hotbird, so you might want to choose a receiver that can stop the kids watching these.For installation, I used the Satellite TV book in the Newnes Technical Library series by J Stephenson (I think). This explains what to use to fix the dish and how to install a cable without water getting into the house. Pointing the dish at Hotbird is relatively simple if you can temporarily position the receiver and a TV within sight of the dish. I find the most difficult part of an installation is routing the cable as you have to drill a hole through one of the walls.</blockquote>

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