"I know this is probably a daft question, but....."
(Robbie Roulette, Northern Scotland)

How often have you been on an internet satellite forum or looked at a satellite magazine and seen this question?  It always starts the same way " I know this is probably a daft question but is it possible to have a dish inside looking out the window? " They then state that they live in a conservation area, listed building, housing association etc and they can't put up a dish. Sometimes the reason given is that the wife doesn't want a dish on the front of the house....

I had moved into my brothers flat whilst he was abroad and faced the same dilemma.I had sold my last flat and had taken my satellite equipment from my previous property and it was now lying in my lock up. I had read that it wasn't possible, or it only worked in the south of England but not up north, or you needed to replace a double pane of glass with a single pane, or you had to replace the glass with plastic,or it would work with some types of glass but not with others such as reflective glass, or you needed a very big dish.

Well I had no intentions of replacing the windows but I still wanted satellite TV and I knew my brother wouldn't let me put a dish on his property. One night I was perusing a satellite forum and I came across a post by a guy in Edinburgh.He was replying to someone who was asking the same age old  "I know this is a daft question....". He said he had a dish inside his flat.The window was double glazed and it was one of those windows made up of small panes of glass and it even worked with the curtains shut. I was intrigued. I had read a website about dishes for caravan owners which explained how to use the internal signal meter on the digibox to align the dish and get a signal, so I thought since I had all the gear lying in my garage I think "I'll have a go myself". If he could get it to work that far north mabye I a little further north could also be successful? Next day I got the gear from my garage and set it up in the bedroom.I had some of those big plastic bins from a DIY store and sat the dish on top.I fixed the pole with the bend in it on to the dish at the back so it would sit upright looking out the window.I was fortunate that this window looked out over countryside with no obstacles in the way to obstruct the signals from the sats to my dish, and it faced south/south east. I wanted to pick up Sky so the dish had to point to 28 deg east and so a south/south east window was essential. 

The sun is approx due south at 1pm BST and as the sun moves west 15 deg every hour at 11am BST it would be at approx 30 East which is nearly where 28E is. I didn’t know this at the time though. It really was a case of point and hope for the best. When I switched everything on and went to the menu for the internal signal meter I was disappointed to find no signal strength.I had read that there would be some signal strength showing even though I wasn't exactly on the sat but I had none. I found out later that sometimes I'd have to switch the box off at the mains, wait a minute or two and switch it back on before any signal strength would show.This is a problem with some Grundig or Pace boxes,and I have a Grundig. Anyway I tried for a while looking for 28E but nothing whatsoever would show on the internal meter.No strengh,quality,lock or ID. I switched off the box at the mains and made myself a cup of tea.When I came back and switched on again I had some signal strength. My dish was actually pointing almost exactly at 28 E but I didn't know it. Eventually I managed to adjust the dish and get about 60% signal strength and 50% signal quality. Quality is the most important thing. I was over the moon. I had managed to get a signal through glass.Within a few minutes I was flicking through all the channels. Once I had achieved that I had a go at 19E and then 13E. With Sky all the channels come up on the EPG but with other sats you have to input the frequencies for the channels you want into the other channels menu. You go Services, System Set Up, Add Channels, input the frequencies for mabye a German station if it's say 19E, Find Channels, Store the channels, Select, then Backup twice, Other Channels and Select your channel.

Each satellite cluster has a "Transport Stream identification: Astra 2 has an ID "0002", Astra 1 "0001" and Hotbird "013e".

The Satellite for Caravans website explains the digibox internal meter clearly with pictures. If I was doing it again I'd probably use an external signal meter preferably with audio pitch that rises as you get nearer the sat , then unplug the digibox and switch on again to reset the internal meter.Or I'd plug in an analogue sat receiver, find the sat by moving the dish around until I got a strong picture on the screen, unplug the dish put it into my digibox, switch on and then input the frequencies for the channel I wanted. This is fine for 19E and 13 E   because they still have analogue signals eminating from them. If the sat only broadcasts digital like 28E then the analogue receiver trick won't work. I also found that if I was on 28E I couldn’t just move the dish around to 19E and get signal strength and quality on the internal meter.I had to switch off at the mains, wait a minute or two and then switch back on to get readings for 19E.

I replaced the plastic bins with an old mic stand but I'm sure you could use a camera tripod stand or even build a small wooden plinth for the dish and sit it on the window sill. Some people put the dish in a spare bedroom and cable through to the living room where the TV is and no one else knows the dish is inside apart from the rest of the family. There are also proper satellite stands available to buy usually from sites that sell to caravanners. If you knock the dish or stand even a little you will lose the signal and have to realign it. I used a Zone 2 minidish, which is often used in the northern UK but the smaller zone 1 minidishes have also been used successfully even in the north. Recently I had a go again at finding 28E, 19E and 13E.I was fine with the first two but with Hotbird I couldn't get any signal strength or quality on the Sky digibox meter.I knew I was on the sat as I used another receiver to line up the dish on Hotbird. I  did have the ID showing 013e but fortunately when I inputed a frequency for Hotbird I actually managed to get the channel.When I checked again the internal meter, strength and quality showed nil.This just goes to show that some digiboxes have a mind of their own. My Grundig is very quirky. They really are meant for 28E and Sky services and don’t always like being moved to other sats.

I later went on to buy a separate non Sky FTA dedicated receiver, and large dish which I sat on a swivel computer chair and I can now receive sats from 42E to 15W through my window. I have another dish in another room for 30W .This receiver was a lot easier than the Sky digibox for finding sats with the internal meter. With the Sky digibox it takes a few seconds for the signal to register and sometimes you have moved beyond the sat and not know it. With an analogue system it’s easier because you just move the dish ‘til you get some sort of signal and keep adjusting until the picture gets better.Of course using an analogue receiver and dish inside probably does mean a big dish if you don’t want sparklies. Anyway back to digital. With practice you learn how far to move the swivel chair and dish, usually 3 degrees to get onto the next sat and even how far to tilt it up or down as you are travelling from east to west.As you head towards due south you have to tilt the dish back slightly as the sats are higher up the arc.

Not everyone will be successful with an indoor dish, especially if the glass reflects signals, or if there are trees or high buildings nearby.You do lose some signal through the glass so if you can put the dish outside do so. But an indoor dish is better than no dish. As an added bonus you don’t have to worry about water in the LNB or cable. And you could even try the big dish and swivel chair routine and have a very wide choice of sats.

Anyways I have been rattling on for long enough. I wish you success and remember you never know what you can achieve until you try.

HAPPY HUNTING.

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