Superbeam/Superhero: YIPPEE! I have English TV

Paul is correct in what he has posted, in the 13 years I have been here I have seen quite a few " re-broadcast " companies and " freeview " cowboys come and go. Some were actually " stealing " non encrypted services from re-broadcasters claiming they were from another " easier to get " English satellite. There is only one non encrypted satellite location to get totally free UK tv, location 28.2 East. ( there are actually 3 satellites in that position delivering the service )
The dish size required in this area is a minimum 1m diameter ( known as a 1.1m ) to give partial uk reception, 1.3m ( sold as 1.4m due to height ) should give all UK channels. Anything above will give better reception in bad weather conditions and time of year signal variance ( like now when signal is weakest ), although not all free " HD " services can be guaranteed.
Freesat boxes are just smart Free to Air boxes with a more friendly user interface, similar to the UK Sky box operation without the Sky channels.

Paul´s pricing is on a par with mine and I agree with pretty much all he said, but I will name Simulsat and not mention the envelopes of cash to local officials

Hi Paul. Gosh that's a bit scary to read. All I know is they charged me nothing for installation and they even gave me free TV for the days remaining on my holiday as I'd only just joined them. Got to speak as I find and say that they've been amazing but thanks for your comments.

Sorry. You have not invested heavily, so have little to risk - so makes sense, for anyone paying every month, it is not such a good idea as legal system will pay for itself in 12-18 months, with no risk of shutdown & useless hardware.

They used to charge €400+ for an install....looks like they cannot get away with that now. Amazing !!! They are 100% cowboys, they steal what they do not own and re-sell it & have only just managed to avoid closure / arrest - however pleasant they may seem. However you are doing nothing wrong, so have little to lose. Word of warning, if you do ever wish to cancel - stop the direct debit first, otherwise you may find your account a little diminished with bogus admin charges - which is a common complaint against a number of these type of companies.

Paul´s pricing is on a par with mine and I agree with pretty much all he said, but I will name Simulsat and not mention the envelopes of cash to local officials

Simulsat...One of many. Don't get me started on Polaris world as what goes on in those resorts telecomms would send the average town hall running for cover (we installed the EL Valle system).

Not sure what company / self employed you work for, but would offer very cautious advice with any suggestion of 1-1.1 metre you suggest works locally - not for UK terrestrials. OK for pan Euro beam only - Sky News, music channels, CNN and ladies on sofas! Not o.k for UK terrestrials. Unless you happen to be in a freakishly good sweetspot.....Not seen anyone with terrestrials locally on a dish of this size. Realistically anyone wanting BBC / ITV 1.4 minimum. If you go further North signal improves, we have installers Denia way & a 1.2 is o.k (though you can probably do slightly less in this location).

1.4 metre offset locally (CB South) should be o.k in most applications, but not all - some areas including parts of Quesada, may need the 1.45 prime focus dish as there is a lot of interference in some parts - due to the many local microwave transmitters and those companies which seem to be incapable of sticking within their frequency range and allowed signal strength. which can interfere with signal, if dish catches errant signal, which can / does happen. Getting a lot of this in Torrevieja & OC at the moment.

We also install microwave internet for one company (Telitec) and have found that sometimes the technicians cannot even install these systems as another provider is 'washing' straight over the top. It is just so incredibly poorly managed / controlled.

First thing they should do is investigate what is going on at the ministry of telecommunications - branch Murcia. As before they can rectify these interference issues, they need someone to to this who is not getting paid / backhanded by the companies causing the problems in the first place - allegedly

Hi Paul,
Just for the record I agree with all you have said above, with the exception of the use of 1.1m ( LH110´s usually ) in this area. I installed several in this area during the Astra 1N period, advising that it may or may not work after the launch of the 3 new Astra 2 satellites. Most people at the time that took up the option were paying monthly and the system paid for itself in 6 - 7 months, I have not had one single complaint. I stopped installing 1.1m dishes about 6 months before the first of the Astra 2 sats were launched, advising people to hold fire until we all knew what was happening. I would not install a new 1.1m now, like yourself I advise minimum 1.4 ( 1.37 ) which we both know equates to a 1.3 when viewed from the satellite.
I would state that many of the 1.1´s I fitted are still working and although not receiving all BBC / ITV regions they still receive BBC1,2 ( some 3 & 4 ) ITV 1,2,3,& 4 etc, not all get ch4 & 5, but some do. ( Most of them are in the Quesada area ) My motorised lh110 is picking all these up as I type. The main problem with them is no " rain margin " and due to dish design they are easily affected by wind if not in a sheltered position.
You are welcome to come and check out the motorised system for yourself if you wish

I think you have a little luck on your side as everyone who has a 1 - 1.1 metre dish has long since phoned us to upgrade, I would assume for good reason. I have one such email today from a holiday home owner - frequent.

I would not even waste my time suggesting / trying as simply if it does work, will be not for long / certain times of day, great dob of luck on the location - even the 1.4 offsets do not pull 100% of the time (we cover a lot of areas), so trying to chase on a 1.1 is more trouble than it it worth and could not be defined as close to stable on terrestrials. I think to suggest that this has any chance of working or that people would even consider is trouble waiting to happen (I know you are not, but want to make that clear) - even if you have one / quasi stable one yourself - as you say, wind, rain and a minor change of frequency or atmospherics / interference and it will be problematic. In most locations now, they simply will not work. Depending on what measuring equipment you use, if you look at the airwaves locally (not satellite - but microwave / noise), you'll see why.

You are in Formentera, I can dig out clients that have the odd problem with 1.4 in benijofar / benimar - not helped by local interference (microwave masts nearby in some instances), most o.k. But as you can probably guess, would be suggesting larger, not smaller dishes in instances such as this.