camping satellite suitcase 2!!!!

EIN

camping satellite suitcase 2!!!! for sale in maplins special €115


whats the difference between this new one A60GY and the previous one A96FJ? ( u can search by these product nums from the maplin site... but i cant see any difference between the two)

ethernet

The more expensive Comag is described as being suitable for use around the world. I'm guessing it supports PAL, SECAM and NTSC in that case. I think the Comag looks nicer too.

satellite07

EIN wrote:

camping satellite suitcase 2!!!! for sale in maplins special €115


whats the difference between this new one A60GY and the previous one A96FJ? ( u can search by these product nums from the maplin site... but i cant see any difference between the two)

have one of these,, not great quality the dish is made of soft metal and easy to dent or bend it.

the fixings on the dish are not good, the dont hold the dish firmly enough
and and its easy to move the dish even with the wing bolts tightened full. i didnt manage to get any satellites on the dish and spent 1 hr trying..

however the receiver is good...

i wouldnt recommend this product as a whole..

Pal

who actually buys this junk ?

wil

"Superb value
Well designed
Very portable
Some minor hardware issues
Dish too small for reliable reception in some areas"
"Build 8/10
Setup 9/10
Searching 9/10
Navigation 8/10
Performance 8/10
Features 9/10
Value 10/10
What Satellite Verdict 88%

its amazing that such a comprehensive and high performing package can be assembled for less than £100, but Lidl managed to do it for £30 less" - Martin Pipe
What Satellite & Digital TV July 2007 pages 54-55

Only bettered in review in wotsat by a €900 Kaon

What is Your definition of junk?

satellite07

wil wrote:

"Superb value
Well designed
Very portable
Some minor hardware issues
Dish too small for reliable reception in some areas"
"Build 8/10
Setup 9/10
Searching 9/10
Navigation 8/10
Performance 8/10
Features 9/10
Value 10/10
What Satellite Verdict 88%

its amazing that such a comprehensive and high performing package can be assembled for less than £100, but Lidl managed to do it for £30 less" - Martin Pipe
What Satellite & Digital TV July 2007 pages 54-55

Only bettered in review in wotsat by a €900 Kaon

What is Your definition of junk?

the quality of the fixings of the dish are very poor, even with all the wing nuts tightened there is still movement in the dish.. i found it impossible to get any signal from it...

there are no elevation marks on the dish either!! so its difficult to get the elevation correct..

the dish is made of soft metal thats easy to dent or mark
i wouldnt say its a high performing piece of equipment!

satellite07

satellite07 wrote:

the quality of the fixings of the dish are very poor, even with all the wing nuts tightened there is still movement in the dish.. i found it impossible to get any signal from it...

there are no elevation marks on the dish either!! so its difficult to get the elevation correct..

the dish is made of soft metal thats easy to dent or mark
i wouldnt say its a high performing piece of equipment!

ok anyways had another play around with the satellite kit..

im amazed... i got it working all free to view channels available cnn film4
bbc etc etc all coming in at a quality signal of about 75% crystal clear
used a cheapo sat finder and after 20mins fiddling managed to get astra 28.2
working perfectly wonders never cease... it seems quite robust to movement too... installed the suction cup on a floor tile on a patio table houses and trees directly in the path of the satellite..

anyways ignore my previous comments,,, its a good piece of gear for using to practice on too... its only a 39cm dish!

i would imagine if i had a larger dish i could get the signal quality very close to 100%

during the tuning process i managed to pick up a few satellites with signal strengths off the sat meters scale,,, very stong but was unable to identify what satellites they were...


http://www.digicams-uk.com/prod91.htm

guess i need to invest in one of these!

byte

wil wrote:

"Superb value
Well designed
Very portable
Some minor hardware issues
Dish too small for reliable reception in some areas"
"Build 8/10
Setup 9/10
Searching 9/10
Navigation 8/10
Performance 8/10
Features 9/10
Value 10/10
What Satellite Verdict 88%

its amazing that such a comprehensive and high performing package can be assembled for less than £100, but Lidl managed to do it for £30 less" - Martin Pipe
What Satellite & Digital TV July 2007 pages 54-55

Only bettered in review in wotsat by a €900 Kaon

What is Your definition of junk?

I'm sorry, but saying the next best thing to a camping sat system is a Kaon is hilarious!
Wotsat must be doing the impossible, and continuing to get worse!

wil

Satellite07 - well done, perseverance pays off. I agree with you about the fittings, a bit surprised about the metal but there appear to be a number of variations of these. I will go in to a bit more detail later whan I address the OP question.
Byte - that last comment is mine not wotsats. From reading their receiver list at the back of the mag, the Kaon is rated 90, the next highest is this kit at 88.
Ridiculous I absolutely agree but serves to illustrate that not everyone considers this kit as bad as some people would prefer us to believe.

wil

Maplin Lidl Aldi etc / Comag Silvercrest Tevion Omnisat etc Camping Satellite Kits. (I said I'd get back to this)
Questions about these kits are constantly coming up, mostly bought from discount supermarkets or Maplin when reduced. (Reasons, merits and dismerits for another discussion)
What is the difference between them?
Their simple answer to the specific OP question "Smaller case, metal dish, different fittings, receiver and compass"
My simple answer to these kits listed in general - Not a lot - price, badge, some cosmetic and minor features.

Long boring answer follows
These particular kits are available in a wide range of guises and names but are essentially the same.
Kit
Small 12v FTA receiver plus small 35 x 39 cm oval black plastic or white steel/metal dish with various mounts and fittings. Accessories usually 10m low quality cable, f-plugs, satbeeper or "satcompass" in hard plastic case or soft carry bag
Receiver
AFAIK all the variations of this 12v receiver, generally known as a Comag SL65/12 are manufactured by GMI in Taiwan, (chips from ALI, s/w by Suresoft) a selection of frontplates attached and brought to us in Ireland via import companies such as Siemsson and Comag, rebadged as Comag, Silvercrest or Tevion, to Maplin, Lidl and Aldi stores
Other rebadges may include Skyplus, Metronic, Neuling, Visionic, Astro, Chess, Globo, Lorenzen, Boca, Televes, Medion, Kyostar, Premcomm, Maxview, Omnisat.

In terms of receiver specs there is very little difference. Receiver supplied is a GMI 8011 equivalent available in a variety of panels, housings and features. Almost all the tech specs I have seen recently are identical, the only obvious technical differences between receivers are some have a 4 character led display while most have a simple 2 led indicators in a small front display. One model pictured has a rounded enclosure with stand for putting on edge. All have 3 buttons in various shape and size and position. I dont know if these are specified by importer or as supplied by manufacturer. One supplier includes an external IR sensor

Dish
The main kit differences are to be found in the dishes. I have seen and tested 2 types one black plastic, one white steel, there may be a third or B grade as I have heard mention of a flimsy metal dish easily dented possibly with similar ball mount to the black plastic - I am not familiar with this.
The black plastic dish is reasonably rigid and light with detachable plastic lnb arm. It has a ball type mount attached to the centre of the lnb arm, hand tightened single locking screw. It attaches to various items - a suction base, a g clamp and a wall mount.
The white steel dish has a folding lockable lnb arm, independently tightened inclination and rotation mount with 2 piece hinged plastic base which allows for table, wall or pole mount.
It makes for more sensible allignment than the "wobbley" ball type mount.

Ridiculously varying prices
A96FJ Portable Satellite Camping System/Satellite Suitcase - case with black plastic dish - was £99.99 now £79.99
A60GY Camping Satellite Suitcase System/Satellite Suitcase 2 - case with white dish - was £99.99 now £69.99
A04GG Digital Mini Satellite Kit/Mini Sat System - no case, white steel folding dish - €149.99 in current catalog
B69CV Digital Mini Satellite Kit - B Grade Mini Sat System - no case, white metal folding dish was £69.97 now £54.99
A84FJ 12v DVD-S receiver - receiver only - €81.99 in current Irish catalog.

Recently Lidl sold kit appearing identical to No1 above around €90 to €99?
Subsequently Aldi sold kit appearing identical to No3 above, white steel folding dish including satfinder and soft carry case for €80 (best price Ive seen so far)

I was quite shocked to find companies on line who claim to manufacture this equipment, sell the case with dish and accessories minus receiver for more than I paid for the whole kit, a lot more.
They also sell the receiver for a lot more than I paid for the whole kit, €59 more, €59 more, for the receiver on its own. Admittedly it comes with an external IR sensor.
So in sterling
85 + 99 = £184 for kit comes to almost 3 times what I bought very similar from Aldi at €80

Conclusion
The receiver is small, light, generates no heat and is a joy to use. I have one currently disequed to 4 different large dishes, none pointing at Astra2. It is fast, no discernable lag from sat to sat, has a favourites and 8 categories, and for channel selection it works the way I want it. Only obvious minus points are no RF modulator (I can live without) and no RGB (not really an issue for me as picture quality is fine and variety, languages and quality content are far more important than hi-def. I have digibox to fill that void.
Of the dishes I prefer the steel one with folding lnb arm. It is much sturdier, more portable and less fiddly than the plastic version.
They are however too small to be a viable alternative to a larger dish. except perhaps in very limited situations. They do work though but this is limited to areas of good signal strength. Rain will likely also play havoc with the signal.
Its a dish for occasional use, ask no more of it.
Would I pay Maplins prices - NO. Not unless I could get it at b-grade prices and really needed camping kit.
For a fixed installation you can get far better kit and keener prices at specialist satellite stores such as satellite.ie