Brendan Hughes

It's a long shot, but I'll try...

I understand that with free-to-air Satellite TV, as well as getting various domestic TV channels, you also get domestic radio stations.

World Service reception in Lisbon is utter pants, and I'd love to be able to have Radio 4 on in the kitchen for 15 mins at a time (the wife perhaps more so).

I have a satellite dish mounted, but never use it as can't be bothered with TV. If it helps me get R4, that'll be more interesting.

Anyone know about this, and if so, what would be the easiest way for me to get the radio? Do I plug the decoder (is that the right term? Black box?) into the radio, or do I have to plug it into a TV and then switch it on without picture? I got some sort of box with the house, not sure what it is - I think the instructions are all in Italian.

Oh the irony of having to buy a cheap B&W portable telly for the kitchen, to listen to the radio...

(I can also get it through internet, but don't want to switch the computer on for 10 mins of a morning, and a Cable Radio that someone here recommended is presumably still not in production.)

Thanks!

Brendan

douglasb

Don't know about free to air, but I'm on the minimum Sky contract (£16 per month) and there are loads of radio stations available (inc R4 and World Service). To listen to the radio, you just use the TV sound and watch a blue screen telling you which channel and station you are listening to.

The radio station channels are from about 800 upwards.

hedgehog

R4 should be on a normal channel but if your box has an audio out then you shouldn't need to connect a TV, just take the audio out into some speakers. If it is only to get WS and R4 you might even find that you can just put a cheap pair of computer type speakers into the headphone socket.

You can take a look here for channel allocation and stuff:

http://www.lyngsat.com/

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

I've just done this - my house already had a dish on it, so I bought a Sky box off Ebay, plugged it in, and I get a whole load of free channels: BBC 3 and 4, ITV 3, Motors TV, half a dozen news channels, plus a whole load of shopping channels and other rubbish.

I also get a load of radio stations including all the BBC stations. You can get the audio straight from a couple of phono jacks on the back of the box, you just plug it into an amplifier and speakers like any other hi-fi component. A set of PC-type active speakers would work well too, you just need the right adapter cable. All you need the TV for is so you can tell which channel you're on - once you know the channel numbers for the radio stations, you could choose them 'blind' with the remote.

Brendan Hughes

ooh, cheers all - looks like I'll have to dust off the black box and get my Italian colleague to flick through the instructions...

Brendan Hughes

Damn - just had a look at hedgehog's lyngsat (thanks for that site), and they say the main Beeb Radio channels are all on Astra, as are the TV channels. Apparently reception here is atrocious, so you need a bigger dish for Beeb TV - as will I to get the radio. Not sure I can be bothered to cough up so much. WService should be OK, maybe...

OBH6UK

Astra 2 reception maybe poor in Portugal but Hotbird should be OK.

BBC World Service, radio (digital) and BBC World, TV (both analogue and digital) are available free to air along with some other English languge radio stations.

www.lyngsat.com/hotbird.htm

Brendan Hughes

Thanks . Got Beeb World TV on cable, so don't need that.

Is there any way I can look at (for example) lyngsat and work out which satellites give good reception in Portugal? I see the Tracker and Europe pages give bearings, but these are a tad Greek to me. Once I work out which are good (or not), I'll go back to the channel pages and see if I want what the good ones offer.

OBH6UK

www.lyngsat.com/freetv/Portugal.htm

and

www.lyngsat.com/freeradio/Portugal.htm

Will give you a list of birds that may cover Portugal.

Generally Astra 1C - 1H and 2C, Hotbirds 1,2,3,4 and 6 and Eutelsat W2 are the usual birds for mainland Europe. Note BBC Radio on W2 is encripted.

Brendan Hughes

Erm - am I looking at the wrong pages? I thought they give info on what free TV and Radio originally comes FROM Portugal, not is received IN Portugal?

OBH6UK

Both, that is why I said may cover Portugal. You could also try

www.satcodx1.com/por/

Brendan Hughes

ooh, thanks for the edit, I can understand that one!

<comes out from under kitchen table trying not to look too sheepish>

OBH6UK

Sorry, if I was not too clear at first. I can't find a site that gives a specific list of birds that can be received in Portugal. The only other way is to look the footprint for specific channels and birds.