What's happening at RoadPro

2011-07-04T02:04:00.001-07:00

Someone else who needs to be able to get on-line everywhere he goes is Les Oliver. Les has one of our Crystop 85cm Internet systems fitted to his Hymer and relies on it to run his business, no matter where he is in Europe. “I live in the motorhome and can run the business just as easily as if I was in an office” he says. “It’s a fantastic piece of kit”.

2011-07-04T01:59:00.000-07:00

Mr & Mrs Roads brought their brand-new Burstner Argos 747 to us to have a Crystop Internet / TV system installed along with one of our new InovTech 18.5” TVs. Unlike Les Oliver (see separate story) they are not using it to run a business but the Crystop dish combined with an IPcopter service package will allow the Roads’ to watch TV and access the Internet (including VOIP services such as Skype) just about anywhere in Europe.

A Cheyenne in Morocco needs a Kathrein

2011-06-12T05:04:00.000-07:00

Julian and Valerie are planning to travel as far afield as Morocco and chose to have a Kathrein CAP 910 fitted to their Autotrail Cheyenne 840SE.

Although the choice is limited that far south, other CAP 910 owners have reported back to us that they could still pick up some British TV and radio channels.

We're on the Gadget Show!

2008-12-28T08:07:00.000-08:00

One of our best-selling 12V plug-in products is our toasted sandwich maker. But we've been a bit surprised at just how many were being ordered during the past few days.

It turns out that, not only had our fantastic product been featured in the Daily Mail but it was also shown on Channel 5's Gadget Show where the presenter demonstrated a disturbing lack of ability to even butter a slice of bread.

Unfortunately, in both cases the toaster was just one product in a list of five being described as "the silliest gifts of the year". But we've got thick skins at RoadPro. We've sold thousands of 12V toasted sandwich makers and haven't received a single complaint. Anyway, since the publicity, sales have soared proving the truth of the old adage: there's no such thing as bad publicity.

RoadPro Goes Rallying - again.

2008-11-20T08:40:00.000-08:00

The RAC Rally was held on the 14th - 17th November. Recreating the RAC rallies of the 60's, 70's & 80's, the event saw 55 vehicles of the period covering 946 miles - 204 of them on special stages which took in forests and the Oliver's Mount racetrack in Scarborough.

Seeing and hearing Ford Escorts and Cortinas, Porsches and Lancias racing flat-out was an exhilarating spectacle and taking part in a 40 year old Saab 96 with a 3 cylinder, 2-stroke engine was even better! Driven by Jim Valentine with Andy Harris as navigator, our classic piece of fine Swedish engineering (the car used by Erik Carlsson to win the RAC Rally in 1962 & '63) came 1st in class, 2nd in the historics and 20th overall, beating a Porsche 911 into 21st place!!

Click here to see the cars in action. We're in the second car up.

Channel 5 News.

2008-11-04T11:52:00.000-08:00

Channel 5 has gone "free to air" at last.

This means that you will be able to watch all the wonderful programmes available on this channel without having to use a SKY receiver.

You will have to perform a satellite scan in order to enter it into the free to air receiver's channel list. After you've done that, at the moment, look for Channel 6335 in the channel list.

Channel 5's sister programmes, Five US and Fiver are still encrypted.

At the Show

2008-10-06T08:01:00.000-07:00

With just a week to go until the International Caravan & Motorhome show at the NEC, the tension is mounting! Who will be there? Who won't be there?

RoadPro will definitely be there - Stand 1171. Making special guest appearances will be "Diamond" Dave Newell of Practical Motorhome fame and Brian from Car-Fi. Both Brian and Dave will be happy to answer questions on installing things in your caravan or motorhome.

We will have plenty of show offers on satellite equipent, TVs, etc and along with Blaupunkt - who are on the next-door stand - we'll be demonstrating their fantastic new range of GPS systems, with prices starting at under £100.00 (just).

We also hope to be showing the new Pocketsurfer. This got a tremendous response when we introduced it at last year's show and the new model is even better with a new pricing structure which includes Euopean roaming rates at £0.05 per minute.

We hope to see you there.

Now that's a motorhome.

2008-10-01T13:11:00.000-07:00

At RoadPro we send goods all over the world and some of our customers are very interesting indeed. This week we're sending a consignment of Procar DIN sockets to an American company which makes some of the most spectacular motorhomes I've ever seen. How about this monster based on a long-nosed Kenworth truck?

You can see more by visiting Kibbi's website: http://www.kibbi.com.

CHARGE !!

2008-10-01T06:36:00.000-07:00

When caravans, motorhomes and boats are parked up for the winter, it's a really good idea to take some simple steps so that, when the sun comes out next year, your 12V electrical system is in good condition and ready to go. Here are some good tips from CTEK, manufacturers of "the most intelligent battery chargers"

When preparing your vehicle or boat for Winter storage:

Ideally the battery should be removed from the vehicle but whether removed or not the following should be undertaken:
The battery should be checked for any cracks and disposed of or repaired professionally if needed.
The top of the battery, the terminal posts and connections should be carefully cleaned with water and baking soda to remove any dirt or moisture. Dirty or moist surfaces increase the level of self discharge.
Contact terminals should be clean, dry and lightly greased to protect against corrosion.
If the battery has been removed, the compartment it sits in should be cleaned and dried to remove any electrolyte that may be present that will cause corrosion.
Traditional wet / flooded batteries (not maintenance free types) should have electrolyte levels checked and topped up between min /max levels with distilled water.
To avoid a flat battery maintain constant regular charge. If you have electricity in your garage or storage area you can use a smart battery charger that will maintain charge levels, keep the battery in good condition and ensure that your vehicle or boat is ready to drive when spring arrives.

Before re-starting your vehicle or boat in the Spring

Ensure that the battery terminals are clean and secure.
Check battery charge levels and recharge the battery if required.
It is a common misconception that a jump start, followed by a long drive fully recharges the battery from the alternator. This is not the case, as an alternator will only partly charge the battery. After this first drive, the battery will need to be charged or it will quickly be drained once again.
If you are unsure about any area of battery maintenance ask a qualified technician.

Reporting from Dusseldorf

2008-09-06T10:30:00.000-07:00

The Dusseldorf Caravan Show is the largest of its kind in Europe. It's always worth a visit if you're interested in keeping up with the latest thinking in caravans and motorhomes but the primary reason for visiting as far as we were concerned, was to look at the new products and accessories from manufacturers such as Camos, Procar, Kerstan and Alden, all of whom RoadPro distributes for in the U.K.

We weren't disappointed; all of these companies had interesting new products such as:

Motorised rear-view cameras from Camos which look down when reverse gear is selected and give a rear-view mirror image in forward gears.
Dome systems from Kerstan which enable Internet access all over Europe. They're designed for boats and, if you have to ask the price, you can't afford one!
New satellite TV systems from Alden who now offer most of them with an Internet option which can be added at a later date if required.
Useful new 12V & 24V connectors from Procar as well as a simple and practical way of converting 12V halogen lights to LED, giving the same light output but using 90% less power.

We also got a chance to try a new 'phone system which can be used with Alden's or Kerstan's Internet systems and, at a cost of around £0.20 per minute from anywhere in Europe gives land-line quality calls.

High-definition TV was on view at the Alden stand via the new DQT TVs - distributed in the U.K. by RoadPro. Even on a 17" screen, the clarity of the image was incredible and we'll be able to offer these TVs as well as H.D. satellite receivers during September. Keep an eye on our website for more information.

More Channels on Freesat

2008-07-31T09:27:00.000-07:00

More channels have been added to the Freesat channel list. Here they are:

Russia Today

Shop on TV

Gala TV

Zone Horror

Pitchworld

Fight Network

Net Play

Inspiration

Gems TV

Zone Reality

You've probably never heard of any of them and, to be honest, you probably won't want to watch them either. But that's the wonderful thing about digital TV; it makes you realise just how lucky we are to have BBC, ITV and Channel 4 - even Channel 5!

Back from a break

2008-07-31T09:12:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the lack of activity on the RoadPro blog.

There was lots of excitement as RoadPro Towers when the TV programme "Pulling Power" got in touch and wanted to do a piece on watching satellite TV on the move. They came over to Daventry and spent most of the day filming, starting off with the presenter demostrating and explaining how easy it was to line up a Multimo dish even when it's perched on the bonnet of a car.

They were even more impressed by the prospect of watching satellite TV while driving, so off we went in the trusty Laika with the film crew in the back and the Camos in-motion system working perfectly as usual.

The day's work boiled down to an actual 4 or 5 minutes of screen time when the show went out in mid July and, although the worldwide fame and glory that I was hoping for don't seem to be happening, several people did see the show (even if they thought it was the Gadget Show).

Domes for Digit Al

2008-06-11T13:30:00.000-07:00

Digital UK - the organisation leading the U.K's digital switchover - are arranging roadshows around the country to explain to people exactly what switching to digital TV involves and the various ways in which it can be accessed. To see a schedule, click here.

You can't miss their vehicles; look out for bright pink vans with 40cm multi-LNB Camos sat-domes on the roofs.

RoadPro Goes Rallying

2008-06-05T12:42:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted to go rallying and now, at last, I have. We were in the Historic Rally Challenge - part of the Severn Valley National Rally and driver Jim Valentine (a RoadPro customer who runs a transport business) had only just completed work on his 1972 Saab 99. This was the first time out for the Saab and Jim was keen just to finish rather than to go flat out for a fast time. This didn't stop him hitting over 70 m.p.h. on the narrow, winding, gravel roads in the forests around Builth Wells. The car - being a Saab - survived its first outing without any serious trouble and I managed to avoid any major errors such as telling Jim to go right when I should have said go left. For a navigator, that's a bad mistake to make.

Here's a picture of the car and, even more interestingly, a Camos sat-dome on the motorhome in the background. And very smart it looked too.

Satellite Dishes Are Us

2008-05-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

The RoadPro Laika now has 4 satellite systems on board. Dave Newell, proprietor of Leisure Vehicle Services in Telford (and also a regular contributor to motorhome magazines) installed one of the new Camos crank-up systems having already put one on his own motorhome.
Unfortunately, we had to remove two terrestrial TV aerials to make space but these things have to be done. We still have the facility to attach a telescopic pole to the side of the 'van and get a log-periodic aerial way up high.

So that makes a Kathrein CAP 900, a Camos crank-up, a Camos 40cm in-motion sat-dome and an Alden Netmaster. And I hardly ever watch TV!

One of the good things about the Camos crank-up is that it's so inconspicuous. In the picture, you can just see it behind the LNB of the Kathrein. Despite its size, it will pick up BBC & ITV channels all over the U.K. and 99% of France. In southern Spain and Portugal, it will pick up all the usual channels including SKY News & BBC News as well as all BBC radio stations.

The Show Must Go On - not!

2008-05-26T02:42:00.001-07:00

The Crick Boat Show is traditionally a disaster. Usually it's flooded to the point where it's difficult to tell where the marina stops and the exhibition area starts. A couple of years ago, a nearby abbatoir caught fire and the roads to the show were blocked off for hours as the heady aroma of burning flesh drifted over the showground.

This year, on the Monday, the show was cancelled amidst flying gazebos and visitors fleeing the site - before the locusts show up or the canal fills with blood.

It has to be better next year. But then, I remember saying exactly the same thing last year.

So Much Going On

2008-05-24T12:25:00.001-07:00

A lot has happened in the past few weeks; too much to allow time for blogging. The Peterborough & Newbury motorhome shows have been and gone and now the Crick boat show is under way.
The new RoadPro show set-up is proving successful. It's easier to put up and both looks better and seems to be more customer friendly than the old tent. If you haven't already, please pay us a visit and admire our helpful and handsome staff.

At last, I managed to get my hands on a Grundig freesat receiver. I went through it with Dave Newell from Leisure Vehicle Services. Dave is also a technical adviser on both MMM & Practical Motorhome magazines so and his verdict on the new satellite service was 2 /10. I think that was generous.

The receiver is 230V only so needs an inverter if it's being used in a vehicle. That's a bad start from my point of view and then it locked up twice and had to be re-started. We followed the set-up routine which was pretty straightforward but a lot more complicated than any free to air receiver such as our Zehnder DX65 model. We already knew that there wouldn't be any new channels coming through but what was surprising was just how few there were. BBC, ITV and Channel 4 were all there along with QVC and a few more but, SKY News and many other channels were conspicuous by their absence.

By controlling the design and distribution of the receivers, the freeview controllers can easily restrict the range of channels which are available via the service. You may not want to spend time watching "Essex Birds" or - at the other extreme - the "God Channel" but surely you should be able to if you do want to. Maybe these and dozens of other channels will be added later but, then again, maybe they won't.

Perhaps the only good thing about the freesat box was that it has a 7-day EPG. Whether that makes it worth forgoing all the other features that are available in other FTA boxes is questionable.

Freesat latest!

2008-04-24T13:12:00.000-07:00

Rumour has it that Argos are sending out a promotional flyer for freesat within the next few days. And Comet are already advertising a Grundig freesat receiver; here it is:
At least, they were up until a day or two ago. Now there's nary a mention of them and John Lewis have removed all mention of freesat from their website too. What's occurring? Who knows?

I suppose we'll find out sooner or later but it does seem that all is not as it should be in the wonderful world of freesat.

What about the freesat transmission area?

2008-04-20T11:07:00.000-07:00

Many people who watch British TV abroad are concerned that the new freesat service will only be transmitted on Astra 2D, making it very difficult to receive any channels once you get more than a few hundred miles away from the British Isles (depending on which direction you're going in).

There's nothing to worry about - for the moment at least. With the possible exception of Channel 4, all the channels will be staying where they are and you'll need the same dish size as at present.

Freesat is really only a new programme guide, not a new satellite or beam.

Channel 4 goes Free to Air!!

2008-04-20T09:45:00.000-07:00

Channel 4 has gone free to air. This means that it is now available using any digital satellite receiver: you don't need a SKY digibox to watch it.

This ties in with the imminent launch of "freesat" - at the beginning of May.

Channel 5 will also become free to air within a matter of months.

Milage Milestone

2008-03-16T06:21:00.000-07:00

The RoadPro Laika passed the 100,000 mile mark on Friday. Wherever it goes, we have to put up with the jokes, the jibes and the joshing. But the way we look at it, it's never had a factory recall, it's never failed the MOT, everything still works as it should and it still does everything that we ask it to do. And, it's paid for!

So it's still going strong and, unless anyone can come up with a convincing reason why we should change it, the RoadPro Laika might just make it to 200,000. If you pass us on the highway, please don't laugh: a cheery wave will do nicely.

RoadPro outing to Snowdon

2008-03-10T10:11:00.000-07:00

Rising even earlier than they do on working days, three RoadPro stalwarts - Allen, Tom and Mark - set off before first light on Saturday in the general direction of west. Arriving at Snowdon, the highest mountain in England and Wales, they cast off their cares, put on their best wet-weather gear and proceeded to make their way upwards.

Our crack team could possibly have chosen a worst day to attempt the peak but it's not easy to think of one. Lashed by blinding rain, surrounded by clouds and mist and blown off their feet by gale-force winds, the plucky lads reached an altitude of over 2,000 ft before deciding that discretion was the better part of valour.

They didn't make it this time but, like the Governor of California, they'll be back. Well done Chaps!!

At Last, It's Finished!

2008-02-13T13:38:00.000-08:00

The 2008 RoadPro catalogue is finished and will be available from Tuesday, 19th February. Come along to the Boat, Caravan and Outdoor Leisure Show and pick up a copy. If you're not going to the show, phone, e-mail or click here and order on-line.

At the show we'll be showing many new products as well as some old favourites - all at special show prices. We look forward to seeing you there!

A Text Message From Morocco

2008-01-23T01:25:00.000-08:00

Just received a text message from Thom States who's in Agadir, Morocco. His Kathrein CAP 900 is picking up programmes on the Astra 2 southern beam including BBC radio. He's going to let us know what other channels he can get.

He also has access to a 2M dish on which he can get BBC & ITV.

TV Reception Problems: #1 Stormy Weather

2008-01-15T03:51:00.001-08:00

"We can't put the satellite dish up in this. I told you we should have got a dome!"

Job Done

2008-01-06T06:40:00.000-08:00

So that's it: job done. I now have to prepare maps which show exactly which system picks up what channels where. This will take a few days but, when they're done, they'll go on the website in Tech Tips. I shall also put down information on LNB-skewing and the SKY-box / southern beam situation.

The reasons for doing the trip, just to remind myself, were as follows:

To check that the equipment performed as it's supposed to - especially new products such as the Kathrein CAP 900 and the Alden Netmaster
To find out more accurately where British TV is available and what equipment you need to receive it
To try to understand some of the common problems that we hear about from customers including using a SKY receiver in southern Europe and LNB skewing.

The Shepton Mallet Outdoor Leisure Show is on at the end of next week so it's time to make sure we're prepared for that. At least I'll be able to answer any questions on satellite reception in Europe and be confident that I'm dealing in facts, not just wishful thinking like some of the exhibitors at other shows I've been to. Unlike them, I really can speak as I found.

Heading North

2008-01-06T06:15:00.000-08:00

It was now time to head north and for home and I was keen to find out how far north we'd be able to pick up Astra 2D. Near Portimao we spotted an English motorhome in a service area with an 85cm dish on the roof and in the up position. I had a long chat with Paul(also know as Dollar Yen on the Motorhome Facts website) and compared notes on dish performance. We managed to get all BBC channels, ITV and Channel 4. The 85cm unit - a twin-LNB model with auto skew - wasn't receiving any of these. So the coffee was on us.

To cut a long story short, we lost Channel 4 about 70 miles north of Albufeira but, to my great surprise, we continued to be able to watch BBC & ITV using the Kathrein system until we got close to Coimbra, way past Lisbon. However, when we did the test, it was raining very hard and it was 8.00 in the evening -
not ideal conditions. The next day we were north of Porto and again picked up all ITV channels as well as BBC2 and Film 4, but no BBC 1. We tested again at Vigo, across the border in Spain and this time all we could get was Astra south and various channels on Eurobird. This remained the situation until we got to Gijon on Spain's north coast. The Kathrein system picked up all the 2D channels but we had to switch between the Kathrein and the SKY receivers. By the time we reached San Sebastian, the sat-dome was picking up BBC & ITV and, once we got to Irun on the Spain / France border, the Flat-Sat and Multimo did too.

Going west for New Year's Eve

2008-01-02T23:48:00.000-08:00

After a session of satellite dish testing at Tarifa - the Kathrein picking up BBC & ITV - we set off towards Portugal. From Seville to Lagos, we made regular stops and found that the Kathrein continued to pick up all BBC channels, ITV 1 (but not 2, 3 or 4), Channel 4 & Five all through the Algarve. Reception was better on some BBC and ITV regions than others and the Kathrein receiver could sometimes pick up channels that the SKY box couldn't. I also noticed that the SKY receiver kept defaulting to the north beam transponder frequency. Signal strength did deteriorate during the evening and some channels, in some places, were just not viewable by 10.00 pm or so.

I'm still surprised by how many interesting programmes there are on channels that I've never heard of, Red, TrueMovies and Horse & Country for example. Most of these are transmitted on the Eurobird 1 satellite and many of them can be received with a small dish such as a Multimo or a Flat-Sat. I set up a Flat-Sat inside the motorhome (see photo) and - plastic windows having very little effect on signal strength - picked up a range of programmes.

We dropped in at a couple of camp sites and were again told that a dish of 1.2 - 1.5M was needed to pick up UK channels reliably. Interestingly, one of our original Kathrein CAP 900 purchasers had phoned me from Albufeira to tell me that he could pick up BBC & ITV there. I was surprised at the time and so was happy to be able to confirm that my system could do it too.

We decided to go to Cabo Sao Vincene near Sagres for New Year's Eve - it seemed like a good idea at the time as it's as far south-west as you can get in mainland Europe. I thought it would be a deserted rocky peninsula but I expect the hundreds of other people who were there did as well. The lighthouse started flashing, we watched the sun go down on 2007 for the last time and parked up for the night. New Year's Eve was celebrated with some wine out of a carton from Lidl, crisps, soup and an orange. Right on the edge of Europe, Astra 2D was breaking up badly in the evening so we watched the fireworks in London on BBC 1 using the Alden Netmaster and the Slingbox.

Friends Reunited

2008-01-02T23:24:00.000-08:00

While checking the satellite situation at Torre Del Mar, the phone rang and it was the people who owned the Rapido I'd seen in Gibraltar. I should have recognised it when I saw it as we'd fitted the Kathrein system at Daventry a few months previously.

I first met Tom & Pam when they had a load of bits and pieces fitted in and on top of their Adria motorhome. These included a sat-dome and an Alden Phenix motorised solar panel. They suggested that I catch up with them at Tarifa, just round the corner from Gibraltar. They were parked up with dozens of other motorhomes from all over Europe and just yards from a long, broad and beautiful beach. It's a favourite site for surfers and others who just want a relaxing few days by the sea.
There were no facilities so Tom and Pam were especially happy that they'd had the Phenix tranferred from their Adria to the Rapido. They told me that, since they'd had the Phenix, they'd not had to plug into mains power at all. Even in December, Tom expected to get between 40 - 50 Amps into the battery which was easily enough to cope with all their electrical requirements. Including the Rapido, they've had a total of seven motorhomes and spend six months or more at a time touring Europe (and Africa). They seldom use sites, preferring to wild camp and have encountered no problems while travelling abroad. The only unpleasant incident that they've had was when - after months of touring around Europe - the van was broken into in a supermarket car park in Luton. Now, after a relaxing few days at Tarifa. they're off to Morocco and they've promised to report on the Kathrein's performance over there.

In Search of Astra 2D

2007-12-31T04:14:00.000-08:00

It was time to leave Gibraltar and having first visited at a time when the Spanish were conducting a vigorous campaign of intimidation against the Gibraltarians and, in the back of my mind ,I had thoughts of having the motorhome taken apart and being left to put it back together. As it happened, there was one immigration officer on duty and he just waved us through without a second glance. So, off we went back towards Torre del Mar, east of Malaga, where I had a feeling that we might be able to pick up TV from Astra 2D. For those who don't know, this is the satellite that carries most BBC & ITV TV channels as well as Film 4 and some others. When we got there, I visited both the campsites that are just near the beach and got chatting to various Brits who were staying there. Everyone agreed that, in order to get BBC & ITV reliably, a dish of well over 1M is required and most people were using 1.2 or 1.5 models with some making absolutely sure and using 2M models.
I parked up outside the campsites, switched on the Kathrein CAP 900 and there, just like that, was BBC 1 coming through loud and clear with no break up at all. It was the same with BBC 2, News 24 and ITV although some ITV regions work better than others. When I told some of the people I'd been talking to, they were sceptical to say the least and I invited them into the 'van to prove that I wasn't hallucinating. Fortunately, they confirmed that I wasn't. Of course, not everyone feels the need to keep up with the action in Coronation Street, the East End or Emmerdale. At Torre del Mar I saw a Multimo perched on the roof of a brand new Swift motorhome.
Stewart, its owner, was quite happy to be able to pick up the radio, SKY News and whatever else he came upon by chance. He said that it was easy to set up and had worked well all through France and Spain. Because it wasn't fixed, he could put the dish through one of the roof lights and twiddle it around until he found the signal. Even at Torre del Mar, with all the trees, he hadn't had a problem finding and keeping the signal.

We then drove inland and then west towards Marbella, stopping at intervals to check the signal and discovered that the Kathrein would get BBC & ITV everywhere. Pictures got a little shaky at times but we just switched to a different region - BBC 1 & 2 were both best using the Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland regional variations. ITV was best from the Borders. Film 4 came and went depending on where we were. I set up an 85cm dish and couldn't get 2D at all, no matter how precisely I aimed it and no matter how I adjusted the LNB. Even the Alden 90cm dish couldn't pick up Astra 2D this far south but I did use it to connect to my Slingbox at home via the Internet and then we could watch absolutely everything that we could watch at home. Kathrein say that the CAP 900 will work as well as an ordinary dish with a nominal size of approx 1.1M and they have achieved this by ensuring that all the components of the system, dish, LNB, controller and receiver work together to achieve maximum efficiency, Judging by the results I've seen, I think they're right.

Next Day in Gibraltar

2007-12-31T03:25:00.000-08:00

Waking up to see nothing but the sun rising over the Mediterranean again made us appreciate the motorcaravanner's ability to have travel experiences that are just not available to others. Better still, we hadn't fallen over the cliff and into the sea during the night. After breakfast, it was time to do some more satellite testing. I set up the tripods and the table and switched on the Kathrein, the Alden and the Sat-Dome.

No 2D programmes would come through on any of the dishes - not surpising really as the official Astra map shows that you'd need a dish in excess of 1.2M diameter to receive BBC or ITV in Barcelona! However, we're still getting Channel 5 even on the Multimo and there are plenty of channels on Eurobird which are easily available. I've noticed that there are more and more channels which, even though they might have teleshopping at various times of the day, do show "proper" programmes as well. There are even some film channels (True Movies and Movies4Men) which show some decent films. Channels such as Russia Today and France 24 also show interesting programmes and there are many more channels that most people have never heard of which provide relaxing and informative entertainment. Horse & Country is excellent and available even on a 50cm dish everywhere we've been. And, of course, BBC radio is always available which, for many people is actually more important than TV. At the campsite in La Manga, I'd met a man who said that he had it on good authority that the reason that BBC radio had been moved to the south beam from Astra 2D was that the British armed forces had gone completely ballistic when they could no longer pick it up and the BBC relented. While looking over the edge at the very top of the rock the previous day, we had spotted a couple of motorhomes parked next to the sea on the east side of Gibraltar and, on the way back along the road that runs round the rock, we saw them again parked up in a parking area. One of them was a Rapdio from G.B. and had a Kathrein CAP 900 and an Alden Phenix on the roof. There was no-one home but I left a note as I was interested to hear how they were getting on with the Kathrein in particular.

Christmas Day in Gibraltar

2007-12-26T11:16:00.000-08:00

Although I've been to Gibraltar in the motorhome before, I've never taken it through immigration and on to the rock. This time, I thought I'd give it a go, especially as I had an invitation from a customer to give him a call when we got to Gib. GiGi is a Gibraltarian who lives in England but whose son lives in Gibraltar and who owns the first service station on the right as you drive in to Gib. With diesel at £0.56 per liter, that's got to be worth a visit. He and his son kindly helped us find a place to park the motorhome, in a parking area just beneath the walls of the old fortress.

GiGi used a Camos GPS system to help him navigate from his home in England's west country to Gibraltar via Bilbao. The Camos system comes with mapping of the whole of Europe, including Gibraltar and in his strong Gibraltarian accent GiGi proclaimed that he was totally satisfied with its performance as he drove through Spain. The 7" screen was especially appreciated: "No problem to see where you're going".

The streets of Gibraltar are not designed for large vehicles but, if you're careful and sensible, there are places where a 21 ft motorhome can safely and comfortably park up. We didn't see any with GB plates but there were several from France, Germany, Italy and Spain. We spent Christmas Day and Boxing Day there and, on the following day, moved over to the other side of the rock where we perched a hundred or so feet above the crashing waves on what seemed to be an old gun emplacement. The gulls shrieked and the wind rocked the van but the view across the Mediterranean towards Africa, with a line of brightly illuminated ships at anchor in the foreground was a wonderful backdrop for dinner.

Great News For Channel 5 Fans

2007-12-26T11:04:00.000-08:00

As we've driven south and tested the satelliteTV equipment in various places, almost everything has performed much as I expected based on previous trips. The one major difference is that Channel 4 became unavailable further north than I expected and Channel 5 and its associated channels, 5 US & 5 Life, have been available all the way to where we are now - Gibraltar, using a 40cm sat-dome. Neither SKY nor Channel 5 are forthcoming about why this should be so and we have to go by the websites "Kingofsat" and "Astra 2D" who reckon that the "5" channels are now being transmitted on Astra 2C which has a much bigger footprint than the Astra 2 north beam as you can see here.

The End of the Road

2007-12-23T23:56:00.000-08:00

Having tested the satellite equipment all down Spain's east coast and seen what over-development and mass tourism have done to the Costas, we decided to go as far to the south-east as possible and just keep going until we ran out of road. We aimed for San Jose, south-east of Almeria and with a road in but no road out. The coast road led us through some rugged coastal areas and past shepherds tending their flocks - how seasonal we thought - and also very typical of how Spain used to look twenty and more years ago. We ended up in a parking area just a couple of hundred yards from a beautiful and completely unspoiled beach and we're still there now, transmitting this via the Alden Netmaster.

Even here, where you would expect to have to use a 2M dish to get reliable TV reception, by using the Slingbox at home in London and accessing it via the Internet, we can watch every channel that we can get on Freeview at home. There's no digibox, no card and no subscription; just a laptop computer. And, of course, we can talk to friends and relatives via Skype for around a penny a minute or, if they have Skype, for nothing.

If we want to watch TV via the "traditional" satellite route, we just press a button to point the Netmaster at the Astra 2 satellites (or Astra 1 or Hotbird if we're feeling adventurous) and we can get all the channels that we would expect to get. Unfortunately, that doesn't include any BBC or ITV channels or Channel 4 but does, surprisingly, include Channel 5 (of which more later) and its associated channels, US & Life.
As for conventional satellite TV, as was the case further up the coast, a smaller dish such as a Multimo or a sat-dome will pick up almost as many channels as any dish under 1.5M. There will be some channels missing such as The Wine Channel and Scuzz but frankly, for most people, this won't be much of a loss. We're going to head west now towards Malaga and Gibraltar and find out what's available to British TV viewers around there.

How Big??!!

2007-12-23T11:35:00.000-08:00

Last night we visited the well-known - and massive - campsite at La Manga near Murcia. I thought we would find out how people who are staying long-term in this part of Spain are getting on and I knew some people there who have Camos sat-domes fitted to their motorhomes. I'm glad to report that both Barry & Moira and Godfrey & Valerie are all happy with the performance of their sat-domes, especially now that they can get Channel 5 programmes and BBC radio all over Spain. In order to get BBC & ITV however, everyone agrees that you have to have a dish with a minimum diameter of 1.5M and preferably, for reliable reception in the evening and in bad weather, a 2M dish. A dish of less than 1M is going to give you just about exactly the same channels as one of 60cm or less such as a sat-dome, a Multimo or a Camos Flat-Sat. It was interesting to hear from one couple how they had been assured by a "reputable" satellite TV dealer at a motocaravan show that the automatic 85cm dish for which they paid around £2,000.00 would definitely pick up all the channels all over Spain. This really is a minefield for buyers. Even when dealers claim to "speak as they find", if they haven't actually looked, they won't have found very much. That, in a nutshell, is why we've now notched up 2,386 miles in pursuit of those elusive satellite signals. This morning we moved further south to visit Richard Hampson who's a noted photographer of motor sports and yachting. He's moored up for a couple of months at the Las Torres campsite near Cartagena and is using a Multimo to keep in touch with what's happening at home. It works well, receiving BBC radio, Channel 5, SKY News, CNN and many more but, for people who are staying on site for a prolonged period, there's an interesting option offered by a resident Dutchman. While you're on the site he can set you up with a receiver which will take a Dutch viewing card that enables reception of English language channels such as Discovery, National Geographic, Eurosport as well as channels showng films in English too. For more conventional TV viewing, again everyone agrees that even a 1.5M is too small for total reception reliability and that a 2M dish is what's required if you want to view BBC & ITV channels. However, using one of these dishes involves significant work as far as installation is concerned as you can see from these pictures taken today at Las Torres.

Energy Crisis? What Energy Crisis?

2007-12-23T08:46:00.000-08:00

For many motorcaravanners - including me - "Wild camping" or, as I prefer to call it, selective parking is absolutely the best part of motorcaravanning. The ability to park somewhere that takes your fancy and be completely self-sufficient is so wonderful and, anyway, what's the point of dragging round a shower, oven, fridge, water tank, lavatory, etc, if you're not going to use them in earnest? Waking up and looking through the window to see the sun rising over the sea and then having dinner at the top of a mountain is something that only rich people with several homes or those with suitable vehicles or very strong legs can do. Having said that, I do appreciate that a lot of people prefer the security and facilities offered by camp sites and I'm sure they have a marvellous time too.

The biggest problem for people who don't use camp sites is the electrical power. The Laika has two 110Ah batteries but when I'm using the laptop via an inverter (of which more later) it alone consumes approx 9 Amps. Constant testing of all the satellite dishes and frequent use of the 12V microwave oven at 80Ah also takes its toll. The Laika does have one of Charles Sterling's excellent devices which will charge the leisure batteries at up to 50 Amps an hour and that's how we manage to stay charged.

Most motorcaravanners that I talk to seem to think that the built-in charger will keep their batteries topped up and that the built-in display will show them what kind of condition they're in. Unfortunately, this just isn't so. Most on-board chargers have a maximum output of less than 10 Amps at a constant voltage. Most on-board fridges have a current consumption of around 8 Amps, meaning that during a 4-hour trip with the fridge on, the battery will be fed less than 10 Amps at best. During cold weather - as we discovered in Andorra - battery performance drops dramatically, making a good charging regime even more important.

For anyone relying on battery power, we strongly recommend the following:

Get sufficient batteries to supply the amount of power you're going to need. This needs some serious calculations and I'm working on a chart which will help with this.
Get a Sterling battery to battery charger or advanced regulator so that your leisure batteries are charged properly as you drive.
Keep your batteries topped up with distilled water and check them regularly with a hydrometer.
Get a power management panel which shows not only volts but also current consumption in Amps. This is the only way to ensure that you don't run short of power and that your batteries are being charged correctly. In my opinion, this is an essential piece of equipment. Manufacturers don't usually fit them because they cost a lot more than a volt meter and I suppose that they consider that most people will be plugging into mains power on a regular basis. maybe they're right!
If you're going to be parked up for prolonged periods of time so that the batteries won't be charged while you're travelling, solar panels do work well as long as there's sun. Unfortunately, there's no room available on the Laika to fit one. I might have to build an extension. There are many sizes of panel available and several different types. Some are a lot better than others and buying on the basis of price alone is definitely a bad idea. One model that we sell, the Phenix, tracks the sun across the sky and ensures that the maximum amount of power is produced. That really does make a huge difference, especially at times of the year when the sun is low in the sky.

Netmaster enables budding violinist to hit the right notes

2007-12-23T08:29:00.000-08:00

It's amazing what you do can via the Internet. While I was testing satellite dishes, the daughter decided it was time to do some violin practise. Unfortunately, the change of temperature between Andorra and Alicante had put the violin out of tune and daughter can't tune it by ear alone. So, up goes the Alden Netmaster to get to a website where you can get exactly the right notes to help you tune your violin.

People talk about using wi-fi to get on line and there are loads of netoworks available as we discover every time we switch the laptops on. So far though, every single one has been a secure connection and therefore not available to sundry miscreants who want to piggyback on someone else's network. As for Internet cafes, we haven't seen a single one that's been open.

Better Late Than Never

2007-12-21T13:10:00.000-08:00

A few days later than planned, here's the latest from the deck of the Starship Laika, currently parked up 20 ft from the Mediterranean Sea just south of Alicante.

Having neglected (on purpose) to book a ferry ticket until the day we wanted to leave, I shouldn't have been surprised to find that the only sailing to Dunkirk was at 0200 hours, a little later than hoped for. However, having made the booking through the Caravan Club as opposed to directly with Norfolk Line, we got a return ticket for £85.00, saving around £50 and making things look really rather good. Even better, on arriving at 9.30 we were offered the option of taking the 2200 sailing which should have cost an extra £20.00 but which we were given for free.

Stopping in France to use the Alden Netmaster and start posting to this blog, I discovered that the Netmaster wasn't working correctly. Although disconcerting, that's the whole reason that we're on this trip and a short phone call to Alden revealed that one batch of components used in the system's controller was faulty. As we were due to visit Alden, we just had to go without Internet access - hence the delay in getting this blog going.

Alden are based in Strasbourg, France and we arrived in Strasbourg on the Saturday and parked up for the night on the other side of the Rhine in Germany. I almost never use camp sites, preferring to park in a quiet street somewhere, preferably with a pleasant view. This particular street had a great view across the Rhine towards Strasbourg but we hadn't spotted the church tower just a hundred yards away. Sometime very early on Sunday morning, the bells started to ring out and so we made an early start by crossing a spectacular footbridge to wander round a park on the French side. There we discovered a special area for motorhomes to stay the night: a fenced-in piece of waste ground with about a dozen motorhomes packed in so tightly that, if they were farm animals, the authorities would have closed the place down on the grounds of cruelty.

We'd heard of the "famous" Strasbourg Christmas market. So, it would seem, had several million other people. Still, we managed to park the motorhome just a few hundred yards away and joined the crowds: just a throng at twilight. If you like Christmas markets selling Christmas gifts, it was a great place to be.

Visiting Alden, we replaced the Netmaster's control unit and learned of some interesting developments in satellite and solar technology which they and we will be introducing in 2008.

I had arranged to meet Brian, Dawn & family of Usonthebus fame. Now that the Netmaster was up and running, I got on line to download several days' worth of e-mails and saw one from Brian. They had encountered some problems on their journey and, worst of all had been robbed while they were asleep in the bus, parked up on an aire in central France. The thieves had taken cash, credit cards, their phone and Dawn's computer amongst other things. Because they had lost their phone, they were now relying on the Netmaster to communicate. I contacted them using Skype and arranged to meet up later that day.

We are relying on the Camos GPS navigation system to steer us around Europe and it really is a superb system. It's easy to use, quick to respond, has loads of useful information - including a database of around 3,500 campsites - and the 7" screen is bright, clear and so easy to see. It's especially useful in the motorhome where the unit is further away than it would be in a car and, driving on the Continent on unfamiliar roads, the screen size makes a big difference. We use the monitor to keep an eye on what's going on behind us and also as a TV monitor, of which more later.

Anyway, the Camos GPS system enabled us to find Brian & Dawn quickly and easily and then to negotiate the Lyon traffic to sort out some paperwork with them. They had really had some major problems and were now resigned to returning to England to regroup. I'm sure they will be recounting their adventures on their website and I wish them loads of good luck for the future.

The cold weather had taken Brian & Dawn by surprise and it certainly was getting chilly. Undeterred, we decided to visit Andorra and see some mountains. I'm sure there are a lot of visitors in the summer but, in mid December, we saw hardly any other motorhomes or caravans. Even the skiing season hadn't started but they were obviously getting ready for it as the snow machines were blowing out the white stuff at the resorts. There had been snow but not enough for serious skiing.

We parked up for the night at one of these resorts. It was at an altitude of approx 8,000 ft and the temperature outside was -10. Inside, it was a slightly more comfortable 14 degrees but, come the morning, it was -3 inside and everything that could freeze had, including the water in the kettle and the water pump.

Undeterred, I did some serious satellite testing and can confirm that, not only does the 40cm Camos sat-dome pick up all U.K. TV channels all over France, it also picks them up in Andorra.
There were interesting results from the Multimo and the new Camos Flat-Sat too which I will compile into a full report later.

Filling up with diesel at around £0.65 per litre, we headed south hoping for some Mediterranean warmth. It did get warmer but it also started raining - for the first time since I'd left Daventry and just exactly as I was on top of the Laika, checking skew angles on the satellite dishes. Having had the luxury of being able to always use automatic satellite systems, I'd forgotten that the big disadvantage of manual systems is that, if it's raining, you tend to get wet. This came as a bit of a shock to me but I persevered with setting up a 66cm dish on a tripod. I managed the task OK but then the wind blew the whole lot down. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it.

Meanwhile, inside the motorhome, the automatic systems are all working perfectly and the sat-dome is doing sterling work providing us with British radio - including all BBC stations (except for 5 Live) - as we're driving along. The system is so good that, apart from brief breaks in transmission when going under bridges or through tunnels, it's really no different from driving at home.

We spent almost the whole of today testing all the dishes, both manual and automatic, between Barcleona and Valencia. Very interesting results for me which I hope will prove very useful for people wanting to use satellite TV in this part of the world. For now though, with an outside temperature of 15 degrees and the sea pounding beach just a few feet away, it's time to turn in.

Off We Go

2007-12-13T10:27:00.000-08:00

So, at last, we (daughter and I) are heading south in the fully loaded Laika. Fortunately, because the Laika is based on an Iveco Daily truck chassis, it's fully capable of handling masses of weight and that, of course, is one of the reasons we got it in the first place. The fact that it's now done nearly 90,000 miles without a murmur (almost) is why we don't trade it in for a new model.

Had an interesting experience with the SKY Freesat service. Despite only having used the SKY digibox and £20.00 Freesat card just a few weeks ago, a message came up on screen saying that I needed to upgrade my subscription to receive Channels 4 & 5. I called SKY and explained the situation. They said they would send a signal down to kick the card into life and, after 3 hours with the digibox on and the dish lined up, both 4 & 5 appeared. Say what you like about SKY but they certainly know what they're doing.

0200 Norfolk Line ferry to Dunkirk here we come. £132.50 return on the Norfolk Line website, £86.50 via the Caravan Club.

The car I always promised myself

2007-12-08T09:55:00.000-08:00

Went to the "new" Whyte & Mackay Boat Show at Earls Court to see how it was going. Unfortunately, it wasn't going very well as visitors appear to be staying away in droves. This is a shame as the show itself was pretty good - if you like things nautical.

The highlight for me was meeting Tim Dutton who, since 1969, has been making distinctly different cars on the south coast of Sussex, all of which carry his name. The current Dutton model is the world's only practical amphibious car, the Amphijeep.

Based on a Suzuki Jimny 4x4, the Amphijeep has been exported around the world for use by a variety of people for a variety of purposes. Tim Dutton has even supplied them to Middle Eastern princes who, obviously, need to have an amphibious car parked amongst the Bentleys and the Ferraris.

For information on prices and Tim Dutton himself - virtually a one-man British motor industry - visit his website: www.timdutton.com

Camos rear-view cameras, as recommended by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company

2007-12-06T12:37:00.000-08:00

I never cease to be amazed at the uses people put our products to. Recently we sent six sets of Camos rear-view cameras to America. They were ordered by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company who operate trains all over the mid-western states. My curiousity being insatiable, I sent an e-mail to our contact who replied as follows:

We were looking for a color camera system to install in our Intermodal Cranes to aid our operators in avoiding obstacles. Intermodal Cranes load trailers and containers on railcars for shipment. Our cranes are Rubber tire gantry cranes that travel in confined areas where trucks and cars also travel. The cameras were replacements for a black and white cameral system that would wash out in sunlight and have no light in evening conditions (basicly unusable). The cranes move in all directions so several cameras with separate monitors were needed to capture all aspects. The monitors needed to be small enough with good resolution in all light conditions to fit in a small cab. The cameras face outward from the rubber tires on the crane in the picture below. Our telecommunications consultant recommended your camera as the best cost solution to our problem, so we purchased enough to outfit 2 cranes. We installed them and they worked great.

So: Camos rear-view cameras, as recommended by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company

Perfect Freeview reception on N.B. Jupiter

2007-09-05T12:39:00.001-07:00

After putting up with just CBeebies for several months, Roger who lives on board Narrow Boat Jupiter on the Grand Union Canal in Northampton decided that he needed a change of channel every now and again. Lack of reception was caused by the solid line of trees between the boat and the transmitter. He asked me if RoadPro could help and I explained that we don't sell chainsaws. I then suggested raising his aerial up another 4 feet or so. To be honest, I don't think Roger thought this would help very much but he took my advice and installed a mounting pole and a Smarty aerial.

I asked him today how he was getting on and he told me that he got every Freeview channel. He was amazed at what a difference 4ft could make but this is what works: get a decent aerial and a pole and get them up as high as you can. Naturally, I recommend our Smarty aerial and our telescopic mounting pole plus a pair of pole mounting brackets. After seeing what they can do, so does Roger.

North Cape to Gibraltar

2007-09-02T08:57:00.001-07:00

Noordkapp (North Cape) is the most northerly point on mainland Europe (almost, of which more later).
Son Freddie and I were there to test satellite TV equipment but we took time out to make a 12 mile round-trip trek to the point that's REALLY the northernmost point, not just the northernmost point with a carpark, restaurant, souvenir shop and a big metal thing which you have to stand in front of to have your photo taken - to show that you've been to the northernmost point etc. - almost.

When we got back to the motorhome it was great to be able to pile in with the 5 hitch-hikers we'd picked up and have a nice cup of tea and a biscuit.

The satellite stuff worked exactly as expected but, frankly, there wasn't anything we wanted to watch and we were too far north to get BBC Radio so we tuned in to Radio Caroline "the sound of the nation" on Eurobird 1 and grooved to Lynyrd Skynyrd and Freebird. Far out man.

Lots of Reindeer alerts as we motored down the otherwise almost empty roads. They seem to know that you're coming but just don't care. They'll move when they want to and that's that.

Then south: on,on.