Danny

Calling 1014 in France should be OK from 8h00 to 20h00 on a Saturday according to the Orange site. Danny

AnOther, I have a feeling that your village has gone 'dégroupé' since last year. Check if they offer you anything other than "Freebox (adsl non dégroupé) Max 2" which is what I get. If you get 'Freebox total' then you can go for it. http://www.free.fr/adsl/index.html put in your telephone number as usual. You may get a choice of two services http://adslcgi.free.fr/subscribe/01_choose_box.pl but the ADSL connection will be the same with either. I suppose it does not necessarily guarantee a huge speed increase but Free do not limit the service at all and you should get the maximum technically possible. Good luck, Danny

The 10 euro payment opens both options for me. You do need to choose the second option in mon compte but there was no need to add another 10 euros. Also, since I did it, the 2 euro monthly charge has been deducted fom this amount so my last few months bill has been 0.00 euros... Danny

basquesteve, that info only applies to a (pretty old although still available) dial up internet service and not to any Broadband or simple telephone line service. Danny

there is plenty of useful info on this thread on another forum - see especially the latter pages for the most current info http://www.france-forum-frenchentree.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=24918 Danny

[quote user="Théière"]That is nearly correct, 28.2E was the satellite selected from the list but the dish wasn't moved and has been in place for 9years on the Astra1, 19E.  The next step was to move the dish but as the tv found 200+ channels and time was getting short and dusk was falling we left it.  Still with the Sky box retired and lots more channels and regional channels guest will no doubt be happy. I will tackle, or try to, some french channels another time but I didn't expect any channels until the dish was moved to 28.2E [/quote]Theiere (sorry, no accents today) assuming it is only a simple dish with a single LNB, it must only be pointing at Astra2 sat and not Astra 1 19.0 If you are getting the BBC etc then you will get no French TV on this dish. If you do get French TV as well, it means that there is another dish setup going on. Danny

What frequency is the box searching on? You can try something on the pan Europe beam which should be easy to find assuming you can search on a particular frequency..... try 12633 horizontal dvb-s 22000 5/6 or 12207 vertical  dvb-s 27500 2/3 Danny

[quote user="itwill12345"] Could you please give me advice on aligning our new 125cm dish.[/quote] essentially there are three main adjustments to ensure: side to side - horizontal up and down - vertical rotation of the LNB in its holder (skew) as Quillan says There is also the last adjustment - moving the LNB in and out of the bracket although this will likely be less important if the dish is good quality. So...using a meter or the signal quality measure on a receiver, adjust each setting until you get highest signal then lock the nuts/bolts/fixing tight on that particular direction. ....adjust the horizontal back and forward and when the signal get as high as possible, lock the nuts. then the vertical, and as before lock the nuts. then rotate the LNB both ways until you get the best signal. lock the bracket. Then if possible, move the LNB in and out of its holder and see if you can improve the signal. You should check all this on various frequencies and concentrate on the frequencies of the channels you want to see the most. http://en.kingofsat.net/freqs.php?&pos=28.2E&standard=All&ordre=freq&filtre=Clear Each group of channels is on one frequency (or transponder) hope that helps, Danny

Quillan, a RAR file is just an archive format https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAR which can be used to archive any other type of file. It is commonmly used to reduce file sizes. Tarrot, you need to download the software update program from here (not easy to find) http://www.sat-link.com.au/big/satlink-ws6906/upgrade_ws6906_18022011.rar save the file for running later. Inside the RAR you will find the upgrade software (upgrade.exe) also a German set up file Don't use this German set up file. Use the EU BIN file from here http://www.satlinkmeters.co.uk/satlink/6906-software-EU.rar You will need to extract the RAR file using a program like 7zip (which is free) http://www.7-zip.org/ click on download 'type' msi file to download the Windows installation file. Instructions for upgrade can be found here. These may or may not work for you [Www] http://chomikuj.pl/efbodek/Satlink+WS-6906/INSTRCUTION+FOR+UPGRADING+SOFTWARE,1044793787.pdf or here on the last post on page two of this thread http://www.satellites.co.uk/forums/threads/satlink-ws6906-upgrade-mine.157614/ or here in French http://forum.satelliweb.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7258&start=30 You only have to figure out how to get the connection working to the PC with the RS232 cable [:-))] If you still have any hair not pulled out or the will to carry on  [:D] as Quillan says, you will need a bigger dish to really get any decent reception. good luck Danny

You definitely do need a bigger dish to get reliable reception in poorer weather. I am also close to your location. I recently went from (horizontal measured) 75 cm to 85 cm I bought this one from 2galli http://www.2galli.fr/boutique/fiche_produit.cfm?ref=ATD880&type=29&code_lg=lg_fr&num=21 Since then I have not had one dropout. I also use an Inverto quad LNB which helped improve in the past but only made at a guess a 5% improvement on the previous LNB. The difference in signal with 10cm change of dish was massive. I think 100 or 110cm is over the top in this region. Danny

I can't see any reason why it would not work. Someone here uses it and also gives the connection settings for you. http://www.netgear-forum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=74810 The only way to find out if it improves your connection is to try it. Danny

You really should have no problem with receiving in your area. The larger the dish, the more you need to be precise with the alignment. If you dont have a smartphone, you could get a good idea of the correct direction and elevation etc from http://www.dishpointer.com/ Danny

Haut Débit = broadband ADSL service Same as in the UK, this uses the telephone line for internet service - you have a box (modem/router) which has its cable plugged in to the phone line socket. You then access the internet via this box. Either with a cable (ethernet) from computer/smartphone/tablet to the modem or wirelessly, without a cable i.e. by wifi So you can connect by wifi (or with a physical cable) with all the main providers - Orange, SFR, Free, Bouygues etc. Danny

[quote user="Jonzjob"] Apart from the multiple stages of tappis une or deux for god knows where [/quote] As far as a search tells me, it seems that the correct number is " taper 3 - pour toute autre question" that should enable you to speak to a person....allegedly [:-))] Danny

John, You should have received several emails including one with the login and password details of your account. You can follow the adavancement of your subscription on there https://mobile.free.fr/moncompte/index.php?page=home There may even be a link to report that a sim card is not received - I can't remember. Otherwise, calling 3244 is the best option I could find - unless you want to send them a letter! https://mobile.free.fr/contact.html Danny

mine too....[:-))]..... Danny

plenty of good general advice/explantion here http://www.satellitesuperstore.com/feedhorns.htm#advice The main general advice is Dish size is everything. [:-))][:P]

[quote user="Jonzjob"] Is it possible to transfer home calls to it, a Free mobile that is, from an Orange Livebox? [/quote] Assuming you use the telephone via the Livebox, you need to organise that via your Orange telephone service http://assistance.orange.fr/telephone-par-internet-parametrer-le-renvoi-d-appels-3031.php If you have calls to French mobiles included in your offer (Livebox Play for ex.) then it is free(i.e. gratuit, not Free! ) If you don't have included calls to French mobiles in your contract (Livebox Zen for ex.) then it is not free. The Free mobile service is excellent. Danny PS MMS are now unlimited as well as SMS

http://assistance.orange.fr/le-wifi-partage-954.php Danny

good for you. Yes, John, you should also disable internet+. It serves exactly the same purpose as Contact+ I presume that Orange make more commission from that one if the person did not offer to disable that "service" at the same time. It does no harm to create a secondary email even if you do not use it, just in case someone manages to hook up via wifi or someone visits.... You will of course then need to put in a password when you want to access your espace client or webmail. Danny EDIT just noticed that An0ther beat me to it....

There is a major flaw in the Orange setup. Unless you have created a secondary email account, anyone using your connection has access to your espace client. There is no password required until you have more than one email accounts on your Orange account. This means that connection is automatic. Here is how it works - even if you have changed the settings for contact+ ot internet+ to disabled (désactivé). Someone is browsing using your connection (by cable or wifi) and they find a page which uses contact+ like Jon's driving test quiz site - possibly this one for example (be careful!) www.revisioncode.com/ a little popup link says "pour consulter ce service avec contact+, vous devez activer cette option dans votre espace client Orange. > j'accède à mon espace client" If you click on the link you can then change the setting in the Orange account to allow the service (and payment, of course!) with a couple of clicks. That's it! you (the account holder) have now subscribed to this "service" and you have no idea that your settings have been changed. After that, any similar site payment is automatic as you have now "agreed" to this type of payment. This of course works in Orange's favour as they get a cut from every purchase made via these systems. To avoid this, one needs to create a secondary email account in the espace client. Once this is done, you or anyone else needs to enter your password to access the 'espace client'. It is a major scam for Orange - and other ISPs too. internet+ is used by Alice, Bouygues, Free, SFR and Orange http://internetplus.fr/ Danny

[quote user="Angie"]Would anyone have a rough idea of the cost of buying a 1.5 metre dish?  I am having trouble even sourcing one, let alone finding the price!  Thank you[/quote] Don't know where you are but http://www.2galli.fr/boutique/fiche_produit.cfm?ref=AS1500AZEL&type=30&code_lg=lg_fr&num=21 In Villeneuve sur Lot. And this in Toulouse http://www.transplanet.fr/boutique/info_produit.asp?num=19833 http://www.transplanet.fr/boutique/info_produit.asp?num=1946 Danny EDIT didn't see your link, Quillan.

[quote user="soupagirl"]So now we are convinced that given the right conditions we can actually receive them, but a larger dish is required to make the reception more consistent. I hope that more people are finding that things are improving. [/quote] Given your reports, I am sure that if you go a dish size bigger, you will get a much better reception giving you less of a problem in poor weather/atmospheric conditions. I have just changed a 75cm wide dish for a 85cm wide dish and found a massive improvement. The 75cm dish was tweaked to maximum reception but was only just OK here. Any hint of clouds could break up certain channels. Now with some of the channels that moved recently, I now have even better reception than before any of the changes of the last year [:D] BBC1 HD on 10847V 23000 now about 12,3 dB. Not bad at all. Some transponders are now pulling in 18dB on the Europe wide beam (12610 V 22000) [:-))] Danny

The King of sat (and also Lyngsat) site takes a few days to be updated. notice the last column - date updated. Each of the new sats 2E and 2F have a Europe wide beam and a UK spot beam. All of the PSB (BBC ITV Ch4 ch5) channels are on UK spot beams but the ones that you are getting stronger signals on are on the Europe wide beam - Sky News for example. This explains your different reception levels. For a receiver in the UK, there is no major difference in reception levels between the UK and Europe beams. Danny

[quote user="Quillan"][quote user="Danny"]The Sony channels are not free to air and therefore not on freesat. On Lyngsat, all the channels in the general list you linked to are only free to air. For encrypted channels you need to find the list of packages For example Sky here According to King of sat Sony movies is on 2F and Sony Entertainment UK is on 2A The King of Sat site is quite good to see what is on where once you get used to the layout. Danny [/quote] Thanks Danny, but they are free because I don't have a Sky subscription just a Sky box with somebody elses card and I can watch them. This explains why I can't watch them with the Humax box. [/quote] difference between 'free to air' and 'free to view' http://www.ftasat.co.uk/ the list is now out of date but you get the idea Danny