Robbie34

Here in the UK I have a 1.1 metre motorised dish that I installed nearly twenty years ago, but is no use with a Humax Foxsat HDR, so I installed a small dish using shotgun cable for my Humax, and I use the motorised dish with my other Topfield box for foreign satellites.  The shotgun cable is ideal: unobtrusive and easy to wire into the lounge.  I have 100% signal and 100% quality on the Humax using the shotgun.

You have to set up your Humax to detect a twin LNB.   Go back to installation to do this.

"Anyone know a way round the need for a viewing card or how to get one? Will any old one do the trick or am I over simplifying it? " This was the OP's question.  He stated that he knew Sky Plus would not work..  Read his post carefully.

Any Sky card that is up to date will get you the free to view channels.  The only cards "married" to the box are for the Premium channels, i.e Sky Sports and Sky Movies. You can obtain a Freesat From Sky card for £20 from Sky.  A friend or relative in the UK can get one for you by going to the Sky web site and posting on to you in France. 

The Foxsat HDR is a twin tuner PVR and you really need a twin or quad LNB so that you can watch one channel and record another.  If you don't need that facility then just plug in the lead from your satellite dish and let it self install.  However, if you do want to use it to its full potential you will need to change the LNB and run another cable from it to your Foxsat.

You shouldn't have any problems purchasing the medication for your dog at your local pharmacy when you move.  Unlike the UK, where you have to get a prescription or see your vet, I have purchsed Aurizon and Fradexam for my dog from a local pharmacy, and I take sufficient quantities back with me.  My fourteen year old Cocker is on a maintenance dose of both of these.  They are also much cheaper in France then in the UK.

For travel to the UK the pet has also to have a blood test for Rabies antibodies, approx three weeks following the initial Rabies vaccination.  If this is positive then a Pet Passport is issued.  The pet may not re-enter the UK until six months following the positive blood test.  Having a Pet Passport does not signify being allowed to enter the UK without quarantine.

Well, I do know. The Pet Passport is the only document that is accepted for the movement of EU pets throughout the EU. EU pet passport Dogs, cats and ferrets meeting the necessary requirements may move between EU Member States if they are accompanied by an EU pet passport. All Member States recognise this document. You can view and print the passport from the European Union website (PDF). Certain non-EU listed countries may also issue a passport. Gibraltar, Norway, San Marino and Switzerland are doing so. The passport is accepted for entry to the UK from other Member States and from other qualifying countries. I have pasted above the relevant details relating to the movement of pets in the EU, and particularly, to the UK. As I have stated before, no other document is acceptable, or needed. You stated that your son's pets had documents from the US. This puts a different slant on things. If he had a properly issued Pets Passport then there was no need for any other documentation.

I find that incredible. The whole purpose of the Pet Passport scheme was to simplify and regulate the movement of pets across EU borders. I have lost count of the number of times I have travelled with Charley, and not once have I been asked for anything except his passport. Indeed, I have never carried any other papers. Can you tell us who asked to see the serology report etc.?

The only document that matters is the Pet Passport. You do not need your serology reports, or any other piece of paper for that matter. Just as long as your Pet Passport is correct then you have no problems.

[quote user="Jako"][quote user="Bilbo"][quote user="Jako"]The answer is simple. You own an 'ordinary' sky box with only  'ordinary' analogue output. ( scart-plug) .   The only way to change this is to buy a decent HD receiver with a digital HDMI output.[/quote] That is not correct. Sky boxes have both Scart and RF outputs. The Scart connector will give digital output while the other goes through  conversion to give analogue output for older TVs without a Scart connector. Digital output and HD output are not the same thing. The poster needs to connect his Sky box via the Scart connector rather than the RF one, as others have said. [/quote] Both RF and SCART  are ANALOGUE outputs!   The only digital connection is a HDMI connection and the only receivers with HDMI are HD receivers. Anyone thinking that SCART is a digital signal needs to be hospitalised.[:P] [/quote] That is just not true. A scart can transfer digital and analogue signals. HDMI stands for high definition multimedia interface, and is also used for upscaling signals from DVD players to give an HD like output, although it is not HD.

I have the later Sony -40X3500 - and there is a button for choosing the AV input from an external source. On mine it is at one o'clock from the OK button. This allows you to choose from TV, AV1, AV2, and the various HDMI inputs. Connect the scart lead from your satellite box to one of the scart connections on your tv. Switch on your digibox and then choose either AV1 or AV2. If your satellite system has been correctly installed you should get reception on one of those inputs.

[quote user="johnys"] This is confusing for me as I regularly take my 4 Old English sheepdogs to france at least twice a year , according to my vet the rabies vaccination has to be done every year miss it by one day and the whole process has to start again blood test waiting for results then the 7 months before they can leave the country and return, which did happen to us due to a death in the family one day late , going out isn’t the problem its returning, while stating the vaccine last for two or three years it seems to vary would it be recognised by a vet as ok ours says not.               John [/quote]   Your vet is wrong or he is using the wrong vaccine.  The Nobivac Rabies vaccine is valid for three years and has been for the past five years at least.  Indeed, Charley's first vaccination in 2001 lasted for two years.  His booster in 2006  is valid until November this year. Your vet is either not aware of the present situation or he is boosting his income at your expense.

[quote user="Boiling a frog"] I suspect that your French issued passport with a UK rabies jab valid for three years will be valid. The difficulty may arise if you take your dog to your vet in Frence for its booster at the end of the three years. The French vet may well say that you will have to start the process again as you did not get yearly boosters as per the French guidelines. [/quote] I'm not sure that they could legitimately do that.  The dog has been vaccinated in accordance with EU regulations, and has been issued with an EU Pet's Passport and the vaccination was valid for three years.  They could however, give the booster for only twelve months duration.

Entry to the UK has nothing to do with the timescale for boosters in France.  The people who check the Pet's Passport at the ferry port are the check in operators.  All they are concerned with is that the Flea and Tick procedures are correct; the Passport is for the dog entering the UK; and the Rabies vaccination is up to date.  Indeed, when I was returning to the UK last year they never even checked Charley for his microchip.  That was a first for me.

I would not contact DEFRA because most of the time you will get someone who isn't totally au fait with the system.  I had problems twelve months after my dog's original vaccination.  I got a reminder from my vet to say he needed a booster, despite the due date in his passport* being for two years.  The argument was that France demanded a yearly vaccination and I would not be admitted.  I contacted DEFRA, who at first agreed with my vet.  After  protracted discussions they were unable to give me a definitive answer.  I then wrote to the EC and their first reply was ambiguous.  I persisted and they then agreed that the date in the Pet's Passport was the valid time for a booster. Although your Pet's Passport was issued in France, nonetheless it is an EU document and identical to ones issued throughout Europe.  I doubt that the French will be concerned about your dog's frequency of boosters, and the main thing is that you are allowed into the UK without your pet going into quarantine.  If the passport is still valid then I would not worry about it.  The date of the booster is the important thing.   * At that time it wasn't the passport but the piece of paper signifying he was vaccinated etc.

For entry to the UK I think your booster would be valid for three years. The important issue is the date of validity, and this was entered by your vet in the UK. I would not like to comment on the question of validity in France, but is it compulsory to have your pet vaccinated against rabies? Judging from some of the posts that I have read it seems not.

I have been to two Vodaphone shops in an effort to top up my SFR mobile.  Despite receiving a text message from SFR saying that I can do this using a Vodaphone card it has just not been possible. Does anybody know how this can be done?

Here is a list of vets recommended by members of Passports for Pets.  http://freespace.virgin.net/passports.forpets/Vets%20in%20Europe.htm There are a few listed in Brittany.  Just remember the forty-eight hour rule.  Your dog must be treated against ticks and worms no less then twenty-four hours and no more than forty-eight hours before embarkation.

[quote user="Iceni"][quote user="Robbie34"] I'm most grateful for your intelligent, incisive and constructive replies.  Your encyclopaedic knowledge of all thigs French is utterly amazing. [/quote] No problem at all, anytime. If you or your "friend" want  legal advice on a relatively obscure point I suggest that you ask a French lawyer. Ahh, but that might cost money. [:(] John [/quote] Why the inverted commas around friend?   And what is the point of such forums, but to seek advice from knowledgeable contributors, which obviously does not include you.    

"IMHO an excellent, common sense reply. But that, of course, is no basis for a law. The contract says it all. It must have been acceptable or the would-be vendor would not have bought in the first place. John"   I'm most grateful for your intelligent, incisive and constructive replies.  Your encyclopaedic knowledge of all thigs French is utterly amazing. I trust I can be of similar assistance to you at a future date.

If you read the letter carefully you will see that the site owner will only allow the vendor to sell the mobile home "off site."  This is virtually impossible in many instances, thus forcing him to accept the site owner's offer. He's not selling a television set or bicycle here.  The Mobile Home's Act in the UK allows a site owner a maximum of ten per cent commission and the vendor can sell to whom he wishes.  Is there a similar regulation in France?

I came across this letter in French News and I can't believe the reply.  Can this be correct?  [IMG]http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w231/Robbie34_photo/FrenchNews.jpg[/IMG] I know there is the Mobile Home's Act in the UK  and reading this letter it would seem that the contract would be illegal in the UK.  Does anyone know if this is the case in France? A friend is contemplating the purchase of a mobile home in France but is now having second thoughts.

I'd be unhappy having my dog vaccinated every year against rabies.  The drug companies know the efficacy of their products and the timescale for effective protection.  Indeed, the Nobivac vaccine protects for three years. If you are resident in the UK then stick to the recommended timescale for that particular vaccine.  I'm sure the British authorities would have insisted on annual vaccinations it it were necessary. 

Ramses has been adopted. See here.  http://cockers-forever.forumactif.com/les-adoptes-f52/ramses-cocker-golden-dans-le-45-t10631.htm