Labgear™ VSAT02 HD Satellite Receiver

Note: New model is VSAT02. Same general spec, just latest model

Index

• How to Assemble a Zone 2 Satellite Dish
• How to Mount a Zone 2 Satellite Dish
• How to Align a Zone 2 Satellite Dish
• Running Cables & Attaching Connectors
• Installing Your Satellite Receiver

1. How to Assemble a Zone 2 Satellite Dish

List of satellite dish components

• 60cm Satellite Dish
• Wall Bracket
• Wall Tube (Arm)
• Elevation Bracket
• Dish Bracket
• Fixing Kit
• Feed Arm

Tools Needed to Assemble Satellite Dish

• 10mm, 13mm socket and ratchet
• Philips screwdriver

Steps to Assemble Satellite Dish

• Open fixing kit and select U-bolts (qty: 2), nuts (qty: 4)
• Insert the U bolts through the wall bracket
• Thread on the nuts
• Insert the arm and tighten the nuts using 10mm socket and ratchet
• The wall bracket & arm assembly is complete
• Next insert U-bolts (qty: 2) through the elevation bracket
• Loosely tighten nuts
• Attach the elevation bracket to the dish bracket
• Using bolts and washers (qty: 4), tighten with 13mm socket and ratchet
• Use the bolts and nuts (qty:4) and the Philips screwdriver to attach the dish bracket to the dish
• Use the long threaded bolt and small nut to attach the feed arm to the back base of the dish bracket so the arm protrudes in front of the dish
• Finally insert the LNB (and plastic insert) into the end of the arm and secure with a tie wrap

2. How to Mount a Satellite Dish

Equipment needed to mount a satellite dish on a wall

• Zone 2 satellite dish, complete with wall bracket and arm
• Coach bolt M8 x 50mm & 10mm plastic plugs (qty: 4)

Tools needed to mount on a wall

• Cordless drill - ideally a 24-36v SDS Drill
• 8mm, 10mm drill bits
• 10mm, 13mm socket and ratchet
• Satellite meter

Criteria on where to mount the satellite dish?

• Dish must face South East (141 degrees i.e. direction of sun 11am BST)
• Wall must be a solid surface capable of carrying weight of satellite dish
• Signal must not be blocked by houses or trees (signal is coming in at 21 degrees to the horizontal)
• Place at back or gable end of house to minimise visual intrusion
• Place as close at possible to TV room to which the satellite cables are to connected so as to minimise cable run

Steps

• Place the wall bracket and arm in the correct location
• Use the cordless drill and 8mm drill bit to drill 4 guide holes
• Use 10mm drill bit to drill holes to a depth of 60mm
• Insert the 4 plastic plugs in the holes and mount the wall bracket using the 4 coach bolts
• Tighten the coach bolts using the 13mm socket and ratchet
• Attach the satellite dish to the arm of the wall plate
• Use 10mm socket to lightly tighten the dish 'U'-bolts so they are fixed to arm but the dish can still be rotated
• Follow steps in the how to align a satellite dish guide

3. How to Align a Zone 2 Satellite Dish

• Having already mounted the satellite dish on your wall
• Attach your satellite meter to the dish LNB
• Align the dish so that it is (1) perfectly vertical, (2) pointing south east (141 degrees).
• Rotate the dish slowly over and back
• Repeat adjusting the tilt angle by 1 or 2 degrees to until a signal is found
• Tighten the U-bolts and side bolts using the 10mm & 13mm sockets
• Disconnect the satellite meter
• Connect a cable with an 'F-type' connector from the dish to the satellite box
• Check that the signal is working

4. How to Run Cables & Attach Connectors

The next step is to run satellite cable to the satellite receiver

Tools needed

• Hammer
• Snips
• Drill
• SDS Drill Bit 10X450

Equipment

• Satellite Installation Kit

Prior to beginning you must decide

• Decide how to run cable
  • Connect into existing cables in the attic
    • Normally neater but requires additional connectors
    • May need a multi-meter to be able to identify the correct cable
    • May result in longer cable runs
  • Run a cable directly from the satellite dish to the satellite receiver
    • Fastest and easiest way to run a cable
    • Cable runs are normally shorter
    • Requires the drill of a hole through a wall

STEPS

• If the satellite receiver is to be located next to the external wall of a room
  • Use a drill and an SDS Drill Bit 10x450 to drill a hole through the wall
  • Ensuring to drill from the inside out
• To conceal broken plaster use either
  • Hole tidy (insert inside and out before the cable is run)
  • Cable cover nailed onto the outside wall after the cable has been run
• Feed the end of the satellite cable through the wall leaving enough cable to reach the front of the satellite box
• Now start tacking the cable using 7mm clips and a hammer
• Ensuring that the cable runs down from the hole that been drilled in the wall
• This will stop water following the cable into the house
• Continue tacking the cable
  • Run cable vertically or horizontally but NEVER diagonally
  • If possible hide cable under the plinth or behind drain pipes (using 300mm cable ties)
• Cut the cable leaving enough length to reach the LNB of the dish
• Put on an F connector on the each end of the satellite cable
• Screw the F connector on to the LNB
• Seal the connection using Insulation tape or ideally waterproof self amalgamating tape
• Secure the cable to the dish feed arm using either 300mm cable ties or Insulation tape
• Final step is to put on an F connector on the satellite cable next to the satellite receiver

How to Put on F-Type Connectors

5. How to Install Your Satellite Receiver

• Unpack the box
  • Satellite receiver
  • Remote control
• Screw the lead from the satellite dish into the LNB in connection
• Connect a scart or HDMI cable from your TV to the box
• Plug in the power lead
• Turn on the power switch on the back on the box
• After 5-6 seconds the box will come on and should automatically switch TV to AV channel
• You may need to switch AV channel on TV if it does not automatically switch over

INDEX

• Overview
• Free to Air
• Freesat
• Freeview

Overview

The 3 terms widely (and often incorrectly) used to describe a receiver to get the free satellite channels are as follows

• Free to Air: Received by a Generic Satellite Receiver
• Freesat: Received by an ITV/BBC Patented Satellite Receiver
• Freeview: NOT Received by a Satellite Receiver - It"s a Digital Terrestrial TV Service

Below we give full details of the differences

Free to Air (FTA)

• This is received using a generic satellite receiver and is used with a satellite dish
• It is Free to Air meaning it is used to pick up free satellite channels
• But can come with a card slot to allow it to be used for subscription services
• It is capable of working with any satellite (so long as the dish is large enough)
• Manufactured by a range of up to about 120 different companies
• Boxes can come in the following formats
  • Standard definition
  • High definition
  • Twin feed HD to allow you to record one channel & look at another
  • HD Satellite & Terrestrial Combo receiver
• Good Points
  • It is non subscription
  • It is very versatile in terms of channel line up and satellite"s that can be accessed
  • Huge range of different boxes
  • Generally cheaper than official freesat boxes
• Drawback
  • Unlike freesat
    
    • It does not automatically update if their is a frequency change
    • or new channels becomes available
  • Getting spare remotes can sometimes be an issue
• Main channels include (on astra 2, but totally flexible):
  • BBC 1,2,3,4,
  • UTV, ITV 2,3,4,
  • Channel 4, E4, More 4, Film 4
  • 6 News Channels, 7 Childrens, 8 Movie channels etc
• We stock these in our free to air satellite receiver section

Freesat

Main points

• This is a satellite receiver
  • Works in conjunction with a satellite dish
• It meets the Freesat standards set out by ITV/BBC
• It will work anywhere in Ireland from a 60cm satellite dish
• It comes in range of types
  • Freesat SD: SD with no hard drive
  • Freesat HD: HD with no hard drive
  • Freesat+ HD: Twin feed, HD, with hard drive, series link, 7 day EPG etc
• What makes Freesat special?
  • It is non subscription
  • It has a standard channel line up (program box with a UK Post code)
  • It automatically updates if there is a frequency change
  • or new channels becomes available
  • Easy to get spare remotes
• Drawbacks
  • It is generally more expensive than free to air boxes
  • It is not as flexible - i.e. you can"t decide the order of the channels in freesat mode
  • Only works off the Astra 2 at 28 East satellite
• Main channels include
  • BBC 1,2,3,4,
  • UTV, ITV 2,3,4,
  • Channel 4, E4, More 4, Film 4
  • 6 News Channels, 7 Childrens, 8 Movie channels etc
• We stock these in our Freesat Satellite Receivers section

Freeview

Main points

• This is a terrestrial service (NOT a satellite service)
  • Works with UHF aerial rather than a satellite dish
• It meets the Freeview standards set out by ITV/BBC
• It does not generally work in Ireland (Except along NI border & East coast)
• We do not stock Freeview boxes
• What people generally mean when they say Freeview is that they are looking for either
  • A Free To Air Receiver
  • A Freesat Receiver

We aim to provide a fast, reliable & low cost delivery service

All orders we ship, leave our warehouse on time

• Standard Courier With Fastway (2-4 Working Days)
  • Cost is €3.95 on Orders Below €100
  • Free Delivery on Orders Above €100
• Express Courier (1-2 Working Days)
  • With Fastway: Cost is €6.50 (or €2.50 extra if you qualify for free standard shipping)
  • With DPD: Cost is €7 (or €3 extra if you qualify for free standard shipping)
  • This service guarantees that any order placed before 4.30pm with Fastway or 3pm With DPD (Mon - Fri) will ship from our depot that same day on the express delivery service*
  • *Orders placed after 4.30pm with Fastway or 3pm with DPD on Fridays & during weekends / bank holidays will be shipped the next working day
• An Post
  • Cost is €2.50 (P & P)
  • Available only on selected products with the An Post logo
• Small Parcels
  • Cost is €3.50
  • Available only on products with the small parcels logo**
• Great Britain
  
  • Cost is €7.50
• Western Europe
  
  • Cost is €10
  • Belgium, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal etc..
• Rest of Europe
  
  • Cost is €20
  • Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Iceland, Malta, Slovenia, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Finland etc..
• Rest of World
  
  • Cost is €30
  • Please contact us before purchasing to confirm

Terms

• All shipping fee prices listed are ex-VAT @ 23%
• Irish shipping rates apply to the whole Island (North & South)
• Shipping fee is fixed for an order, regardless of the number of items bought
• All courier orders require signed proof of delivery and the customer must be contactable by phone
• We do not offer a weekend delivery service (Mon-Fri only excluding bank holidays)
• *Our courier achieves a 98% success rate on express deliveries
• ** Applies to island of Ireland only (North & South)
• Heavy or Large Parcels (Applies only to Non Irish or UK customers): It may be necessary to charge higher shipping fees / offer option to cancel order