This German-made offset-type dish is the best made of the bunch. The az/el mount is fashioned from heavy-gauge extruded aluminium, while the beige 45cm reflector has a highly efficient shape. The DigiDish hasn’t been designed specifically for portable use. Its mounting tube slides into a bracket that’s intended for wall-mounting. You could screw the bracket into a solid part of your caravan (but you would always have to park the vehicle so that the bracketed side is South-facing).

The mount itself then slides into the bracket courtesy of a small pole; it’s easy to fit when you get to the site and remove when you leave. The mount is rotated within the bracket to effect azimuth adjustment – it’s secured by a bolt. TechniSat could have made the thing more camper-friendly by giving it a winged bolt (a small, spanner is supplied). The same applies to the elevation adjuster, which also relies on traditional hexagonal nuts and bolts. Setting up the DigiDish 45 with a simple meter and compass (these aren’t supplied) proved easy, as there’s no play in that mount. Instructions (and az/el alignment tables) of the review sample were in German.

Unfortunately, it’s not that easy to break the dish itself down for storage. The LNB boom is mounted on the dish by four screws – a ’pull-on’ job would have been preferable. Performance-wise, the DigiDish 45 does a sterling job. All Sky
channels were pulled in, as were most Astra 1 and Hot Bird services. Rainfall affected the latter two birds (which respectively require 60cm and 70cm dishes in the South-Eastern UK).

In all, the DigiDish 45 is well-made and performs well, but is more suited to static homes than travellers.

Published July 2005, What Satellite & Digital TV