I just installed a 1000.2 and it got a whopping 2 points of signal more on 129 than my dish 1000. Im still under the impression that the dish 1000 is not the problem, its more the 129 bird. If you install the dish 1000 correctly it doesnt seem to matter. Ive had dish 1000's ive installed have better numbers than dish 300's on 129. Usually this is due to just throwing a dish up. There is no need for a meter unless your a tech and do it everyday. The most important thing is to make sure the mast is LEVEL both ways, and I do mean LEVEL. Set your skew and altitude and set the dish 1000 on the mast. Hook up your twin on port one and find the 119 bird. From there fine tune your altitude and lock er down.