Signal Meter Recommendations

[Kraven]

Looking to buy signal meter. Something with a digital display.
Any suggestions?

Cheers, K

 

[T4Runner]

It all comes down to how much money you are willing to pay. I bought a used SuperBuddy ($600) several years ago and it has served me very well, except it will not get DVB-S2. Can't afford to replace it, so as long as those DVB-S signals remain up there I'm still good.

There are several very good meters on the market now, but for the hobbiest, cheapest price for what will get you locked on that satellite is what you want.


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[KE4EST]

For the hobbyist I recommend the Sathero SH-200.

 

[updatelee]

Are you using this for your self or commercially?

When I did installs for a career I used a spectrum analyzer, nothing better for installs and trouble shooting. Now that I'm doing it just as a hobby I sold the satlook and use my PC dvb tuner for spectrum scan.

UDL

 

[Kraven]

Are you using this for your self or commercially?

When I did installs for a career I used a spectrum analyzer, nothing better for installs and trouble shooting. Now that I'm doing it just as a hobby I sold the satlook and use my PC dvb tuner for spectrum scan.

UDL

For myself.. I seem to be "fine-tuning" a lot.. more often then I should (and am getting tired of having to haul the tv/receiver outside).
I suspect now the elevation might be off my a degree or two.
My south sat is 72W. Problem is am using 12053v (NBC) which is quite strong, I can be off by a bit and still have a max signal. What I started to do was after locking onto 72w, I swing it over to 103w (MS10 trans) and adjust to max that signal.
Reason I know am off a bit is the PBS feeds at 125w are coming in at 60% instead of 70% and MS10 is at 72% and not 75%.

Need to fix this before the snow hits.

@ Ke4est--> Thanks for the recommendation. I shot the local dealer an email about it.

Cheers, K

 

[FaT Air]

I can be off by a bit and still have a max signal.

Tuning for max can have this 'symptom' quite often. The maximum Q reading can be quite broad as the dish is tuned. But some lower value won't be as described below.
When I tune up I find my 'maximum' then detune to some lower value on either side of maximum. Then using 'turn counting' in the previous step, I move it to half the 'turn count' between the = lower values. Should be in the center of the max Q reading.
But usually I look for a weaker transponder to tune up on. Q reading are a bit more 'peaky', not so broad as the dish is tuned.

 

[toucan-man]

For the hobbyist I recommend the Sathero SH-200.

Can you tell us why you recommend this one ?

 

[KE4EST]

It works good for the hobbyist, has good read out,and you can manually enter or program from a computer

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[toucan-man]

This is a convenience item ? Or can it give something more than a stb and monitor lugged out to the dish ?

 

[cyberham]

A sat meter seems like a waste of money for a light-duty hobbyist. Use your microHD & portable TV.

 

[qwert1515]

How is the Sathero SH-200 with DVB-S2 signals?

 

[KE4EST]

Mine works just fine on S2, the signal meter does do the flicking thing on S2, but it does not hinder using it. It is like a very rapid on off, but it is so fast I can still tune with it. I have heard people complain about this, but it is not like you are using it to watch TV(now that would be annoying). For the price it is a good meter for a hobbyist. It would work for an installer, but if I was installing different systems on a daily basis I would go for something more expensive.

 

[RT-Cat]

My new First Strike FS1-SE is better than the el-cheapo's and does not cost an arm and a leg like the Super "B". I like it MUCH better than dragging the TV and receiver and cables and power supplies and extension cords, etc., out to the dish site.
.
RT

 

[Martyn]

I just found this, for folks with compatible receivers:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.krkadoni.app.signalmeter&hl=en

An Android app that reads the signal levels from your receiver.

 

[Cham]

I have a sathero SH-200, works quite well. It's basically a receiver with a signal readout display instead of a picture. It will not do diseqc switching or motor operation though if you need that. It WILL operate a 22KHz switch for universal dual band LNB(F)s. Software updates come vial email once in a while, I have not updated mine so far.
If you are doing DSS installs, you might want a dual input analyzer, but for FTA this unit is fine. It does not seem to like really cold weather.
-C.

 

[stanleyjohn]

When needed I use my video cam hooked up to my labtop.I use 3 usb extentions to reach to my 6 footer on the deck.Would be nice to use a wireless cam! maybe someday.

 

[. Raine]

My new First Strike FS1-SE is better than the el-cheapo's and does not cost an arm and a leg like the Super "B". I like it MUCH better than dragging the TV and receiver and cables and power supplies and extension cords, etc., out to the dish site.
.
RT

I have a First Strike FS-1, [not the SE] and I like it a lot. It shows quite a bit of information for you right there on the screen plus you can program like a hundred of your own sat. layouts into it. It doesn't show you actual video on the screen but it shows what you need like what your elevation, azimuth, skew, orbital position should be for a particular sat., what freq, SR, quality and signal strength is, etc, pretty much everything I've ever needed.

To be truthful, when I first got it, I hated it, but once I learned how to use it, I love it.

I have read somewhere that it will not power LNB'S for direct of Dish though, don't know if that's true or not, haven't tried it.

 

[Arion]

A sat meter seems like a waste of money for a light-duty hobbyist. Use your microHD & portable TV.

I disagree with that. I spent a lot of fruitless time trying to tweak the dish with a worthless $20 meter. You never know what satellite your on or if your aiming too high, low or off to the side. I have a First Strike meter myself and it has been more than worth the money in saving me a lot of time and aggravation. I added DirecTv a few years ago and didn't want to mess with one of their installers. They tried to talk me out of it and said I'd never get it aimed right, ect. Once I mounted the dish I had it set and skewed for all three satellites in 10 minutes. I also did a self install on Hughesnet satellite internet several years back which they also said couldn't be done without one of their installers, ect. Bought a used modem and dish, got a certified reseller to set up the account for me and had that up and running in about a half hour. Couldn't of done that without the meter.

Although many won't mess with installs for such a thing as a hobbyist that wants to get maximum performance out of their system and to try different things you really need a meter to know how the performance is as well as the tweaking. When I set up the micro bud on a 1.2 meter dish with multiple lnb's I wouldn't of even been able to start really without the meter. I can walk up to a dish now and if I know what satellite and transponder I want it can be dialed in and done right in about ten minutes. Get a decent meter and you'll never regret it.

 

[toucan-man]

Meter still seems redundant if you're able to bring the box and a monitor. What does the meter do that's different ?

 

[cyberham]

The point is that we all have an FTA receiver which is as fine a satellite tuning meter as a hobbyist will ever need. Some receivers are better for this task than others. The microHD is particularly good once you've scanned a tp in the first time since it has its multibar signal display.