Thread: getting a bird dog meter

have a chance to get one cheap for $75 bird dog usb plus the good ? the bad ? does not have power cord,usb cord manual have always used one of them cheap meters and the portable tv with coship blind scan dvb s receiver

Originally Posted by keeponrockin

have a chance to get one cheap for $75 bird dog usb plus the good ? the bad ? does not have power cord,usb cord manual have always used one of them cheap meters and the portable tv with coship blind scan dvb s receiver

the good probably is that it is like a sat tuner in a box (if you can get s/n and BER readouts, it's that type) and it's a good thing to have something that locks onto a signal rather than just give you an idea how much general energy is in the part of the sky you are pointed at. the bad - the meter probably doesn't do DVB-S2 signals or lock onto other types of signals and also as DVB-S signals go away, you may find it hard to peak your dishes with the meter if you can't get anything to lock onto (assuming it's a sat tuner in a box type of meter).

Originally Posted by keeponrockin

have a chance to get one cheap for $75 bird dog usb plus the good ? the bad ? does not have power cord,usb cord manual have always used one of them cheap meters and the portable tv with coship blind scan dvb s receiver

You can download a manual here;
Horizon Satellite Meters

The USB cord is standard. If you have an external USB drive or USB printer you can probably use the one that came with that. The power cord is pretty standard too. You should be able to pick one up from your local electronic parts shop or Radio Shack.

I find that the pre-configured transponders that you download from the birdog website are hit or miss. Therefor I like using the software that allows me to edit my own transponders. If you are interested send me a private message and I'll fill you in.

Setup Tips. For FTA use I strongly recommend you set the meter up with the following settings
RF dBuV
BER=x.xxE-x
BER Log

Go to the following page, download the PDF file. Read the section about "Carrier to Noise Ratio (C/N) carefully. This advice will allow you to align your dish with the greatest accuracy. I've been using a Birdog USB (non +) for a few years now and in my opinion this is the best configuration for FTA.

https://www.perfect-10.tv/marketing/.../techtips.aspx




Let me know if you have any questions. I'll try to help where I can.

More than likely since it doesn't have a power cord then the battery is going to be questionable whether it still good and the price on Ebay for a new battery will set you back around 50 to 60 dollars. I think you'd be better off looking at either a FS1 or the DVB-S2 Sathero meter for what you may end of having in a used Bird Dog and you'd have a new item that you know will work.

so far so good led lights are on it charging now gonna let it charge for 24 hours and go to the next step seems to be in good condition minus the cord,usb cable and manual thanks for the info guys looking forward to tuning dishes again in the spring with this toy