Good Cheap Satellite Finder Meter

zplugger

SatelliteGuys Family
Original poster
Sep 30, 2018
85
27
Fenton MI.
What is a good meter for a home owner to use to set up eastern arch dish? Will it show me a signal for both 61.5 and 72 satellites? Looking for something portable so I won't need a receiver and tv. Thanks for any suggestions you have.
 
When it comes to satellite signal meters, "Good" and "Cheap" don't belong in the same sentence. You can have one or the other, but not both. There are $10 meters that will detect sat signals, but will not show you which satellite they're from or other information needed for best signal peaking. Used with a good compass, dead level mounting post, accurate skew, elevation, and azimuth data, the cheap meters will get the job done with a lot of patience. Good meters like the Birdog Ultra, etc, on the other hand, can run to several hundred dollars new, and reduce the aiming time to a few minutes.

Here's one cheap meter:
https://www.amazon.com/SAT-TECH-Satellite-Signal-Network-Directv/dp/B07DJ4W472/
 
I am looking also but a good used one. I have Dish Hopper+ so hybrid LNB compatibly is a must. Back in the day and apparently still Birdog is a good choice? I found a few on eBay. Another less favorable option is Amazon and GT Media or Satlink with many reviews saying poor battery life and even worse not even compatible to the USA! Any suggestions? P.S. I am aware Birdog has three versions. Is a certain version a requirement or highly recommended?
 
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Update I received the Acutrac working good if you know what sat and can actually read the tiny screen. The Birdog seller never shipped or replied to several messages. ebay wants me to wait 30 days so I contacted my card to stop it. The next one that looks ok is $50 more! I may have to wait. Sad!
 
Update I received the Acutrac working good if you know what sat and can actually read the tiny screen. The Birdog seller never shipped or replied to several messages. ebay wants me to wait 30 days so I contacted my card to stop it. The next one that looks ok is $50 more! I may have to wait. Sad!
Long update I will try and shorten. The person who did not ship had movers show up days early for a cross country move. He refunded me and still shipped a new looking Birdog version 4 in perfect condition! Between him contacting me I had bought another that was in great condition and also got the Accutrac at a steal! Both have new batteries, and both were updated. Way over kill for me but something I have dreamed of owning for so many years!