Idea for peaking remote dish on selected transponder with cheap signal beeper. Will this work?

[hwm]

If I connect my cheap "SF-95" signal beeper out at my dish next to the LNB, then go in the house to the receiver and select a certain transponder and polarity on that satellite, will the LNB only pass signal from the selected transponder down the line through the signal beeper, or will the signal beeper still respond to any signal hitting the LNB?

It seems to me the only signal passed through the LNB would be the one it is tuned to by the receiver. I am not an expert. I have tried this and it seems to work.

Am I kidding myself, or did I stumble onto a neat trick?

 

[FaT Air]

Lnb's pass the whole band down the coax, 950 to as high as 2400 Mhz. Programming the receiver actually tells it where to tune in this passband. I.E: 12250 TP - 10750 L.O. = tune the receiver to 1500 Mhz. 5150 L.O. - 3650 TP = tune the receiver to 1500

 

[Anole]

The last time I tried using a $10 signal meter to aim, it was for Whitesprings.
They were on 129° linear.
There was a hot DishNetwork circular signal at the high end of the band, that my LNBF found just fine
So, it registered on the meter and aiming did work well.
But, without one or more really strong transponders on a bird, I don't think you'll find the meter of much help.

edit:

..or will the signal beeper still respond to any signal hitting the LNB?

Yes, all the signals!

It seems to me the only signal passed through the LNB would be the one it is tuned to by the receiver.

Nope, the output of the LNBF is wideband, encompasing the entire bandwidth of the satellite, as Fat Air described above.

 

[Pixl]

Just log into Skype on your laptop, set it in front of your tv with signal bars up. Go out to the dish, Skype in with your I-phone and peak up! If your receiver has beep mode, you can hear that too.

 

[guacharaca]

Pixl that is a great idea. I need one of them I-phones. Bringing a TV and and STB out to the dish always works best but is trouble.

I used to use the sound of my stb to tweak. I would call my home with the cordless phone and listen to the sound.

Now I have discovered the Tbs DVB IP tool. You can find it in the download section of the TBS website. Instead of sound, it uses a voice to read out the signal and quality level of the transponder. When I call home, I hear the precise level of quality read to me over the phone. (it is like having a calm patient wife verbally telling you the signal strength). Not sure if it works on non-TBS cards.

 

[billyboy_1]

If I connect my cheap "SF-95" signal beeper out at my dish next to the LNB, then go in the house to the receiver and select a certain transponder and polarity on that satellite, will the LNB only pass signal from the selected transponder down the line through the signal beeper, or will the signal beeper still respond to any signal hitting the LNB?

It seems to me the only signal passed through the LNB would be the one it is tuned to by the receiver. I am not an expert. I have tried this and it seems to work.

Am I kidding myself, or did I stumble onto a neat trick?

Out of the "cheap" signal meters like the sf-95, Which one is better/best??

 

[SatelliteAV]

They either work or not. I would not recommend one over another. Some have indicators for 22KHz or polarity, but other than that, go for the best price.

Personally I would take a receiver and TV out beside the dish before wasting time with a meter that provides minimal assistance with aiming a FSS dish and setting skew.

 

[billyboy_1]

They either work or not. I would not recommend one over another. Some have indicators for 22KHz or polarity, but other than that, go for the best price.

Personally I would take a receiver and TV out beside the dish before wasting time with a meter that provides minimal assistance with aiming a FSS dish and setting skew.

Good info, Thanks. Kinda like I did when I got my old dish back going after 15+ years of idleing.

 

[hwm]

I use a small TV and an extra receiver to aim dishes. But when I tested the cheap signal meter inline with that setup at the dishes, I got dramatic differences in the indicated signal level on the cheap meter/beeper when changing to different transponders on the same satellite with the receiver. That's what got me to wondering, and the original question posted.

All things considered, and in view of the expert answers to my original question: In my experience the cheap signal beepers are a frustrating waste of a lot of time and a little bit of money.

 

[SatelliteAV]

I got dramatic differences in the indicated signal level on the cheap meter/beeper when changing to different transponders on the same satellite with the receiver.

The major change in signal strength reading was not due to a transponder change but a change in polarities. One polarity had a very strong transponder and the other polarity did not.

 

[guacharaca]

I tried the cheap signal meter and it did fine for the signal. However with my stb and TV also out in the yard, I still had to adjust the dish to improve the "quality" of the signal. The quality meter on the STB gave me a slight different location from what the signal meter told me to do. Sometimes on the meter of the STB, the signal bar goes down slightly when the quality bar goes up. The goal is to peak that "quality" bar (not necessarily the signal bar).

 

[AcWxRadar]

If you want a meter that really does the trick, get a SuperBuddy! Yeah, I know... They cost about $700, but I bought one and it works for EVERYTHING! I bought one and I use it ll the time! I set up WildBlue internet with it and many, many DN and DirecTV and FTA dishes with it. You want the best, you gotta pay for it.

You want to set up a FTA dish, spend $50 (or less) for a used Coolsat 4K, 5K or 6K receiver. Now there is a meter for you! This is what most FTA'ers really need. I know that I won't get any arguments from Coolsat owners on that statement!

RADAR