Satellite Meter for Directv Ku/ka (which is a good brand?)

[vixens]

First: I made a typo in the headline . . . I meant Directv Ka/Ku (not Dish) but can't change it.

I am planing to purchase a quality satellite meter; possibly with spectrum meter included.
With my location and the large dishes I would hope this would very much assist to quickly find the signal and fine tune it.
Currently i am just using the cheap SF95L Satellite Finder . . . that's the beeping thing for 10 bucks.

Most important the new meter should also work for Directv Ku band (non SWM) but also for all or most other types of signal; Dishnetwork, Shaw Direct, C-Band, FTA.

Anybody can give me advise ?
I would like to stay on a reasonable budget.
Are there any comparison tests out there ?
Thanks!

p.s. I hope this is the right place to post. If not, my apologies and the administrator should please move it accordingly.

 

[twizt3dsist3r]

Im partial to birdog.. just get version 4 or ultra, however these are a bit pricey. The directv branded aim meter does all you need as well. However the aim is directv only.

Second note unless your going to be installing professionally a meter really isnt 'needed' to peak

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[raoul5788]

Before you drop a lot of money on an expensive meter, are you sure your setup is going to work? Have you solved the problem of mounting a Directv lnb on a large dish?

 

[vixens]

You are right.

I ordered me the triple Ka/ku lnb for Hawaii/Alaska. If it should not work for a 9 foot or 6 foot dish I can also try a 4 foot dish. That's the size the lnb is designed for.
Mounting should not be a problem. Also I would have to set some kind of skew.
I can't or don't want to really buy an expensive meter for $350 and up. Any advise in the $80 to $200 range ?

 

[raoul5788]

I can't offer an informed opinion. I'm not an installer, so I've always used the signal meter in the receiver/dvr. That may not be good enough for the weaker signals where you are.

 

[vixens]

Correct, it's just very hard with the receiver especially when you are dealing with signal low signal strength.

 

[BobStokesbary]

Well I'm not an installer either; just an RVer who is too cheap to get one of those automated dishes. So I do my own tripod setup when we stop. I use an Accutrac II, which currently runs about $100 (plus you need a DirecTV ASL-1 to make it work with SWM - which I don't think applies to your setup). But, I can tell you from experience that I seriously doubt it is even close to being as good as the meter in the receiver. I use it because it is just much easier than having the wife shout out the window to me with the signal strengths. Since this looks like you are just going to do this once, I think you would be best served with at least trying to do the setup with the receiver meter. If that fails, then I think you have to seriously consider a meter in the $400 to $500 range to get the sensitivity you need.

 

[vixens]

thank you.

Any more ideas and proposals about a good meter ?

 

[pro96]

OTM 500 is what I use and works fine with slimline (Directv) and 1000.2 (DishNet) plus FTA DVB-S2.

Got it off ebay for $65.00 (used but in great condition)

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[pro96]

Btw.. here is the info on the OTM500 3.0

http://www.orbitaltracker.com/trackerlightsoftware.php

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[Jimbo]

Correct, it's just very hard with the receiver especially when you are dealing with signal low signal strength.

At least when you get a signal using the recvr, you know it's a D* signal...
If your using a meter outside of the Birdog, you'll get signal on any of the Sats up there, even though they are not the ones you need.

 

[vixens]

The Tracker Light OTM500: "Now just simply search for the DirecTV 101W satellite and the 119W satellite signals. If you have a SL3 LNB only search for the 101W satellite signal. The KA 99W and 103W satellites signals are not detectable signals".

I have no problems finding the 101W for Directv with any receiver. It's clear and strong.
In my location I will need a meter also and separately recognizing the Ka band satellites 99W and 103W.

Only this will give me the opportunity to fine tune (by slightly moving the triple LNB) and experiment with the screw on the large dish.

Thanks, wolfgang

 

[Danny001]

As for as I know the only meter that will detect 99 and 103 are the meters given to the techs. If I was you i'd get myself a little 7 inch portable tv, connect the receiver with RCA cables and watch the signal meter on the receiver.

 

[Jimbo]

As for as I know the only meter that will detect 99 and 103 are the meters given to the techs. If I was you i'd get myself a little 7 inch portable tv, connect the receiver with RCA cables and watch the signal meter on the receiver.

Thats pretty much what I do, take a small TV to the dish and work from there.
You don't always have someone else to look at the numbers for you.

 

[vixens]

There is really no meter for sale on the market which can also detect Directv Ka band ?

 

[raoul5788]

There are, but I'm sure the installers will tell you it's very expensive.

 

[ZandarKoad]

There is really no meter for sale on the market which can also detect Directv Ka band ?

There is a meter that can detect DirecTV Ka band. One meter, and one meter only. That meter is the DirecTV AIM meter. It's around $500 new. May be able to find used for $300 to $400. Don't look anywhere else for anything that can detect DirecTV's KA band. Trust me. I've looked.

What it comes down to, if you dig deep enough, is that other meter manufacturers are not ALLOWED to access the signal quality readings off the Ka band, due to proprietary restrictions. DirecTV is the only company who owns the spectrum for the Ka band, they own the codes which unlock the LNB's ability to decode the Ka band. So their meters are the ones that can see that stuff. Or something along those lines.

What other meters CAN see (both expensive and cheap) is the dB reading off the Ka birds (not the signal quality). So you can do a peak of sorts... But when dealing with the ubiquitous slimline, it's best just to dither on the 101 dBs.

Having said all that, make no mistake, the best professional meter hands down is the AI Turbo S2. It's way out of your price range. It can function as a Spectrum Analyzer to a degree. But like I said, even that meter can't see signal quality on 99 and 103. Even very expensive top of the line Spectrum Alalyzers ($20,000+) wouldn't see the signal quality on 99 or 103.

I hope that makes sense.

 

[vixens]

interesting ! thank you.

The price is too high for a one time installation. Once I receive the triple Lnb and receiver I'll try by just using the meter on the receiver.

 

[twizt3dsist3r]

If by triple lnb you mean the phase3 18x20 you can peak that pretty easily with a friend or spouse shouting to you from the tv looking at the receiver. This is a sad dish. If you meant the sl3 then you really need a meter to do it accurately. Your looking at a couple hundred no matter what you pick. The aim meter is the best but it peaks DirecTV only. Birdog is good and can peak almost anything. A trick with the aim meter for fast e as y peaking is to go to sat 103a transponder 11 the mess with the dials till you get a Sq of 95 or better. This will pass eiv every time.

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[vixens]

Here is the Directv setup I would like to accomplish.

This is for a 8 foot dish for 99W, 101W and 103W way South of the border. This is a non SWiM set up.
I will be using non-SWM lnbs and an HR22 dual receiver.

Who can help me especially with the switches ? (this is a set up for 2 receivers or one dual receiver, so I guess)
Will I be needing a Directv AIM meter for tuning or will the receiver show me the signal for Ka?

This is my first time ever setup on Directv.
Thanks !