Satellite Meter

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Wesro

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Sep 10, 2008
273
1
Eufaula, Alabama
I am wanting to purchase a satellite meter. I am not really going to use it enough to warrant a $400 - $500 price tag. I was wondering what is the best meter in the $200 range that works well. I would like for it to tell me which bird I am pointing at but the only ones I can find in the $200 do not do that. Is there one out there that does this?
 
no i don't think so. i was never to find one like that for that price range. sorry. maybe someone else has.
 
If your going to buy a satellite meter for setting up a Directv AU9S dish (5LNB) the best meter in my opinion in the $200 price range is the Acutrac III plus by Perfect Vision.
 
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If your going to buy a satellite meter for setting up a Directv AU9S dish (5LNB) the best meter in my opinion in the $200 price range is the Acutrac III plus by Perfect Vision.

When you buy something like this or a Birdog is there instructions to tell you how it works.
I've never used a meter, never really had a problem, but would be nice to have one so I didn't need everything set up to point it.

200 is reasonable ....
Does the Birdog for the larger price do much more for you ?
Are these upgradable (via the internet I would imagine) ?

Do any of these actually tell you what sat your seeing, there are plenty that are not D* sats up there. Would it say 101 sat 110 sat ect.

If I were to look for a Birdog, are they doing the new dishes as well , what models do you look for that do the new stuff, I would not want to buy one and find out that it doesn't handle the new sats.
Thanks for the help in this area.

Jimbo
 
Jimbo,

Yes, it has complete instructions on how to use it and what to expect.

Actually the Acutrack III plus allows you to look at both the Ka/Ku bands at the same time. This is a feature I believe no other meter in this price range has. It also allows you to see all the individual satellites as well.
Using this meter I was able to get my 5 LNB dish adjusted "dead nuts" for max signal on all the birds especially the 99 and 103 degree satellites which are very critical for good HD on DirecTv. In my opinion, this is a very good meter.

The Acutrac III plus handels both the Directv and Dish network sats. This particular Sat meter is not upgradable through the internet at this time.
 
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[QOTE=AIM08;1554506]Jimbo,

Yes, it has complete instructions on how to use it and what to expect.

Actually the Acutrack III plus allows you to look at both the Ka/Ku bands at the same time. This is a feature I believe no other meter in this price range has. It also allows you to see all the individual satellites as well.
Using this meter I was able to get my 5 LNB dish adjusted "dead nuts" for max signal on all the birds especially the 99 and 103 degree satellites which are very critical for good HD on DirecTv. In my opinion, this is a very good meter.

The Acutrac III plus handels both the Directv and Dish network sats. This particular Sat meter is not upgradable through the internet at this time.[/QUOTE]

AIM08,

First off, Welcome to the site !!!

I was looking thru the Birdog's instructions online, just to get an idea, could not find the Acutrac III + one.
I noticed that there were a lot of sats listed in the download info, I know there are a bunch that have nothing to do with Direct or Dish from my days playing with my old C- Band.
Is there a webpage specifically for the Acutrac meters as well ?
You mentioned that it is NOT upgradable as of now, is there a usb or anything like that that would allow upgrades in the future on the unit ?

While I'm only at this time concerned with the D* and DISH sats, I noticed that if I looked for the 99, 101, 103 sats in the birdog list it showed more than just D*'s sats at 101, for example, there is a KV AMC-4 101 West, this would not be the same bird that would be at the D* 101, so IF this was downloadable , would you just d/l the ones that had D* name in them ?

Some have said that the sats will show up with thier names on the screen with this unit, others say No, which is it, when I'm pointing it will say Directv 101, 103 , 99 ?? Or will it just peg a meter like an old cheap one I had years back.

IF this one actually does designate the sat you found, then YES I definatly will invest in it. I really don't want to spend the money on the Birdog as I only do a hand full a year.

By chance, does this also do the new SWM dishes (one line ) ? If not, thats OK, I see it will do the 3 99, 101, 103 dish obviously.

Jimbo
 
For the Birdog you would use KAKU 101 and KAKU 119 to peak, then set the BER to LOG, then run the fine tune. Each Sat listed for the Birdog has its own digital codes so if your off the sat it will not ping. even if you are looking at KV AMC-4 101 and not the D* 101 it will not register. Also I believe for the SWM setups you need the Birdogs with a USB port verses the cheaper serial port ones. The SWM dual display is for the Birdog 4 which runs $400+ but you can peak the dish using a 4 port lnb then swap in your swm.

If you just want a cheap analog meter the $20 ones with a 22khtz tone will be fine, but you will need a quality AZ/EL compass to use it properly, like a Suunto.
 
Jimbo,

Yes, it has complete instructions on how to use it and what to expect.

Actually the Acutrack III plus allows you to look at both the Ka/Ku bands at the same time. This is a feature I believe no other meter in this price range has. It also allows you to see all the individual satellites as well.
Using this meter I was able to get my 5 LNB dish adjusted "dead nuts" for max signal on all the birds especially the 99 and 103 degree satellites which are very critical for good HD on DirecTv. In my opinion, this is a very good meter.

The Acutrac III plus handels both the Directv and Dish network sats. This particular Sat meter is not upgradable through the internet at this time.[/quote]

AIM08,

First off, Welcome to the site !!!

I was looking thru the Birdog's instructions online, just to get an idea, could not find the Acutrac III + one.
I noticed that there were a lot of sats listed in the download info, I know there are a bunch that have nothing to do with Direct or Dish from my days playing with my old C- Band.
Is there a webpage specifically for the Acutrac meters as well ?
You mentioned that it is NOT upgradable as of now, is there a usb or anything like that that would allow upgrades in the future on the unit ?

While I'm only at this time concerned with the D* and DISH sats, I noticed that if I looked for the 99, 101, 103 sats in the birdog list it showed more than just D*'s sats at 101, for example, there is a KV AMC-4 101 West, this would not be the same bird that would be at the D* 101, so IF this was downloadable , would you just d/l the ones that had D* name in them ?

Some have said that the sats will show up with thier names on the screen with this unit, others say No, which is it, when I'm pointing it will say Directv 101, 103 , 99 ?? Or will it just peg a meter like an old cheap one I had years back.

IF this one actually does designate the sat you found, then YES I definatly will invest in it. I really don't want to spend the money on the Birdog as I only do a hand full a year.

By chance, does this also do the new SWM dishes (one line ) ? If not, thats OK, I see it will do the 3 99, 101, 103 dish obviously.


Jimbo,

Thanks for the welcome!

Just go onto Solid Signal website and serach for the Acutrac III plus satellite meter.

I don't know if this meter works for an SWM setup but you can download the manual on-line and check it out.

The alignment method suggested by Zynergi will certainly work and is the method most used by D* installers but it has its caveats for getting the 99 and 103 signals peaked exactly right.

If you live in a strong signal area, you can get a way with peaking the 101 and 119 Sat's and take what you get on the 99 and 103 Sat's but if you want to optimize the signals, IMHO I would suggest using a signal meter that you can see the actual signals from those satellites.
In one of my recent installs of a 5 LNB dish using the standard method suggested above, signal levels on the 99 and 103 Sat's were in the mid 70's. I then hooked up the Acuatrac III plus and by tweaking the actual 99 and 103 satellite signals, I was able to get the signal levels adjusted into the mid 90's.
I think it comes down to personal choice. In my case, once I tried the signal meter above, I won't use anything else. {:>)
 
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If you peak the 101/119 then fine tune 2 turns left (record reading) then 2 turns right (record reading) then divide it by 2 and set your fine tune knob to the number your 99/103 will be upper 90's every times if you installed the thing right. This can be done by a cheap $20 meter, no need for a birdog... Birdog is used because it's the cheapest out that lets you "sweep" to make sure you have the right sat, which the AcutracIII will do as well, but is limited in upgradability atm.
 
Thanks for the info guy's, I think I will be looking closer at the Acutrack III plus and pick it up soon, kind looking for the best price from a reliable source.

Jimbo
 
to fine tune elevation i believe it would be two turns counterclockwise record signal then turn clockwise till you get same reading then divide by two and turn counterclockwise to peak . azm 3 turns counterclockwise record signal then clockwise to same signal divide by two and turn counterclockwise to peak.
 
to fine tune elevation i believe it would be two turns counterclockwise record signal then turn clockwise till you get same reading then divide by two and turn counterclockwise to peak . azm 3 turns counterclockwise record signal then clockwise to same signal divide by two and turn counterclockwise to peak.

If you do as you said, you would turn so far in one direction and then back the other way till you find the same level and then back ???

Wouldn't this put you right back where you started ?
 
The DirecTV Antenna Installation Manual for the Slimline states in seveal areas, "Set the in-line signal meter for 101 degrees RHCP reception <or in some cases 119 degrees) (13 volts with no 22 KHz tone). An alternative method is to select 101 degree (119 degree) satellite and an odd numbered transponder on the customer's receiver to power the LNB."

This tell me that the $20 signal meter will work just fine.
 
Yea but with a $20 meter you will need a very accurate Compass, It will be very easy to hit 99 and 103 and think your fine tuning the 101, not to mention the other dozen or so birds there that may pick up (doubtful but possible as polarities are not the same) Even a 5 Degree Sweep with a Birdog after peaking the 101 will show semi-false positives that would be picked up on an analog meter.

It can be done, don't get me wrong you just need an accurate compass and know what your coordinates/Dish settings are.
 
Hi all new to this site and have been reading a few in the last 2 weeks. I have put up a 5 LNB Slimline not a SWM dish. I get good readings on 101, and 119 and on 72.5 (don't know where that one is comming from). But any way I get nothing on 99, and 103? I'm using a Birdog USB 3.0 meter is there a reason for this? Or am I doing something wrong?
 
Thanks Zynergi. That reminds me of first time I installed the 3-LNB dish. I didn't realize the azimuth changed and tried to align using the single LNB azimuth. The meter came up with a signal just right. But "Wrong." It didn't work until I realized I had to change azimuth. Everything worked fine after that. I'll be careful.
 
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