OTHER 8dtek Desired

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spongella

spongella

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
May 12, 2012
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Central NJ
Just ordered one of these, it's a satellite meter/receiver all in one, for aiming/adjusting a dish. Can be used as a standalone receiver too. Have been shopping around the last six months for a replacement for my Satlink WS-6906 and this one seems to have lots of features found in a regular STB plus features useful for aiming a dish. Appears to receive DVB-S2 also. Has a rechargeable battery so it makes setting up/tweaking a dish a lot easier than lugging out TV receiver, full size STB, extension cord, etc.

It was reviewed in TeleAudioVision magazine a while back, and along with feedback from friends in the FTA community figured it was worth a try. I like these types of receiver/meter combos since you can actually see programs from the satellite. Also has a transponder spectral scan.

Anyone out there have one?

Thanks for reading....
 
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Haven't heard of that one but it looks really nice. Please let us know how it works for you. Do you remember which issue it was reviewed in?
 
Here a pic of the meter........displayed is TVGE from Telstar 12 Ku, 15W.
 

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spongella said:
Not sure which channels are DVB-S2, so if you know of any will try it out.
Click to expand...
Here are a few I found that Lyngsat says are DVB-S2:

Luken Channels 87W 4000 H 29125
LPB Channels 87W 11811 N 11150
Shepherd's Chapel 99W 4020 V 15000
TCT Channels 101W 3722 V 5600
Any of the PBS Channels 125W.

Thanks! :)
 
To answer your question, attached are pics of LPB2 and 3 from SES-2 at 87W Ku. No BUD here, just Ku. It does not receive LPB HD channel.

Also shown is the Transponder scan option. Have not fooled with this option too much but it appears you can move the cursor and lock in the frequency. Not sure what happens after that.

Pardon the glare from the protective case. Maybe also be slightly blurry; that is due to my shaky hand and not the meter! It has clear crisp display.

Got mine from Hypermegasat, they are a very reputable and friendly dealer, my favorite place to shop.
 

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spongella said:
To answer your question, attached are pics of LPB2 and 3 from SES-2 at 87W Ku. No BUD here, just Ku. It does not receive LPB HD channel.

Also shown is the Transponder scan option. Have not fooled with this option too much but it appears you can move the cursor and lock in the frequency. Not sure what happens after that.

Pardon the glare from the protective case. Maybe also be slightly blurry; that is due to my shaky hand and not the meter! It has clear crisp display.

Got mine from Hypermegasat, they are a very reputable and friendly dealer, my favorite place to shop.
Click to expand...
Thanks for checking spongella! I had seen several other meters with a built-in display but none of them did DVB-S2 like this one. This would be very handy for those trips to the dishes (not having to carry a receiver and small tv along). Definitely does look like a nice one! :)
 
After communicating some suggestions to 8dtek, they have come up with a software update for the meter. It now has a Free and Free/Scrambled Blind scan option, and the meter now shows the correct Azimuth. The update is on the 8dtek website. Have also recommended that the meter show % quality in 1% increments, vs. the 6% increments at the moment.
 
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I copied the firmware to a USB drive, then plugged the USB into the meter.

By the way, I found that when you connect the meter via the A/V cable to a TV, picture is in B & W and truncated. Evidently it uses PAL video. A bummer but not a deal breaker, still is a good meter.
 
Started fooling with the "Spectrum" function that this meter has, and attached is a pic of a typical spectrum of TPs for a C band satellite, a very nice diagnostic tool. You have the option of moving the cursor to the TP of interest, then hitting the "Lock" key to see if the meter can lock on that TP. What's nice is that you can choose the start and stop frequencies for each scan.

The only glitch is...when it finally "locks" on a TP, see second pic, it identifies the frequency of the TP incorrectly. At first I was puzzled, then figured out that the meter is adding the LNB LO frequency (5150 MHz) to the IF instead of subtracting it, and as a result the meter cannot "lock" the TP. Have contacted 8dtek about this, they are pretty good about fixing these type of things. Might be just a software fix.
 

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Good news for 8Dtek Desired meter owners, they just released a software upgrade that correctly calculates the downlink frequency of a TP when using the Spectral Scan option. Check the 8Dtek website for the 6/15/15 update. I think you first have to register on the website to get to that page. 8Dtek is receptive to feedback from their customers so if anyone out there has a suggestion please forward it to them.
 

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More good news, 8Dtek just released a software update, available for download from 8Dtek.com, which fixes the "jumpy" % Signal Quality reading for the 8Dtek Desired satellite finder/receiver. Now it is even better, the signal quality moves up and down in smaller % quality increments, unlike before when it would only change when it reached a 6 - 7% change. Have to say that the folks at 8Dtek certainly listen to their customer's concerns.
 
The website says
"Note: Once you load the new file to your meter, you must do a factory reset in order to upload the new file."

How do you do the factory reset?
The only option I see is a factory restore.
Does that take you to another menu?
 
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