Acutrac III+ Meter

[35LKSA]

Is anyone using the Acutrac III+ meter by Perfect Vision?

First off, I am not an installer, but am somewhat technical in that I come out of the telecommunications field. I am not an expert on satellite technology, but not a novice either. Probably know enough to make myself dangerous.

I am a full time RV'er and I move 2-3 times per year, which means I need to line up my dish 2-3 times per year. Until last fall, I had DishNetwork and used a Channel Master meter. It worked great. I lined up the dish with the meter and sometimes ha to fine tune after connecting the receiver. No problems. It appears that this meter apparently does not work with the DirecTV Slimline 3 dish (I assume the SWM technology has something to do with that).

I bought this Acutrac III+ meter and the nicest thing I can say about the about the user manual that is that it is crap. Tells you about the buttons, but nothing on how to use the buttons to make the meter work. I can press the MENU button and scroll to the DTV mode, but the instructions don't tell you how to select that function. I tried it for the first time yesterday and stumbled thru it. I couldn't figure out how to line up the dish with the LNB and Receiver plugged in simultaneously. I got a reading for the 3 satellites, but I could swing the dish 90 degrees in either direction and the level never changed. The bottom of the display said LOOP THRU or something like that. I plugged in the LNB only, with the terminator on the Receiver port, and did get signal once. It appears that the meter defaults to 101 as the primary, which is good. I was able to move the display to all three satellites. I peaked all three birds to highest signal strength, but when I plugged in the receiver, I got nothing inside at the receiver. I went back out to check the settings again, and I would get the bars for a few seconds, then a message about current overload, and the meter shut off.

I replace the cable - no change. Currently, I got the meter charging. I get no signal from any birds (nor SWM) at the receiver. And the meter was no help at all.

So if anyone has knowledge of this meter; is it me (user error) or does it sound like a bad meter?

 

[BobStokesbary]

I suspect that you may want to return your meter. While I am not quite clear on your exact setup, it sounds like you have a SWM LNB which the Acutracs don't support directly. From what I understand about the Acutrac meters, they display the SWM signal strength as if it was the satellite. So what you see as a signal strength is only the SWM signal. You have to have an ASL unit in the line to separate the satellite locater signal. Since you only have a 3 head LNB (for 99, 101, and 103) the 119 locator for the tilt would be of no use for you either. So, your meter would only be good for the 101 setup. Furthermore, your meter will not supply the 19 volts from its power source to properly drive the SWM unit so you have to have an injection point for that power.

I use an Acutrac II with a separate ASL unit to aim my dish. Since I have a 5 head LNB I can do the basic setup on the 101 satellite and also use the 119 port to help with the tilt adjustment. The ASL unit also allows an entry point for the 19 volts you need to power up the SWM head. I enjoy being able to do all the adjustments at the dish without having to have someone shout signal strength values out the window. The ALS also gives me the injection point for the 19 volts for the SWM. You can purchase the Acutrac II for about half the price of the Acutrac III.

Many of the posters on this forum prefer to just use the receiver to do their aiming. Since you only move a few times a year you may want to give this method a try before you invest in another meter.

 

[35LKSA]

Thanks. I finally got the dish lined up yesterday using the signal strength screen on the receiver. Looks like the Acutrac III+ will be on E*Bay this weekend.