false signal from signal finder?

[icu1954]

hi guys, just wanted to know,can a inline signal finder give a false signal if it is not used right?that is what i am getting..i can pick up good signal on a selected satellite,go inside and scan...nothing..i do this over and over again...nothing...let me tell you how i am using it...instead of the short jumper cable that comes with it..i am using a 6ft. cable so i can go to the back of the dish and wrap the cable around the pole mount to support the signal finder while i adjust the dish standing behind it..it gives some weird readings from time to time..let me know if i am doing this incorrectly

 

[brentb636]

The problem with those cheap signal finders is that all they are is a transistor amplifier, and show that "something" is up there , at a stronger level than the rest of the sky. It's better than nothing, particularly if you are good with a compass and experienced with elevation settings, but it's not nearly as useful as having a small TV set out there with your receiver , set up for a particular active transponder. THEN, when the Q starts to register on your TV set, YOU KNOW you've got that transponder, and you can dial it in. If I were you ( like I am I ) , I'd get a cheap small TV from a thrift store, and a cheap second receiver for outside work.
[edit] Random Act of Kindness - Looking at my stack of receivers, I'm willing to send you a "cracked-case" but perfectly useable Coolsat 5000 w/remote, if you'll pay the shipping. PM me with your shipping info, if you want it. [/edit]

 

[Mikey11]

the meter you have is really more just for fine tuning once you have found the satellite yourself....

 

[Vorg]

I found they worked ok if aiming at one of the money leaches circular sats, but when trying for a linear, I kept ending up pointing at a transformer on the power pole in the alley.

 

[rogerduncan100]

I don't think you are doing anything wrong, but these signal finders tend to find the strongest signals. You might be aimed at a satellite that is close to the one you want but not it! I suggest you try Iceberg's list of strong transponders and work from there.

 

[hd fan]

you could also use a set of wireless headphones and listen for the high pitch tone from the sat receiver inside. make sure you use an active TP though.

 

[brentb636]

I found they worked ok if aiming at one of the money leaches circular sats, but when trying for a linear, I kept ending up pointing at a transformer on the power pole in the alley.

Scan it and get any channels ?

 

[AcWxRadar]

ICU,

As the others have elluded to, the generic satellite meters are non-discriminatory. Meaning that if you were searching for satellite 123W, you could have dialed your dish in on 121W or 125W or even further off than that and this signal finder will tell you that you have a strong signal. It also does not look at just one TP signal from the satellite, it looks at a composite signal of every TP on the satellite. Then, when you go back to the receiver and try to scan 123W, you get nothing, because you are not aligned with 123W at all.

As others have posted, and I am in total agreement and recommend it highly, the best way and the most inexpensive way, is to use a portable TV and your sat receiver out at the dish directly. Here, you can set it up to monitor a specific TP on a specific SAT and when you get a LOCK, you are assured to be on the correct and intended satellite. The signal finder that you are using is very handy for getting you in the ball park quickly - in other words it is very handy to rough it in as it will be quicker to respond to the signal from the sat whereas the sat receiver might take a few seconds to lock on and display a signal reading.

If your receiver's signal/quality meter is one that is overly sensitive or "jumpy" or if it is not sensitive enough and doesn't update quickly, then the signal finder you have will be very handy as you can detect immediate and accurate changes in the signal strength as you try to peak your dish alignments, so it is extremely useful in this regard, especially since it provides an analog readout rather than a digital representation of the signal.

Therefore, you are not doing anything incorrectly in the use of this satellite signal finder, you simply aren't doing everything that you need to do.

RADAR

 

[Stargazer]

I don't think you are doing anything wrong, but these signal finders tend to find the strongest signals. You might be aimed at a satellite that is close to the one you want but not it! I suggest you try Iceberg's list of strong transponders and work from there.

Where do I get access to this list?

 

[woodheat/nooil]

SatelliteGuys.US_TheList - TheList

This weekend I put up old primestar dish for AMC-9 found it with good signal, the next day it was gone? Checked cables put on new connectors had the tv outside was about to give up then? I found out it was not the LNBF, connectors or meter at all. It was a quark in the IV-200 receiver. It did not want to lock a 78 signal with zero qualty. Than I tried a Fortec receiver 85 signal & 84 Quality, (in the rain) and if I wait a minute, 84 signal & 50 Quality on the IV-200. The old fortec pulled it in faster, but no blind scan or ac-3 audio on the 786v3. I should have used that first to rule out the other receiver.

I would have saved a lot of time.

 

[rogerduncan100]

The list of strong transponders is a sticky thread right here in this sub forum. (go back and look up!)