Sat Finder Question for Professional Installers

[mbarnes]

What type of sat work do you do ?

I am a missionary with a Christian radio network. We have 15 radio stations, plus many affiliates we provide technical assistance to. We operate our own Spanish Christian Satellite network, Radio Cadena Manantial, presently on AMC3, Ku. We also have downlinks from a variety of other services. While I don't do many of the actual dish installs, I usually do the alignment and receiver installation and set up. I also provide all the tech support on the computer automation systems.

 

[BrettTRay]

I have a Accutrak 22 Pro. It has the two inputs and internal battery pack that never needs to be removed to charge. It has lots of features for Dish and Directv that use different configerations with lnbs and multiswitches. There are many different things you can do with it. It's a great trouble shooter for switches, lnbs, and to check the voltage of the satellite receiver to see if there working correctly. The only thing I do not like about it is that it is a little fragile. If you aren't very rough on equipment then you will be ok but don't expect to drop it on the concrete to many times and expect it to work properly.

 

[HCI]

I have a Accutrak 22 Pro. It has the two inputs and internal battery pack that never needs to be removed to charge. It has lots of features for Dish and Directv that use different configerations with lnbs and multiswitches. There are many different things you can do with it. It's a great trouble shooter for switches, lnbs, and to check the voltage of the satellite receiver to see if there working correctly. The only thing I do not like about it is that it is a little fragile. If you aren't very rough on equipment then you will be ok but don't expect to drop it on the concrete to many times and expect it to work properly.

Would not expect anything to work properly if droped on concrete to many times.

 

[SimpleSimon]

Would not expect anything to work properly if droped on concrete to many times.

Which is a GREAT reason to stick with the $10 meters.

 

[BrettTRay]

Our office gives us the Channel Master meters. Someone brings a broke one in at least everyday.

 

[cylix]

Most of my satellite work is non-DBS, so I usually use a Bulz-I meter from Dawn Satellite. I don't know if they still make them or not. Plus I use an Avcomm PSA-37D spectrum analyzer. On the higher powered DBS stuff, I sometimes use a Birdog. The Birdog is nice, since it will identify the satellite, but does not do too well on the weaker birds. Plus, I have a $5 compass from Wal Mart and an inclinometer from Sears. To know where to look, I have a Garmin eTrex GPS and I found a little satellite calculator for my PDA. For the common satellites I use, I find a good, easy to identify signal and take a digital picture of it on the spectrum analyzer. I keep copies in the SA bag as well as on my PDA. Makes setup a breeze.

Bulz-I is not in production anymore. I had a problem with a circuit break and called up Dawn some time ago. Turns out some retired fellow made them out of a hobby. My only solution was to tear it down and repair it with some guess work on where the connector actually went before. Judging from the internals, it does look like an acid etch board and a bit of a hobbyist design.

Back on topic, I've never done enough jobs to justify the expensive gear. I usually only have to do a retune or install 3 times or so a year. So I use an angle finder, gps locator, some sat calculator I can't remember and a compass with the bulz-i. (The program for freeware is rather good actually, calculates just about everything fairly well.. )

So with my low-tech setup I have had surprisingly good results. (Though I piss and moan everytime I have to hit a dvb sat)

 

[Claude Greiner]

I have owned the following meters...

(10) Digisat Meters
(1) Acutrek Meter
(1) Bird Dog Meter
(2) Satlook Spectrum Analizers.
(4) Channel Master Analog Dual Meters
(1) Channel Master Single Meter

First of all the Digisat is Crap, its a good meter but I had too many issues with them breaking after dropping them from a roof, thats why I had 10 of them. I actually got perfect 10 to replace all of them under warranty, however there was a time in 2001 when I was doing 400 installs per month and gave them to all of my installers never to see them again.

The Auctek is a good meter, but I found the signal strengh displayed on the meter is dependant on the power left remaining in the battery.

The Bird Dog is also a good meter, but is over kill when it comes installing Dish and Directv. A matter of fact now that I think of it I loaned it to my installer and never got it back.

The Satlook is also an excellent meter, I got 2 of them and they still work great. Does a great Job in lining up analog KU band stuff and is perfect for Directway or Starband installs. The reason why I got 2 is because I lost one, needed it for a Job so bought another one and then found the first one after I finished the Job.

Out of all the meters, I have found the channel master analog meters the best, and these are the ones I use the most. They are very accurate and the battery lasts forever on a single charge.

Over the years I have only managed to distroy (2) of those meters. I got a fish pond on my back porch at my house, and the meter slid off the roof into the pond and shorted out. The other one I left on the roof of the truck, it fell off the truck and a car ran it over. The other 3 I have lost and found again over the years!

 

[HDTVFanAtic]

From what I have seen with all the satellite meters mentioned here, none actually tell you what satellite you are on.
The $400 models have satellite data loaded in and you can go to that satellite and it will tell you if it is the correct one or not - but it does not tell you that you are on 129 if you have it set for 119 for example.
As noted above, the professionals use a spectrum analyzer and know the characteristics of the satellites from their strength and display.

 

[netspace]

false birdog readings

hi,
i have a birdog v2.5 and it used to work fine for some time, however, lately i noticed strange behaviour:
when i try to find 82-91, it shows a perfect 91, but when i changed to 82 by clicking left arrow on birdog
without changing the cable, it shows 82 as well, when i changed cable for 82 lnb, it shows nothing

also, when i point to 110, it shows ok, but when clicking to 82 without changing cables, it also shows 82 high quality...

so, definitely, something is wrong...i disconnected the battery, connected again, charged using ac current cable, downloaded a file
from birdog.tv and still is the same...

is there anything else that could be reset in birdog itself or downloaded from the internet?

and what could be the reason for this behaviour to avoid it in the future..

 

[HCI]

hi,
i have a birdog v2.5 and it used to work fine for some time, however, lately i noticed strange behaviour:
when i try to find 82-91, it shows a perfect 91, but when i changed to 82 by clicking left arrow on birdog
without changing the cable, it shows 82 as well, when i changed cable for 82 lnb, it shows nothing
also, when i point to 110, it shows ok, but when clicking to 82 without changing cables, it also shows 82 high quality...
so, definitely, something is wrong...i disconnected the battery, connected again, charged using ac current cable, downloaded a file
from birdog.tv and still is the same...
is there anything else that could be reset in birdog itself or downloaded from the internet?
and what could be the reason for this behaviour to avoid it in the future..

I think I remember seeing onetime that Horizon does not guarantee that the sat it is seeing is not always the one you are looking for. Anything that is not in the factory preset can be misunderstood on the finders view.

 

[HCI]

Netspace

http://www.birdog.tv/Manuals/BirDog_manual_ver1_5.pdf

Take a look at this half way down the page under overview of downloading and uploading satellites, 2nd paragraph.