Agreed, the investment in a super buddy is by far cheaper than costs associated with a permanent address.
Which Sat meter to buy
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Agreed, the investment in a super buddy is by far cheaper than costs associated with a permanent address.
Yes, my thinking is, if you are a full time RVer, you need to invest in the tools needed to live comfortably.
I think a SatBuddy would cost about the same as 2 or 3 tanks of gas in an RV. 
My $50 sat meter works fine for me. I've watched people take longer to set up their Sat Buddy than it usually takes me to set up my whole dish. My meter only locks on the western arc birds, but I haven't found that to be much of a drawback. Even on the eastern arc, as long as I carefully level the tripod and line up the dish mount on the correct azimuth, it's rare that I don't hit all three sats on the first try, just needing to peak the signal levels up a bit before tightening it down.
Yes there is. I was thinking SuperBuddy and typed SatBuddy. I don't think you could find a SatBuddy even if you really wanted one.
I actually use an AI Turbo S2 meter which is a super SuperBuddy.
Just for reference, if you do buy a Super Buddy, here are the links for the firmware and flash update software so you can keep it up to date
Applied Instruments - Super Buddy Satellite Meter Software Updates
Applied Instruments - Super Buddy Satellite Meter Software Updates
I preset Azimuth, Elevation, and Skew per zip location and using compass and cheap $10 signal meter can usually find western arcs in couple minutes. Warning on compass don't get close to dish metal or you will get incorrect heading. Takes longer to install meter than it does find satellites. I always lock onto the stronger wrong satellite first but know the correct sat is close by usually slightly tilting dish can find. If skew and elevation are preset usually all 3 sats are there first time so just make slight elevation and Azmuth adjustments to peak strength. Don't know why it wouldn't lock on eastern arc but never tried.
Are you serious? The reason for the thread is what meter to buy. A $10 meter works fine for me. I've had the hopper 3 since this spring and own my own equipment.
Well more power to you. I tried the cheap meter in 2006 and it was worth a damn. Used an Acutrac 22 Pro until the battery died and then a First Strike FS-1 until the Hopper 3 where it did not work with the Hybrid LNBF head.
There are people who don't need tripods or meters and claim that no one else should. Well you are an example of most of the mobile dish users.
There is one automatic setup out there where they take a regular dish, add a few motors and put a hinge on the LNB arm.
The dish then uses a standard LNB that gets all 3 satellites.
I repaired a Directv version a few months ago at the Detroit Grand Prix for Mario Andretti's trailer.
Basically that is what a Trav'ler is. For Dish it is a DPP 1000.2 dish with motors and a folding arm. Likewise with DirecTV. There also is the RF Mogul which is also a DPP 1000.2 or a DirecTV reflector and LNBF head.
super sat buddy is the best for Dish Network sats, It will tell exactly which one you are locked on and verify. They are not cheap by any stretch but they work every time. eBay or amazon used purchase is your best bet on price but it will still be anywhere from $300-$700
FYI if you find one on craigslist or somewhere locally that is broken, Applied will refurbish it for around $125 if you send it to them.
FYI if you find one on craigslist or somewhere locally that is broken, Applied will refurbish it for around $125 if you send it to them.
That would be the permanently mounted Winegard Trav'ler, not a single LNB automatic portable dish like the Tailgater, Pathway, etc.
