Which Sat meter to buy

[tpinck]

So how long have you had a Hopper 3 which is the reason for this thread?

Almost 3 months with 5 moves that were more than a 2 night stop, but to be honest we were at a time share for 2 weeks of that time. At each stop I use the Dishpointer app on my phone to locate both the Western and Eastern arc sats, usually I use the Western Arc sats but on a couple of sites they were blocked by trees so I switched to the Eastern Arc LNBF because those sats were clear. I could usually get the 61.5 sat but not the other one. When it was clear to the Western Arc, what would normally take 10 minutes to lock and peek was taking over an hour. With the new Hybrid setup you would have to peek with the inline meter then have to take the meter out of the system to see if the sats were locked running check switch, it absolutely would not work with the meter in line. When Western Arc sats were clear I would always use them and could over time get them to lock in, but not the Eastern Arc.

 

[tpinck]

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.

those are all preeminently mounted on the top of the RV and cost a couple of thousand to purchase and get installed and in a lot of locations they will not work because you cannot park with clear shot to the sats. I have always used a tripod and until the Hybrid LNBF had no problem locking on. It really is not the Hopper 3 that is the problem it is the Hybrid LMBF setup. On the non Hybrid LNBF you could tell which LNB was for which sat and if one had problems locking on you could cover the others and peek that sat usually with skew. With the Hybrid the LNBFs are not defined physically but by the system the first sat to lock get that LNBF, as I understand it.

 

[oljim60]

Why not use your old LNB to point dish then change to new Hybreid

 

[camo]

Almost 3 months with 5 moves that were more than a 2 night stop, but to be honest we were at a time share for 2 weeks of that time. At each stop I use the Dishpointer app on my phone to locate both the Western and Eastern arc sats, usually I use the Western Arc sats but on a couple of sites they were blocked by trees so I switched to the Eastern Arc LNBF because those sats were clear. I could usually get the 61.5 sat but not the other one. When it was clear to the Western Arc, what would normally take 10 minutes to lock and peek was taking over an hour. With the new Hybrid setup you would have to peek with the inline meter then have to take the meter out of the system to see if the sats were locked running check switch, it absolutely would not work with the meter in line. When Western Arc sats were clear I would always use them and could over time get them to lock in, but not the Eastern Arc.

I see, thanks for the information. My dish was already pointed when I went over to hopper3 and the hybrid equip so didn't need meter.

 

[Brussam]

those are all preeminently mounted on the top of the RV and cost a couple of thousand to purchase and get installed and in a lot of locations they will not work because you cannot park with clear shot to the sats. I have always used a tripod and until the Hybrid LNBF had no problem locking on. It really is not the Hopper 3 that is the problem it is the Hybrid LMBF setup. On the non Hybrid LNBF you could tell which LNB was for which sat and if one had problems locking on you could cover the others and peek that sat usually with skew. With the Hybrid the LNBFs are not defined physically but by the system the first sat to lock get that LNBF, as I understand it.

Yes there is a multi-switch inside the LNBF head. Any coax can be electronically attached to any LNBF. Early on I found that the default for a DPP 1000.2 was 110 LNBF to the coax cable. That is why I used a meter that let me generate a 22 KHz tone on the coax to electronically select the 119 LNBF.

The early DPP 500 LNBF multi-switches could be toggled with voltage,12 v or 18 v I think. The tone was an evolution. When satellite 129 was added then dseq commands were used to select the LNBF.

The foil may or may not work because if the default electronic connection is to a covered LNBF, you get no signal. You can force LNBF selection by setting the tuner in the receiver to the satellite you want. With multiple tuners, that can be a turkey shoot.

I believe that the DPH Hybrid multi-switch works similar to the DPP multi-switch except is probably doesn't care about voltage selection any more.

Smart meters like the First Strike and the Super Buddy generate dseq commands for LNBF selection. I have had to setup the tripod a couple of hundred feet out and using the receiver just was too difficult. Smart meters allows me to setup at the dish and run the cable after I know I am locked in.

My Trav'ler cost $1200 and a couple of hundred to install so I don't know how you can spend a couple of thousand to get one installed. A typical year for us is is 50+ stops and if we need the tripod, maybe 4 times in the west. This year we are in the east and want HD Locals so in out 58 stops, 35 needed the tripod so we could use a EA DPH head. I had several years with out the Trav'ler and it was a boon to setup. A more perfect world would be a Trav'ler that can do the WA and the EA but that is physically impossible because of the LNBF spacing. So the Trav'ler for most of the time and tripod when in the East.

And I really like the Hipper 3. No way I would go back.

 

[Brussam]

I see, thanks for the information. My dish was already pointed when I went over to hopper3 and the hybrid equip so didn't need meter.

So you didn't aim the Hybrid Dish with the $10 meter.

 

[NYDutch]

Which meter do you have and use and do you have the hybrid LNBF?

I use an SF-500 Satellite Meter. I do not have a DPH LNB, however I have used the meter to aim a DPH for a camping neighbor. The meter was connected directly to the LNB and and powered externally.

 

[the mack]

IMO a cheap meter and the dish pointer app for your smart phone is all you need. As posted above you can use a standard lnb to point then switch to hybrid id you are using hopper 3.
the phone app saves a lot of time if trying to find signal in a wooded area.
With practice you will dial in your dish in minutes.

 

[stardust3]

IMO a cheap meter and the dish pointer app for your smart phone is all you need. As posted above you can use a standard lnb to point then switch to hybrid id you are using hopper 3.
the phone app saves a lot of time if trying to find signal in a wooded area.
With practice you will dial in your dish in minutes.

I agree, an analog meter with adjustable gain is as good as anything if a person learns how to use it.

 

[Brussam]

I agree, an analog meter with adjustable gain is as good as anything if a person learns how to use it.

If that is the case, then Dish installers just use a cheap analog meter?

 

[tpinck]

Why not use your old LNB to point dish then change to new Hybreid

That would work I am told but the tech took it with him.

 

[oljim60]

IMO a cheap meter and the dish pointer app for your smart phone is all you need. As posted above you can use a standard lnb to point then switch to hybrid id you are using hopper 3.
the phone app saves a lot of time if trying to find signal in a wooded area.
With practice you will dial in your dish in minutes.

What phone app do you have, I have satfinder Lite but AZ is way off

 

[Brussam]

The biggest error in Azimuth is believing the arm points to the satellites. Only if the Skew is 90 degrees (0) does the arm point towards the satellites. Once you change the skew the signal path swings, usually to the right. And the signal path is 15 degrees above the center of the reflector making the signal path even more.
Magnetix deviation will swing the compass reading if too close to the metal dish. Too far back and you have a parallax problem. The back blades of the disk are the best indicators of the Azimuth from the tables.

The problem with smartphone apps is that you cannot get an observation view from the focus point of the reflector.

 

[NYDutch]

I use the DishPointer App from DishPointer.com, and I can get a pretty good approximation of the dish focal point view by standing in front of the dish instead of behind it. As said, the sides of the mount are the best place to adjust the azimuth unless you're somewhere like I am currently with a near 90 deg skew (89.4 here on EA) in which case the arm is ok.

 

[oljim60]

Do not use to point dish, need to find spot to put dish to see each sat when move to a new place in RV.

 

[camo]

If that is the case, then Dish installers just use a cheap analog meter?

Because they do it for a living and want to be done with install or alignment as soon as possible. They get paid by the job and around here they travel 200+ miles a day doing 6+ service appointments so taking an extra 30 minutes is something they can't afford.

 

[Brussam]

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.

Because they do it for a living and want to be done with install or alignment as soon as possible. They get paid by the job and around here they travel 200+ miles a day doing 6+ service appointments so taking an extra 30 minutes is something they can't afford.

If according to you the cheap meter success is just a matter of skill, I would expect Dish Installers to be quite skilled. So is it an extra 30 minutes or not?

 

[HipKat]

If according to you the cheap meter success is just a matter of skill, I would expect Dish Installers to be quite skilled. So is it an extra 30 minutes or not?

I'm gonna say my SB is just fine at finding the sats, peaking, passing limit scans, checking dB loss and frequency deviation and it normally takes me about 5 minutes to mount, point and peak a dish

 

[Brussam]

One advantage I had with the Super Buddy was in the. Maritimes because I could load the Canadian Postal Code database and get the setting cot the WA. The Dish manual does not cover this not dishpointer.com. You have to have the settings even with the cheap meter.

 

[HipKat]

One advantage I had with the Super Buddy was in the. Maritimes because I could load the Canadian Postal Code database and get the setting cot the WA. The Dish manual does not cover this not dishpointer.com. You have to have the settings even with the cheap meter.

Not to mention manually entering the ZIP Code to get the exact locations of each satellite