Satellite Meter advice needed

minterno

Hi guys,Im looking for advice on which sat meter to buy,Budget is about 2-400euro and it will be a few weeks before i buy one and im looking for advice from guys with hands on experience on the pros and cons of the meters they are using,i have searched the forum for old posts but am none the wiser,Im leaning towards the primax 3500 or the smartmeter S10 as both seem well made and cover most of what i need in a meter,I would prefer to be able to see the picture on the screen and both of these do that,Im hoping to hear from guys who are happy with their meters and can give me the pros and cons of the systems they use and can help me spend my money wisely,I should have got one years ago as i have installed a good few systems fixed and motorised and it was always a case of keeping the tv in sight or having someone with a walkie talkie looking at the tv and reporting the signal to me,sheer frustation at times and last week i realigned a crappy 1m on intelsat 10-02 and i thought id never get out of there.the guy on the other end of the walkie talkie kept nodding off and i had to go up and down the ladder about 20 times so i said its time to make life easy for myself so a sat meter is needed now,im not sure if any of the above models drive a motor or not,any thought will be gratefully recieved,regards

Compton

This is deffinately a meter I'd look at both sat&terrestrial in one. My mate has one and does quite a few installs and he says its a bargain, it has a tv in it too!

http://satworld.ie/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=215

darth_maul

If you want to do this properly get a decent professional meter, Something with NIT that tell you what satellite you are aligned to is much better than those models listed above, They are basically just a small satellite reciever with a screen,

As for aligning dishes with a walkie talkie, I hope it was a favour and not a paid job, there is no way it can be aligned properly this way and if it was a paid job that person should of ran you immediately. If you think a quality satellite meter is only to make life easier for the installer you shouldn't be anywhere near a dish. How the hell did you install a motorised system without one. We seem to be getting alot of these types of posts lately and it really worries me that alot of cowboys are entering the industry to make a quick buck, having had a bit of luck installing their own lidl or B&Q systems.

Now If you are really serious about doing the job properly then a Emitor Satlook lite great little meter at the price (but more geared to amateur or as a backup meter) or the dearer Satlook micro g2

MrSneeg

DVB S2 is a must in a meter try http://www.horizonhge.com/products_hd_s2.html

I use the above as oneof my backup meters,

main meter
http://www.sefram.com/www/NP_quick_search.asp?st=7861HD

bit more expensive than a walkie talkie but less embarrasing,

minterno

thanks shblob,the DTT aspect could be usefull too,there is very little info about them online though and google turned up mostly romanian sites selling them so i will have to do some research on those meters,great spec though and thanks for the info,regards

minterno

darth maul,thanks for the reply and to answer a few questions
1, None were paid jobs,I should have mentioned that im a hobbist and it seems that when any of my mates or family has a problem with a dish i get the call.
2 as for installing a motorised system without a meter i have it off to a tee,sure a meter would be a godsend hence my interest,but what i do without one once the system is mounted properely (t@k bracket spot on,motor inclination and dish elevation set)i find the strongest transponder on 8 west,which is true south to us and is a great reference point for anyone setting up a mororised setup and once i have tweaked the dish to get the best signal i clamp it up,now to make life easy on myself i made a stand with adjustable legs and will set everything up at ground level and once i get the full track on the arc its simply a matter of mounting it wherever you want after that,at present i have an 85cm gibertini mounted at the front of the house and have it setup just about perfect,im getting 42e 39e 28e 26e 19e 16e 13e 10e 7e 4.8e 1w 08w 5w 8w 12.5w 15w 30w, i think 23e is there also but i would have to scan it in,I also have a 1.1 triax motorised on a pole in the back garden which is the one i use all the time,the pole is a bit iffy as it has not great support,it cant fall down but i cant do anymore with it until i set it in concrete and i have the same sats as above with the exception of 39e and 42e and even with the fringe sats all is well,on 26e in heavy rain i lose the mbc channels on the 85cm but not on the triax,
3 Im not a cowboy,im an amateur/hobbist ,i got in to this hobby by you guessed it a lidl camping set,then i ordered and paid for a motorised system and guess what,they could only get the main sats ie 28e 19e and 13e,i got all the explainations about the curveture of the earth,the magnetic field and a load of bull****,they came out twice after numirous calls over a 2 month period and in the end i got on to google who explained it all,have you any models in mind for my price range that you would approve,regards

minterno

thanks MrSneeg,i will have a look at those models later,it seems that the horizon are bullit proof,i have only heard good reviews about them,will keep them in mind,cheers

Zardoz

I have a Satlink WS6906 meter which is similar to the one linked to by shblob but is satellite only.
I've used it for a few fta installs for relations and realigning my own motorised dish plus a few other diy jobs.

Had a nice play around with it out the back one day using a sky minidish on a ground pole and just turned it from 30w to 39e and tuned in various satellites as I went.Stored them in the memory .
Overall its very good ,excellent bang per buck ,I paid under 100 euro for mine ,new .
The tuner in it is very sensitive and it has a good few options ,it makes aligning a dish very simple.
The screen on it is very difficult to read in sunshine though ,the battery life is excellent and I'm very happy with mine as I was sick of shouting out the window when trying to realign my motorised dish which kept getting blown off line.

darth_maul

minterno wrote: »

,have you any models in mind for my price range that you would approve,regards

http://www.creativesatellite.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d241_Satellite_Meters.html

the satlook lite for 179 sterling is ideal for the hobbyist, don't go with the ones with the TV built in, these are very hard to see outside with any kind of sunlight, If you do need S2 for the HD transponders the the Satlook Micro HD I would prefer over the horizon.

Compton

minterno wrote: »

thanks shblob,the DTT aspect could be usefull too,there is very little info about them online though and google turned up mostly romanian sites selling them so i will have to do some research on those meters,great spec though and thanks for the info,regards

Its a common enough meter under different names. Ask the lads in there they're very helpful and they'll tell you anything you need.

montgolfiere

i use a lcuna / wolsey satellite meter and have found it superb, i am an installer in the S of France, where the signal is much weaker.
http://cpc.farnell.com/1/1/67104-satellite-meter-digital-dsm-mkiv-lacuna-systems.html
The Skyman

minterno

MrSneeg,i had a google on the horizon and the sefram,both seem to be very good sets,the sefram seems to have everything but its prob out of my range,thanks
Zardoz,thanks for the info,you got that for a great price,and as for shouting out the window,i have done that a good few times myself,bloodpressure through the roof and all,cheers
darth maul,thanke for the reply,the horizon seems to be well thought of with good support and i will keep that in mind if i can get a good price on it,cheers
thanks shblob
thanks montgolfiere,the lacuna have a good rep but they went into liquidation earlier this year and i would be worried about continued support
thanks for the info guys,it has helped greatly,there is nothing better than hearing it from the horses mouth,regards

red sean

Have you tried tvtrade.ie?

minterno

Red Sean,thanks for the reply,I had a look at the Smart s10 they have and it looks a nice bit of kit and i think its german made which would be a plus for me,Im wary of anything that comes from china unless made under licence from a reputable brand,Emitor who make the satlook range are a swedish outfit and are very well thought of,id say at this stage id be going for either a satlook micro g2,satlook lite or a smart S10,i wont be spending for a few weeks but thanks to the information i got here i wont be buying rubbish,cheers

red sean

No problem Minterno. I've dealt with them on a number of occasions and they provide a great service I have to say.