another sat meter question

[patmos]

Thank you guys. Now i see a new model sm 3500 labelled as real time SA. May be just an advertisement trick.

[updatelee]

if you want a decent handheld SA look at what prodig offers, they are in the $2-4k region.

you get what you pay for.

UDL

[mtv]

Thank you guys. Now i see a new model sm 3500 labelled as real time SA. May be just an advertisement trick.

For the price, I'd be sceptical about it being true real-time, but as you said, you believe updating once per second is 'good' to you, then this is probably quite ok for your hobbyist use.

You also said you've used professional spec-ans, so you should be aware that top-end performance comes at a premium price.

As a hobbyist, a cheaper meter will probably be sufficient for your needs.
Just don't expect top-end performance.

[merchant]

Hi all,

I've been following this thread because i'm after a satellite finder/meter which will power the LNB to make it easier to set up my Optus dish when traveling in the caravan. At the moment i use one of those cheap meters which needs to be powered by the decoder. The wife sits in front of the screen to tell me if i'm on the C1 satellite cos it gets a signal.

I was looking at 1 of those finder/meters on Ebay for about $120. Does anybody have any comments about them? I'll only ever be using it to find the C1 so don't want to spend too much. I want something to speed the process up and not have to worry about the wife telling me it's green etc. She can look after the bub.



Or




Thanks in advance and sorry for hijacking this thread.

[gulliver]

The second one looks like a copy of Trimax sm2200 which I paid about $500.00 for.They work,a bit slow in signal dedection,but work.

[tristen]

I was looking at 1 of those finder/meters on Ebay for about $120. Does anybody have any comments about them? I'll only ever be using it to find the C1 so don't want to spend too much. I want something to speed the process up and not have to worry about the wife telling me it's green etc. She can look after the bub.

A friend spends a lot of time caravanning and bought the second unit you mentioned as an aid to aligning his dish when travelling.
He claims that he can now find the appropriate satellite in a few seconds, without the previous necessity to ask his wife to assist from within the van.

[merchant]

Ok, finally received the unit. I have deleted all the chinese satellites out of it and now would like to make it Optus C1 specific. Can this be done? I want to be able to input the C1 settings into the thing and then hopefully it'll only register when i hit the C1 satellite. Is this how these finders work??

[tristen]

Practise setting up the dish and mount at home first and make a suitable mark on the mount to indicate the correct elevation angle for Optus C1/Optus D3 at that location. If the mount is always set up on level ground, the elevation angle will not require much adjustment to maximise signal, when in another location. Providing of course, you are not moving from somewhere like Mount Gambier to Darwin, as the elevation angle varies according to longitude.

Elevation angles and other details for various satellites and locations can be found at . Simply enter the satellite of interest and your location.

This is a little of what you will see when you enter "Optus C1" for the satellite and "Sydney Australia" as the location.



When setting up the receiver/satellite finder (your new acquisition), use the details for a strong signal, say transponder 15, 12478, H, 27800, 3/4 to make locating the satellite easier. Details in the User's Manual should tell you how to do this.

Set the elevation angle correctly for your home location. An Inclinometer will aid in this process, or the DIY equivalent, a protractor and plumb bob (piece of string with a sinker or other weight such as a large nut attached).

Next, adjust the dish azimuth (move from left to right) until you get an indication of "lock". If you've successfully located Optus C1, you will be able to view the free-to-air shopping channel, TVSN on that transponder.

"Fine tune" the azimuth and elevation in order to maximise your signal. Don't forget that the LNB "skew" will need to be set correctly also.

If you have problems deciding where north is, I suggest using a compass.
The position of the sun (if visible) is always a good indication, but not close to mid-day!

It doesn't matter which satellite name you use, as it's the transponder details, which the receiver uses to load the channels.

In preparation for using your new toy "on the road", make a Table of Azimuth and Elevation angles for various places you are likely to travel to, remembering of course, to take it with you.

After a few trips and you have had a little practice, setting you dish up will be easy. Of course, you need to make sure that the satellite is not obscured by trees, buildings or other obstructions, as clear "line-of-sight" is necessary.

I hope that this provides sufficient information to get you going.

[merchant]

Practise setting up the dish and mount at home first and make a suitable mark on the mount to indicate the correct elevation angle for Optus C1/Optus D3 at that location. If the mount is always set up on level ground, the elevation angle will not require much adjustment to maximise signal, when in another location. Providing of course, you are not moving from somewhere like Mount Gambier to Darwin, as the elevation angle varies according to longitude.

Elevation angles and other details for various satellites and locations can be found at . Simply enter the satellite of interest and your location.

This is a little of what you will see when you enter "Optus C1" for the satellite and "Sydney Australia" as the location.



When setting up the receiver/satellite finder (your new acquisition), use the details for a strong signal, say transponder 15, 12478, H, 27800, 3/4 to make locating the satellite easier. Details in the User's Manual should tell you how to do this.

Set the elevation angle correctly for your home location. An Inclinometer will aid in this process, or the DIY equivalent, a protractor and plumb bob (piece of string with a sinker or other weight such as a large nut attached).

Next, adjust the dish azimuth (move from left to right) until you get an indication of "lock". If you've successfully located Optus C1, you will be able to view the free-to-air shopping channel, TVSN on that transponder.

"Fine tune" the azimuth and elevation in order to maximise your signal. Don't forget that the LNB "skew" will need to be set correctly also.

If you have problems deciding where north is, I suggest using a compass.
The position of the sun (if visible) is always a good indication, but not close to mid-day!

It doesn't matter which satellite name you use, as it's the transponder details, which the receiver uses to load the channels.

In preparation for using your new toy "on the road", make a Table of Azimuth and Elevation angles for various places you are likely to travel to, remembering of course, to take it with you.

After a few trips and you have had a little practice, setting you dish up will be easy. Of course, you need to make sure that the satellite is not obscured by trees, buildings or other obstructions, as clear "line-of-sight" is necessary.

I hope that this provides sufficient information to get you going.

Cheers Tristen

I've pretty much got it sorted and have the finder set on the shopping channel. I'll let post my experiences and whether these cheaper finders are any good after the next trip.

Thanks again.