DTV Meter

[manowar]

Hey guys looking at buying a DTV meter to do the odd job here and there, have helped a few friends out with their antennas and would like something to make it a bit easier.
Can anyone recommend a semi decent reasonably priced meter, I have one of those $30 ebay jobs but they are useless in my opinion.

[admin]

You are probably best off posting up what sort of dollars you want to spend.

[mtv]

You need something that reads/displays BER as a bare minimum.

What's your budget?

[manowar]

max id be comfortable spending is like $300 would prefer to grab a chinese knock off type thing for $100

[Antennaman]

I've used one of & find it perfectly satisfactory.

[manowar]

looks good antennaman, ill do a bit more looking before committing how userfriendly did you find this device

[Antennaman]

how userfriendly did you find this device

I had no problem, but I are an antenna tech so it was mostly intuitive for me.

[mtv]

I've used one of & find it perfectly satisfactory.

As good as any other in the price bracket.

[Thala Dan]

I've used one of these & find it perfectly satisfactory.

Antennaman,

Have you by any chance used the WS 6979 for Satellite?

Reason I ask is because I have a Satking SK6000 (which is basically the same as the WS 6979 without the Terrestrial) and it has a (acknowledged by Satking) software bug.
Was wondering if the WS 6979 has the same bug.
Bug:
Select "Manual" in "System Settings - Set Location"
Enter any South Latitude and East Longitude
Then go to "Satellite Find"
In the top right corner where Lat/Long and Az/El are displayed, the Longitude you have entered will be displayed as "East", but the Latitude you have entered will be displayed as "North" - the Azimuth and Elevation information displayed will be for the East/North coordinates, not the East/South coordinates you entered.
Strangely enough, if you select one of the pre-programmed Australian cities form the "Set Location" drop-down (and there is currently only Sydney and Melbourne available in the SK6000), the resulting South and East coordinates will be correctly displayed in "Satellite Find".
It's only when the coordinates are entered manually that the Latitude is swapped over in "Satellite Find".
Looking at screen shots of the WS 6979, it appears to use identical software to the SK6000, but I am curious as to whether Satlink have already ironed out this bug.

[Antennaman]

Have you by any chance used the WS 6979 for Satellite?

Yes, I did.

I was only doing VAST, so was entering the parameters manually.

You may notice my comments are in the past tense. I was testing various cheap/not so cheap instruments prior to upgrading to something that would do DVB-S2, and this one passed through my hands.

Sorry I can not be of much assistance.

[manowar]

ok guys so far antennaman has made a solid recommendation pretty close to my price range, i had a quick look at aliexpress and ebay and have found this unit -

has anyone used this unit bearing in mind ill be lucky to pull the unit out 2-3 times a year (i am an industrial electrician dont do much domestic unless its for friends)

[mtv]

I downloaded the manual for that device and it appears to be little more than a small TV.

There's no mention of actual signal measurements (especially no BER) and that it only makes a sound when signal is locked.

I'd suggest you wait until you can afford something better, as this is probably not much better at measuring signals than the current cheapie you have.

[carjackma]

I downloaded the manual for that device and it appears to be little more than a small TV.

There's no mention of actual signal measurements (especially no BER) and that it only makes a sound when signal is locked.

I'd suggest you wait until you can afford something better, as this is probably not much better at measuring signals than the current cheapie you have.

its got a display forS/N, and BER according to this site

[mtv]

its got a display forS/N, and BER according to this site

So it does.

Apologies... the manual I found was for the WS-6905.

I can't find a manual for the WS-6915. I can't even find it listed as a model on any of the official Satlink websites I've looked at, so if anyone can find a link to the manual for the WS-6915, please post it.

[tristen]

...I can't find a manual for the WS-6915. I can't even find it listed as a model on any of the official Satlink websites I've looked at, so if anyone can find a link to the manual for the WS-6915, please post it.

Try .

It appears to be for the unit being discussed.

[mtv]

Try .

It appears to be for the unit being discussed.

I found that link in my searches too, but each time I tried it, including just now, I get:

This site is temporarily unavailable.

If you manage this site and have a question about why the site is not available, please contact iPage directly.

[Thala Dan]

This site is temporarily unavailable.

If you manage this site and have a question about why the site is not available, please contact iPage directly.

Yep, same here, three days ago.

[tristen]

I downloaded the file earlier today and again several minutes ago to test the link again.

I've uploaded (and tested link by successfully downloading) it to where you can hopefully access it trouble free.

[Thala Dan]

I've uploaded (and tested link by successfully downloading) it to DepositFiles where you can hopefully access it trouble free.

Got it,thanks.

[Antennaman]

its got a display forS/N, and BER according to this site

Looks to me like a handheld SD STB incorporating a display.

S/N relating to what?

BER which looks like post Viterbi BER.

Probably OK for non critical installations.