DVB-S2 question...

DaveDodd

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Hi, just a quick question...

I need a meter for occasional use where i might need to realign a dish when doing some AV work.

This will mostly be sky but also the odd foreign satellite.

I just wanted to know if having a dvb-s2 meter is nessarry or advisable...obviously it doesn't hurt to have it but when you can pick up a Satlook lite for so cheap from german ebay is it worth it?

I was going to wait for the FS2 meters...but this seems to be a very long wait!

Any advice?

Thanks, Dave
 

DaveDodd

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Is this really such a bad question that no one in the community can be bothered to give me an answer? It probably is noob question, but that is exactly what i am :(
 

Lazarus

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It's midweek and many of our Members (especially the Pro Installers, who hopefully are at work!) don't log on that often.

It isn't a matter of "not bothering", but one of patience.

We normally don't bump questions until a couple of weeks have passed.
 

Captain Jack

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For occasional alignment work, a simple Digisat LCD meter is fine. It doesn't do modulation (I think) as it just measures the power from the satellite rather than quality of the signal.
 

vma

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Hi,

As far as I know, there isn't currently a single satellite, which does not have at least one DVB-S transponder. This means that a meter with DVB-S2 is nice to have, but not a requirement to align a dish.
Regarding the Satlook Lite, check the manual: _http://www.doebis.de/sites/messgeraete/mess_datenpdfs/satlook_lite/Satlook%20Lite%20Manual.pdf
The meter is not bad, however you need to be aware that the spectrum is not rendered in real-time. This means that you cannot just setup your dish using the spectrum.

For amateur users I would rather recommend a second hand Satlook Digital NIT or, even better, the Satlook Digital Color or Satlook DIgital Color HD (this one is suitable for DVB-S2).

If you just want to adjust the alignment of the dish, you are set with these meters.

However, if you need to trace faults, especially with DVB-S2 transponders, then you need better equipment. Because DVB-S2 carries so much more information, it has actually a worse error correction, which means that the signal has to be received in better conditions compared to DVB-S. Here lies the advantage of having a DVB-S2 capable meter. You will benefit of MER, BER and constellation of the 8PSK signal. This will tell you if the antenna is poorly aligned, or if other problems occure, like:
- incorrect tilt of the LNB
- bad cable
- etc.

Meters like this cost 10x or mor than a Satlook Lite, so my guess is: just go for that or look for second hand Satlook Digital NIT/Color/HD. A bit more expensive, but more professional: Rover Instruments.

Cheers,
vma
 

Huevos

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vma said:
Here lies the advantage of having a DVB-S2 capable meter. You will benefit of MER, BER and constellation of the 8PSK signal. This will tell you if the antenna is poorly aligned, or if other problems occure, like:
- incorrect tilt of the LNB
I don't know what you mean by this.

Best way to get the correct LNB skew is in spectrum mode (analogue). Put the marker on a vertical transponder, switch to horizontal and adjust for minimum signal.
 

vma

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What I meant was that you cannot be sure to have good DVB-S2 reception by just using a DVB-S meter, i.e. using just the spectrum.
If you have a small dish or if the view to the satellite is partially blocked, you may receive DVB-S signals, but not the DVB-S2 ones. It will be hard to understand what is going on, if you lack i.e. 8PSK constellation.

But yes, you are right: if there are no special problems, you can work with just a simple DVB-S meter (I still use my Satlook Digital NIT a lot, despite having DVB-S2 capable meters).

Cheers,
vma
 

DaveDodd

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Sorry, I thought I was subscribed to this thread but I didn't get any emails...

Thanks for the repsonses guys...great advice, I really appreciate it.

I'll be back if I have any more questions :)
 

Huevos

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vma said:
If you have a small dish or if the view to the satellite is partially blocked, you may receive DVB-S signals, but not the DVB-S2 ones. It will be hard to understand what is going on, if you lack i.e. 8PSK constellation.
Maybe I'm missing something here but I have never found a need to use 8PSK constellation to check if there is tree in front a satellite dish.
 
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