Friend asking how he can check his dish with no receiver - Knocked this up out of some junk.

[RustySpoons]

Friend messaged me, said I've got an old dish on my house, I have no idea if it works there is no coax but an LNB on the end,
also the trees are in the way. What can I do as I don't want to fork out money for a receiver if it's a no-go.

Any of these signal finders can be powered up without needing a receiver, quick and easy way to see if a dish is working and aligned or align it roughly.

Parts:

1x Signal meter (Some cheapos I had lying around)
1x Coaxial DC input socket/sleeve
1x Short Length of Coax with an F Connector
1x 12v Battery Pack or 10x AA/AAA and holder

I recycled a Li-Ion pack from a Lidl Cordless drill I threw out, I use this for lots of things where I need 12v when out and about, can't bring myself to chuck things away.
Soldered a lead and a DC plug on it, the battery still charges in the original charger. Also all the protection is built in to a circuit inside the battery.

 

[Terryl]

Great idea, but you may need a bit more juice as most LNB's need around 14 VDC to run right.

+13 to +15 volts for horizontal transponders, +17 to +19 volts for vertical transponders.

12 volts may get you one set of transponders but if the satellite your looking for is all vertical transponders (yes kids there are a few) then you may miss out.

 

[RustySpoons]

Good idea, but you may need a bit more juice as most LNB's need 14 VDC to run right.

Valid point, 12V and above is ideal, though must "Universal" LNB's will accept 11-14v on V polarisation
Though the pack is quoted 12v, they are over 13v fully charged, also 10x AA/AAA (Non rechargeable) Will give 15v