new combi meter advice needed

[smartypants69]

im looking for a meter that does analogue/ digital and satellite am looking at the Horizon HD - STM Terrestrial and Satellite Meter but cant find any information as whether this can do analogue and rf systems. Please can you help me or give recommendations on others meters similar price
sorry bout joining this thread didnt know how to start my own

 

[Topper]

Please ask your question once and once only then wait for an answer do not multipost across different forums

 

[satelliteman]

What sort of budget do you have in mind smartypants69 ?

 

[rolfw]

Doesn't say very much on the spec, I'm not too interested in analogue transmissions these days, my aim on every installation is to achieve digital reception.

May be an idea to contact the manufacturer direct perhaps.

 

[smartypants69]

about 1000 pounds maybe a little more honestly any advice on the horizon or other models would be beneficial
hasnt gone fully digital down here so somethng that does analogue would be needed also comes in handy for rf playback systems

 

[Llew]

I have a Satlook Combolook, does terrestial and satellite. Excellent value. Gives NIT info too, for station IDs. Price around £800.

 

[Huevos]

The Emitor Combolook does not demodulate DVB-T signals so avoid that. In the region of 1000 pounds there are two meters that are going to be on sale in about 4 weeks. Emitor Combolook HD which demodulates DVB-T, DVB-S, and DVB-S2, but not MPEG4 pictures. Or the SatCatcher Combo which demodulates DVB-T and DVB-S signals. Both have spectrum analyser and the SatCatcher has full USALS motor control.

Or go with the Digiair-PRO from Emitor for DVB-T and either the SatCatcher Excel-TV for DVB-S or the Emitor Satlook Color HD for DVB-S & DVB-S2. This should save you a couple of hundred and have more or less the same functionality.

Completely avoid any meter you can't edit the transponder/channel list by hand on location. Some meters can only be updated by PC or even worse by getting a new channel/transponder file from the manufacturer.

 

[satelliteman]

The Horizon HD - STM doesn't look a bad meter.

Promax spectrum range - Promax Prodig 3 although slightly over your budget.

Rover ST-2 have a good range of measurements but the spectrum trace can be a little disappointing. They also have a newer range available.

Best value for money - Combolook Color HD Emitor Spectrum by Emitor, well within your budget.

 

[Llew]

The Emitor Combolook does not demodulate DVB-T signals so avoid that. In the region of 1000 pounds there are two meters that are going to be on sale in about 4 weeks. Emitor Combolook HD which demodulates DVB-T, DVB-S, and DVB-S2, but not MPEG4 pictures. Or the SatCatcher Combo which demodulates DVB-T and DVB-S signals. Both have spectrum analyser and the SatCatcher has full USALS motor control.

Or go with the Digiair-PRO from Emitor for DVB-T and either the SatCatcher Excel-TV for DVB-S or the Emitor Satlook Color HD for DVB-S & DVB-S2. This should save you a couple of hundred and have more or less the same functionality.

Completely avoid any meter you can't edit the transponder/channel list by hand on location. Some meters can only be updated by PC or even worse by getting a new channel/transponder file from the manufacturer.

Yes, it's true the Combolook doesn't demod DVB-T, I only need it for the spectrum analyser (2 - 2150MHz). After many years with a Metrix analogue analyser (top frequency 1750 MHz, extended with a Global TE4) at least I get a true frequency reading without having to use a calculator

 

[Huevos]

Best value for money - Combolook Color HD Emitor Spectrum by Emitor, well within your budget.

It's not out yet. They told me at least four weeks to release. Price is more than 1200€ + VAT. I opted for the Satlook NIT Color HD and the Digiair-PRO instead of the combo as I didn't want to wait and it saved me quite a bit of money. When I get time I'll post a review. And maybe for the SatCatcher too which has become an indispensable friend to me.

 

[satelliteman]

It's not out yet. They told me at least four weeks to release. Price is more than 1200€ + VAT. I opted for the Satlook NIT Color HD and the Digiair-PRO instead of the combo as I didn't want to wait and it saved me quite a bit of money. When I get time I'll post a review. And maybe for the SatCatcher too which has become an indispensable friend to me.

Okay not released yet but that's still good value for money.

Thanks for the update Huevos.

 

[Huevos]

hasnt gone fully digital down here so somethng that does analogue would be needed

Any meter with spectrum display can be used for analogue, but I think what everyone here is getting at is that whatever you buy it needs to demodulate DVB-T otherwise your 1000€ investment is going to be consigned to the dustbin in the very near future (they've already switched off the analogue transmitters in this country). With DVB-T transmissions there are multiple transmitters on the same channel and just gunning for maximum signal isn't always the best thing which is way digital demodulation is essential.

 

[smartypants69]

thanks for the advice guys does has anyone used the horizon meter?

 

[Huevos]

thanks for the advice guys does has anyone used the horizon meter?

Not used it or tried it but going on the spec sheet there is no NIT or visualization. This means you will need to rely on transponder data and prior knowledge of spectrum fingerprints for satellite identification. Also no DVB-S2 so if a client is having a problem on a specific DVB-S2 transponder you won't be able to check it.

Is the device editable by hand on site?

 

[smartypants69]

think i could just get by without a satellite tuner would like a dvb tuner though perhaps waiting fot the emitor combolook hd would be the best idea any final thoughts from anybody?

 

[Huevos]

If you don't need DVB-S/S2 just get an Emitor Digiair-Pro and you're all set. Works great for all terrestrial (analogue and DVB-T). It's got C/N, pre-BER, post-BER, MER, constellation and spectum. For the price it's amazing. For terrestrial, in my opinion (95% of my work is satellite), you don't really need much more except in about 1% of installs where there is some strange echo that a meter that costs several thousand more might save you a few minutes to suss out. Don't get me wrong, I would have got the combolook if it had been out already but I'm not even sure that will have that facility anyway. But anyway if I had bought the Combolook it would have been for its satellite functions rather than terrestrial.

 

[smartypants69]

do you know the release date for the emitor combolook hd? any idea the best place to purchase online? or wholesaler?

just read some of the specifications say maximum input is 90db i assume anything above this can be attenuated on the meter

 

[Huevos]

Can be attenuated on the meter, but, when are you ever going to get anywhere near 90dBuV?

 

[satelliteman]

Launch levels can be in excess of 90dBuV on commercial systems.

 

[Huevos]

Launch levels can be in excess of 90dBuV on commercial systems.

I don't know what "launch levels" means. Does it mean when brand new transmitting from geostationary? I've had a check on the strongest analogue transponders on Astra 1 and they register 80dBuV using my 1.5m dish, so to reach 90dBuV would require a huge power increase (or a very big dish).