which satmeter is best

smoky

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hi ladies and gentleman,

I want to buy a satmeter for max 170€. It is for private use.
I read a lot here in this forum and i think about to buy one of this 3:

Satlook lite
First Strike FS1
Trimax 3500

Some Questions:
1. I am not sure about but the question was mentioned before in this forum. Is it possible to change transponders at satlook lite?
2. Does the FS1 read out NIT?
3. The Trimax 3500 looks like the SMART smartmeter. Is it the same thing? Are the BER, SN Parameters and the Spectrum Analyzer usefull?

What do you think about and what would you prefer ?

Best Regards
Smoky
 

smoky

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nobody can help ?

I prefer the first 2 meters (satlook lite and FS1). What are the advantages / disadvantages of them ?
Which one of them is more sensitive ?

Best Regards
smoky
 

RimaNTSS

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Hi Smoky!
Recently have got second one from your list. Did not use a lot yet, so do not know all the bugs. Some observations:
- programming is not so easy, but after some reading that is possible. Finally made my personal list in MS Excel and exported it to FS1;
- Does not lock DVBS2 :confused
- Battery is good enough, but after charging stayed unused run completely empty. I do don know whether that should be like this.
- with standard leash you need at least 3 hands to tune up LNB (2 for working and 1 to hold FS1 :eek:)
- very sensitive and I like it :-righton
 

vma

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Hi,

You probably didn't get any good responses, because your question fails on a basic matter: for the price range you mention, you can't buy any professional satellite meter!

You can buy satellite receivers with built-in screens, which are build in an hand-held format and you can get amateur meters like the Satlook Lite.

Neither will give you accurate readings, measure accurate MER, BER, or feature real time display of the constellation and spectrum. They only show some RELATIVE signal strength and quality, much like any satellite receiver. If they do provide significant readings, they will do that in some cheating kind of way - what is shown is some approximation.

All this doesn't mean these devices are useless, though! You just need to know what you want to do with them.

If you want to align the occasional dish, then the cheap meters with TV screen are nice, as you will end up getting the dish aligned and can actually confirm the tunes satellite by watching the picture.

If you want to do sat-hunting and DXing, neither is a good choice. The Satlook Light isn't bad, but the spectrum is definitely not real-time. You would be better off with a second hand Satlook Mark III or, better, Satlook Digital NIT.

For any kind of semi professional satellite setup, get at least the Satlook Light or take a look at the price range of 500-1000 Euro/Pound (Rover will provide good meters).

Beware of wanting to use these small meters as plain satellite receivers: you often cannot edit the channel list or zap through it in a quick manner!

Good meters cost 1000 Euro/Pounds upwards. Really professional ones cost 4000 upwards. You get my drift, I hope, when you say you want to buy a meter for 180...

Cheers,
vma
 

smoky

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I want to use it to align my own and my firend's dish with 4 Lnbs (Thor 1W, Hotbird 13E, EutelW2 16E, Astra 19E). Often it is windy in our area (that is the reason why there are so many wind generators) and the dish have to be realigned. (It doesnt need to be a pro meter)

Now i want to buy a satmeter which can help me to fast idetify the sat i am searching and can help me to get the best signal in a price range up to 200€.

You would recommend the satlook lite or a meter with built-in-screen.
Can i add transponders to satlook lite ?
Would you recommend the trimax 3500 or is the cheapest satlink ws6906 enough for aligning my dish.

There are two other satmeters which are interesting:
Satfinder 3 ULTRA EXTREME for 250€
Satlook Micro G2 for 290€

maybe it would be enough to buy the cheapest nonprofessional equipment (the digisat pro) but there is no function to identify the sat.

hmm...
i hope i am not confusing you guys
 

minterno

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hi smoky,i just bought a satlook lite last week and have been playing around with it for the last few days so i can answer some of your questions.first of all you cant enter a freq into the meter on the fly,it can only be done through the software supplied,the meter comes with 27 sats and one transponder freq for each sat pre installed,now some of the sats inc were of no use to me and one frequency per sat is'nt much good either but what i have done is to replace the sats and the frequencys with the ones of my choosing,so instead of having one tp on 28e,i entered 28e four times with a different frequency for each 28e,you can only have one tp frequency per sat so to get around this i just put the same sats in multiple times so in effect i have 4 frequencys for 28e 2 for 19e 4 for 16e and so on,the manual is not very clear at all and at first i thought that i had made a mistake buying it but once you have got used to the editor software you will find it easy enough to use,also its very sensitive and does what it says on the tin,i used it to install a motorised system and its worked a treat,the newer firmware includes a positioner to drive a motor and all in all i find it very good,very quick to boot up and the battery lasts a good hour and the unit can be powered by the dc jack if your stuck.the only minus would be that the lead/coax screws in to the bottom which means that its hard to rest on your body and is a bir awkard to use.if you have the money the satlook micro g2 seems to be the best of your stated choices,imho,regards
 

smoky

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Big thx to minterno! Your post was really helpful!
 

smoky

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I came to decision to buy first strike fs1 (170€) or Satlook lite(160€). They are in the same price range. Now what would you say ?

First strike features:
calculate azimuth world wide User Defined & Preset Global Satellite Data Bank
"ON THE FLY" data entry (Keypad Editing)
All Parameters show on one screen
( (Strenght, Quality, S/N, BER)
True USB interface
Internal Power Supply & Can be powered from the satellite receiver

Satlook Lite features:
User Defined & Preset Global Satellite Data Bank
Easy find (NIT-Reading)
Spectrum Analyzer (slow)
Parameters (Strenght, Quality, S/N, BER)
RS232 Interface
 

minterno

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your welcome,I forgot to mention that it will id the sat and also the provider sometimes once the proper onid and tsid are entered in the meter using the editor,all the needed parameters are on lyngsat,I entered the correct onid and tsid for a certain tp and when i tested it i got no id on the sat,im not sure why but i just entered another frequency and its onid and tsid and the meter ids the sat straight away,also with 9e and 10e being so close im getting a lock for 9e when im on 10e and vice versa but if you input the weaker tps that might solve that problem,regards
 

minterno

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I was thinking of going for a fs1 but theres an fs2 on the way and it looks as if its a good one but that remains to be seen as does the price,im not sure if the fs1 ids the sat but in my opinion a meter has to have that or you will be wasting your time otherwise,the fs1 is supposed to be very reponsive and i have not seen any negitive reviews yet,I went with the satlook as they have a good reputation and do offer the support needed and made in the eu,I personally am very wary of anything made in china unless made under licence but the fs1 seems ok,if your going with the fs1 just be aware that the earlier versions would not give you the correct azimuth as the area where it was displayed only had 2 digets,that was corrected with the newer models(L series) but if your buying from china direct or some ebayers just beware,regards
 

smoky

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hmm maybe this will help me to decide one.
My father in law has a dish with monoblock-lnb. Does the fs1 have diseqC support? I didnt find information about it.
Satlook lite:
DiSEqC 1.0, LNB1, LNB2, LNB3, LNB (A,B,C,D)
 

smoky

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Is there a way to align a monoblock lnb with a satmeter (without diseqC settings).

Best Regards
smoky
 

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Yes - in the absence of DiSEqC settings, Port A of the Monoblock is default, so place that head (the right hand one looking from LNB towards dish) in the collar and align as normal with your meter.
 

smoky

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diseqC is not relevant for me. Hmm it gonna be a hard decision...
 

smoky

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i mean if i dont need diseqC to align a monoblock, the satmeter i will buy musst not have diseqC settings.
 

DragonSat

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I have the FS1. Have used it for 2 years no issues. Fast and reliable.
 

Lazarus

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I suspect I misunderstood the question at Post #12
 

smoky

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hmm. I want to repeat my question:
Can i use a satmeter, which does not have diseqC settings, to align a dish with monoblock-lnb?
The FS1 does not have diseqC settings. SO i have to prove if it is possible to align a monoblock lnb.
 

Lazarus

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And the answer is the same ....... Phew!

The default Head (Which will be Port A once you've removed the meter and connected the Rx)) will be active in the absence of any DiSEqC setting, so you'll have to arrange it so that that head is in the collar (ie at the focal point).

I did understand the question, after all.

Apart maybe from a tiny skew adjustment, the offset head is auto-aligning, in effect.
 

smoky

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Big Thx 2 Tiva!

Any other field reports or recommendations ?
 
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