Click here if the video doesn’t show.
These satellite finders are really useful little helpers when it comes down to perfectly aligning a satellite dish.
In this YouTube video we can see how sensitive the meter is. This sensitivity allows finding the sweet spot of the satellite dish. Here, we’ve got already a perfectly aligned dish, the meter is at the maximum. Even the slightest movement of the dish to either side of the perfect alignment reduces the signal level (and audio tone) of the meter. You can see that once the fine-tuning is finished, the signal level is again at the maximum.
Some people are trying to align their satellite dishes with the on-screen digibox signal bar which is way too slow, inaccurate and not sensitive enough for a good alignment. Save yourself the hassle and get one of these satellite finders - the prices dropped down to almost 5 quid (they were 40 quid 5 years ago).
For more detailed instructions, see the perfect satellite dish aligment how to guide.
Entries (RSS)
October 9th, 2007 at 12:38 am
IF POSABLE PLEASE SEND ME AN E-MAIL 4 THIS QUESTION
WHTAT IS THE MINIM SIZE SATTELITE DISH REQUIER FOR ME TO PIC UP BRASILSAT 70 WEST ( DIGITAL) FROM NOTTINGHAM
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
October 29th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
Jose,
you’ll find the answer to this question on my other site http://www.dishpointer.com
November 9th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
i need a full detail obout this meter
December 6th, 2007 at 9:33 am
Hi Alan,
I am from Malta. I found this information exceedingly helpful. I’ve decided to buy this meter. I can pick up good signals from Astra2, Astra 19.2 and Hotbird. Sky Digital pixilates and freezes a bit. I think Astra2 needs dish alignment. Do I need to align the dish every time my transponder is on a particular satellite or do I find the average? Thank you
Benny
December 10th, 2007 at 9:36 pm
Benny, not sure what the question is - I guess you have a single dish with 3 LNB’s on it? If so, adjust the dish for maximum signal on Astra2 (have Astra2 on the LNB arm). Once you’ve got Astra2, the others shouldn’t be a problem.
December 10th, 2007 at 11:18 pm
Hi Alan,
I have a motorized dish, and after many weeks of trying have only managed to tune in hotbird.
The skew of the lnb, is this still important with the motorized dish, because as the dish moves around the skew would change?
The other problem i have is - working out which sat i am pointing too - for example with my sat finder i get a good signal - then i scan for channels - ofcourse these come back - but sometimes BBC appears on a number of sats so i can’t work out which one i am pointed too…
Tony
December 11th, 2007 at 8:03 am
Tony,
For a motorized dish you don’t set the LNB skew as you’ve already rightly pointed out. The motor takes account of the skew by pivoting the dish while rotating it around it’s vertical axis.
With a motorized system one of the pre-requirements is that the mast must be absolutely vertical - you need to check that with a spirit level. Then the declination angle must be set correctly. If your motor supports usals then it should be easy to enter your coordinates, select the satellites and get the motor to rotate to the satellite. Now fine tune everything.
BBC is only available on Astra 28.2, only BBC World is available on other satellites. You can check on my other website www.dishpointer.com which channels are on what satellite.
December 16th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Hi Alan,
Excuse me for sounding a little stupid, but i don’t quite seem to understand your instructions for setting up the signal, do i need to set the meter to 0 when i start? I just can’t seem to get a lock or any signal quality, the signal strength is almost at it’s maximum. Also the widget on this site gives me a different lnb skew to that on dishpointer.com…
Cheers,
Andy
August 14th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Ihave just obtained an “Adtel AD70 satellite meter, would anyone know who the maker is or where I could obtain a service manual?
Thanks. Mike Mander