The best meter?

[dishjockey]

I am looking to buy a new meter leaning toward a birdog. I am looking for opinions bd vs cm1009idf vs sathawk.
Thanks

[chelsea]

The mid range meter's between $30 & $300, don't lock in the sat postion,
or beap when your there. You have no idea if you've crossed into the path, or even touched the area.

Don't waste your money!
A $200 meter has no advantage over a $20 meter in finding the sat,
they are equal.

Three levels, the others don't count!
1)Spend only $20 (learning ability in finding FSS Ku's could take days)
2)$450 3 choices: birdog,sathawk,signaloc-pro (no learning ablity needed)
3)+ $1000 spectrum analyzer (time involvement needed to learn)

[bobkat]

Well said, chelsea.

In the (2) category I suggest the Birdog; but this is a matter of opinion. Perhaps because I own two of them and have never tried the Sathawk or Signaloc Pro. I think they all have their pros and cons but overall from what I have read about these meters, the Birdog is probably the ideal "mid level" meter for professional installers and serious satellite hobbyists. The one disadvantage with the Birdog is that it doesn't work with universal LNBs. Plus its battery life is very short in cold temperatures.
Other than that the Birdog is a very nice meter.

kat

[Admin]

Hi all

The Sathawk meter now supports both the UNIVERSAL and STANDARD lnbf. So there you go :-)

www.sathawk.tv website will be updated shortly with the new datafiles that supports both types of LNBFs.

If you have a special application/satellite you want to identify, let us know if it is not listed in the Sathawk. Most likely we will be able to add it to the datafile or create a specific one for your needs.

[chelsea]

Bobcat,
Same for me, I have never seen the Sathawk which is an updated version
of the Signaloc pro.
Since they both originate from Europe, the opputunity to see the others is far fetched, unless Sadoun will offer mods an oppurtunity to borrow for
reviewing, or send an open box, to be borrowed breifly.

I notice the Sathawk has zero C Band postions and also doesn't split
each postion into Horizontal & Vertical.

With FTA (free to air) its only a matter of time, till these dvb irds' become
common stock in to all stores. If your involved with FSS or dvb fta,
C Band is already part of the equation, if your want more channels.
The big dish scares off most people, it will always be a limited group.
Due to space limitations, trees, cement, degree of extreme diffculty, life of parts, size, looks, etc,
Having a meter that does C, is worth considering, with complete systems,
free for removing.

Perhaps the Sathawk is capable of doing C, in the future, but nothing available currently.
The Birdog lacks the full C postions offering twelve postions 55.5,58,72,91,99,127,129,131,133,135,137,139 which is a start.
It skips the Atlantic's & Pacific Rims, but is missing seventeen positions
74,85,87,93,95,97,101,103,107.3,109.2,111.1,113,11 6.8,118.7,121,123,125; software is capable for all of these to be added.

The typical Ku DBS/BSS only
application is shifting, involving almost evey city, to Ku FSS, Ku-extended, & Ka because of bandwidth limitations, as the FCC mandates Digital with
all Analog to be shut off by 2007. (2009 delay being pushed).