Which is the best satfinder?

[hayleysv]

I'm planning to buy a SatFinder, can someone please let me know which SatFinder to buy that is not too expensive that can pick up satellite signal and quality? I have one of those little ones that cost about $12, but I'm now looking for something that can pick up quality signal as well.

[painterguy14]

I have heard the acutrac pro 22 is a good metre. I believe bird dog makes it

[hayleysv]

Thanks for the info. I'll check that one out.

[VGiddy]

accutrac Pro 22 does exactly the same as what the $12 mall unit does. No better. Just that it looks nice and can connect to two sats. But you will not know what the sat is just ike the cheap one. This one costs about $125.

[bat01]

BirdDog is the bess but costs too much for casual use. For most people any cheapo sat finder will work. A decent compass and a cheap is what most use. The STB will tell you when you lock on the right sat. The first time I aim a dish 500, I had nothing. I used the stb turned the TV up full blast so I could hear the tones outside. I ran in and out ot the house doxens of times cause I keep hitting the wrond sat. My Pasant 2300 would show sigal but not ident.

I have done several now and can get it done in about 10 mins with a cheap meter and a stb that dones ident. I your mount is plumb and level, and you know how to use a compass its a piece of cake. If I did true fta and had a nice dish farm, I might invest in a BirdDog.

[creativegenius]

Get yourself one of those portable DVD players, as long as it has a co-ax input, hook it up to your STB at the dish and use it to help you point, works great and its a lot lighter than hauling the TV outside (been there done that).

Creative Genius

[capncrunk]

I have also found the STB to be better than a SatFinder for aligning a dish.

[bat01]

Originally Posted by creativegenius

Get yourself one of those portable DVD players, as long as it has a co-ax input, hook it up to your STB at the dish and use it to help you point, works great and its a lot lighter than hauling the TV outside (been there done that).

Creative Genius

I aimed a Dish 1000.2 triple lnb. I used my Slingbox to sehd the STB setup screen on my laptop that I took outside.

[creativegenius]

Sweet ...

Ensure you elevation is correct first.
And your dish mast is both Plumb and True, otherwise you are asking for issuesYou may verify the setting for your specific location at: www.dishpointer.com

Creative Genius

[bill of oz]

Originally Posted by hayleysv

I'm planning to buy a SatFinder, can someone please let me know which SatFinder to buy that is not too expensive that can pick up satellite signal and quality? I have one of those little ones that cost about $12, but I'm now looking for something that can pick up quality signal as well.

the $12 one is really all you need, unless you are planning on doing this for a living.....the more you read and learn, and the more dishes you aim, the better you get at it.....the only thing that makes you good at something is experience.....

the fancy ones do not do anything more than the $12 one.....except for the $500+ ones that tell you the satellite name, but in most cases this information is wrong......your STB is a more reliable source to tell you which bird your pointed at.....

i have tested a $500+ guage because it was loaned to me.....when i pointed a dish at 123W it would pop up with echo* 119W.....when i aimed another dish at 97W it popped up with intelsat at 89W......etc etc.....it was only reliable when aiming at circular birds, but with the linear birds it was never accurate......i verified that i was right and the guage was wrong by scanning channels and comparing them......

the $12 guage relys on YOUR knowledge, not the knowledge of the sat finder.....i can aim any dish in less than 10 mins using that $12 guage.....

it sounds to me like you need to spend a bit of time reading and learning.....that will be a much better investment then an expensive satellite finder......