Just Sharing This New meter ordered :)

[Tony1A]

OK! The deed is done. I have ordered the Satcatcher Setsat. Looks to be a quality item with no fancy TV screen and tons of buttons. It's field configureable so I don't have to rely on the downloads that you need with some meters. I reckon this will serve me much better than the Satlink jobbie I have. It will give all the info I need to line up dishes. Great price, too!
satellitesuperstore.co.uk/satellitemeters.htm

 

[Captain Jack]

Would be good to hear your opinions on this.

 

[Tony1A]

Will do, Jack! I chose this because of my budget and that I didn't want to spend time downloading into this and that meter. From what I understand, the display gives the usual signal and quality readings, C/N figures etc. When I get it, I'll check the alignment on the kitchen freesat dish (I think it's out a little), then give my opinion on here

But £129.95, I could not resist the price!

 

[timo_w2s]

Yes, keep us posted. Looks good. Quite tempted too but trying to resist.

 

[Tony1A]

Well after looking all over the net I looked at this meter and thought I would plumb for this one. Usually sells at much higher cost (on special offer) and is UK made! Good support if needed.

 

[Huevos]

Would be good to hear your opinions on this.

Forum member "Torrevieja" has this meter. We did some comparisons when I put his 1.4m dish up. In my opinion the step size is too big to get very accurate alignment. I would never use this meter for my day to day work, not even as a backup.

 

[Tony1A]

Surely it can't be all bad???? I'm sure there will be others who like it. Anyway, it's ordered now! I was put off the First Strike by reports of poor/bad support. It's like everything else, some will hate it, some will love it. Hopefully I will love it

 

[gibertini]

Forum member "Torrevieja" has this meter. We did some comparisons when I put his 1.4m dish up. In my opinion the step size is too big to get very accurate alignment. I would never use this meter for my day to day work, not even as a backup.

what was the meter you compared it to? its not a pro meter despite what SS say but for the price as an enthusiasts/hobby installer,s meter it should do the trick on run of the mill installs. like anything you get what you pay for(usually)

 

[Huevos]

Surely it can't be all bad????

Just my opinion. I was comparing with the Excel-TV. The Excel-TV display rises and falls smoothly similar to an analog meter whereas the Setsat moves in steps. Kind of like a digital volume control that is too course.

 

[Tony1A]

Huevos! I checked the price of the meter you use and could not justify spending all that cash on one single meter. I'm on a budget and you have to do the best you can with the cash you have to hand. The meter I am buying usually retails for about £200 so when I saw the price I grabbed one. My motto is if it gets the job done and does it well, then that is all I'm looking for and it has to better than my Satlink. All I need it for is to align dishes on Sky and (when I come to do the job) replacing my 80cm dish for a 1m on my Technomate motor.

 

[Huevos]

Not a case of price. The Satlook lite is a cheap meter and doesn't do this. Anyway this is just my opinion and for strong satellites within the footprint you should be fine.

 

[Captain Jack]

Hmmm not sure I'd like the grubby scale. The FS1 meter I had was very quick in reacting and had a scale of 0.1dB... Was very fluid.

 

[Piltdownpaul]

Youll be fine i'm sure Tony, i use my Satlink all the time and i get on fine with that, i have a nice install and have been out to other folks to align their dishes with it. Its all about getting the best you can get for your money thats going to do the job you need it to do.

 

[Huevos]

Hmmm not sure I'd like the grubby scale. The FS1 meter I had was very quick in reacting and had a scale of 0.1dB... Was very fluid.

As far as I remember the display of the Setsat is one decimal place but it didn't move in 0.1dB steps. What happened was I plugged in the Excel-TV (my backup meter by the way) and spent quite a bit of time tweaking the dish. Improved something like 0.3dB C/N. Then afterwards he plugged his meter in and that registered no difference from when we started. Difference was obvious though because before we started 11023 (BBC transponder on 2F) would not lock, and after tweaking it was holding a stable picture.

 

[Tony1A]

Paul, I totally agree with you! Getting the best you can for the budget you have. I'm still going to keep my Satlink 6906 as I'm sure there will times when I can use that. But I know that quite a number of the Setsat meters have been sold (I phoned a place in the North-West) to get some info and they told me what the meter had on it and what it can do. I'm sure that (most) owners of this meter will be quite pleased with it.

 

[Tony1A]

Well, alright! The new meter arrived today and I have to say it is very chunky and well built and great bang for the buck I paid! The user guide is on a small CD ROM in pdf format so I printed that out and had a good read of it so that I understand what things mean and what I should be looking for! I connected it to my bedroom dish from inside (weather is sunny but very windy) and I think I have a good knowledge of what I should be doing (you must all understand this is my first professional meter) so I'm determined to use it correctly. When the weather improves (!) I'll get out the back and check the kitchen dish with it and have a good play around to get used to it. Think I'm going to enjoy this meter.

 

[Lazarus]

Yes, I think you will - for your budget and needs it seems to be a good buy ;)

 

[Tony1A]

Cheers for that, Tivu. I did have a wobble moment, but the display is clear enough and gives all the info that I could ever need. I'm happy with my purchase. For me, it's pointless having a mega-expensive-does-everything meter like spectrum displays. I probably wouldn't be able to understand the bloody thing anyway.

 

[Tony1A]

Been having a play around with the meter. Entered the CBS Action frequency due to the fact in bad weather the signal quality goes crazy on the kitchen dish and it is out on 28.5e. Just need some dry weather to get it sorted which should not take long with this. How some can say this is not a professional meter is beyond me! But I respect others opinions.

 

[Lazarus]

Opinions can often be ignored with impunity