Recomendations for Satelite finder/portable satelite TV

[veso266]

Hello there, I am looking for a good SAT Finder that can also decode DVB-S/S2/S2X and can be future proofed, so if a new video codec and encryption system comes up, its just a matter of a software update (it would be a plus if a comunity is working at reverse engeneering it already or if a company open sourced its software, but I know thats probably not the case so its just a plus)

It would also be a good idea if it would be sensitive and selective, so I can also pick up some weak birds (satelites) that are maybe not in my footprint with it, and that it could control the motor (support for diseqc 1.1 or 1.2 or even 2 maybe) and the other motor standard that needs cordinates to work (forgot its name, I know its not diseqc)

If it has a removable battery it would be nice (because you know how it is, this chinese stuff usualy don't come with good batteries that don't last long, so a possibility to upgrade the battery and replace it when it reaches the end of life without needing to hack the finder to pieces (some screws maybe or some easy battery acsess)

And the realy good thing it would be if comunity is activly working on it (maybe it has some forum dedicated to it, and many people use it)

it would also be a good thing if it supports USB peripherals like usb wifi dongles (could download TP list from internet), PS/SC smart card readers so I could stick my legal smart card in it and watch some pay tv, even if official software does not support that, maybe alternative software could

Video output and record option would also be realy good (maybe also great if it can decode teletext)

And it has to be argonomical, I don't want a big chunk of plastic that needs both of my hands to operate (it should fit in your hand like a big smartphone), I also need to carry a dish with one hand, etc

Now there is the problem, google is no help here, if I search for best satelite finders for instance and land here: The 29 Best Satellite Finders of 2022 [Verified] - Cherry Picks
this crap only tels me in what direction to look, but nobody tels me if finder is sensitive or if it has active comunity

So after many hours searching I found 3

SH-820HD S2+T2: SatHero
seams good (SH-820HD S2 would also be good if it can support DVB-T2 its a plus) but it has no comunity support

GTMedia Finder V8 Pro: https://www.amazon.com/GT-MEDIA-Satellite-Recognition-Adjusting/dp/B09NPJT7WF
seams realy good, it has active comunity at GTMEDIA Forum - Index page , it can support USB Wifi adapters (not sure about PC/SC smart card readers), it has reflashable software, battery is not that hard to remove, it has video output and I also think it can record (but not sure on that), seams its perfect for me

But it has a big problem (at least I read that, its not sensitive at all, people say its terrible, and that it has problems receiving strong satelites let alone weak ones: GT Media V8 Finder PRO - measurement fail - GTMEDIA Forum


Satlink WS6906 (not sure about its performance, it has no active comunity, and a big downside is that company charges for software updates.....
just look at here: Software updates
this guys would probably never implement a feature a comunity member would need, I mean, whats the point in charging for software updates, and the worst part is that you don't even know what has changed


There of course exists a lot of chinese knockoffs like this: https://www.amazon.com/ICQUANZX-Sat...085VJCJGJ/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

that look like GTMedia V8 Finder (the older one), have no comunity support, you probably cannot flash GTMedia software updates to it and probably break as soon as you bring them home

Also I think that even if I buy the most expensive finder that I can find like the MegaSat HD 7: MegaSat HD 7 Combo sat iskalnik | Conrad.si
it would not have features I would like (not even sure why its so expensive....):


Now I hope you guys have some more recomendations and expiriences with this finders and could shed some light into this

For now GTMedia V8 Finder Pro is winning (but I am not sure if I can accept the fact thats its realy unsensitive/not selective)

 

[John]

Hello there, I am looking for a good SAT Finder that can also decode DVB-S/S2/S2X and can be future proofed, so if a new video codec and encryption system comes up, its just a matter of a software update (it would be a plus if a comunity is working at reverse engeneering it already or if a company open sourced its software, but I know thats probably not the case so its just a plus)

It would also be a good idea if it would be sensitive and selective, so I can also pick up some weak birds (satelites) that are maybe not in my footprint with it, and that it could control the motor (support for diseqc 1.1 or 1.2 or even 2 maybe) and the other motor standard that needs cordinates to work (forgot its name, I know its not diseqc)

If it has a removable battery it would be nice (because you know how it is, this chinese stuff usualy don't come with good batteries that don't last long, so a possibility to upgrade the battery and replace it when it reaches the end of life without needing to hack the finder to pieces (some screws maybe or some easy battery acsess)

And the realy good thing it would be if comunity is activly working on it (maybe it has some forum dedicated to it, and many people use it)

it would also be a good thing if it supports USB peripherals like usb wifi dongles (could download TP list from internet), PS/SC smart card readers so I could stick my legal smart card in it and watch some pay tv, even if official software does not support that, maybe alternative software could

Video output and record option would also be realy good (maybe also great if it can decode teletext)

And it has to be argonomical, I don't want a big chunk of plastic that needs both of my hands to operate (it should fit in your hand like a big smartphone), I also need to carry a dish with one hand, etc

Now there is the problem, google is no help here, if I search for best satelite finders for instance and land here: The 29 Best Satellite Finders of 2022 [Verified] - Cherry Picks
this crap only tels me in what direction to look, but nobody tels me if finder is sensitive or if it has active comunity

So after many hours searching I found 3

SH-820HD S2+T2: SatHero
seams good (SH-820HD S2 would also be good if it can support DVB-T2 its a plus) but it has no comunity support

GTMedia Finder V8 Pro: https://www.amazon.com/GT-MEDIA-Satellite-Recognition-Adjusting/dp/B09NPJT7WF
seams realy good, it has active comunity at GTMEDIA Forum - Index page , it can support USB Wifi adapters (not sure about PC/SC smart card readers), it has reflashable software, battery is not that hard to remove, it has video output and I also think it can record (but not sure on that), seams its perfect for me

But it has a big problem (at least I read that, its not sensitive at all, people say its terrible, and that it has problems receiving strong satelites let alone weak ones: GT Media V8 Finder PRO - measurement fail - GTMEDIA Forum


Satlink WS6906 (not sure about its performance, it has no active comunity, and a big downside is that company charges for software updates.....
just look at here: Software updates
this guys would probably never implement a feature a comunity member would need, I mean, whats the point in charging for software updates, and the worst part is that you don't even know what has changed


There of course exists a lot of chinese knockoffs like this: https://www.amazon.com/ICQUANZX-Sat...085VJCJGJ/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

that look like GTMedia V8 Finder (the older one), have no comunity support, you probably cannot flash GTMedia software updates to it and probably break as soon as you bring them home

Also I think that even if I buy the most expensive finder that I can find like the MegaSat HD 7: MegaSat HD 7 Combo sat iskalnik | Conrad.si
it would not have features I would like (not even sure why its so expensive....):


Now I hope you guys have some more recomendations and expiriences with this finders and could shed some light into this

For now GTMedia V8 Finder Pro is winning (but I am not sure if I can accept the fact thats its realy unsensitive/not selective)

Check out the GTMedia Finder2 [not the Green version] , has lower battery spec and is a bit problematic according to reports. The Gray case Finder2 is the recommended one and is at a decent low price.... i should have had one delivered yesterday for evaluation but it looks like some scrote responsible for delivery has nicked / lost it.
The HD7 Combo, had one for evaluation test and in it's present form it's way too expensive , not the best tuner sensitivity/ performance on satellite, sat spectrum performance could be better for the price. User menu interface not the easiest to use .... can't recommend it at the moment at it's current price and performance level

 

[veso266]

Check out the GTMedia Finder2 [not the Green version] , has lower battery spec and is a bit problematic according to reports. The Gray case Finder2 is the recommended one and is at a decent low price.... i should have had one delivered yesterday for evaluation but it looks like some scrote responsible for delivery has nicked / lost it.
The HD7 Combo, had one for evaluation test and in it's present form it's way too expensive , not the best tuner sensitivity/ performance on satellite, sat spectrum performance could be better for the price. User menu interface not the easiest to use .... can't recommend it at the moment at it's current price and performance level

the HD7 is out of the question anyway as its not portable (if I saw that right)

BTW: there is a lot of GTMedia Finders and I am realy confused
There is the original V8 Finder (the one that has silver case (also uvailable in green) (DVB-S2/S2X (H264 only)

then there is Finder2 (the newer version, only supports DVB-S2/S2X 8mbit streams H265 (no encryption support)

there is also GT MEDIA V8 Finder max (only DVB-S/S2/S2X H265, no encryption support)

and then there is Finder V8 Pro (has DVB-T/T2/S/S2/S2X H.265 10mbit streams, also has encryption support (it seams its the best in the whole finder series)

not sure which one have you talked about having a weak tuner (was it V8 Pro?)

 

[Channel Hopper]

Whilst the support has gone, you could do worse than one of the Horizon meters , a thread is on this site. Despite being close to a decade old, the USB version here is still doing well finding DVB-S2 signals using the manual tune facility.

It does have its faults but the addition of an external battery pack seems to have fixed the majority of earlier troubles.

 

[John]

the HD7 is out of the question anyway as its not portable (if I saw that right)

BTW: there is a lot of GTMedia Finders and I am realy confused
There is the original V8 Finder (the one that has silver case (also uvailable in green) (DVB-S2/S2X (H264 only)

then there is Finder2 (the newer version, only supports DVB-S2/S2X 8mbit streams H265 (no encryption support)

there is also GT MEDIA V8 Finder max (only DVB-S/S2/S2X H265, no encryption support)

and then there is Finder V8 Pro (has DVB-T/T2/S/S2/S2X H.265 10mbit streams, also has encryption support (it seams its the best in the whole finder series)

not sure which one have you talked about having a weak tuner (was it V8 Pro?)

The Megasat HD 7Combo was the one i refered to having a slightly less performance on the tuner - tested along side various other receivers.

 

[veso266]

The Megasat HD 7Combo was the one i refered to having a slightly less performance on the tuner - tested along side various other receivers.

oh, wow, at first I thought that if meter is so expensive it has to be the best, I guess its not

Not even sure what drives the price with this things then (maybe the brand or what)

 

[Analoguesat]

Just watch out for those small TFT screens. Ive got a Dymeco (sp?) thats 2-3 years old and the screen is utterly useless - its totally unreadable if there is any sunshine out at all.

I connect it to an old TV now when Im out playing with the dishes

 

[Manikm909]

if using an E2 receiver, use an appropriate app on phone when outside connected to stb indoors (assuming both on LAN) - u can fine tune any TP \ channel.

 

[Channel Hopper]

Just watch out for those small TFT screens. Ive got a Dymeco (sp?) thats 2-3 years old and the screen is utterly useless - its totally unreadable if there is any sunshine out at all.

I connect it to an old TV now when Im out playing with the dishes

By coincidence the one I have (iBravebox clone) sits neatly within in the portable dish case, in place of the standard Ross HD receiver.

 

[veso266]

Some update on my finder journey
I got GTMedia Finder V8 Pro at the end
After discovering its performance to be hmm, mediocre:

I checked on DVB-T and agains my portable TV (you can clearly see that the portable tv is wining)

It broke the second day I got it.... (it does not charge anymore, nor does it work from the battery, it only works if plugged in....)

And I discovered that I cannot even buy Sathero SH-820HD for some reason, I can only buy some knockoff: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Satellite-SH-820HD-Kpt-716ts-SH-810HD/dp/B09Z44K9QZ
(no more knocoffs...., it seams if even original chinese stuff breaks, knocoffs will break even easier)

Megasat digital 1 HD: Satmessgerät Digital 1 HD - Megasat
does not support DVB-S2X (not even sure about USALS support, I did not see it mentioned anywhere)

it cannot decode teletext, I guess it cannot even record to USB stick

Satlink 6979 seams to be my only option now (it bothers me that for 300$ you cannot even update the software for free.....) and for some reason its not that easly uvailable, let alone I have no idea about its performance (I got burned once so don't want to do that twice...., I did watch this comparison:

but it seams its performarnce at least on DVB-S2 is similar to GTMedia one, so it seams its also bad.... (and it costs twice that much so.....)

At least with the german one you can return it somewhere and maybe get your money back if its broken, unlike chinese crap....

I guess there just doesn't exist a finder that would suit me....

 

[Manikm909]

I have the first one pictured. It's good but it loses any customisations. I.e. Putting in your own TPs. Also if the signal is weak it won't pick it up at all. Prefer to use my phone app connected to E2 STB method these days for fine tuning

 

[Channel Hopper]

Some update on my finder journey
I got GTMedia Finder V8 Pro at the end
After discovering its performance to be hmm, mediocre:

I checked on DVB-T and agains my portable TV (you can clearly see that the portable tv is wining)

It broke the second day I got it.... (it does not charge anymore, nor does it work from the battery, it only works if plugged in....)

That could be a single connector inside has come loose.
Somewhere on the site is a stripdown I did of the iBravebox, it will be very similar inside.

 

[moonbase]

The Dr HD 500 BT Combo is a decent meter but has no inbuilt display.
Instead you connect via bluetooth to a mobile phone or tablet and operate the meter with that.

 

[Channel Hopper]

A page showing original and clone Freesat meter differences.

 

[Adam792]

It does seem like a meter that decodes the signal is a good way to go, I have a Satlink WS6933 which is good but only shows lock and modulation (whether S or S2).

That's OK, but I spent 20 minutes yesterday getting very confused as to why I couldn't find any sign at all of Astra 3 just past Astra 1, before finally realising I was actually on Astra 2...

 

[veso266]

That could be a single connector inside has come loose.
Somewhere on the site is a stripdown I did of the iBravebox, it will be very similar inside.

I did open it up, plugged the cable in, inplugged, nothing changed, its eather a trace or maybe a via or something, idk, not sure how to fix the poor performance though (it realy anoys me....)

BTW: I checked out your stripdown of your bravebox and it looks very similar to mine, you even managed to get the heatsink off the chip (which I still have not managed to do (although, I don't even know if this is the main CPU or just the demodulator) to mine (not sure how to do that, without damaging the device further)

@Manikm909 which one did you have in mind when you said: "I have the first one pictured. It's good but it loses any customisations", the GTMedia V8 Finder Pro one, or the Satmessgerät Digital 1 HD?

 

[Manikm909]

The Dr HD 500 BT Combo is a decent meter but has no inbuilt display.
Instead you connect via bluetooth to a mobile phone or tablet and operate the meter with that.

I just nabbed one of these on e8ay .

 

[Manikm909]

I did open it up, plugged the cable in, inplugged, nothing changed, its eather a trace or maybe a via or something, idk, not sure how to fix the poor performance though (it realy anoys me....)

BTW: I checked out your stripdown of your bravebox and it looks very similar to mine, you even managed to get the heatsink off the chip (which I still have not managed to do (although, I don't even know if this is the main CPU or just the demodulator) to mine (not sure how to do that, without damaging the device further)

@Manikm909 which one did you have in mind when you said: "I have the first one pictured. It's good but it loses any customisations", the GTMedia V8 Finder Pro one, or the Satmessgerät Digital 1 HD?

Yes I got the gt media V8. Will be selling soon

 

[moonbase]

I just nabbed one of these on e8ay .

Nice wan, those Dr HD 500 BT Combo jobs are decent meters.

One observation, I tried to slide the spectrum RF vertical line indicator on a tablet running Android 10 and it did not respond.
It responded to a finger tap to a new location on the RF spectrum but did not slide.

When using with a mobile phone runing Android 9 the spectrum RF vertical line indicator responds to sliding.
Conclusion: - Possibly Android 10 or my specific tablet device was unable to operate the slide motion. All good on mobile phones with Android 9 or earlier.

It will be interesting to see what your findings are with the meter re my above observation.

 

[Satspot]

Two smartphones. One placed in front of your TV running IP Webcam with your receiver in tuning mode showing signal strength/quality/dB and the other in your hand up the ladder watching it as you adjust your dish. Unless you’re in the business of installing dishes for a living I wouldn’t bother with those cheap Asian meters. Boyz toys that are actually not fit for purpose.