Larry Cohen
Mobile, AL
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Joined: 04/23/2006
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I am very adept at getting a very good signal strength with my setup and using the receiver signal meter on my outside TV, but sometimes I need to set the dish on the far side and it's tough to fine tune...and I am rather anal about max strength in case it rains...
Anyway, I just got a Accutrac III meter for those occasions where I can tune the dish right there at the dish without having to go back and forth to the TV...I tested it yesterday and I now have the KA birds in the high 80s and the KU at 97!! I never had all 3 that high before!
What is really nice is you can see 99 and 101 at the same time and sdjust accordingly to get BOTH maxed out...and 103 seems to follow along..
I know.....the picture still looks the same (unless it rains) but it's a feel-good thing 
2006 Mountain Aire 43
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johntichy
Florida
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Hi There. I would like to get a finder. Where did you get the Accutrac III? Just a very breif internet search I saw pricing from $169.00 to $269.00.
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powderman426
ohio
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johntichy wrote:Hi There. I would like to get a finder. Where did you get the Accutrac III? Just a very breif internet search I saw pricing from $169.00 to $269.00.
$169 to $269. Whoa. If you have a smart phone you can get an app for free that will reduce aiming to a minimum. On Android it is called Satellite AR. Just pick the service you want to find such as Dish or Direct, and it will show you the satellites in the viewfinder as you scan the sky with the phone. I helped a fellow camper and we had his up and running is just a few minutes. Give it a try before you spend a lot of money needlessly. JMO
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TechWriter
Green Bay, WI USA
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Joined: 12/22/2002
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powderman426 wrote:
$169 to $269. Whoa. If you have a smart phone you can get an app for free that will reduce aiming to a minimum. . . . Give it a try before you spend a lot of money needlessly. JMO
Whoa indeed. Your free app shows you where sats are located in the sky. That's it.
The Accutrac III shows the signal strengths of multiple sats simultaneously -- a definite plus when you're trying to aim multiple LNB dishes.
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powderman426
ohio
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1, 2, 3, 5, it doesn't mean squat. If you get one the others are already there. Like I said we did one in less than 2 minutes. I can't imagine it being any quicker than that. To keep locking onto the wrong sat from causing problems, just cover all but one of the lnbs and go from there. $169 to $269 to find a satellite is ridiculous. Save that money for something important like beer.
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TechWriter
Green Bay, WI USA
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powderman426 wrote:1, 2, 3, 5, it doesn't mean squat. If you get one the others are already there. Like I said we did one in less than 2 minutes.
Multi-LNB? Clear view of sky?
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SWD
Land of Living Skies
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Even the cheap finders from radio shack work great. I have set hundreds of dishes up using a cheapo and the signal strengths are all in the upper eighties to mid ninties. Anything more than $50 is a waste of beer money.
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mikestock
Vestavia Hills, AL, USA
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Joined: 12/01/2002
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powderman426 wrote:johntichy wrote:Hi There. I would like to get a finder. Where did you get the Accutrac III? Just a very breif internet search I saw pricing from $169.00 to $269.00.
$169 to $269. Whoa. If you have a smart phone you can get an app for free that will reduce aiming to a minimum. On Android it is called Satellite AR. Just pick the service you want to find such as Dish or Direct, and it will show you the satellites in the viewfinder as you scan the sky with the phone. I helped a fellow camper and we had his up and running is just a few minutes. Give it a try before you spend a lot oft money needlessly. JMO
In my opinion a meter and a phone app serve completely different purposes. You can't peak your signal strength with a phone app. If you could actually look up and see the satellite you still need a tool to max out your signal
* This post was
edited 04/30/12 07:55am by mikestock *
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TechWriter
Green Bay, WI USA
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SWD wrote:Even the cheap finders from radio shack work great. I have set hundreds of dishes up using a cheapo and the signal strengths are all in the upper eighties to mid ninties. Anything more than $50 is a waste of beer money.
DirecTV single LNB?
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BrokenElbow
Valencia, CA
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Larry, I'm with you. I got the Tracker Plus which looks just like the Accutrac III Plus. Works great, well worthwhile in my opinion. When I arrive late and it's dark, I can set up in a few mins and max the signal without even hooking up the dish to the TV yet. Hook up the cables and walk inside and....voila, every time I have a great signal. Well worth the money to me.
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