Product Review (December 2001) - Channel Master
1006IFD Dual Satellite Signal Meter
Installing and setting up satellite dishes has become a trivial task for the professional when you only have one location in the sky to point to. A simple, inexpensive signal meter works fine as long as you have the DSS receiver connected in series with the meter to provide power to the LNB. However, the newer elliptical dishes complicate the installation by requiring a third axis (tilt) adjustment to setup. Furthermore, just when you think you have the maximum signal for one of the LNBs, the other drops off its peak level. To help installers fine tune the dish, Channel Master has introduced a self-powered deluxe signal meter capable of handling the new dishes with two LNBs.
Channel
Master is not new to the satellitte business. In fact, this is the company
that OEMs much of the satellite dish related products to the vast majority
of the industry. The folks at Channel Master manufactured both of our
elliptical dishes with the two LNBs and 4x4 multi-switch boxes. Their
expertise in this field gave me confidence that this satellite signal
level meter would perform well.
The features on the 1006IFD are numerous for a portable signal meter and include both a voltage and current monitor for the LNB under test. The voltage (13V or 18V) to the LNB can be selected by simply pushing a button to test both operating modes with indicators for each voltage. To help aid in the alignment of the dish, an audible signal is emitted with the pitch increasing as the signal gain rises. A gain control is provided to adjust the level on both the meter and the audible signal during alignment. Since both meters can be used simultaneously, the baseline pitch of each side is unique. I found this to be a clever feature for the audible section of the design. Pressing the Test button can check the battery level. The battery life is rated at 3 hours on a single LNB being tested or 1.5 hours if two LNBs are used during the installation.
The 1006IFD is a dual satellite signal meter with two completely independent meter circuits. The only shared resource in this unit is the batteries and the charging circuit. A single 24V/60mA input is required for charging the built-in Ni-Cad batteries and could take as long as 14 hours for a full charge. The built-in rechargeable batteries completely free the installer from needing a receiver box connected during the alignment of the dish. The unit includes a sturdy case along with a strap that has proven to be effective in the field. During my installation I used the strap to fasten the signal meter to the base of the dish arm. This worked well and allowed me to move the dish around while I watched the levels on the meters.
We used the 1006IFD to setup
two separate systems that had the two dual LNBs along with the 4x4 multi-switch
unit. The signal meter was very easy to use and worked great for us. Being
able to dial in the maximum signal for both the 101-degree and 119-degree
satellites simultaneously made this a very handy tool. While consumers
would have a difficult time justifying the expense of such a tool, installers
would really benefit, as these new dishes are not trivial to align. The
1006IFD build quality is excellent and includes a sturdy
case and strap. The complete package
assures long-term reliability in a sometimes rough environment.
- Kevin Nakano