GT MEDIA V8 Satellite Finder Meter Digital Satellite Signal Receiver Detector DVB-S/S2/S2X, HD 1080P 3.5" LCD Display Built-in 3000mAh Battery with Sound Output for Satellite Dish Adjustment

I'm a radio amateur with a keen interest in Digital TV and satellite systems. I also a Digital Amateur TV repeater keeper and I am a member of the British Amateur Television Club (BATC). This little box is a must have for Radio and TV Amateurs and is therefore very popular in the community. Though its primary purpose is to align Satellite dishes (particularly ideal for the new Amateur OSCAR-100 satellite) it makes a great portable receiver too. It also has Composite video and HDMI outputs, so could be used as a very versatile satellite receiver. The only negative is the minimum symbol rate is 1000 kS/s - us amateurs would also love support of the 500 and 333 kS/s rates as well, hopefully the manufacturer will add this support, but this is a minor concern as the main OSCAR-100 amateur beacon is running at 2000 kS/s.On first inspection the software is a bit tricky to use, but when the penny drops it is actually quite user friendly. You can also easily upgrade the system firmware with the latest satellite database and bug fixes and make configuration backups through the USB interface via USB memory stick (I recommend you do this before each upgrade is run).I particularly like the fact that when you enter a receive frequency manually the Local Oscillator offset is automatically populated (though you can manually modify this for non-standard LNB's or down-converters). For example when I enter a frequency of 3404MHz (C-Band) the LO is automatically set to 5150MHz. Channel scanning is quick and simple to perform. The screen resolution is good and it is bright enough to see in all but the most intense sunlight. Its supports DBV-S and S2 as well as 13V, 18V and pilot tone for switching LNB bands and polarisation.If you are a TV Ham or a Satellite installation professional I can throughly recommend this product, it does what is says on the tin, is great tool and fantastic value for money. Just spend a little time getting to understand the menus. There are plenty of online resources and YouTube videos that explain this.Battery life is good from the built-in Lithium-Ion pack. One thing - make sure you buy the "Gold" version as this is the upgradable one.

This is a well specified bit of kit with a lot of features. I like the ability to be able to add your own satellite information should it become necessary, and the ability to be able to delete or modify satellite information.One of the few pieces of this type of kit where the manufacture's website actually exists (although a little out-of-date) with any useful information on it, including updates and a user forum.The instructions you can download are more comprehensive than those supplied with the unit and better than a lot of others I've seen, but still leaves a little to be desired for beginners such as myself but once you've figured it out it's very easy to use.The first thing I do with any type of electronics is check that system is the latest version and update as necessary. The unit wouldn't recognise any of my memory sticks however formatted. I have since discovered that this unit will only recognise a memory stick formatted to FAT32 and of a size no larger than 32GB so now I can backup and update when needed. The current software / firmware supplied on this unit (December 2019) is currently more up-to-date than the latest version on their website.Battery life is very good - I had the unit on for several hours at a time whilst learning how to use it and there was still plenty of life left in it.

Pros: one man operation. Pre- set for local use to a point!Cons: confusing if you are not a professional or tech literate.Minimal instructions, you will have to Google user instructions. For example, pointing my dish 28.2 degrees SE did not work as I live further west meaning my dish should have been pointing 37.2 degrees SE. Most people would not know this, more stuff you need to Google. When purchasing any product all info and user info should be included, not everyone has access to a computer, let alone know how to use one.

I was no longer getting a signal from my satellite dish so decided to try and adjust the dish myself. I was not expecting to get such a sophisticated tool for this money, but decided to go for it. Item arrived promptly, and in good condition etc.The bolts took a while to loosen, but that aside the whole process went well. I selected the satellite I wanted to receive, and tried to move the dish it systematically till I got a reasonable signal. Back inside a quick re-tune and loads of channels. Have to check if it is still good enough in bad weather, but feel it was as cheap (or cheaper than a call out)Only issue is the instruction manual was in too small a print to read, but the tool itself was easy enough to work out the basics.

I have used this to set up 65cm dish to receive the Es'hail satellite which I don't think I would have ever found without it.It will allow you to enter new satellites and transponders with symbole rates down to 1Mhz.However, I was using it with a "C" band LNB and noticed it locked up on occasions when it lost the signal. Now it shows me 91% signal but only 30% quality and will not decode the signal. It has also failed on a known good signal from Freesat on 28.2E. I have sent this one back. BUT I will be reordering a new one as I think this was just bad luck. I would love to have a DR.HD but cannot justify the high price.

Great for checking and adjusting satellite dishes & LNBs. Better than just a signal strength meter as you can see what's being broadcast on the screen. Includes mains and car charging cables which is a nice touch and a padded case. You can easily update the firmware and satellite info via a USB stick. Receives the EShail2 video beacon well, but does not do lower symbol rates.