With a Technosat free to air digital receiver, you do not need a buzzing satellite finder. It has an inbuilt satellite finder tracking system. This is how to use the Technosat t-888 as a satellite finder.
First of all the advantage of using this decoder is that it can tell you exactly the satellite you want, unlike the Stargold SG-20SF satellite finder which will just buzz whenever it detects any satellite.
It is also very cheap compared to the pro satellite finder meters sold in the market and it gives you the chance to see the signal quality and intensity like the expensive meters do.
There are two methods of using the satellite receiver as a satellite and here is the:-
First method
I also did a video version of this tutorial that you can watch here
- Connect the Technosat T-888 decoder to the LNB already mounted on a satellite dish outside.
- By this time you should already know which satellite you want to aim your satellite dish.
- Just go to lyngsat.com and get any receivable transponder (frequency, symbol rate and polarity). For this example I want to track down the satellite Intelsat 20 Ku band. I already have a transponder on the Europe and Africa beam already set up on the decoder. The transponder is 12682 H 27500.
- Press MENU on the remote control and using the Volume keys, go to System Setup. You will get something exactly like the image featured in this post.
- On system setup, scroll down to Other and press OK.
- You will be presented with a menu starting with LNB Power to Beeper. Scroll to Beeper and change it to ON. If it’s already ON, leave it that way.
- Press exit to get back to the Main Menu. Go to installation and select Antenna setup. Once here you will start to hear a pulsating sound like the one I have embedded below. It’s a low frequency sound.
- On satellite select the satellite you want to get. I would suggest that you change the LNB frequency to Universal. On transponder, select the transponder frequency of the receivable satellite beam or footprint you want.
- That’s it. Now crank up the volume of your TV and maybe Amp. The point here is to be able to heart the sound when on the roof setting up your dish.
- If you aim at the correct satellite, then the sound from the TV will change to a high frequency sound like this one. Click play to hear it. Now this sound will not give you the quality of the signal. It just tells you that you have aligned the dish to the correct satellite regardless of the signal quality.
Now you have aimed at the correct satellite dish. What is left now is to fine tune the dish and do a little bit of LNB tweaking to get a good signal quality. I have used the Technosat decoder for quite some time now and the best strongest signal quality is 74%. 70 -72 percent is a good signal and anything below 65% is an unstable signal.
Second Method
Once you have received a signal, then do a blind scan and the decoder will automatically save all the channels. The second method is using these scanned channels as a satellite finder. For example if my neighbor wanted me to set up for him Intelsat 20. I just simply select any FTA channel on that satellite.
Once here I press the i button on the remote control twice and I am presented with the signal intensity and quality bars. Fro here I just crank up the volume and set up the dish until the TV “talks”. It’s that simple.
The second method can be used with any free to air satellite decoder.
The downside
For these two methods to work, you first need Electricity. Any blackout means you will not get the job done. This is where those pro satellite finders come in handy, because they have inbuilt rechargeable batteries.
Secondly you must be able to hear the sound from the roof, if you cannot, then its useless.
The other downside of this decoder is that its an MPEG 2/ DVBS decoder. Majority of free to air channels are popping up or are migrating to MPEG 4. The Technosat T-888 cannot decode MPEG 4 channels, but it will help detect the MPEG 4 signals
How much is this kind of fta receiver? Where can it be bought. Kindly assist with this information
Hello Mwendwa, the Technosat T-888 is still available in many shops aroung Luthuli avenue like Digital Life Electronics.You can get it for Ksh3500 although if you look for it in oher places like Luthuli lane you maight get it for Ksh3200. The method can be used with other decoders but with the lack of the beeper functionality
Thanks for the information.
How do you think this particular model fairs on compared with Strong? Im a newcomer to this world seeking to understand it more. Any particular detail of an LNB that you would recommend?
This is an old MPEG2 decoder so it cannot receive MPEG 4 or HD content. The Strong Brand of decoders are very good models but lack the beeper functionality which is useful for aligning satellite dishes. It can work with any LNB you can lay your hands on provided its not damaged.
Where do you think I could get a strong 4900 series in Nairobi? Any idea how much it would cost? Any suggestion of a particular model in this series?
Never heard or seen this decoder anywhere in Nairobi
Is this the same kind of sound that would present where the meter used is one that has a earphone?
No the tone is unique to the Technosat T 888 decoder. By the way which meter are you talking about.
Meant the meter that is used to set up a dish. Particularly one that is branded satbeeper that has headphones such that as you tilt the dish you are looking for a particular kind of sound
please who knows the care center for technosat in kenya?
help you acn text +25473690022
Hello Can we know the satellite dish Size?