BirDog Signal Meter

Operation Guidelines
Version 1.6
March 2009

Table of Contents
BirDog Satellite Meter .............................................................................................................................1
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................1
Front Panel .............................................................................................................................................2
Back End Menu, Standard .....................................................................................................................3
dB What is it........................................................................................................................................4
Back End Menu, continued ....................................................................................................................5
Back End Menu, USB/USB Plus ............................................................................................................6
Sub Menu, USB/USB Plus .....................................................................................................................9
Software Download ................................................................................................................................11
Software Download..............................................................................................................................11
Meter Updating ....................................................................................................................................12
BirDog Meter ODU Peaking .................................................................................................................14
18 (101).............................................................................................................................................14
KaKu SL5 & SL3.................................................................................................................................15
KaKu SL5s & SL3s..............................................................................................................................16
SWiM Specific .....................................................................................................................................17

Copyright 2009 DIRECTV. Unpublished work. All rights

reserved. All materials are proprietary and confidential.
Technology information released after January 2009 may not be
included in the material.

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Detail

BirDog Satellite Meter

The following BirDog topic areas will be discussed during this
training:

Introduction

BirDog Meter setup

Back End Menu
Peaking Specifics
S Bar vs Q Bar
Software Updates
ODU Specific peaking

Below is the BirDog screen layout.

7
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Satellite Signal Input

Signal Sensitivity Bar
Orbital Location
Key Pad
Battery Charge
Peaking Scale
Back End Menu
o Accessed by pressing and
holding the OFF key

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BirDog Satellite Meter

Front Panel

Input Connection
The input connection is used to connect directly to the LNB in order to
peak the ODU.

Output Connection
The output connection is DC blocked; voltage controls from a receiver
and or switch are not passed through to the input port.

Key Pad

Up / Down
o Allows the meter to be turned On / Off
o Navigation within back end menu
Left / Right
o Changes orbital location
o Navigation within back end menu

Satellite Identification
Satellites are identified by obtaining locks on one or more
transponders. A lock is obtained using the frequency, and modulation
of the pre determined transponders.

Battery & Charging

The meter can not be powered through the Input/Output connections.
The meters battery must be charged using the onboard charger.

Software Updates
Unfortunately, the satellite identification process is only as good as the
satellite definitions that are used. Thats where software updates come
into play, updates are posted on the web site, and instructions are
contained later in this document.

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BirDog Satellite Meter

Back End Menu,
Standard

Standard Back End Menu

To access the back end menu press the OFF button on the key
pad.

EXIT

Powers the BirDog meter off.

Backlight

The light of the screen is controlled by ON/OFF.

Clicking

Turns the audible signal finder ON/OFF.

Sleep

Inactivity of the meter will cause the meter to automatically shut

down, 1-19 minutes / Always On.

Defaults

Resets the meter back to factory settings.

English

Sets the language display, English / Spanish.

RF

Shows RF power in a linear or dBuV scale

o Linear shows the RF power in a Digital Scale format.

o dBuV

(61dBuV = -47.8dBm)
Note:
Discussion surrounding dB is continued on the next page.
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BirDog Satellite Meter

dB What is it

Man made communications are amplified at various stages

during their voyages through space and or coaxial cable in order
to keep the information they carry intact.
Alexander Graham Bell created the dB scale to describe the
enormous changes in power that occurs at these various stages
of the signal chain by relatively small numbers.

The dBm calculations

PdBm = 10 x Log Pmw.
For example: 1 Watt = 1000
mW;
1000 mW ; PdBm = 10 x Log
1000 = 30 dBm

This was necessary since items such as reflectors, LNBs,

amplifiers etc increase power levels many hundreds or
thousands of times: constantly calculating such numbers could
become challenging.
Path Loss: Path loss is the loss of power of an RF signal
traveling through space or a cable run. It is expressed in dB.
dB is an abbreviation for decibels. It is a mathematical
expression showing the relationship between two values.

dBuV = dBm + 108.8dB

The most useful fact to understand is that small changes in

decibels reflect much larger changes in power levels. For
example, an increase of 3dB means the power has doubled, a
change of 30dB means the power has increased by a factor of
1000 times.

Example: -65dBm = 43.8dBuV

-32dBm = 76.8dBuV
61dBuV = -47.8dBm

RF power levels from the Satellite are expressed in Watts. this

can also be expressed in dBm, dBm is much easier to
understand.

To convert dB (dBuV)
microvolts to dBm values

Handy Calculator
http://www.soontai.com.tw/cal_exu
nit.html

1 Watt = 1000 mW
1000mW = 30dBm

Watt
1
0.1

mW
1000
100

dBm
-30
-20

dbuV
78.8
127

100mW = 20dBm
0dBm = 1mW (milliwatt)
Here is a very useful dB
calculator
http://www.aubraux.com/desig
n/milli-watts-to-dbmcalculator.php

dBm is relative to a milliwatt. While dBuV is relative to a

micro-volt.
Instead of referencing a power measurement (watts), dBuV
references against the actual voltage level generated in the
system measured in micro-volts (0.000001Vac).
You will see that dBuV values are always positive.
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BirDog Satellite Meter

Back End Menu,

Standard Back End Menu

continued
Found / BER

Found - Confirms correct satellite is located

BER - Bit Error Rate, A measure of transmission quality of
the signal received. Generally the higher the E number is
the better the transmission, examples provided below show
the E-5 numbers are better than E-3 numbers.
Good Example:
.0000897= 897 bits of data out of 10,000,000 are bad

Bad Example:
.00293 = 293 bits of data out of 100,000 are bad

BER Log / Linear

Selecting Log will add attenuation or in other words a

lower level of signal will be seen on the Q line, this is
required when peaking of the KaKu ODU is performed,
it is difficult to peak a signal when the Q shows 99%

Before attenuation

After attenuation

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BirDog Satellite Meter

Back End Menu,
USB/USB Plus

USB / USB Plus Back End Menu

To access the back end menu press the OFF button on the key
pad.

EXIT

Powers the BirDog meter off.

Backlight

The light of the screen is controlled by ON/OFF.

Clicking

Turns the audible signal finder ON/OFF.

Brightness

Screen backlight intensity.

Contrast
Screen lightness / darkness.
Sleep

Inactivity of the meter will cause the meter to automatically shut

down, 1-30 minutes / Always On

Note:
10Ua-0041 refers to the firmware

English

Sets the language display, English / Spanish

revision on the BirDog Meter

RF

Shows RF power in a linear or dBuV scale

o Linear shows the RF power in a Digital Scale
format

o dBuV

(61dBuV = -47.8dBm)

Note:
Reference page 4 for definition
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BirDog Satellite Meter

Back End Menu,

USB / USB Plus Back End Menu

USB/USB Plus

Found
Found - Confirms correct satellite is located
BER - Bit Error Rate, A measure of transmission quality of
the signal received. Generally the higher the E number is
the better the transmission; examples provided below show
the E-5 numbers are better than E-3 numbers.
Good Example:

Bad Example:
BER Log / Linear

Selecting Log will add attenuation or in other words a

lower level of signal will be seen on the Q line, this is
useful when peaking of the KaKu ODU is performed, it
is difficult to peak a signal when the Q shows 99%

Before

After

MER

MER (Modulation Error Ratio) is a measure used to

quantify the performance of a digital signals, various
imperfections in the signal path such as noise can cause
low images and distortion. The higher the MER reading
in dB, the better.

Example of good MER

Example of bad MER

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BirDog Satellite Meter

Back End Menu,

USB / USB Plus Back End Menu

USB/USB Plus

C/N

C/N (carrier-to-noise ratio), is often written as CNR or

C/N, it is a measure of the received carrier strength
relative to the strength of the received noise. High C/N
ratios provide better quality of reception, and generally
higher communications accuracy and reliability, than
low C/N ratios.

Low C/N example

Note:

LNB

Without voltage supplied from the

BirDog there will be no signal

strength displayed, this is unless the
meter is connected to a powered
system such as a SWiM LNB

LNB voltage, this feature allows to switch between no LNB

voltage (0) and 13/18vdc

Defaults

Resets the meter back to factory settings

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BirDog Satellite Meter

Sub Menu, USB/USB USB / USB Plus Sub Menu
Plus

To access the Sub Menu press the OFF button on the key pad,
while the BirDog meter is powered on.

USB Plus Sub Menu

Exit
DiSEqC
Spectrum
Spectrum
Constellation
Custom Carrier
Recall Custom
Log as 00000
LNB/Cable Test

DiSEqC
Not specific to DIRECTV equipment
Spectrum
This is a graphic representation of the transponders at
the specified frequencies. The frequency is changed by
using the Left / Right arrow keys.
The greater the distances between peaks and valleys, the
better the C/N.

Spectrum
Span defines the measured range of frequencies. It is
referred to as Spectrum Boost when the low amplitude
signals need to be raised.

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BirDog Satellite Meter

Sub Menu, USB/USB USB / USB Plus Sub Menu
Plus

Constellation

QPSK - is a digital modulation scheme that conveys

data by changing, or modulating, the phase of a
reference signal (the carrier wave). In essence it allows
more channels per transponder.

USB Plus Sub Menu

Exit
DiSEqC
Spectrum
Spectrum
Constellation
Custom Carrier
Recall Custom
Log as 00000
LNB/Cable Test

This provides a visual of the QPSK (Quadrature Phase

Shift Keying) signal.

Good Example

Bad Example

The more concentrated the cluster the better the signal

quality, dots straying outside of the cluster indicates
noise on the signal carrier.

Custom Carrier

Custom Carrier is not needed for the DIRECTV signals,

these are predefined within the associated software
downloads.

Log as
Data Logging, allows storing of signal levels, C/N,
MER, and dBuV values after the ODU is peaked.

Note:

LNB/Cable Test
Tests for an open or short circuit within a coaxial cable

Test all ports of the LNB to verify

that the LNB Passes or Fails

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BirDog Guidelines

run and or connected LNB.

Note: may show fault if dB levels greater than 10dB are
encountered within the cable run.

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Software Download
Software Download

Web Site
Go to the following web site http://www.birdog.tv
Choose the Preconfigured Tab

Scroll Down to the DIRECTV preconfigured File

Note: The options below will only load onto the USB/USB plus
version 4 meter.
DTV SWM Histogram
DTV 101 & 119 dual display
Note: both the *.exe file and *.zip
contain the same data, some
computer networks will only work
for a *.zip file download.

You can select the DirecTV.exe file by clicking on it to begin

the software update process.

or
You can download the file to your computer desktop to enable
an update multiple BirDog meters.

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Software Download
Meter Updating

Note: Ensure the BirDog meter is fully charged before

proceeding
BirDog meters prior to the new USB version use a Serial Cable
to allow software updates, you must use a computer with a serial
port or a USB to Serial port converter must be used.

Click on the recently downloaded file

A dialog box will open

Choose the correct Serial COM port if the serial port is used or
choose the USB if the USB cable is used

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Software Download
Meter Updating
Choose Transfer to load the software, at completion of the
download a complete message is given

Meter Setup End

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BirDog Meter ODU Peaking

18 (101)

Note: Use these steps to peak an 18 (101) ODU.

Step

Action

1.

Using the Key Pad, press the OFF key

2.

Scroll down using the key pads down arrow key, set
RF to Linear and set BER to LOG by pressing the
right arrow key on each

3.

Using the key pad press the Up arrow key to Exit, press
the Right arrow key to turn the meter off

4.

Using the key pad press the On key

5.

Using the key pad press the Right arrow key until the
DTV Ka/Ku&3G 101 is selected

6.

Using the Q scale peak the ODU to the maximum

level possible using Elevation & Azimuth.
Ensure all bolts are tightened on the ODU.
Mast Clamp, Elevation, and LNB screws

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BirDog Meter ODU Peaking

KaKu SL5 & SL3

Note: Use these steps to peak a KaKu SL5 & SL3 ODUs.
Step
1.

Using the Key Pad, press the OFF key

2.

Scroll down using the key pads down arrow key, set
RF to Linear and set BER to LOG by pressing the
right arrow key on each
Using the key pad press the Up arrow key to Exit, press
the Right arrow key to turn the meter off
Using the key pad press the On key
Using the key pad press the Right arrow key until the
DTV Ka/Ku&3G 101 is selected
Using the Q scale peak the ODU to the maximum
coarse level possible using Elevation & Azimuth, then
tighten all mast clamp bolts.
Peak tilt for 119, using the key pad press the right
arrow key until the DTV Ka/Ku&3G 119 is selected,
peak to the highest level and then tighten tilt bolts.
Using the key pad press the right arrow key until the
DTV Ka/Ku&3G 101 is selected, continue with the
KaKu dithering process.

3.
4.
5.
Note: SL3 does not have 119
for peaking of tilt, preset tilt
settings as noted for your
specific area

6.

Follow the KaKu

dithering process

8.

Action

7.

7
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BirDog Meter ODU Peaking

KaKu SL5s & SL3s

Note: Use these steps to peak a KaKu SL5 ODU.

Step

Action

1.
2.

Using the Key Pad, press the OFF key

Scroll down using the key pads down arrow key, set
RF to Linear and set BER to LOG by pressing the
right arrow key on each
Using the key pad press the Up arrow key to Exit,
press the Right arrow key to turn the meter off
Using the key pad press the On key
Using the key pad press the Right arrow key until the
DirecTV SWM 101 is selected
Using the Q scale peak the ODU to the maximum
coarse level possible using Elevation & Azimuth, then
tighten all mast clamp bolts.
Peak tilt for 119, using the key pad press the right
arrow key until the DirecTV SWM 119 is selected,
peak to the highest level and then tighten tilt bolts.
Using the key pad press the right arrow key until the
DirecTV SWM 101 is selected, continue with the
KaKu dithering process.

3.
4.
5.
Note: SL3s does not have 119
for peaking of tilt, preset tilt
settings as noted for your
specific area

6.

Follow the KaKu

dithering process

8.

7.

7
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BirDog Meter ODU Peaking

SWiM Specific

101 & 119 Dual Display (SL5s LNB)

The 101&119 Dual display allows for both the 101 and 119
signals to be seen. This function can be accessed by pressing
the right key pad arrow key

Note: This option is only

available on the USB/USB plus
version 4 meters.
This option only works on a SL5s
LNB as well.

Histogram DTVSWM
The histogram function shows the SWiM frequencies in a bar
graph visual aid, these levels should be fairly level across all 8
channels as shown.

8 Channel
SWiM

Frequency

Channel 1

1076MHz

Channel 2

1178MHz

Channel 3

1280MHz

Channel 4

1382MHz

Channel 5

1484MHz

Channel 6

1586MHz

Channel 7

1688MHz

Channel 8

1790MHz

Possible SWiM Channel interference issues example:

End ODU Peaking

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