inline signal meter for ka ku dish ?

[bucks_fan]

I just upgraded to the hr20 in my family room, and; therefore upgraded my dish to one of the behemoth 5 lnb dishes. I have the dish up and all the coax run, but I have not aligned or peaked the dish yet. I was wondering if it is absolutely necessary to have an in-line meter. If so, what is the cheapest meter that I can get away with using to do the job. I have installed an old single lnb dish and a triple lnb with no trouble, but I am not a pro and don't really want to invest in a birddog or even the accutrac....any ideas from you pros?? Thanks in advance!

[Mark Lopez]

While you 'might' be able to get by without the meter, you would most likely have a lot of problems every time it rains. This is because the Ka signal is so much more narrow. To properly peak the dish, you need to find the exact center.

While not the cheapest meter, I used this (http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=SACUTRACPRO) one.

There are some videos here (http://www.solidsignal.com/satellite/at9_install_videos.asp) that explain it all (specifically part 3).

[bucks_fan]

Thanks, I guess I will end up breaking down and getting one of those meters or call an installer that has one. I don't know which way would be better... a meter may serve me better down the road in case I need it again.