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Excellant Satelite Meter

5.0

Purchased XR-3 base meter w/XR-TS2-01 module. lo use para ajustar mi antenna de SKY Mexico 1 , exelente equipo el unico detalle que no hay instrucciones, yo investige por mi cuenta para ajustar mi antenna de SKY Mexico 1

jerry on Aug 09, 2019 I found this helpful (0)

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Excellant Satellite Meter for RV'ers

5.0

Purchased XR-3 base meter w/ XR-TS2-01 module. Really appreciated the 2-Day ship. Un-packaged and charged it. Noticed on very clear color display that amps tapered as % charge went up. Installed "Flashupdate" on Windows 10 PC and updated meter. Great instructions on the site Only one file was new. Birdog Ultra, I have used, does not even compare, like comparing a Yugo and a Rolls Royce. Your extra $175 dollars, over a New Birdog, are well spent. Located well written manufacturer's instructions for DirecTv Slimline SWM SL5s LNB and within minutes located 101w and soft key verified the satellite. No question on which satellite you are on. Peaked the dish on a tripod and got all green checks on TV screen. Tailgaters and RV'ers that have a need to setup a portable dish will be well served.

Verified Purchase David S on Jul 19, 2018 I found this helpful (2)

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Amazing meter

5.0

Upgraded from a SuperBuddy 29 to this beasty. It does everything the old SuperBuddy did and more, with the ability to add different modules.

Verified Purchase Kenn on Feb 26, 2018 I found this helpful (0)

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Excellent Tool at a Reasonable Price

5.0

I purchased the XR-3 and XR-CA-01 module to conduct product tests for a manufacturer. I exclusively use the meter in ATSC mode and the proof of performance reports have simplified documenting product tests. It does a good job analyzing ATSC signals and when used as a service tool, it is quite impressive. A few commercial antenna systems remain in operation and perhaps more are coming back on line as cord cutters seek free TV. The XR-3 is ideal for moving about a large building, from the roof top antenna to the customer's HDTV. The meter defaults to the signal level/MER display on power-up so you can quickly locate where in the system the ATSC signal fails. I like the rubber protectors and space between the key pads as it makes it right for operation wearing gloves. No need to carry a small TV to prove matters. All the information you will need is available on the meter. I have used a variety of RF test tools for ATSC. All were several thousand dollars greater in cost than the XR-3. The spectrum display of the XR-3 is good for capturing spectrum traces to memory but not useful for real-time viewing. Not surprising for a product in this price range and really not an issue. The spectrum traces are great when viewed later on a PC to identify TV signal issues. The replaceable F jack is located well at the top of the instrument and allows space for larger RG-11 connectors. The meter has two options for display background and both are usable in bright sunlight.

Steve on Sep 22, 2017 I found this helpful (0)

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Probably the best meter out there

5.0

Having used a variety of satellite meters over the years, from the cheap $10 strength meters to a Birdog Ultra, all of them were either limited in what they could do, or very "clunky" to operate. I haven't had that much chance to use this yet, other than connecting it to my Dish Networks dishes and downloading updates. My only complaint about the update software is that the drivers are not signed, and the workaround for that is rather painful. However, I will give Microsoft the blame for that. They should have an "install anyway" checkbox rather than simply refusing to install. Once installed, the updater is very simple and easy to use. The most complex part of setup is choosing the appropriate LNB/Switch options, but again, the blame for that lies at the feet of Dish Networks. At least this equipment gives all the options! Not cheap, but in my opinion, well worth the money.

Verified Purchase PJP on Mar 01, 2017 I found this helpful (0)

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Applied XR-3 Modular Test Instrument Base

5.0

Great Unit. Easy to use, setup and program. Simple operation. Recommend.

Danny on Dec 11, 2016 I found this helpful (0)

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Applied Instruments XR3 base unit

5.0

I have used the Satlook NIT, the BirDog USB plus, and now the Applied Instruments XR3. I have OFFICIALLY retired the first 2 in lieu of the XR3...this unit works WAAAAAY better than those 2 for what I need in a sat meter. It's great for daylight (bright sun) use; the screen is BRIGHT and contrast makes it very readable. Coupled with any of the drop-in XR modules and easy programming, this is a nice unit, and worth the investment. By the way, if you get this unit, I would go the Applied Instruments website and subscribe to their (FREE) "XR-3 Software Update Notification List". Then you'll be notified when your XR3 unit or module has an update available to download via the Flash Update or MeterMaid program. The USB port is not where I would have preferred, as it's a little cumbersome to plug in the bottom of the meter (as is the DC jack), but overall it's a NICE unit! I hope the future ETHERNET port on the bottom will be just a simple plug-in module, to supplement USB. Print the user manuals for the XR3, and your preferred plug-in module, and read them several times, to familiarize yourself with the various functions...it will save you time and frustration later. Would definitely recommend the XR3!

datamanager on Jun 01, 2016 I found this helpful (8)

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Hard to find ATSC SLM, but needs improvement

3.0

The correct recommend should be "neutral".

I don't know what it is with these T&M manufactures. They don't seem to think the ATSC format is important enough to include in any SLM type of meters. One can count the ones available on one hand. Thankfully, Applied Instruments does.

Pros:
1. ATSC measurements (not just QAM)
2. Price
3. Constellation diagram (but see below)
4. Signal level & MER readings on the main screen.
5. Separate input modules
6. Decent documentation (but little on reading the Constellation Diagram, especially ATSC)

Cons;
1. 'Odd' outer side protection. It's not even a full slip-in case (see below)
2. Not designed for 'bench' use (see below)
3. Power/charge & USB jacks on the bottom (see below)
4. Membrane buttons hard to push & system slow to respond to input (press too fast, you get a letter instead of a number)
5. There is room for the BER reading in the main screen instead of switching back & forth
6. Display could be larger, wasted space of the 'border' area
7. Hard to read constellation diagram due to the very fine 'dots' in the pattern. So is the BER reading that's crammed in the upper right corner
8. Spectrum display "painfully" slow making it almost useless even with the narrowest span and fastest sweep
9. Can't charge the unit without it being in a low power 'on' state
10. Very high pitched continuous tone when the display is dimmed (bench use)
11. No soft button shortcut for Constellation Diagram while in ATSC mode (see below)

Notes:
This has to have the most unorthodox outer enclosure I have ever seen or try to use. I surely can't call it a “case” because it's not. Instead of a typical case, where you 'slip' the device in, this arrangement is actually two half's that are more like 'bumpers' than anything else. While I get what their purpose is, it's overkill.

Nothing on the back or bottom. It's bulky and severely restricts use on the bench. You can remove these 'rubber bumpers', but you would need to design a 'stand' to hold this (which I did) to use on the bench (which shouldn't be the case). There is no solid reason to restrict this to 'field use'.

Placing the power & USB ports on the bottom makes easy access out of the question. There is plenty of room internally for them to be on the side.

The spectrum displays fastest sweep speed is six seconds according to A.I. That is an eternity, even by standards 20 years ago. This uses an ARM processor (though I don't know which one).
That “RF Explorer” as inexpensive as that is, their slowest sweep is two sweeps per second.

videobruce on Mar 14, 2016 I found this helpful (3)

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Nice

5.0

Purchased prior to HughesNet changing LNB on 2watt 1M Dishes.

Seems the new LNB is not compatible with BirDog at all, and this XR-3 does have LNB options which worked Perfectly.

Highly recommend over BirDog.

Anonymous on Sep 02, 2015 I found this helpful (0)