Signal Meter software?

[Mugsy323]

I need some simple "signal strength" software to help me properly align my outdoor antenna.

Unfortunately, the only such software I've found is ONLY for Hauppaugh tuners, and that isn't what I'm using. I've just purchased an "antenna rotator" to adjust the direction of my antenna for the best possible reception for each channel (no more sacrificing a few stations because they just happen to be coming from the wrong direction.) Because of this, simply going by "which direction picks up the most stations" isn't what I need.

The signal strength indicator built into WMC isn't terribly useful, since it doesn't show the affects of adjustments in real time, and only shows the strength while scanning ALL channels.

Does anyone know of any decent signal strength software that'll show me in real time the best position(s) for my antenna?

[sub]

Unfortunately each and every device manufacturer do it a different way. Low level signal information, like bit error rate etc, as shown in the Hauppauge Signal Monitor, relies on manufacturer specific custom APIs, so there isn't really a simple utility you can download for this purpose.

[scJohn]

Maybehttp://www.coolstf.com/tsreader/

[Mugsy323]

Unfortunately each and every device manufacturer do it a different way. Low level signal information, like bit error rate etc, as shown in the Hauppauge Signal Monitor, relies on manufacturer specific custom APIs, so there isn't really a simple utility you can download for this purpose.

Thanks for the reply.

However, since WMC (supposedly) reports "Signal Strength" while scanning all channels regardless of tuner make/model, I would think a "universal" signal strength meter app would be possible.

[sub]

There is a generic API for getting the high level 'strength' and 'quality', but even those are fairly inconsistent, with some manufacturers using different ranges, or some returning hard coded values - some always returning zero, some always returning 100 in the presence of any signal (regardless of good or bad).

[cebess]

Any updates on this issue? I just need to move my antenna around in the new house and see where the signals are best (my house is like a big faraday cage) so signal strength measurement is key.
My USB Tuner is a AVerMedia Hybrid Q

[martinu]

TS Reader reports signal strength and quality as it scans a chosen multiplex, but depends on the tuner giving this information. No information is displayed for my Hauppauge Win-T Nova-T tuner, but it is reported for my PCTV 292e tuner. I used it when diagnosing why an extra length of aerial cable, inserted when I moved the TV and PC to the other side of the room, caused some muxes to disappear (answer: because the cable was about as useful as a piece of wet string and severely attenuated some UHF channels - the cable has been consigned to the dustbin and a replacement has been bought).

The problem with TSReader (the free version, anyway) is that it needs to be closed and restarted to take a new reading, either from the same mux or a different one, so it wouldn't give a live feedback of signal strength as you rotate the aerial.

You might find an aerial amplifier helps boost the signal to a level that the tuner needs (or you may find it amplifies noise as much as signal). I found that with a weak signal, the tuner reported a strength of 0, even though the quality was fairly good - some tuners are a bit weird. An external, roof-mounted aerial will almost certainly be better than a loft- or room-mounted aerial, because it is higher and the signal isn't attenuated by walls or by roofing tiles. My previous house had plasterboard internal walls that were lined with metal foil, and the roofing felt on the tiled roof was the same, as the aerial installer found, though he was able to get a good enough signal by means of a huge loft-mounted aerial and a powerful amplifier (there was a clause in my house deeds that prohibited roof-mounted aerials).

[JEF]

Have you tried using the signal strength meter on your TV. It worked for me - it had a 2 second delay but by moving the aerial slowly it was not a problem.