The 1000 Dish should be tuned in on the 129 with the DP dual. You will find that the skew and elevation printed in the manual are not always correct. These numbers are theoretical GUESSES made by Echostar's (Dish Network's) design engineers. They have not been tested in the field in every area, as that would be too costly. Dish and Direct are infamous for designing and manufacturing equipment before they have done sufficient product testing. That's why there are SO many RA's and disco's due to faulty equipment. You'll have to play with the skew and elevation in your area to determine the correct look angles. Start by pointing the dish looking for the 129. Also, remember that the 129 is the western most satellite you're looking for.
Now Bird Dog vs. Sat Hawk vs. CM analog. The Sat Hawk is a nice meter to have IF you are into installing off air antennas, but most satellite techs are not. The Bird Dog is what you should invest in as the technology is changing. You're going to soon see new dishes rolled out by Dish that are similar to Direct's KaKu dish. If you're having problems now with the 1000, which is just looking at three satellite locations, you'll have even more trouble with the 1000+ or 1000.2+, which is getting ready to roll out within 14 days or so. Invest the $400 and buy the Bird Dog. After you get it and start using it in the field, you'll wonder what you ever did without it. Hope this helps. Keep us posted.
