Signal meters

Hi,
Can anybody tell me what is the function of satellite signal meters. I want to detect signal strength for a particular transponder, can anyone help me in this. All suggestions are welcome

Most (probably all) cheap satellite signal meters are merely wideband RF detectors, they cover the entire satellite spectrum and thus are not much use for measuring the strength of an individual transponder. There are solutions, but I don't know of any cheap or simple ones. There are ways of modifying tuner modules from set-top boxes or PC cards.
What exactly are you trying to do?