@rabbit73, welcome and thanks for contributing here. I envy you a bit... access to quality instruments is a huge benefit. For those who can't afford or simply can't justify the expense of a calibrated signal level meter, the SiliconDust HDHR may be a viable option.
http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=820. The more expensive ($300 list) HDHR-tech offers calibrated level and digital specific diagnostic measurement capabilities.
Because the HDHR accepts manual tuning, it lends itself to 'signal hunting' application as you've suggested in your post.