LNBs - Which of these is best?

[linuxman]

Went and picked up the dish today from the guy where I got the DSR-922 last week.

I think I might have gotten a bonus with the dish besides all the previous bonus' I might have gotten with that deal already.

The dish is the same as I am currently using with my 4DTV. A Perfect 10 - 7.5 footer. This one is actually in better shape than the one I currently have. Almost new like reflector, but that is a fall project.

It also came with what I think is at least one outstanding LNB.

On my setup currently, I have a Chaparral 20K C-Band LNB, and an Eagle Aspen .6db Ku LNB.

I got a Norsat C-Band LNB, and an Echostar LNB with the dish today already installed on a Co-Rotor.

I also have some other LNBs that I got from the former satellite dealer's wife a while back.

Here are some pics of the LNBs to choose from. Remember, I am trying to squeeze the last drop of signal out of this 7.5 foot dish.





I am thinking about switching out the whole Co-Rotor, and perhaps making some changes in the LNBS.

Is the Norsat you see above, that much better than the Chaparral 20K I already have?

Which of the Ku LNBs do you think I should use, the Eagle Aspen that I have currently installed, the Echostar you see pictured, or the Gardiner you see pictured?

All opinions and comments would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Fred

 

[linuxman]

I just talked to Norsat, and the guy in support said that it was considered a model 5215 consumer quality LNB.

He says he has one just like it that has been on his dish since 1989. It has a LO stability of + or - 900 Mhz.

So I guess I will give it a shot over my Chaparral.

Just need some opinions or comments on the Ku LNBs I mentioned above.

Fred

 

[gabshere]

i feel like they are almost equal in all aspects except the temp so the 15 should perform slightly better, are you planning on installing it with or with out the elbow. have heard of some not using the elbows for a few points gain. and since its a small size lnb you can probable get away with it.

 

[linuxman]

Hey George.

I always take the elbow out since I first read that trick here almost a year ago.

I can't find much info on the Echostar or the Gardiner Ku LNBs above.

I already tried one of the low stability LNBs I got from you a while back, and the Eagle Aspen seemed to just as good a job as the low stab ones did.

I'm hoping someone will have some info on these other two Ku LNBs.

Fred

 

[gabshere]

yeah the chap & the eagle are going to be hard to beat.
want me to send you a norsat ku so you can match up the set

 

[linuxman]

HeHe!!

You're the best George. Always wanting to help someone out.

That's not necessary. For what Ku that's available on the 4DTV, one of these will more than likely be fine, or I will just leave the Eagle Aspen on there.

I am kind of excited about the prospects of changing this dish out in the fall. If you remember, I got a brand new in the box polar mount for a Perfect 10 dish a while back. If I take the reflector I got today, and put the new polar mount on it, I can have a practically new dish.

Unless I find a very good quality 8 or 8.5 footer in the mean time.

Fred

 

[linuxman]

Didn't get much response, so I did my own experiment.

I had asked about the LNBs above and which one was best, but after getting on the roof yesterday afternoon, I discovered that I had swapped the Eagle Aspen out and put a Cal-Amp .6 Ku LNB in it's place. The Eagle Aspen is being used on my Pinnacle. So the Ku LNBs above were not used.

Below are some random C-Band digital channels which I may or may not be subscribed to from my DRS-920 using the Chaparral 20K I had put on there originally, the Norsat above, and the Norsat with the elbow. Whether the channels can actually be seen or not, they still provide a signal to check. I have also included a couple of analog channels that are hard to clear up for one reason or another.

After putting the Norsat on, the feed-horn cover wouldn't fit on, so I took the readings and left it off overnight, and put the elbow in place this morning to see if there was a difference.

The satellites, channels, and readings are listed below:

C4 (AMC 10) 135W Chaparral Norsat Norsat/w/el
channel 120 ----- 84Q ----- 86Q ----- 86Q
channel 581 ----- 80Q ----- 84Q ----- 80Q

G1 (G15) 133W
channel 17 TI filter on some sparklies - clean - clean
channel 100 ----- 44Q ----- 44Q ----- 35Q
channel 115 ----- 31Q ----- 43Q ----- 41Q
channel 150 ----- 80Q ----- 80Q ----- 80Q

G5 (G14) 125W
channel 100 ----- 88Q ----- 90Q ----- 83Q
channel 600 ----- 80Q ----- 84Q ----- 80Q

W4 (AMC4) 101W
channel 16 - some sparklies - clean - some sparklies

T5 (G25) 97W
channel 600 ----- 26Q ----- 34Q ----- 32Q

T6 (G26) 93W
channel 600 ----- 25Q -----26Q ----- 26Q

GB (G11) 91W my TS satellite
channel 402 ----- 50Q ----- 65Q ----- 50Q

The Ku is doing fine. If you remember when I first setup this dish, I could hardly find the test card on AMC2. It now comes in with no sparklies or quivering. Almost clear. There are 2 digital Ku channels East of GB (G11), the one gets pretty good signals, but the other is pretty weak.

So, the results show that the Norsat 5215 does a better job than the Chaparral 20K LNB. It seems a little strange that some channels are not affected by the elbow at all, some a small change, and some a huge change.

I have been reading the thread about whether to leave the feed-horn cover off or not, but I haven't made up my mind. If I left it off, I would see a small gain by taking out the elbow.

I had another thought last night, but haven't decided whether to do that or not either. I am thinking about switching the coax and wiring to allow the 4DTV to control and receive from the Birdview, and the Pansat to control and receive from the 7.5 foot Perfect 10 dish.

That seems like a lot of trouble to just find out if an 8' 3 inch dish will make that much difference in signal, but it would allow me to discover if the 7.5 footer is living up to it's potential.

Switching the wires around is not a lot of trouble, but reprogramming in all the satellites and positions would take some time.

Thoughts and comments please?

Fred

 

[dfergie]

I didn't see this thread till now, but the 06 should be better than the 0.8 and 1.0 ku lnb's...

 

[linuxman]

Thanks dfergie,

I read where you had a birthday recently.

Hope you had a great day!

Fred

 

[gabshere]

i see your having fun again , must be cause of some rain cooled days
i think i love working on a dish as much as i like trying to tune in the channels. its kinda funny cause i really don't like to watch a bunch of channels but i do like finding stuff lol . have a great weekend.

oh btw

Below are some random C-Band digital channels which I may or may not be subscribed to from my DRS-920 using the Chaparral 20K

are these reading the #'s the 4dtv puts out level & one signal Quality ? thanks

 

[linuxman]

Hey George,

Yes it has been a little cooler here in the mornings and evenings the last 3 or 4 days. Still gets a little warm on the roof in the afternoons.

I'm like you. I would rather tinker than watch. HeHe

are these reading the #'s the 4dtv puts out level & one signal Quality ? thanks

These reading are from the adjust picture, or the satellite setup menu in the 4DTV where it has signal at the bottom on the left, and quality on the bottom right. These are the quality readings.

Fred

 

[gabshere]

ok thats what i thought
i suspect i have't got my dish or lnbf tuned properly even though i get pretty good signals , none near what you get. but i'm using a 7 1/2 ft dish

g11 (gb) 401 47%
g26 (t6) 600 14 %
g14 (g5) 100 83-90% flucuating back and forth

just comparing some numbers lol

 

[linuxman]

This dish is a 7.5 footer too.

What are you using for the LNB?

What kind of dish?

Fred

 

[gabshere]

its the 7.5 unimesh and the bsc621 i think i have los problems going past 127 , my signal drops off but its also bad at the other end of the arc ( around 74) so i also suspect my welding job isn't quite level. i will prem a new mounting pole for a reset later in the summer or closer to fall , my 10 fter is almost ready to put back online the motor is ready just no coax run yet. plus i would like to find a bigger dish too
12 , 14 or 16 fter

 

[linuxman]

plus i would like to find a bigger dish too 12 , 14 or 16 fter

HeHe!

I will be happy if I can find a good quality (precise reflector, mesh or solid) that is 8 to 8.5 feet.

Most of them around here are 7.5 foot or smaller, or 10 foot or larger. Not many 8 footers.

Fred

 

[dfergie]

Thanks dfergie,

I read where you had a birthday recently.

Hope you had a great day!

Fred

Wasn't Bad

 

[linuxman]

Great!! Everyone should have a good Birthday Day!

While I am playing with numbers, I figured I would go a step or two further.

I have had a new BSC211 sitting here since I put up the Pinnacle. I wasn't satisfied with it when trying to tune in that dish, but this is a little different. There is no tuning involved. Just put the LNB in place, and see what the numbers are. I have added the BSC211 numbers to the right of the table. Tomorrow morning, I am going to try an Eagle Aspen SLT and see what it does. These numbers are without the elbow installed.

C4 (AMC 10) 135W Chaparral Norsat Norsat/w/el BSC211
channel 120 ----- 84Q ----- 86Q ----- 86Q ----------- 85Q
channel 581 ----- 80Q ----- 84Q ----- 80Q ----------- 78Q

G1 (G15) 133W
channel 17 TI filter on some sparklies - clean - clean - clean
channel 100 ----- 44Q ----- 44Q ----- 35Q ----------- 45Q
channel 115 ----- 31Q ----- 43Q ----- 41Q ----------- 40Q
channel 150 ----- 80Q ----- 80Q ----- 80Q ----------- 79Q

G5 (G14) 125W
channel 100 ----- 88Q ----- 90Q ----- 83Q ----------- 78Q
channel 600 ----- 80Q ----- 84Q ----- 80Q ----------- 76Q

W4 (AMC4) 101W
channel 16 - some sparklies - clean - some sparklies - some-spark

T5 (G25) 97W
channel 600 ----- 26Q ----- 34Q ----- 32Q ----------- 30Q

T6 (G26) 93W
channel 600 ----- 25Q -----26Q ----- 26Q ----------- 27Q

GB (G11) 91W my TS satellite
channel 402 ----- 50Q ----- 65Q ----- 50Q ----------- 53Q

I was very surprised by the numbers on the BSC211. I think it equals the Chaparral 20K LNB. The only satellite and channels it fell way off on was G5 (G14).

I also learned something by this experiment. Don't judge an LNB while tuning in a dish. Judge it on a tuned dish for performance and then decide if it is good or not.

Will post more tomorrow.

Fred

 

[linuxman]

Well, drop your drawers and grab your linen.

The Eagle Aspen SLT 17K LNB did a very good job in my test. I couldn't believe the numbers this LNB put out.

Here is the chart again with the EA to the far right:

C4 (AMC 10) 135W Chaparral Norsat Norsat/w/el BSC211 EA-SLT
channel 120 ----- 84Q ----- 86Q ----- 86Q ------ 85Q ------ 86Q
channel 581 ----- 80Q ----- 84Q ----- 80Q ------ 78Q ------ 84Q

G1 (G15) 133W
channel 17 TI filter on some sparklies - clean - clean - clean - clean
channel 100 ----- 44Q ----- 44Q ----- 35Q ------ 45Q ------ 46Q
channel 115 ----- 31Q ----- 43Q ----- 41Q ------ 40Q ------ 42Q
channel 150 ----- 80Q ----- 80Q ----- 80Q ------ 79Q ------ 82Q

G5 (G14) 125W
channel 100 ----- 88Q ----- 90Q ----- 83Q ------ 78Q ------ 85Q
channel 600 ----- 80Q ----- 84Q ----- 80Q ------ 76Q ------ 82Q

W4 (AMC4) 101W
channel 16 - some sparklies - clean - some sparklies - some-spark - some-spark

T5 (G25) 97W
channel 600 ----- 26Q ----- 34Q ----- 32Q ------ 30Q ------ 28Q

T6 (G26) 93W
channel 600 ----- 25Q -----26Q ----- 26Q ------- 27Q ------ 29Q

GB (G11) 91W my TS satellite
channel 402 ----- 50Q ----- 65Q ----- 50Q ------ 53Q ------ 64Q

I would rate the Eagle Aspen SLT 17K LNB as being better than the Chaparral 20K, and very close to the numbers of the Norsat 5215 15K LNB. It also has the added benefit for me, that it fits in my feed-horn without using the elbow.

I am going to use the Eagle Aspen on this dish, and save the Norsat for my family's setup on the DSR-922 (yes I decided to give them the newer one) as soon as I can get a mount fabricated or found. Hopefully it will fit inside the feed-horn of their dish.

This has been an un-scientific test, conducted by a non-professional, with care and time taken to allow as much tweaking of skew, E/W movement to get peak numbers from each LNB on each and every channel tested.

I would like to ask those of you who have the DSR-920 and who are using it on a 7.5 foot up to an 8.5 foot dish of any kind, to reply with your numbers on these channels for comparison. Please include what Feed-horn/LNB you are using.

Thanks,

Fred

 

[linuxman]

Well I guess numbers aren't everything.

The Eagle Aspen has a pixelation that shows on the screen every few minutes even on very strong signal channels.

I would guess that means it is not stable enough for the 4DTV. Might work ok on DVB signals, but not on DCII signals, so I guess this one is out, and a modification of the feed-horn is in order and back to the Norsat.

Fred

 

[linuxman]

Put the Norsat back on without the elbow, and all is well again.

It's a shame about the Eagle Aspen.

Now all I have to do is explore taking the feed-horn cover off completely and all that task involves.

Fred