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Any recommendations for/against any particular LNBFs?
The "redheads" seem to be popular on this forum. I finally figured
out that this was referring to the techsat tracker II which I found
on ebay for about $20 each. Any reason that these are popular?
Ebay has alot of $10+freeship LNBFs that are probably offbrand
something or other. The picture on one of the listings shows the
brand as ROC. Are any of these ultra cheap LNBFs any good?
I also noticed that there is a group buy for the GEOSATpro C2
which I believe is for C-band. As over 50 of them have already
been vouched for, I'm assuming they would be recommended as
well. Any reason that these are popular?
Any other recommendations for/against any particular LNBFs?
The "redheads" seem to be popular on this forum. I finally figured
out that this was referring to the techsat tracker II which I found
on ebay for about $20 each. Any reason that these are popular?
Ebay has alot of $10+freeship LNBFs that are probably offbrand
something or other. The picture on one of the listings shows the
brand as ROC. Are any of these ultra cheap LNBFs any good?
I also noticed that there is a group buy for the GEOSATpro C2
which I believe is for C-band. As over 50 of them have already
been vouched for, I'm assuming they would be recommended as
well. Any reason that these are popular?
Any other recommendations for/against any particular LNBFs?
5 Replies
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1653 views
Couple of years ago, I bought a 6-pack of $6.95 LNBs.
They worked pretty well.
So, I sent one to another member who was making some experiments.
He thought they were fine, and got his own 6-pack.
They're in service on his roof, now.
The people who've bought the red LNBs seem to report they work well.
I find 'em ugly, but if they were green I might not complain (little lizard joke, there).
If you look in our Hardware Review section, there is a review of an Invacom LNB.
Based on that, I bought one several years ago.
They seem to have a strong reputation, and I've not seen that tarnished.
I got the SNH-031 single output unit, but there is a very popular QPH-031 with multiple outputs (see specs for more info).
For some applications you'll need a Universal or Standard.
For other uses, you might need a dual-output or bandstacked LNB.
In those instances, other products come to light.
Sadoun has a popular dual output model, and SatelliteAV just introduced their very small SL-2.
Both are favorably commented on by users.
In the C-band arena, you might get into a fight over the best way to go.
For those of us with limited budgets, who lack the drive to have bragging rights for the best signal, here are some currently popular units:
- BSC-421 single output LNBF
- CK-1 dual-band C & Ku, single output LNBF (at two suppliers)
- B1-stack, C-band only, Eagle Aspen bandstacked
- C2 dual output, C-band only
There may be applications which dictate for or against any of the above, and those conditions make take priority over cost.
(though, all the above are modestly priced)
And the reason for the C2 being so attractive right now is a short story.
It seemed to work well, but didn't sell all that well.
So, the supplier removed it from his product list.
Well, with no other source for a dual-output C-band unit, members here went on a hunt to find one.
We didn't so well, and I guess it came to the attention of the previous importer.
He's now made a special buy to fill the demand.
We have the -best- gold sponsors at this forum! -
They worked pretty well.
So, I sent one to another member who was making some experiments.
He thought they were fine, and got his own 6-pack.
They're in service on his roof, now.
The people who've bought the red LNBs seem to report they work well.
I find 'em ugly, but if they were green I might not complain (little lizard joke, there).
If you look in our Hardware Review section, there is a review of an Invacom LNB.
Based on that, I bought one several years ago.
They seem to have a strong reputation, and I've not seen that tarnished.
I got the SNH-031 single output unit, but there is a very popular QPH-031 with multiple outputs (see specs for more info).
For some applications you'll need a Universal or Standard.
For other uses, you might need a dual-output or bandstacked LNB.
In those instances, other products come to light.
Sadoun has a popular dual output model, and SatelliteAV just introduced their very small SL-2.
Both are favorably commented on by users.
In the C-band arena, you might get into a fight over the best way to go.
For those of us with limited budgets, who lack the drive to have bragging rights for the best signal, here are some currently popular units:
- BSC-421 single output LNBF
- CK-1 dual-band C & Ku, single output LNBF (at two suppliers)
- B1-stack, C-band only, Eagle Aspen bandstacked
- C2 dual output, C-band only
There may be applications which dictate for or against any of the above, and those conditions make take priority over cost.
(though, all the above are modestly priced)
And the reason for the C2 being so attractive right now is a short story.
It seemed to work well, but didn't sell all that well.
So, the supplier removed it from his product list.
Well, with no other source for a dual-output C-band unit, members here went on a hunt to find one.
We didn't so well, and I guess it came to the attention of the previous importer.
He's now made a special buy to fill the demand.
We have the -best- gold sponsors at this forum! -
I like my Red Turbosat LNB 
It's a lifesaver for picking up the PBS muxes on AMC 21 on a 31" dish as well as the various NBC stuff without having to go outside to tilt the LNB to account for the weird skew. It took the PBSes from a chirpy 45% to solid 60% on my Fortec.
The one major caveat is that it's standard only, so if you want to try and get Cubasat or a cool feed shows up on PAS 9, you won't be able to get it. If you can find a cheap/used/free Universal .4 LNB, you can use that as a backup.
It's a lifesaver for picking up the PBS muxes on AMC 21 on a 31" dish as well as the various NBC stuff without having to go outside to tilt the LNB to account for the weird skew. It took the PBSes from a chirpy 45% to solid 60% on my Fortec.The one major caveat is that it's standard only, so if you want to try and get Cubasat or a cool feed shows up on PAS 9, you won't be able to get it. If you can find a cheap/used/free Universal .4 LNB, you can use that as a backup.
Universals are manufactured in large quantity for use in Europe, so importing them is a no-brainer... and they're often cheaper.
Standards, are not a world-wide standard, so they may cost more.
A lot of people who don't know the difference, buy what's available.
Standard LNBs are favored by many advanced users (for other technical reasons).
No, see the Switches Simplified FAQ for more info.
Often we start out with a single receiver and maybe a few dishes.
As our systems grow, we often want more receivers.
It's an addictive hobby. -
At that point, many users do a wholesale change-out of their siingle-output LNBs for dual output LNBs.
Is that a reason to plan for the future?
No, not really.
I think one reason was to simplify switching.
Both of multiple LNBs and to multiple receivers.
It also lets you run a higher voltage over longer distance to increase the total cable length.
Dish Network uses bandstacked LNBs for all of these reasons.
Bandstacked is not too common in FTA setups, mostly because users are not familiar with the equipment.
The forum has done a fair job of discussing the technology and popularizing it over the last several years.
It's perfectly okay to ignore the entire bandstacked concept.
In fact, the Switches Simplified FAQ did not deal with it.
A parallel would be: "I want to paint landscapes. Should I use watercolor, acrylic, or oil-based?"
Answer? "Any will get the job done if all you want to do is paint. Watercolor is good to start out with, and may be all you'll ever use."
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Cutting Edge
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!
So let the game continue!
The last song was added by Bobby who posted...
One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters
CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!
Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game
Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.
Example:
Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow
Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio
Another example:
Ride the Lightning -- Metallica
Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne
Get it?
An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
So let the game continue!
The last song was added by Bobby who posted...
One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters
CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!
Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game
Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.
Example:
Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow
Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio
Another example:
Ride the Lightning -- Metallica
Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne
Get it?
An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
68695 Replies
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2682045 views
After having continuing trouble with my eight+ year old Dell Inspiron laptop I am looking to hopefully catch a good deal on new one. My options to buy is Costco and Sam's Club. It seems like a lot of new laptops are 2 in 1 which I do not need. I use the laptop to mainly surf the web and keep up with my finances, money and bills. I would like to have at least a 15" screen and having a touchscreen is a plus. The keyboard would need to lighted also. I don't game any. It would have to be Windows instead of and not Mac. The brands I see the most are Asus, Dell and HP. My two last laptops has been Dell's. Of these brands are there any standouts over the other brands. My budget (hopefully) is $600+-. Also while researching I noticed that do not have ethernet ports.
7 Replies
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99 views
Pub Member / Supporter
America’s Fastest-Growing EV State Isn’t California—Not by a Long Shot
New data shows electric vehicle adoption is increasingly driven by state policies, electricity prices and charging access—not federal incentives
www.autoweek.com
The number-one US state for EV growth, according to the June 22 Yardi report?
Oklahoma.
It has no ZEV mandates and "minimal" incentives, Yardi says, but also has cheap electricity, high multi-car household rates (so, for example, a non-Lightning Ford F-150 pulls their trailers), and a consumer base willing to switch.
118 Replies
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1191 views
tomwellborn3rd (@wellborn.net)
This author has chosen to make their posts visible only to people who are signed in.
bsky.app
Never realized that Tesla is losing to BYD at manufacturing too, which IMO is Tesla's biggest accomplishment and area of innovation. Nice writeup about the state of play and how we got here though. I have no faith that we're moving any productive direction though sadly, most changes and efforts feel reactionary rather than rooted in making use of the time being bought by tariffs, with few exceptions.
So: how are the cars so cheap, and what is being cut to get there? The best public accounting comes from the Rhodium Group, which compared BYD, Geely, and Leapmotor against Tesla's Chinese operation, a fair comparison because it removes labor costs and shipping from the equation entirely. Their estimate is that BYD builds a car for about $4,700 less than Tesla builds a Model 3 in Shanghai, roughly 15 percent of the Model 3's price. The breakdown is the interesting part. Direct government grants account for about $292 per vehicle, which is 5 percent of the gap. The biggest single factor is vertical integration: BYD makes about 80 percent of its top-tier components in-house, against 37 percent for Tesla, and that eliminates roughly $2,369 per vehicle in supplier markups. Lower overhead, meaning cheaper engineering talent and administrative cost spread across enormous volume, accounts for another $1,719. And BYD pays its suppliers on 155-day terms, against Tesla's 60, which is worth about $214 per car in float. When people say the Chinese advantage is subsidies, the per-vehicle number says otherwise. When people say it is slave wages, the Tesla Shanghai comparison says otherwise too. The advantage is mostly that BYD decided, twenty years ago, to make its own batteries, its own motors, its own power electronics, and its own semiconductors, and Western automakers decided the opposite.
GM Is Coming for Tesla, Rivian, and China, on Your Phone and in the Car
GM’s latest tech preview details autonomous highway driving plans, AI-powered OnStar features, and new LMR batteries for future EVs.
GM said its next-generation vehicle architecture will provide 40 times more computing power and 30 percent less wiring than before and will expand from the 2028 Cadillac Escalade IQ to its high-volume SUVs, trucks, crossovers, and fourth-generation EVs, which will be powered by lithium manganese-rich (LMR) prismatic batteries
Despite the politicization and perceived consumer pivot away from EVs in America, GM needs to remain globally competitive, so it's doubling down on its fourth generation EVs, with energy-dense, cheaper-to-manufacture LMR batteries, more efficient motors, and state-of-the-art centralized computing architecture. With a stated goal of cutting the traditional four- to five-year concept-to-production time in half, GM is clearly challenging the concept of "China speed," which in the Chinese automotive industry can be as quick as 18 months from design to start of production. In the AI space, GM is smartly collapsing all of its marque-specific apps under the familiar OnStar brand, while providing more features—both on the phone and in the car—than it ever has before.
T
That's how Ford did it- vertical integration. He even set up a rubber plantation in S. Americatomwellborn3rd (@wellborn.net)
This author has chosen to make their posts visible only to people who are signed in.
Never realized that Tesla is losing to BYD at manufacturing too, which IMO is Tesla's biggest accomplishment and area of innovation. Nice writeup about the state of play and how we got here though. I have no faith that we're moving any productive direction though sadly, most changes and efforts feel reactionary rather than rooted in making use of the time being bought by tariffs, with few exceptions.
So: how are the cars so cheap, and what is being cut to get there? The best public accounting comes from the Rhodium Group, which compared BYD, Geely, and Leapmotor against Tesla's Chinese operation, a fair comparison because it removes labor costs and shipping from the equation entirely. Their estimate is that BYD builds a car for about $4,700 less than Tesla builds a Model 3 in Shanghai, roughly 15 percent of the Model 3's price. The breakdown is the interesting part. Direct government grants account for about $292 per vehicle, which is 5 percent of the gap. The biggest single factor is vertical integration: BYD makes about 80 percent of its top-tier components in-house, against 37 percent for Tesla, and that eliminates roughly $2,369 per vehicle in supplier markups. Lower overhead, meaning cheaper engineering talent and administrative cost spread across enormous volume, accounts for another $1,719. And BYD pays its suppliers on 155-day terms, against Tesla's 60, which is worth about $214 per car in float. When people say the Chinese advantage is subsidies, the per-vehicle number says otherwise. When people say it is slave wages, the Tesla Shanghai comparison says otherwise too. The advantage is mostly that BYD decided, twenty years ago, to make its own batteries, its own motors, its own power electronics, and its own semiconductors, and Western automakers decided the opposite.
Booredatwork.com
Time for another AWESOME video from BoredAtWork!
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ZqaME0_3Ev8
Direct YouTube Link - Xbox 25TH anniversary Controller
Booredatwork.com Website
Booredatwork on Facebook
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ZqaME0_3Ev8
Direct YouTube Link - Xbox 25TH anniversary Controller
Booredatwork.com Website
Booredatwork on Facebook
0 Replies
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10 views
Who says dinner or lunch has to be the only good meals of the day?
Honey butter grits with scrambled eggs and grilled boneless pork ribs on flakey biscuits washed down with cranberry juice.
Honey butter grits with scrambled eggs and grilled boneless pork ribs on flakey biscuits washed down with cranberry juice.
6637 Replies
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380424 views
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
This should hit a lot of folks with a dose of reality. I can only imagine how much more common this will get as AI progresses.
I read several stories on this and most are clear as mud. They say a lot of the stolen bitcoin has been "locked out" and that everyone will be made financially whole. I guess time will tell if either of these statements are actually true.
www.cnbc.com
I read several stories on this and most are clear as mud. They say a lot of the stolen bitcoin has been "locked out" and that everyone will be made financially whole. I guess time will tell if either of these statements are actually true.
Hackers steal $6.3 billion from Binance in biggest-ever cryptocurrency theft
The company later added it began recovering assets impacted by the breach after pledging to cover losses using its Secure Asset Fund for Users.
www.cnbc.com
15 Replies
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232 views
Linus Tech Tips
Time for another AWESOME video from Linus Tech Tips!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9IOdTisQyM
Direct YouTube Link - GTA 6 on PC May be Coming Sooner than We Thought
Linus on Facebook
The LTT Store
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9IOdTisQyM
Direct YouTube Link - GTA 6 on PC May be Coming Sooner than We Thought
Linus on Facebook
The LTT Store
0 Replies
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9 views
Supporting Founder
Patrick Stewart died yesterday, October 28th at the age of 86. We lost yet another great actor. 
www.hollywoodreporter.com
Patrick Stewart, ‘Star Trek’ Captain and ‘X-Men’ Superhero, Dies at 86
He’s forever known for playing Jean-Luc Picard and Charles Xavier, whom he “admired for their morality, for their kindness, for their sensitivity, for their compassion.”
www.hollywoodreporter.com
11 Replies
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194 views
Over the past few weeks, I have had problems connecting to streaming services (Netflix, HBO et al). When I go to the TV's native Channels, I have no problem. The Dish internet troubleshooter shows I have a good internet connection. I'm wondering whether it's an issue with my internet provider or a problem with the Dish software on the Hopper Plus. Anyone else seeing this?
8 Replies
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428 views
Lifetime Supporter
Looks like dish is Bankrupt. Filling tomorrow Tuesday June 30th
430 Replies
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14509 views
News about the tower's dispute-
Towercos now own Dish's 5G radios – and SpaceX might be a buyer
Tower companies now own Dish's deserted 5G gear, says American Tower CEO Steven Vondran. This could feed into SpaceX's mobile ambitions, analysts say.
www.lightreading.com
News about the tower's dispute-
Towercos now own Dish's 5G radios – and SpaceX might be a buyer
Tower companies now own Dish's deserted 5G gear, says American Tower CEO Steven Vondran. This could feed into SpaceX's mobile ambitions, analysts say.www.lightreading.com
So does this mean the churches and businesses that Dish owes back payments to are going to get paid now?
