I have given up on US to Canada shipping. Too much frustration with customs, brokerage fees, excessive shipping time and excessive shipping charges. Luckily I live very close to the US and can ship to an address in the nearest US town and pick it up there. Have had no issues bringing things across the border myself; Canadian customs seems to work much better when you can deal with them directly, and US customs is always very professional.
GeosatPro Dual Standard LNB (SL2)
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Reminds me of the good old days when Ham Radio Outlet in CA would ship free to Bellingham, WA using Hold for Pickup on package. I'd take a short drive down from Vancouver, pick up package and be home a couple of hours later. Bellingham UPS even telephoned to me in Vancouver long distance at their cost to tell me when package had arrived. The 662 mile return trip to the Maine border doesn't make that a good idea anymore.
I received the package 21 days after order was placed, and 15 days after package was shipped from California. There was no HST (i.e. federal tax) or anything else owing on receipt. Not sure why that is. I just signed and walked the package out of the post office without having to pay anything.
I tried to mount one of the SL2 LNBs beside my existing Digiwave linear LNB, but I was not able to receive any signal from the SL2 no matter what I did. It seems linear LNBs may be fussier about exactly where they are mounted on the dish as compared with circular LNBs. I didn't play for too long since I wanted to see how the SL2 would perform.
So I can only rate the SL2 subjectively without being able to do an immediate comparison with my current LNB. Anyway, I am quite familiar with the performance of my current LNB over many months of using it. First impression of the SL2 is definitely good. I am seeing modestly higher quality numbers than I've ever seen before in many cases. For most sats from which you are already getting 65%, for example, getting 70+% isn't too important. But when trying to receive DVB-S2, you seem to need everything on your side. My real test were the LPB channels on 87W. Tonight I still don't have such a high quality number even using the SL2, but anyway visually all 3 channels of LPB are perfectly clear. I also notice that the Huntington Beach cam signals on 103W are as strong as I've seen them for some time. Also the Pentagon channel on 101W is again as strong as I've seen for some time.
I also notice that on 97W, all transponders are strong (70+%) instead of some being strong and others not so. In general, received signals on all sats seem more stable, i.e. the signal doesn't have such a wide variation in quality.
Perhaps conditions are good tonight. More likely the SL2 is performing better than my old Digiwave did. The SL2 is a keeper and its size surprised me by being so small. I also like the supplied dual rubber boot to protect the two connectors on the LNB. This is one positive step forward. I need to continue to reduce losses between my dish and receiver. Next step will be to try to remove 50 feet of RG-6 from the 200-foot run.
I tried to mount one of the SL2 LNBs beside my existing Digiwave linear LNB, but I was not able to receive any signal from the SL2 no matter what I did. It seems linear LNBs may be fussier about exactly where they are mounted on the dish as compared with circular LNBs. I didn't play for too long since I wanted to see how the SL2 would perform.
So I can only rate the SL2 subjectively without being able to do an immediate comparison with my current LNB. Anyway, I am quite familiar with the performance of my current LNB over many months of using it. First impression of the SL2 is definitely good. I am seeing modestly higher quality numbers than I've ever seen before in many cases. For most sats from which you are already getting 65%, for example, getting 70+% isn't too important. But when trying to receive DVB-S2, you seem to need everything on your side. My real test were the LPB channels on 87W. Tonight I still don't have such a high quality number even using the SL2, but anyway visually all 3 channels of LPB are perfectly clear. I also notice that the Huntington Beach cam signals on 103W are as strong as I've seen them for some time. Also the Pentagon channel on 101W is again as strong as I've seen for some time.
I also notice that on 97W, all transponders are strong (70+%) instead of some being strong and others not so. In general, received signals on all sats seem more stable, i.e. the signal doesn't have such a wide variation in quality.
Perhaps conditions are good tonight. More likely the SL2 is performing better than my old Digiwave did. The SL2 is a keeper and its size surprised me by being so small. I also like the supplied dual rubber boot to protect the two connectors on the LNB. This is one positive step forward. I need to continue to reduce losses between my dish and receiver. Next step will be to try to remove 50 feet of RG-6 from the 200-foot run.
Soundslike it was worth the wait, then. Informative thread-I'll be sure to listen to anyone I might have to send to in Canada , about methods, taxes,etc.
Cyberham,
It is really interesting that you were "not able to receive any signal from the SL2" which was mounted beside your existing, ("main") Digiwave. If you added SL2 on the "East" side of Digiwave, and - assuming - Digiwave was receiving 97 W, you should be able to catch signal from SL2 on which signal from 101 W was focusing - providing, the SL2 was also about 5/8" higher than Digiwave. But your goal was, I believe, to compare these two LNBs on the same source. However, one LNB, sitting in privileged pure focus, would have advantage over other LNB, sitting in a "focus" with a little coma. Therefore, swapping the LNBs in the same "seat" would be the best test, what you did. I realize that swapping LNBs on a 8-foot tower is not much fun, anyway. Cheers, polgyver
It is really interesting that you were "not able to receive any signal from the SL2" which was mounted beside your existing, ("main") Digiwave. If you added SL2 on the "East" side of Digiwave, and - assuming - Digiwave was receiving 97 W, you should be able to catch signal from SL2 on which signal from 101 W was focusing - providing, the SL2 was also about 5/8" higher than Digiwave. But your goal was, I believe, to compare these two LNBs on the same source. However, one LNB, sitting in privileged pure focus, would have advantage over other LNB, sitting in a "focus" with a little coma. Therefore, swapping the LNBs in the same "seat" would be the best test, what you did. I realize that swapping LNBs on a 8-foot tower is not much fun, anyway. Cheers, polgyver
@ turbosat: I could have bought these LNB from a Toronto store and received them probably 18 days faster. But then that store wouldn't have given me the great deal that SatelliteAV did! It was worth the wait since the performance of the LNB is better compared with what I was using. I think, however, when I order the microHD, I'll do via a Canadian store, just in case I ever need to return it for service.
@ polgyver: I added the SL2 on the west side of the existing LNB, as close to the existing LNB as physically possible and with mouth of SL2 at same height (that may have been an error) and distance. I created a separate satellite configuration so when I selected this "Geo satellite configuration" the SL2 would be used. I could then independently move the motor so I could zero in on the desired satellite signal being received by the SL2 without affecting the signal being received by the existing LNB when I selected it. This arrangement works for the circular LNB which I have mounted to the east side of my existing linear LNB. I think I could have got this all working if I had played around more, especially if watching the signal on a display simultaneously while at the dish moving the LNB around. But I was kind of keen to just get the system working. Sunny days are still few so I need to use outdoor time efficiently. Working on the dish on the short mini-tower is convenient while I stand on a ladder: no problem.
Regardless, it is obvious after a few days of use that the SL2 is working better than my previous LNB. It is still obvious that night time signals are strongest, whether this is due to lower air temperature or whatever. People who normally receive 90% quality likely wouldn't notice this.
@ polgyver: I added the SL2 on the west side of the existing LNB, as close to the existing LNB as physically possible and with mouth of SL2 at same height (that may have been an error) and distance. I created a separate satellite configuration so when I selected this "Geo satellite configuration" the SL2 would be used. I could then independently move the motor so I could zero in on the desired satellite signal being received by the SL2 without affecting the signal being received by the existing LNB when I selected it. This arrangement works for the circular LNB which I have mounted to the east side of my existing linear LNB. I think I could have got this all working if I had played around more, especially if watching the signal on a display simultaneously while at the dish moving the LNB around. But I was kind of keen to just get the system working. Sunny days are still few so I need to use outdoor time efficiently. Working on the dish on the short mini-tower is convenient while I stand on a ladder: no problem.
Regardless, it is obvious after a few days of use that the SL2 is working better than my previous LNB. It is still obvious that night time signals are strongest, whether this is due to lower air temperature or whatever. People who normally receive 90% quality likely wouldn't notice this.
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