Norsat 5150 vs 3120

[Andyboy90]

As some of you may know that I am in middle of a c band dish installation process. I am buying necessary parts such as lnb, controllers, etc. I will be placing an order for the ASC1 in the next few days and have decided on this feedhorn ADL C-band Feedhorn Feed Horn SAPM90 C Band cband PM90 | eBay (cheapest decent option available). I am confused about the LNB part. Norsat 3120 has better stability whereas 5150 has more gain. I read on a different forum that 3120 is usually recommended for a commercial setting on a fixed dish and might not work as good as a 5150 on a moving dish. Is this true?

 

[Magic Static]

I use both DRO and PLL Norsats. In certain situations the DRO will be more sensitive but the PLL is more stable. The biggest Issue I had deciding between the two is the power consumption. The PLLs need a lot more power than the DROs.

 

[Andyboy90]

I use both DRO and PLL Norsats. In certain situations the DRO will be more sensitive but the PLL is more stable. The biggest Issue I had deciding between the two is the power consumption. The PLLs need a lot more power than the DROs.

I am not worried about the power consumption because that can be easily solved by adding a power inserter like the one directv uses. My question is for an average Joe like me who is in fringe reception area for almost every C band beam would the 3120 be any better than the 5150?

 

[iccoldbeer]

Both lnb in op are pll. I have pair of 5150f on a ortho feed they have performed ok. Choice was made because of cost, needed a pair for the ortho but if i was purchasing a single for a feed with skew probably would have choose 3120. I could not go with feed like that have too many tuners and receivers to have hands tied with single polarity at a time.

 

[iccoldbeer]

Your choice of feed is very nice and infinitely adjustable with asc1. But if purchase is not made yet put some consideration into orthomode as I hear Alberta is very cold and polarizer for polarity and skew commonly fail, perhaps not the case with lower humidity in west. But here I don't think i have single functioning polarizer on any of my collection of old feeds.

 

[iccoldbeer]

1 last comment in regard to op. I saw no gain improvement with 5150f over dro only more stability enabled lock on 16apsk feeds with not alot of error correction that I was not able to reliably lock prior. Many claim stronger signal but I didn't see it in back to back db comparison. Only larger reflector = stronger signal

 

[Andyboy90]

Your choice of feed is very nice and infinitely adjustable with asc1. But if purchase is not made yet put some consideration into orthomode as I hear Alberta is very cold and polarizer for polarity and skew commonly fail, perhaps not the case with lower humidity in west. But here I don't think i have single functioning polarizer on any of my collection of old feeds.

Thanks for the feedback. You are correct about the colder temps so I will start looking for orthomode feedhorn.

 

[tdti1]

Yes a orthomode feedhorn would give you the best reception. Though keep in mind, the dish size and dish/feed alignment is critical. 3120 is a very nice lnb with a very solid LO stability level, but it's pricey...