SIGNAL vs QUALITY

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8valve

SatelliteGuys Family
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Oct 13, 2010
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Adirondack Mts
What is the Signal bar showing, what is the Quality bar showing. You can have a very high signal level and yet a very low quality level. I would like to understand what each term is telling me. Thanks 8Valve
 
simple answer
signal strength doesnt really mean anything
quality is what matters

Honestly all signal strength tells you is when you have a LNB hooked up and if you're near a satellite (any satellite) but that depends on the receiver model. My Pansat signal strength will jump when I'm near the satellite but others wont do that. But like I say, quality is all you need to work with :)
 
simple answer
signal strength doesnt really mean anything
quality is what matters

Honestly all signal strength tells you is when you have a LNB hooked up and if you're near a satellite (any satellite) but that depends on the receiver model. My Pansat signal strength will jump when I'm near the satellite but others wont do that. But like I say, quality is all you need to work with :)

Ok, thanks for the info. Based on that, I presume both the signal and quality are signal strength indications. With the Signal being a Low Q wide bandwidth indication to let you know your somewhere near a bird, not looking at the moon. And the Quality is a High Q narrow bandwidth indication to aid in final tuning. I wonder if LNBF aimed at a Microwave oven would register a signal reading LOL ! Guess it depends on the design of Q. 8Valve
 
As far as I know, the signal strength reading is proportional to the signal amplitude from the LNB, just as you'd expect, and the signal quality reading is proportional to the number of bits recovered from the signal.

A microwave oven would probably generate a noticeable signal. I once attended a lecture by a SETI researcher, Dr. H. Paul Shuch (who by the way also invented a fundamental part of solid-state LNB technology) who demonstrated unintentional electromagnetic radiation with an 18" dish and an analog signal meter pointed at a fluorescent light!
 
Signal is the receiver's reaction to feedback from the lnbf at the frequency assigned. You will get electrical feedback if you put your lnbf in a trash can and cover it up.
Quality refers to the actual transponder reception itself, taking into account background noise, ability to recover the entire datastream thru FEC correction, etc . It's analagous to Signal to Noise Ratio . More signal, less noise = better quality .
The Signal bar is telling you that your cable is , indeed, attached to an lnbf, and the lnbf is responding to the LO frequency you entered. Quality bar is telling you that you are locking data from the selected transponder, maybe not enough for faultless display, but locking data nonetheless.
 
i like analogies. think of it as sound. signal ='s volume. quality ='s clarity. you can be loud and distorted or quiet and clear and vice versa.

crackt out,.
 
8VALVE,

Here is some additional information that will help you.

When you are speaking of the signal level reading, you are reading multiple noise signals and the actual satellite signal (if aimed at a sat properly). The LNBF's amplifier section generates its own noise level - this is just inherent electronic noise. Background radiation from the earth, most solar activity and other terrestrial and non-terrestrial interference sources add into this noise level as well.

This signal level is important to you as it is an indication of system health, although it has less to do with the actual satellite signal reception. If you read zero or a near zero signal level, then you have a problem that will disallow you from reading any signal quality from the satellite signal.

These problems could be an open cable, a dead LNBF or a LNBF parameter that is set incorrectly.

The QUALITY level reading is very pertinent to the actual signal level from the satellite itself. It is basically the difference between all the extraneous noise signals and the actual satellite signal. The stronger the actual satellite signal is and the weaker the ambient or extraneous noise "floor" is, the greater the signal quality reading will be. However, both readings must be within the receivers operating range.

Check out some of the informational videos found here:

Applied Instruments - Educational Videos

RADAR
 
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