What Norsat LNB is best?

paulvr

SatelliteGuys Family
Original poster
Dear friends,
since a long time I use a Chapparal OMT in which I use one Norsat 8515 LNB that has a 15 K noise figure. The other is from an Indian firm using the name of the formerly renowned US company Gardiner.
Considering to replace the latter by another Norsat I assumed that it might be good to use a somewhat newer and therefore supposedly better but what I just find out while reading the specs of other more expensive types, be it with greater frequency stability or PLL-based, that they mostly indicate a 20K noise figure.

For me sensitivity is of greatest importance. Since C-Band streams have been introduced I discover a.o. on SES 5 (5E) and Eutelsat 10 (10E) that my 10 ft Unimesh dish seems to underperform in that area while doing great with regular transponders. There doesn't seem to be a relation to the bandwith that is used so I tend to go for sensitivity over stability but perhals I'm wrong by this assumption?

I also note that a sample of the 8515 that is sold new on Ebay now states that it's noise figure is 20K and even one that states that it's noise figure is between 15K and 30K.

What should I conclude? It seems hardly likely that Norsat isn't able anymore to produce the same noise figures as before. Could it be that there is no difference and that the 15K indication from before was overly optimistic? Why would it be that an LNB that's sold for double the price has a less good noise figure? And what role plays the PLL built? I only have experiences with an Octagon universal Ku-Band PLL LNB but found it to perform less well than my regular Black Ultra LNB. That experience made me doubt the value of PLL very much. In C-Band I have no experience with PLL-based LNB's.

In any case, considering my limited resources, would it be advisable to simply purchase another used 8515 at hopefully a bargain price (if anyone has one for sale please PM me) or is there a Norsat model that would perform very notably better than the 8515 @ 15K?
 
Anything Norsat will be good. Don't get too excited about noise figures and gain. Those are somewhat play numbers that different manufacturers get different ways.
I have had old 25 degree lbs out perform cheap Chinese units with much lower noise figures.

Sent from my 14.4 K dialup connected IBM Think Centre
 
Thank you very much for your reply. Given the fact that the Norsats with greater stability with or without PLL are much more expensive while I don't use the C-Band dish dor narrow band SCPC radio, is there any advantage for me to buy those more expensive types or would you say that i might as well settle for a simple second hand 8515 model like the one I already have?
 
I have two 3M perforated dishes with OMT feeds. One has Norsat 8515 DRO LNBs and the other has Norsat 3220 PLL LNBs. The PLLs need more power than the DROs. I don't really appreciate the difference between the two. Get another 8515 :)
 
When I do installs for broadcast I normally use Norsat 3220's. The only failure I've had is when the last guy didn't waterproof the F connector.
 
Thanks very much. I guess it will probably be the 8515 which in brandnew condition seems to be the best thing offered on ebay. The Norsat is well over double the price in the same new condition. I only know of ebay.com. Heard of craigslist.org but I just saw that is subdivided in a zillion different sites depending on location (to get mine would be Reno, NV but there I see no Norsat offers.)
 
...Heard of craigslist.org but I just saw that is subdivided in a zillion different sites depending on location (to get mine would be Reno, NV but there I see no Norsat offers.)

paulvr, check out these sites for searching multiple locations simultaneously on Craigslist:

SearchTempest: Search all of Craigslist nationwide & more

Search Craigslist by state along with eBay and more.

You might also checkout Fak(c)ebook Marketplace, a lot of stuff is sold on that venue also.
 
Yes, the 8115's are good, but apparently discontinued. Though I've seen new old stock on Ebay for around $100 something. They use much less power than the pll versions.
 
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