Which Ku FTA Receiver Brand Do You Prefer?

[IA6Newspath]

As I've been reading through the various receiver reviews and trying to decide on which receiver would work be the best choice for me if I were to purchase an FTA system, so far I think I've been drawn the most to the Pansat 3500 receiver...reasonably priced with a good number of features, plus I think aesthetically the box itself looks the best of all comparably priced receivers. However, other receivers in the same price range (under $200) also seem to be excellent choices as well, so at this point I'm still debating which would be the best selection for a first receiver which would be used with a 76cm dish and motor. That said, and not necessarily specific to the Pansat 3500, of all the major FTA Ku receiver manufacturers available, which is your favorite, and why? It seems that each brand has its own unique quirks or charactersitics...some good, some bad...so of these unique characteristics from one brand to another, which are helpful and which tend to be more of a nuisance? Finally, are any of the major receiver manufacturers better about providing firmware upgrades than others?

 

[Shawn95GT]

I think starting out with with just about any of the current model FTA receivers is a crapshoot as to which is better than the other. It all depends what you need / want.

I prefer the Coolsat and I honestly think it's because it's what I started with and got comfortable with. I later picked up a 3500s and everything just felt wrong. People that have had Pansats from the beginning will be right at home with a 3500s. The new Fortecs and the Traxis seem to have stepped right up with their current offerings. Any of these would be an excellent starter box.

I prefer the Coolsat's menu layout and just it's usability. It isn't without it's quirks but it just feels natural to me.

Firmware updates aren't too big of a deal unless something is broken on the receiver.

 

[Das Hammer]

I had a 3500, and it was pretty nice. I could save the channel list on the SD card and take it downstairs to the computer to edit rather than dragging the entire box down there. I don't believe you'll be disappointed.

Also, the Pansats are one of the few (if not the only) receivers out there that have the capability for an upgrade to UHF remote. I don't know if this is a necessity for you.

The Pansats are also one of the only ones out there that have the ability to control a polarotor for skew. This probably isn't a requirement for you since you're asking about Ku only.

If you're on a budget, the Traxis 3500 is a sweet deal. It has blind scan and usually can be found for around $90 (or less) shipped.

 

[Mr Tony]

I have worked with alot of receivers in the last year so here are my thoughts

Pansat 3500-
-Menu's are pretty easy to work with (I had a 1500 so its just like that)
-Can be UHF remote controlled with the additional option
-Very good blind scan
-AC-3 output
-The drawback is the blind scan is pretty slow. It gets everything but has been known to hang on transponders

Coolsat 5000-
-Easy to work with menus
-Various blind scan modes (select a range, fast, detail)
-Very fast blind scan
-big buttons on remote
-AC-3
-quality meter shows when you change channels, no need to bring it up
-drawback is quality meter is kinda goofy. 82 is the max it goes (whereas others go up to 99) and it seems low is 63

Buzz
-very simple menus (they use simple terms)
-fast blind scan and detail blind scan
-lots of info on screen
-easy to setup
-motor option is one button regardless of where you are. No need to go into menus to find motor options
-Drawback is fast scan misses a LOT of tranpsonders. Detail is a little slower than Coolsat detail but faster than the Pansats

Fortec Classic
-easy to understand menus
-satellites are alphabetized in setup (which can be good or bad)
-when you blind scan, existing transpnoders are in blue new are white (lets you see the stuff that is new)
-remote is real easy to work with
-Blind scan and AC-3
-Drawback is blind scan is slower than other units (but it does find everything) and when you blind scan a satellite and is complete, it only shows that satellite. you have to hit "satellite" and go to All sats


Honestly you can't go wrong with any of the above I posted. All have good and bad points. There are other units out there but they have drawbacks like no blind scan and can be a pain in the butt for newbies to set up (heck there was one that I had issues with and I've worked with FTA for 3+ years now and probably 15 receivers)

 

[jollyrgr]

My nickle's worth questioin. I've been dealing with the simple receivers mostly so I could get clean signals for the networks such as UPN, WB, etc. while enjoying other channels as well. When NASCAR is on NBC I can get a CLEAN signal of the race as well since my local of NBC is quite noisy.

But now I want to get a receiver with a BLIND SCAN feature. Is the Traxis 3500 worth $75 (new)? What are the various receivers and the associated clones that are decent in this regards (blind scan)?

Thanks In Advance!!!

 

[Mr Tony]

The 3500 is a good reciever. Pete has donoe a review on it. he likes the blind scan

Some clones are good but watch out for ones that heat up too qucikly