From:	MAMAXWELL -(MAMAXWELL)	TO:	ALL

Date Posted:	201999-19-1 11:04:00
Message: Body:	I just purchased a 4DTV receiver and have heard that its a good idea to change out my C band LNB which is an older 25 degree model.. Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations on what to get? Some people tell me that I need a very stable $250 Norsat Gold model. Others say a $59 Cal Amp 17 deg. is fine. What do you think? THANKS!! Martin

Date Posted:

201999-19-1 11:04:00

Message:
Body:

I just purchased a 4DTV receiver and have heard that its a good idea to change out my C band LNB which is an older 25 degree model..

Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations on what to get? Some people tell me that I need a very stable $250 Norsat Gold model. Others say a $59 Cal Amp 17 deg. is fine.

What do you think? THANKS!!

Martin

From:	trackerlee -(LEETRACKER02)	TO:	MAMAXWELL

Date Posted:	201999-20-1 12:01:00
Message: Body:	Trackerlee C Band News and Info forum. Since you asked: NorSat 8515,to get a good Digital Lock on the 4DTV Digital Channels. You pay more in price for this LNB compared to a standard LNB,but you won't have the lack of Digital Lock that some standard LNB's have. The old saying is: you get what you pay for,buy a cheap LNB and have problems in a short time,or pay a little more and get better results.(g) trackerlee

Date Posted:

201999-20-1 12:01:00

Message:
Body:

Trackerlee C Band News and Info forum.

Since you asked:

NorSat 8515,to get a good Digital Lock on the 4DTV Digital Channels.

You pay more in price for this LNB compared to a standard LNB,but you won't have the lack of Digital Lock that some standard LNB's have.

The old saying is: you get what you pay for,buy a cheap LNB and have problems in a short time,or pay a little more and get better results.(g)

trackerlee

From:	Pelopas Kiatou Korinthias -(PELOPASK)	TO:	MAMAXWELL

Date Posted:	201999-20-1 12:27:00
Message: Body:	your LNB is fine. Mine is the same and works fine on all digital channels. pelopas@iname.com Phoenix

From:	DRLev -(DRLev)	TO:	MAMAXWELL

Date Posted:	201999-20-1 3:02:00
Message: Body:	Before purchasing a new LNB you may want to see if your present LNB works with the receiver. It probably will.

From:	Kjam0039 -(KJAM39)	TO:	MAMAXWELL

Date Posted:	201999-20-1 1:44:00
Message: Body:	I purchased a 4DTV receiver last year from Skyvision. I also purchased a 17 degree lnb from them cause they told me I needed it to bring in the digital channels. I already had a 35 degree lnb. They said the lower , the better picture quality. To make a long story short, the picture was not any better with the 17 degree lnb than with the 35 degree one. I guess it's just a matter of opinion.

From:	telliott4 -(telliott4)	TO:	Kjam0039

Date Posted:	201999-20-1 5:09:00
Message: Body:	>>>>To make a long story short, the picture was not any better with the 17 degree lnb than with the 35 degree one. I guess it's just a matter of opinion.<<<< It's not just a matter of opinion, but it also isn't a simple linear relationship where a lower number always produces a better picture. If your picture was sparklie-free with the 35° unit, then the 17° unit will just give you more margin for error, e.g. rainfade, all other things being equal. Tom

Date Posted:

201999-20-1 5:09:00

Message:
Body:

>>>>To make a long story short, the picture was not any better with the 17 degree lnb than with the 35 degree one. I guess it's just a matter of opinion.<<<<

It's not just a matter of opinion, but it also isn't a simple linear relationship where a lower number always produces a better picture. If your picture was sparklie-free with the 35° unit, then the 17° unit will just give you more margin for error, e.g. rainfade, all other things being equal.

Tom

From:	DHILLIARD -(DHILLIARD)	TO:	MAMAXWELL

Date Posted:	201999-20-1 6:46:00
Message: Body:	Hello Martin, Your 25 degree LNB will likely work fine. I switched from a 40 degree Norsat to a fifteen degree Norsat. I noticed an improvement on the analogue signals on the weak birds C1 & S4, but no improvement on the digital channels including HBO on G1. Hope this helps. Dave

Date Posted:

201999-20-1 6:46:00

Message:
Body:

Hello Martin,

Your 25 degree LNB will likely work fine.

I switched from a 40 degree Norsat to a fifteen degree Norsat. I noticed an improvement on the analogue signals on the weak birds C1 & S4, but no improvement on the digital channels including HBO on G1.

Hope this helps.

Dave

From:	W0KIE -(W0KIE)	TO:	MAMAXWELL

Date Posted:	201999-21-1 4:07:00
Message: Body:	After checking all the Norsat and Calamp specs and reading MechTech's unofficial test email I decided the very best LNB for ME was the 17 deg, super low phase noise, lower drift CalAmp Pro model. Two hundred and something from Skyvision 1-800-500-9275. You can read about all the CalAmp models at http://www.calamp.com and Norsat at http://www.norsat.com as I remember. I'm NOT impressed with Norsat specs compared to CalAmp specs. The Norsat "digital ready" specs didn't seem very digital ready to me. All that said, the el-cheapo C band CalAmp mini-mag isn't all that bad for a 4DTV and mine withstood lighting, rain etc. etc. over a number of years. The mini-mag is drifty however. The 4DTV could track its drift but I preferred an LNB that would do better tracking. I want nothing but the very digi-best for my BUD-Lite and 4DTV.

Date Posted:

201999-21-1 4:07:00

Message:
Body:

After checking all the Norsat and Calamp specs and reading MechTech's unofficial test email I decided the very best LNB for ME was the 17 deg, super low phase noise, lower drift CalAmp Pro model. Two hundred and something from Skyvision 1-800-500-9275. You can read about all the CalAmp models at http://www.calamp.com and Norsat at http://www.norsat.com as I remember. I'm NOT impressed with Norsat specs compared to CalAmp specs. The Norsat "digital ready" specs didn't seem very digital ready to me.

All that said, the el-cheapo C band CalAmp mini-mag isn't all that bad for a 4DTV and mine withstood lighting, rain etc. etc. over a number of years. The mini-mag is drifty however. The 4DTV could track its drift but I preferred an LNB that would do better tracking. I want nothing but the very digi-best for my BUD-Lite and 4DTV.

From:	MAMAXWELL -(MAMAXWELL)	TO:	W0KIE

Date Posted:	201999-21-1 4:39:00
Message: Body:	THANKS for the suggestion! In talking with some other people on this group and a couple other satellite related newsgroups etc.. I went with a Cal-Amp mini-mag last night which I purchased from a dealer who is also a member here..it seems to work fine on analog C band.. he assured me that he uses them on his own 4DTV, and that it should work fine and last from 2 to 4 years.. If it does and the 4DTV works fine with it then I will be happy.. If not, well this dealer seemed like a very knowledgable and reputable sort, so I am confident that if I have problems he will help me sort them out. On a personal note, I sincerely appreciate ALL of the help, advice and different opinions I have received from all of you on this subject. I am sure it must get kicked around here every few months, but for us newbies it is VERY comforting to know that you are all out there and we can share our experiences with each other.. Thank you!! Martin (N7TUP, Phoenix.)

Date Posted:

201999-21-1 4:39:00

Message:
Body:

THANKS for the suggestion! In talking with some other people on this group and a couple other satellite related newsgroups etc.. I went with a Cal-Amp mini-mag last night which I purchased from a dealer who is also a member here..it seems to work fine on analog C band.. he assured me that he uses them on his own 4DTV, and that it should work fine and last from 2 to 4 years.. If it does and the 4DTV works fine with it then I will be happy.. If not, well this dealer seemed like a very knowledgable and reputable sort, so I am confident that if I have problems he will help me sort them out.

On a personal note, I sincerely appreciate ALL of the help, advice and different opinions I have received from all of you on this subject. I am sure it must get kicked around here every few months, but for us newbies it is VERY comforting to know that you are all out there and we can share our experiences with each other.. Thank you!!

Martin (N7TUP, Phoenix.)

From:	DHILLIARD -(DHILLIARD)	TO:	W0KIE

Date Posted:	201999-21-1 4:56:00
Message: Body:	My mini mag lasted 18 months and was off frequency by 4 mhz :( Warranty return to Calamp could be better in my opinion too. You must call for a return authorization number and send $8 for shipping and handling to receive a refurbished replacement. Hope it lasts longer then the original. As for Norsats, when I had ku installed, the dealer used a cheap Norsat Ku lnb. This was similar and probably identical to the ProBrand LNB's. It died after 30 months. I wrote Norsat and thold them about it. They replaced it with a Norsat Gold 6600 with a 5 year warranty at no charge. That's pretty good service in my book. Dave

Date Posted:

201999-21-1 4:56:00

Message:
Body:

My mini mag lasted 18 months and was off frequency by 4 mhz :(

Warranty return to Calamp could be better in my opinion too. You must call for a return authorization number and send $8 for shipping and handling to receive a refurbished replacement.

Hope it lasts longer then the original.

As for Norsats, when I had ku installed, the dealer used a cheap Norsat Ku lnb. This was similar and probably identical to the ProBrand LNB's. It died after 30 months. I wrote Norsat and thold them about it. They replaced it with a Norsat Gold 6600 with a 5 year warranty at no charge.

That's pretty good service in my book.

Dave