Norsat C-band lnbf

lme

lme

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Currently I have an old Norsat lnb installed on my corotor 2 system (see bellow pic):
10'-4Norsat5200G.webp
I'm looking at replacing it with a Norsat 5150 RF PLL lnb, but I'll have to use an elbow to install it as to be able to cover the hole corotor system with the plastic cone.
Any inputs about this new Norsat ?
 
I have not tried one yet but I plan to order either a 5150 RF or an ESAT 2022-150 off ebay. The ESAT is $20 cheaper. (I need to compare the specs more first)
I have a cheap Chinese lnb that started to fail yesterday.
 
I also found this DRO, (i forgot about it) a friend gave it to me long time ago:

10'-17Norsat8115.webp
I'll try it when the weather improves...
 
lme said:
I also found this DRO, (i forgot about it) a friend gave it to me long time ago:
I'll try it when the weather improves...
Click to expand...

Looks like that 8115 has better Temp and Stability specs than the 8525RF I just bought.

BUT: The 8525RF only does 3.7 - 4.2 GHz. As I understand it, the 8000R series has terrestrial interference rejection to reduce interference below 3.7 GHz. So that is a plus at some locations.

The 8000/8000RF series is discontinued. I searched for a better 8000RF model, but 8525RF seems to be the best of the 8000RF series remaining in stock.

Hope it works well for you and I look forward to reading your results. :th_hi5:
 
Well, DRO doesn't do any good: loosing ~3dB, maybe due to the elbow i need to insert it, so i can fit the cover over.
I'm back to my old lnb from post #1.
 
While you had the cover off, did you test the DRO without the elbow?
That way you would have an idea how well the DRO works without an elbow. (for future reference)

BTW: My 8525RF was due today.... but got 'delayed' in New Jersey. Whatever that means. Maybe the foreign country of NJ has Customs. lol
 
When comparing pll and dro lnbs, there should be little if any signal difference provided the lnbs are of same or similar quality. A pll may perform better than a dro in instances where the signal is weak and narrow. The signal difference between a dro and pll should be similar on satellite transponders with video.

Providers named DishNetwork, Bell, Shaw, and Direct all use dro type lnbs. All of these providers would switch to pll type lnbs if there were a great signal advantage to them.
 
el bandido said:
When comparing pll and dro lnbs, there should be little if any signal difference provided the lnbs are of same or similar quality. A pll may perform better than a dro in instances where the signal is weak and narrow. The signal difference between a dro and pll should be similar on satellite transponders with video.

Providers named DishNetwork, Bell, Shaw, and Direct all use dro type lnbs. All of these providers would switch to pll type lnbs if there were a great signal advantage to them.
Click to expand...

I suggested testing the DRO (without elbow) because a friend gave it to him long ago, and was probably of unknown condition.

My 8525RF arrived, installed, and in testing today.:D

Edit. Forgot to add: My 8525RF is replacing the same model lnb (8115) that Ime just had up. So far the 8525RF seems slightly better at locking that darn Panamericana channel. Time will tell.
 
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no elbow Vu+ gets same sig strenght as my very old norsat, but osmio shows same lower values as with the elbow.
So I'm back to my old norsat as i do not see any improuvements from dro.
 
lme said:
no elbow Vu+ gets same sig strenght as my very old norsat, but osmio shows same lower values as with the elbow.
So I'm back to my old norsat as i do not see any improuvements from dro.
Click to expand...

Well that suks.
But at least you now know that your 8115 isn't much good even as a spare.

lme said:
I don't know, but my vu+4k can open channels with 20-30% signal, but osmio has snowee pic while showing 60% sig!!!
Click to expand...

My OS MIO would lock the Panamericana channel on 116W even when the cheap Chinese receivers couldn't.

On the other hand

When using a Titanium C238 lnbf : The OS MIO would lock hardly any channels BELOW 3800MhZ. (as expected)
BUT The Cheap receiver would still lock many channels below 3800Mhz. Down to about 3700MhZ best I recall.
Go figure!
 
Last edited:
lme said:
I don't know, but my vu+4k can open channels with 20-30% signal, but osmio has snowee pic while showing 60% sig!!!
Click to expand...

20-30% signal on your Vu+ equals what exactly? You can't compare signal percentages between two receivers and expect to have any idea how much stronger or how much better reception a receiver has.

You can compare reception between two receivers where one receiver is able to open a channel correctly while a different receiver cannot open the same channel, or opens it with error(s). But even doing this test is not an absolute proof one receiver is superior to the other, or one tuner is superior to the other because of variables. Almost always, without fail, a receiver that has a single antenna will have a bit better reception than another receiver that has two or more antenna connections.
 
"Almost always, without fail, a receiver that has a single antenna will have a bit better reception than another receiver that has two or more antenna connections."
This explains why the tuner of osmio is less sensitive.
I did read one review about this tuner showing lower SNR compared with other boxes (not mentioned in the review).
 
el bandido said:
What signal/satellite you are comparing???
Click to expand...

My 10' dish has a good view of the arc from 30W to 135W, and trees blocking 125w & 127w.
edition finds few (~3) tps with snr at 15db or over. if the it senses a snr ~5db there is no signal, whereas vu finds a signal and/or pic.
 
Ime... That sounds pretty conclusive, at least in your specific circumstance.

Maybe you got a weak OS Mio... an exceptional Vu... or some other variable in your system. There's a bit of magic to these electronic doodads that often leaves me scratching my head.

Or maybe the Vu is just more sensitive in general.

All I can say... If it works best for you, go with it! :bigthumbup:
 
armadillo_115 said:
Ime... That sounds pretty conclusive, at least in your specific circumstance.

Maybe you got a weak OS Mio... an exceptional Vu... or some other variable in your system. There's a bit of magic to these electronic doodads that often leaves me scratching my head.

Or maybe the Vu is just more sensitive in general.

All I can say... If it works best for you, go with it! :bigthumbup:
Click to expand...

From the very beginning I was suspecting that my osmio was a lemon for me: either bad quality from the manufacturer (see made in china items!), or was a bad refurbish, but i was charged full price for it.
 
Shown below are scan results of my zero4k and mio plus. These files are also attached if you want to look at them.

mioplus
55.6W C-band_347ch_48tp_11-10-2022_20-45-05.xml
55.6W C-band_351ch_49tp_11-10-2022_21-22-02.xml
55.6W C-band_355ch_48tp_11-10-2022_20-54-39.xml
55.6W C-band_356ch_49tp_11-10-2022_20-49-55.xml

zero4k
55.6W C-band_293ch_46tp_11-10-2022_21-15-21.xml
55.6W C-band_300ch_48tp_11-10-2022_21-08-44.xml
55.6W C-band_317ch_48tp_11-10-2022_21-04-11.xml
55.6W C-band_334ch_46tp_11-10-2022_20-59-25.xml

FTA receivers should be fairly consistent, but blindscan on any fta receiver can be considered a crapshoot. My mio receivers are more consistent than the zero4k, and overall perform a bit better than the zero4k. I don't know of anyone else that has a zero4k that works better overall than a mio, but there may be some. Use what works best in your system since you are blessed to have more than one receiver!

The Zero4K is not capable of showing a signal in db or at least it can't on the drivers I have for it. There are two sets of tuner drivers for the mio receivers, and each driver may give a bit different result. A 15db (snr) signal is strong on a 10 foot c band satellite dish. All FTA type receivers are made in the cheapest way possible in order to maximize profits. Receiver model A showing a 20 db reading while receiver model B shows a 15 db signal reading on the exact same signal means little if anything. A satellite tuner by itself that can give accurate signal readings will cost more than most FTA receivers.

Most signal meters on fta receivers will not show a signal unless the tuner can lock it. DVB-S, DVB-S2, QPSK, 8PSK, APSK, and other modulation types require different amounts of signal to lock. For example, if you are trying to lock a DVB-S2, QPSK signal with a FEC of 9/10 then you will need around 6.5db (snr) to open it. Shown below is a partial list of the amount of signal needing to open a certain modulation type.

Standard Modulation FEC C/N [dB]

DVB-S2 QPSK
FEC db(snr)
1/4 2.4
1/3 1.2
2/5 0
1/2 1
3/5 2.2
2/3 3.1
3/4 4
4/5 4.6
5/6 5.2
8/9 6.2
9/10 6.5
DVB-S2 8PSK
FEC db(snr)
3/5 5.5
2/3 6.6
3/4 7.9
5/6 9.4
8/9 10.6
9/10 11
DVB-S2 16APSK
FEC db(snr)
2/3 9
3/4 10.2
4/5 11
5/6 11.6
8/9 12.9
9/10 13.1
DVB-S2 32APSK
FEC db(snr)
3/4 12.6
4/5 13.6
5/6 14.3
8/9 15.7
9/10 16.1

A DVB-S2 16APSK with a fec of 5/6 requires a signal strength around 11.6db(snr) to open. it is easy to get fooled on signal strengths and what a fta receiver displays because different transponders require different signal strengths to open.
 

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