0.2 Universal LNBs - any interest?

[Cascade]

Just trying to get an idea of interest here, I'm not selling any I just wanna get an idea of how well the idea would go down.

How many of you would be interested in a .2dB noisefigure universal LNB?

 

[goaliebob99]

yea sure if it was cheap enough to get the wife approval factor

 

[CharredPC]

Seeing as how my 0.3dB upgrade turned out so great, I'm all for a chance at trying a 0.2dB.

 

[Stargazer]

How much of a difference would it make?

 

[mk279]

How much of a difference would it make?

Ditto

 

[Cascade]

To be honest the noise figure alone doesn't make a good LNB, it's clear the Invacoms are by far the best LNBs overall and their low noise figure is just part of what goes into making a great LNB.
Right now I'm interested in what people think of a lower noise figure LNB, whether the noise figure alone is enough to sell an LNB or whether other factors influence their decision.

Edit: to answer the question I don't know the difference until I get one, I'm also looking at quad-universal LNBs and octo-universal LNBs.

 

[PSB]

No Comment....

 

[Cascade]

lol, nice

These aren't made by Loss-King

 

[PSB]

I voted YES : )

Always best getting the lowest noise best quality LNBF you can get!

 

[Mr Tony]

I voted depends on

When I went from a .5 to a .4, there was some difference....I'm not fully done with the report but the .3 works the same as the .4 on some TP's.

So is a .2 going to make a difference than say a .3?

Also, if a .3 is $40 and a .2 is $75, I'd stick with the .3

 

[mchomicz]

Em... unless there actually is such a thing available or to become available in the foreseeable future - I'm not sure I understand the point of discussing it?

Have you heard about any forthcoming products?

mc

 

[Shawn95GT]

There are 0.2 LNBs out there but it may be more marketing than functionality.

Every one I've found has been from a European vendor. They 'look' cheap. They cost about the same as their 0.3 counterparts.

 

[Cascade]

There are 0.2 LNBs out there but it may be more marketing than functionality.

Every one I've found has been from a European vendor. They 'look' cheap. They cost about the same as their 0.3 counterparts.

I figure it this way.
Someone has to try these things to see if they're any good. If they don't perform, so be it.
If they're relatively inexpensive and do the job well it gives you guys a lot more choice in what to buy if and when I get some in for review.

 

[Shawn95GT]

I figure it this way.
Someone has to try these things to see if they're any good. If they don't perform, so be it.
If they're relatively inexpensive and do the job well it gives you guys a lot more choice in what to buy if and when I get some in for review.

No argument there! If they are beneficial then cool.

I'm currently using a 'cheap euro-LNB' (my word) rated at 0.3NF. It seems to work fine but I'm definately interested in picking up an Invacom for reference.

On the surface, this new crop of LNBs looks to be the next level in performance. A review will be interesting for sure!

I didn't say so before but I too voted yes.

 

[dvdmkr]

Voted for Depends On.

Looking at the .2 LNB Titanium Edition from
Spect Sheet for .2 LNB Titanium Edition from Manufacture site.

Comparing with Invacom .3 LNB.
Spec Sheet for .3 Invacom LNB

Most of parts are same except.
.2's Low/High Band output range is little different from .3 invacom range.
Low Band output range for .2 is between 950~1950 Mhz,
High Band output range for .2 is between 1100~2150Mhz.

And also Conversion Gain is a bit different.

.2 LNB's Conversion Gain is 50-58 dB
.3 LNB's Conversion Gain is 50-60 dB

I'm not sure if these numbers matters for the performance.
Somebody would know better.

 

[sksatellite]

hmmmm 0.2 and 0.3 is only 0.02 dB gain difference, I would say I will stick with 0.3 dB.
However, 0.3 and 0.5 there is lots difference, I don't mind to spend more for the better LNBF.

 

[mark_calgary]

To be honest the noise figure alone doesn't make a good LNB, it's clear the Invacoms are by far the best LNBs overall and their low noise figure is just part of what goes into making a great LNB.
Right now I'm interested in what people think of a lower noise figure LNB, whether the noise figure alone is enough to sell an LNB or whether other factors influence their decision.

Edit: to answer the question I don't know the difference until I get one, I'm also looking at quad-universal LNBs and octo-universal LNBs.

I think in a world of excessive marketing speak and one-upmanship specification writing the only way to actually know which is better is to try them out side by side and systematically compare quality readings on your favourite transponders. And even then it is only a sample of one LNB.

In my opinion there is not much difference in a NF of 0.5, 0.4, 0.3, 0.2 - specified in "typical" values!? Other specifications are just as important. One which leaps out at me when I compare LNB's on paper is the Oscillator Phase Noise. Between different "0.3 NF" LNB's (Invacom and MTI Blueline which is another well regarded consumer LNB) the values were very different although one had maximum and the other typical specified. As someone who, in a previous life, designed the IF strip (part that converts 950-2150 MHz to digital) of commercial Satellite receivers the difference of 10-15dB reported between the 2 LNB's is HUGE. I would like to suggest that this is why the Invacom LNB's seem to perform so much better than many other LNB's. Essentially it adds less garbage to the signal when it downconverts from ~12GHz to ~2GHz.

Thus, in many words, I completely agree with you.

Very soon I hope to add my two cents on the performance gains of an Invacom to my cheap unknown brand LNB in my setup/location. But mostly I got it for it's universal capabilities.

 

[spyder]

Well guys , I purchased one of the Titanium Edition 0.2 units from a UK dealer and I can honestly say I was dissappointed. It averaged about 1-2% lower in quality numbers than the Invacom 0.3 I had been running previously. Also their talk of improved c/n ratios in incliment weather didn't pan out for me either.

Honestly, on my 90cm systems the BigSat 0.3 is the best lnbf I've run so far. Practically no difference in the quality readings from the Invacom, but where I've found the BigSat to have an advantage over the Invacom is on low symbol rate/ weaker carriers especially in the atlantic region. Plus the fact that the BigSat is quite a bit cheaper than the Invacoms.

I'm still planing to do a head to head test between the Titanium 0.2 , Invacom 0.3, BigSat 0.3 and the Fortec 0.4 units when time and work permits and get some solid numbers for comparison.

 

[Stargazer]

Perhaps when they go to 0.1 to 0.15 there will enough of a noticable difference between that and the 0.2 and 0.3. Would it be worth while to pay the difference in price for one? We will just have to see how the market responds to them and see reader revues.