Aiming and peaking a C-band LNB - more guesswork than science?

[sgs]

BTW... I understood the amalgamated rubber tape was to secure the dielectric slab into position (if used).

That's another use, although it seems like a lot of tape for holding the dielectric.

A minor point I've found with all six Titanium LNBFs I have is that the dielectric slabs are 1-2mm too short, and require something to keep them from falling out. I'm not complaining, since it's easily solved with some tack, electrical tape, the included rubber tape, etc., to hold it in place. Some other LNBFs I've got have slabs that fit / wedge in with better tolerances, and don't require anything to prevent them from moving/falling out.

sgs

 

[sgs]

I always was under the impression that the scaler rings and LNB's were kind of a matched set. Is that not the case? I have a few old feedhorns with scalers from the analog days lying around.

I used to think so too, but now I think the scalar rings are best kept matched to the dish and feed support arms, and the LNB used can be variable.

Also, I've found the scalar ring's spacing (between each ring) is generally the same on different scalars; however, older scalars tended to be thicker/heavier and not so cheaply made. The rings must have a certain spacing for C-band wavelengths. However they are generally tuned for the C-band frequency range, not a specific frequency, which is why there can be some variance on ring spacing with acceptable results.

sgs