C/Ku Band Best LNB

[Vondertrenk]

Hi Guys
My C/Ku band LNB is death (sigh). Well, just the Ku but still....

I was searching locally in Toronto and found a cheap C/Ku but his performance is not too good. I miss my old DMS International LNB. Excellent. it was the unit with the Ku orange cover.

Other LNB that I have been using is the Titanium C1PLL but just for C-Band. I have never had a better one. The best ever. Second to none. ONly problem ( Agrrrr) is only for C-Band.

I noticed that Titanium has another model, the CK1S Combo. Few questions:
- Does the C- side of this unit performs as well as the C1PLL?
- What is the performance of the DRO oscillator compared to the PLL?
-Does Titanium still ships to Canada? ) I have purchase my C2 and C1 directly from Brian, plus the other C1 I won on a contest )

- How is the Ku side performance?

Thanks guys, your input, especially from those that have used this combo, is highy appreciated.

My disk is a solid steel Fortec 1.8 mt ( 6ft.)

 

[Titanium]

The CK1S came from the same factory as the DMSI and WSI combos. The unit is the same model as the WSI unit before they closed up shop. In my opinion, it provided the best performance of the combos that I tested. With that said, any combo LNBF of this design is a compromise and I would not recommend installing on a undersized dish. I would suggest that a centered C1-PLL and an offset KU prime focus LNBF (or prime focus feed and Inverto Black Pro Flange LNB) would provide significantly better performance on both bands.

The CK1s C-band performance will be the same as your current combo model as it was the same housing and DRO electronics. No way close to the C1-PLL performance. The KU section is an upgrade to PLL and performed as well if not better than the original DRO electronics.

The single unit in the Ti store and five on Amazon are the last of the stock and due to high product cost plus the 25% tariff tax, have no plans on restocking. Both sources ship to Canada.

BTW... The green color C/KU standard LO combos that you see on the market are rejects from a batch that we had manufactured a few years ago. I rejected the batch from a large Chinese manufacturer as the LNBF did not include FD scale markings, the C and Ku polarity probes were not aligned, no seal between the feedhorn and Ku section allowed water infiltration and the Ku pcb was easily killed by static discharge.

 

[Vondertrenk]

Thanks Brian
Good to hear that feedback from you. Saying so, I will keep one of the C1 as central LNB plus the second C1 offsetting as the circular polarization LNB.

Any brand/model recommendation for the offset KU prime focus LNBF ?

PD: Yes, the C1 outperforms the C/Ku DRO unit.

And thank you for the tip about the green crap units

 

[Titanium]

For the prime focus Ku, I recommend the Invacom ADF-120 adjustable scalar / feed and the Inverto black pro flange with your choice of the number of outputs. LNBs - Inverto.tv

 

[cpalmer2k]

The single unit in the Ti store and five on Amazon are the last of the stock and due to high product cost plus the 25% tariff tax, have no plans on restocking. Both sources ship to Canada.

That stupid 25% tariff is putting a hurting on the FTA hobby and supply chain. Will you continue to stock the regular LNBs or will those eventually "sell out" for good as well? I really wanted one of the meters you offered, but I see those are out due to the tariff too :-(

 

[Titanium]

Yes, the tariff is certainly affecting our hobby's US distribution. Tough decisions are being made on what products make financial sense to stock or even manufacture for the US market.

We will continue to manufacture the PLL LNBFs, but higher cost items with very small profit margins (like the meter, combo LNBF and ASC1) are automatically priced out of the US retail market with the addition of the tariff tax. BTW... You can order the meter, including delivery to the US from a European reseller for less than my break even retail price! I hope to be able to stock the meter again. But for now, I don't feel that there is a market with a retail price nearing $300.

Until the tariffs are ended, expect a lot of changes in availability and pricing of most commercial and home products at US resellers as the current supplies are depleted.

In niche hobby markets, it is hitting especially hard. Friends who are into other hobbies like model trains, planes, etc. are also finding their US sources are drying up. Expect more and more products to be sold by international sellers and US based sellers to be selective of the the stocked products. It really is too bad how the tariffs are actually driving purchases away from US sellers.

 

[danristheman]

Its a double edge sword.

 

[Titanium]

What is a double edge sword?

 

[danristheman]

Its a saying while its helping you or someone else its also hurting you in the long run. Was tariff put on by us or the Chinese?

 

[Titanium]

Its a saying while its helping you or someone else its also hurting you in the long run. Was tariff put on by us or the Chinese?

I understand the saying, but not how it applies to this tariff.

The 25% tariff is a US levied import tax paid to US Customs by the US business. This is not helping US businesses or the US buyers.

The two edges of the sword... US businesses are paying the tariff and US buyers are paying more for the product!

 

[danristheman]

So instead of making things better it made it worse.