Initial Testing Of Norsat C-Band LNB 3420

[Christopher Cromwell]

58W NHK World TV wasn't coming in very good, so I turned the Dish Elevation down from 27 degrees to now about 26 degrees; making NHK World Signal Quality improve up to 55-56%. I usually leave the C-Band dish parked on 58W. My Dish Elevation is supposed to be 24 degrees, but I think the scale is off. Hopefully this won't affect the other satellite signals too much. I have to go back to work soon, but getting close to testing out other receivers with these new LNB'S. I will post those results here soon.

 

[Christopher Cromwell]

I think you're doing well on a 1.2m dish. You got blood from that turnip.

Sent from a phone, probably while I'm driving over the speed limit through a school zone with construction workers present.

Thank you!! :-D I've always wanted to get as much as I could out of my 1.2M dish for C-Band. The dish alignment continues to still be about 1 degree off, but I can compensate with USAL's; not all that big a deal.

 

[Christopher Cromwell]

Sometimes it might peak to 57%, but 55-56% is good enough for me. I'm afraid to tweak with it much more.

 

[Christopher Cromwell]

I hooked up the Manhattan 1933 Receiver before leaving for work. I turned the Dish over to 99W C-Band. The good news is it gets excellent signal on Horizontal, but bad news is Vertical picks up nothing; as if the Vertical LNB has no power. I checked the receiver settings and still nothing on Vertical. I will have to play with more later after work, but it's looking as though the receiver only has enough power to run just the Horizontal LNB. Even when I switched the settings to just 13V, nothing happened. The 1933 Receiver only puts out 300mW of current. I ran out of time to do a blind scan with it.

 

[danristheman]

Chris not much you can pick up on the vertical side on 99w can you pick up Shepard's chapel from 101w. Do you have any more pics of your setup? You had told me about your dishes being on the roof where you can only see certain satellites just wondering?

 

[Christopher Cromwell]

Chris not much you can pick up on the vertical side on 99w can you pick up Shepard's chapel from 101w. Do you have any more pics of your setup? You had told me about your dishes being on the roof where you can only see certain satellites just wondering?

Hey Dan, I have not run a blind scan yet on all the satellites, only a few so far when I had time. I don't think I have run a blind scan yet on 101W. But Sheppard' Chapel comes in pretty good for me on 99W. My C-Band dish can only see from about 40W to 113W due to the trees on one side and eve of the half story of the house on the other. No, I can't relocate the 1.2M dish. My 90cm Ku dish can see from about 40W to 125W due to trees on either side. The 1.2M dish has been taking the most of my time with alignment and experimenting. I've hardly had to do much at all with my 90cm Ku dish, with the exception of swapping out the LNBF last year for a high performance Orbital Tracker; that's been working exceptionally well for me. I will post an updated pic of my Ku Dish if I still have it on my phone. Sometimes I can get satellites a little further east in the winter without the leaves. Summertime can be a slight problem with the signals, with all the leaves blowing around in the wind. The trees are over 50-60+ feet tall, not much I can do about trimming the tops down.

 

[Christopher Cromwell]

Updated pic of my motorized 90cm Ku Dish.

 

[Titanium]

Might not be related to the current draw. If the receiver is not displaying an "over current" display, it is probably related to the voltage. I recall that the 1933 current protection circuit kicks in at about 550mA. The continuous operation current draw would be expressed lower in the specs.

The 3420 LNB spec indicates an operational voltage of 15-24Vdc. Likely the 1977 provides enough voltage to power the LNB, but the 1933's LNB voltage is falling below the absolute minimum operational voltage for the 3720.

I was surprised that the 1997's 13Vdc was powering the LNB on vertical transponders. Operating the LNB at or slightly below the minimum voltage typically will reduce the performance. You might want to try experimenting with a direct connection to the vertical LNB (bypassing the multi-switch) then change the LNB voltage between 13Vdc and 18Vdc in the 1977's install menu. Compare the Signal Quality readings on the same transponder and you should observe better performance on the vertical transponders when the LNB is receiving 18Vdc vs 13Vdc.

 

[Christopher Cromwell]

Might not be related to the current draw. If the receiver is not displaying an "over current" display, it is probably related to the voltage. I recall that the 1933 current protection circuit kicks in at about 550mA. The continuous operation current draw would be expressed lower in the specs.

The 3420 LNB spec indicates an operational voltage of 15-24Vdc. Likely the 1977 provides enough voltage to power the LNB, but the 1933's LNB voltage is falling below the absolute minimum operational voltage for the 3720.

I was surprised that the 1997's 13Vdc was powering the LNB on vertical transponders. Operating the LNB at or slightly below the minimum voltage typically will reduce the performance. You might want to try experimenting with a direct connection to the vertical LNB (bypassing the multi-switch) then change the LNB voltage between 13Vdc and 18Vdc in the 1977's install menu. Compare the Signal Quality readings on the same transponder and you should observe better performance on the vertical transponders when the LNB is receiving 18Vdc vs 13Vdc.

Hmmmmm....... You know something Brian? That's actually a very intriguing idea worth trying in a really long time! :-D I would guess the performance would improve for both polarities actually without the multiswitch using up power. I will have to try it soon, and post results here. Since my wife won't let me run any more cables through the wall of any kind, I would have to figure a different way to get 18V to both LNB'S.

 

[Titanium]

Understand about the Wife Approval Factor.

Checkout the DirecTV PI-21 - 21Vdc SWM power insertor. It would be perfect if you could install between the multi-switch 13v port and the vertical LNB. You could keep the automatic Horizontal/Vertical switching with the receiver and have optimal power supplied to the LNB.

http://amzn.com/B001YHBYXA

 

[danristheman]

Chris flat wires through the window can work to so you don't have to go through walls making the wife mad.

 

[Christopher Cromwell]

Understand about the Wife Approval Factor.

Checkout the DirecTV PI-21 - 21Vdc SWM power insertor. It would be perfect if you could install between the multi-switch 13v port and the vertical LNB. You could keep the automatic Horizontal/Vertical switching with the receiver and have optimal power supplied to the LNB.

http://amzn.com/B001YHBYXA

Yes! I do agree with you and another member for suggesting the same thing earlier in the thread. :-D That would be the way to go, if only there was a way to run power to it on the roof and protect it from the elements as well. I will have to daydream on that for awhile. The inserters aren't much money either!

 

[Christopher Cromwell]

Chris flat wires through the window can work to so you don't have to go through walls making the wife mad.

I tried the flat ribbon cable before with Directv first being installed. It didn't work too well, the storm window wouldn't close all the way and eventually the cable broke inside. So that went out the window and cable was feed through the wall.

 

[danristheman]

Ok just an idea for you Chris.

 

[Christopher Cromwell]

I am considering buying two of those power inserters to make sure each LNB has sufficient power. I could place them in a plastic box to protect them from the elements, but would the summer heat bake them to death? :-/ I think they are only to be used indoors?

 

[Titanium]

As you need the multi-switch and insertion outdoors, consider modifying a powered multi-switch to minimize insertion loss. Here is a thread from 8 years ago for modding a 3x4 for 18v to both LNB ports. Like it is pointed out in the thread, the voltage could be increased above 18v.
http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/threads/modify-powered-3x4-multi-switch-show-me.136205/

 

[Christopher Cromwell]

As you need the multi-switch and insertion outdoors, consider modifying a powered multi-switch to minimize insertion loss. Here is a thread from 8 years ago for modding a 3x4 for 18v to both LNB ports. Like it is pointed out in the thread, the voltage could be increased above 18v.
http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/threads/modify-powered-3x4-multi-switch-show-me.136205/

Ok, I will look into that, thank you! Just a moment ago, I bought a two pack of this for a good price on Amazon:

 

[Christopher Cromwell]

I can run each one of those for each LNB after the multiswitch. :-D

 

[primestar31]

Your wife isn't home 24/7 is she? Slip an extra coax or two in there next time she's gone long enough... Just stop telling her so much, and then she won't have a reference to know when things are "too much"... lol

 

[Titanium]

I've modded this Eagle-Aspen set-up before. Took more time to open the switch than to snip and jumper!
http://r.ebay.com/u8vySs