On my recent trip to Europe I picked up a few products to test. Yesterday was a beautiful spring day in California and I needed very little excuse to wheel the gear out to the testing dish and spend a few hours in the sunshine. I have a large collection of LNBFs that are used in comparison tests and decided to put our European cousins to the test.
The first sample LNBF is the Alps model: BSTE-8 with stated NF 0.3dB / Gain 55dB. This model is a competitor to our GEOSATpro SL1 and SL2 bullet LNBFs in the European market. After testing the unit, I was very disappointed with what is promoted as a high performing mini LNBF. The performance of this unit tested far below any LNBF that I have tested in many years. Not what I expected!
The second sample is a Phase Lock Loop model from Pauxis with stated NF 0.3dB / Gain 60dB. This LNBF performance was impressive with great performance and rock solid LO frequency. These LNBFs are more expensive, but would seem to be a logical evolution in consumer products in North America.
I compared these samples with several well known LNBFs sold in North America in recent years. All LNBFs stayed withing 1MHz drift during operational temperatures. I measured BER, base noise threshold and many other parameters, but here are a few of the measurements that will be of interest to most SatelliteGuys. It is also interesting to note the changes in the transponder performance between the two tests.
Manufacturers and importers are welcome to provide samples to include in future tests. We will provide all technical comparison data for any participants.
The first sample LNBF is the Alps model: BSTE-8 with stated NF 0.3dB / Gain 55dB. This model is a competitor to our GEOSATpro SL1 and SL2 bullet LNBFs in the European market. After testing the unit, I was very disappointed with what is promoted as a high performing mini LNBF. The performance of this unit tested far below any LNBF that I have tested in many years. Not what I expected!
The second sample is a Phase Lock Loop model from Pauxis with stated NF 0.3dB / Gain 60dB. This LNBF performance was impressive with great performance and rock solid LO frequency. These LNBFs are more expensive, but would seem to be a logical evolution in consumer products in North America.
I compared these samples with several well known LNBFs sold in North America in recent years. All LNBFs stayed withing 1MHz drift during operational temperatures. I measured BER, base noise threshold and many other parameters, but here are a few of the measurements that will be of interest to most SatelliteGuys. It is also interesting to note the changes in the transponder performance between the two tests.
Manufacturers and importers are welcome to provide samples to include in future tests. We will provide all technical comparison data for any participants.
