I got my Geosat PLL LNB from the contest the other day and finally got to try it out. The one thing right away is that I am using a 76cm dish. Since it is not 2 degree compliant and a couple other LNB's I've tried gave me bad results I really wanted to try it out
The existing LNB was a Sadoun dual .4 that has been up there a few years. With the 76cm dish getting bleedover a good LNB is kinda a necessity. I have tried one of the Geosat duals (the mini) and on the 76cm dish saw worse results than the Sadoun (few points less). Reason being the Sadoun LNB had more scaler rings on it so it can reject more. On the fixed 90cm I have the Geosat worked better.
Now then on to the testing. All tests were done on a nice Saturday between 2-4:30PM (wasnt too hot...only 79) with the MicroHD and the 76cm Winegard dish. Normal scan was done except for 103 & 125 where the detail scan was done.
Satellites tested
83, 87,101,103 (both skewed properly and not),123,125. Skewed properly means the 26 skew offset was done.
First sat was 83W and RTV was a real pain. The Micro with Sadoun LNB the quality bounced between 65-70 while the GeoSat was between 61-65. NBC feed registered the same
87W yielded about the same quality for both LNB's on transponders there. However the GeosatPro picked up the ever tricky 12009 H 2170 (KTEL Telemundo) transponder on a blind scan.
101W yielded about the same quality on both LNB's. But what I started ot notice was the Sadoun LNB seemed to have the quality meter bounce around between numbers. The GeosatPro stayed the same. So in some cases the GeosatPro may have yielded a lower number (51 vs 53) having a stable number to me was important especially if you are aiming a dish.
103W I did two tests.....with the "normal" (or wrong) skew and the "right" skew
On the wrong skew the Geosat found an extra transponder and actually locked it
With the "right" skew it found another transponder. The big thing was again the stability of the LNB. The quality meter lit up and STUCK...didnt bounce around all the time.
123W throws a couple extras into the mix. 2 TP's real close to each other (4Mhz) and a low symbol rate S2 channel. The Sadoun LNB missed both DVB-S2 Transponders (UWTV & FSTV) while the Geosat grabbed the FSTV transponder. Again while the quality numbers were about the same the Geosat had more stability. FSTV popped in on the Geosat LNB right away whereas the Sadoun took 3-5 seconds to show a picture.
125W I did a detail scan of 12000-12200 only. Both LNB's missed 2 transponders. Both missed Montana PBS. Sadoun missed one of the SD feeds (12169 H 4444) while the Geosat missed a data transponder 12037. Once again the stability shined on the Geosat. One transponder that was real goofy was Oklahoma PBS. Latelly during the day the meter is all over the board between 20 and 60. The numbers shown on the chart are what showed the most. At night the numbers arew a more stable in the 70's
All and all I am very happy with the LNB. The fact I am using a 76cm does show some different results than other folks using a 90cm or 120cm dish. The Sadoun LNB does have a "bigger LNB head" to help reject adjacent interference so the GeosatPro I pushed into the LNB holder about 1/4 to 3/8" in towards the dish which did give the results I posted. While some numbers on the Geosat were 1 to 2 points less the fact that its a stable number makes up for it. I'd prefer a point less and stability versus a higher number and bouncing all around which doesnt give a true result. I can't wait to try this in the winter when stability is key.
Enclosed is the spreadsheet of the quality results. If it shows 2 numbers that is the Micro bouncing between them
The existing LNB was a Sadoun dual .4 that has been up there a few years. With the 76cm dish getting bleedover a good LNB is kinda a necessity. I have tried one of the Geosat duals (the mini) and on the 76cm dish saw worse results than the Sadoun (few points less). Reason being the Sadoun LNB had more scaler rings on it so it can reject more. On the fixed 90cm I have the Geosat worked better.
Now then on to the testing. All tests were done on a nice Saturday between 2-4:30PM (wasnt too hot...only 79) with the MicroHD and the 76cm Winegard dish. Normal scan was done except for 103 & 125 where the detail scan was done.
Satellites tested
83, 87,101,103 (both skewed properly and not),123,125. Skewed properly means the 26 skew offset was done.
First sat was 83W and RTV was a real pain. The Micro with Sadoun LNB the quality bounced between 65-70 while the GeoSat was between 61-65. NBC feed registered the same
87W yielded about the same quality for both LNB's on transponders there. However the GeosatPro picked up the ever tricky 12009 H 2170 (KTEL Telemundo) transponder on a blind scan.
101W yielded about the same quality on both LNB's. But what I started ot notice was the Sadoun LNB seemed to have the quality meter bounce around between numbers. The GeosatPro stayed the same. So in some cases the GeosatPro may have yielded a lower number (51 vs 53) having a stable number to me was important especially if you are aiming a dish.
103W I did two tests.....with the "normal" (or wrong) skew and the "right" skew
On the wrong skew the Geosat found an extra transponder and actually locked it
With the "right" skew it found another transponder. The big thing was again the stability of the LNB. The quality meter lit up and STUCK...didnt bounce around all the time.
123W throws a couple extras into the mix. 2 TP's real close to each other (4Mhz) and a low symbol rate S2 channel. The Sadoun LNB missed both DVB-S2 Transponders (UWTV & FSTV) while the Geosat grabbed the FSTV transponder. Again while the quality numbers were about the same the Geosat had more stability. FSTV popped in on the Geosat LNB right away whereas the Sadoun took 3-5 seconds to show a picture.
125W I did a detail scan of 12000-12200 only. Both LNB's missed 2 transponders. Both missed Montana PBS. Sadoun missed one of the SD feeds (12169 H 4444) while the Geosat missed a data transponder 12037. Once again the stability shined on the Geosat. One transponder that was real goofy was Oklahoma PBS. Latelly during the day the meter is all over the board between 20 and 60. The numbers shown on the chart are what showed the most. At night the numbers arew a more stable in the 70's
All and all I am very happy with the LNB. The fact I am using a 76cm does show some different results than other folks using a 90cm or 120cm dish. The Sadoun LNB does have a "bigger LNB head" to help reject adjacent interference so the GeosatPro I pushed into the LNB holder about 1/4 to 3/8" in towards the dish which did give the results I posted. While some numbers on the Geosat were 1 to 2 points less the fact that its a stable number makes up for it. I'd prefer a point less and stability versus a higher number and bouncing all around which doesnt give a true result. I can't wait to try this in the winter when stability is key.
Enclosed is the spreadsheet of the quality results. If it shows 2 numbers that is the Micro bouncing between them
