School Me, KU Universal or Standard LNB? PLL or Regular?

[Wms-Stargate]

2017... There seems to be a lot of terminology flying around. Some older maybe some newer terminology. So when I searched & found some posts on Universal Vs Standard LNB's those posts from 2010 didn't mention these other terms. So the picture as far as KU is still not clear to me on what exactly to buy.

So are all the old posts from 2010 and back still relevant? Then what about the PLL LNBF's you can buy now? Could you buy those types of LNB's back a few years or so. Aren't the KU PLL's kinda new to FTA?

Anyway I am in the US on the east coast so should that influence my decisions as well?

Here is some of the stuff I am trying to sort thru. Can anyone make it a little clearer for 2017? If not please point me to a currant thread that all ready makes all these standards clear.

LNB
vs
LNBF

Reg
vs
PLL

Standard
vs
Universal

LT&B's Oh My lol,

Am I missing any other standards for KU?

Thanks in advance...
Bill

 

[iBoston]

I'll let someone else give the technical explanation.

LNB vs LNBF. - the LNB switches polarity through the use of an exterior motor. With an LNBF, the polarity changes when the receiver changes the voltage going into it. Basically, the LNBF is where everything is built into one unit and is more simple, requires less wires, and is cheaper. I haven't heard anyone tell me you get that much better signal quality with a LNB vs the LNBF. - I would stick with a LNBF. ( There is one plus to and LNB, you can fine tune the polarity as some transponders might be off skew). There is nothing in the arc anymore that makes that a necessity.

Reg vs PLL. PLL is more stable (frequency drifting) and is supposed to be a lot better at locking the harder DVBs2 signals, especially when the signals are not at full strength. I would definitely stick with PLL

Standard vs Universal. The universal has two different frequency ranges within the LNBF that is switched via a 22khz tone put out by the receiver. Unless something new has changed without me hearing about it, there is absolutely no use for a Universal LNBF here in the Western Hemisphere. Adding a Universal when you don't need one uses up your 22khz tone that otherwise could be used for other purposes, and doubles your Blind Scan times.

LT&B... No clue....

 

[RimaNTSS]

I think LNB stands for Low Noise Block, but LNBF stands for same but + integrated feedhorn.

 

[KE4EST]

LNB
vs
LNBF

LNB stands for Low-Noise Block Down Converter, essentially it takes the signal from the satellite at a higher frequency range, amplifies it and then down converts it to the IF(Intermediate Frequency) of the receiver. This done basically because the lower frequency is easier to send down the transmission line. A stand alone LNB needs a Feed-horn to "funnel" the signal into the LNB. In most cases it also needs a something to switch between Horizontal and Vertical polarity, usually using a polar-rotor.

LNBF stand for Low-Noise Block Down Converter with built in Feed-Horn. This is an all in one unit, also an LNBF typically uses voltage switched Polarity control. 12V-14V for Vertical and 16V-19V for Horizontal.

Reg
vs
PLL

PLL stands for Phase Locked Loop which has better frequency stabilization then the older DRO(Dielectric Resonator Oscillator) LNB(F)'s what you are calling Regular. PLL uses a chip to in layman's terms keep thing on frequency better and more stable.

Standard
vs
Universal

Standard has a LO(Local Oscillator) frequency of 10.750GHz and is what is most common in North America. Universal has two LO's one of 9.750GHz and one of 10.600GHz, this allows a broader frequency range. Not really necessary in NA. Being on the East coast though you may get some of the Euro birds that can make use of the the extended frequency range. The two different LO's are selected via a 22kHz carrier that is injected down the coax with the other signals. I personally would stick with Standard.

LT&B's

Lions, Tigers and Bears. This has nothing to do with satellite reception.

 

[Keith Brannen]

LNB vs LNBF important note: Many here (including myself) will use the term LNB when we really mean LNBF. I think that is especially true of someone (like myself) who started with Ku dishes, where LNBFs (and yes, I nearly left the F off of it!) are pretty much the norm for Ku dishes, so we got lazy with the terminology (and still are)!

 

[stecle]

I am currently running a Chaparral Polarotor with a Norsat LNB. I am considering purchasing another LNB and replacing the Chaparral Polarotor with a dual feedhorn.

I have read however that the Polarotor will always give you a slight increase in performance with it's ability to adjust the skew, which a fixed dual feedhorn cannot.

I appreciate all feedback.

 

[Wms-Stargate]

Thanks to all of you who made this much clearer to me. In looking around I can only find a few PLL LNBF brands. Maverick, GeoSatpro & very few Titanium's. However i see where everyone and their brother are buying the non PLL style like crazy.

I wonder who the manufacture of the pll 16-Pin dip or flatpack is? In each of the different LNBF. Thanks for the info...

 

[Shicks4]

The interesting thing I found is that a lot of the old dro lnb's that i have "acquired" pretty much pull in everything my PLL Lnb does. I do have one that after about 20 minutes experiences drift. I suspect its just flat failing. I have a box with half a dozen or so dro lnb's that still work. Even the ku lnb im using now is a 25 year old norsat dro my dad used on his 4dtv setup until about 8 or 9 years ago when he had to move into town. It still scans in everything my universal lnbf does on my 90cm dish at the same frequencies. How long it will work is anyones guess. the only thing i cant pick up is the pbs mux on 125. I suspect its more of a tuning issue then anything, but with all the options i have on my BUD its not missed much and I have the 90 cm if i ever needed to tune it.

As far as using a corotor, I find i really like being able to tine tune the polarization, and on a few birds it helps, especially from c to ku on the same satellite. Most of the time though i dont need to adjust it. but its nice to have the option though its a few more parts in the chain that cost a little more and could fail.