lnb upgrade

[kota]

Hi there

I've got a dedicated 1.80m prime focus dish perfectly aligned for Astra2/Eurobird but I'm using an old 0.8 FTE C-120 universal lnb with it. In my location and using my present DM 500hd I get all the available transponders on those satellites.

The problem is I need to improve one and ONLY one frequency I'm having a bit of trouble for freeze free reception during the evening. I'm talking about 12012V-29500-3/4 wich is fine during the day with 33% SNR but drops to 25% SNR at night which is just about my dreambox tuner's threshold and the picture starts to break up.

My question is do you reckon a 0.3 Invacom C-120 single lnb would give me those extra 8% or so I need ??

Thanks in advance ..

[Barney]

i have a 2 meter prime focus Dish and 0.3db Inverto C-120 Lnb and on 12012V-29500-3/4 i have
SNR 64% - 66%%
AGC 86%
BER-0

so yes for sure it will improve very much your signal levels by upgrading to a better gain LNB not only on that transponder but on many other Transponders aswell .
i have tried invacom 0.3db lnb but have found it to be a complete waste of time i would strongly advise on inverto 0.3db C-120 LNB for maximium gain possible with your dish .
it will indeed make a very big difference and i assure you that you will not struggle with signals in 28e at all ,
here is a screenshot i took from MGM HD { see below } : --> > >

Hope this helps ??





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Barneycarlton

[kota]

Cheers for that.

I can get hold locally of a Single INVERTO Red Classic IDLR-SINFO1-CLASC-OPP for about 14 euros. They come in two colour flavours, black or silver. Is this the same as yours ?? The Invacom would set you back for 50 euros so I guess this is a big plus !!

This is what I'm getting a couple of minutes ago and I'll report back as soon as I have this new lnb installed.



Bye for now ..

[Hadziano]

Ye let us know please...need to see if LNb's can actually make a difference to signal quality..

[TonyO]

I've found that if you cant get any signal from your existing lnb, a lower noise figure lnb probably wont make any differance.

If you have a weak or intermittant signal with your current lnb, a lower noise figure lnb improves things a fair bit.

[kota]

I'll surely will. Obviously this also depends on how far you're located from the center of the Astra 2A/B north beams. I'm in Sintra, Portugal 38.47ºN - 9.22ºW and I get the south beams 100% and have no problems whatsoever with Astra 2D on any frequency.

Surely someone further north or west could get totally different readings with the same equipment.

Anyway we're playing Brazil in half and hour so ... wish as luck :-)

Cheers

[kota]

I've found that if you cant get any signal from your existing lnb, a lower noise figure lnb probably wont make any differance.

If you have a weak or intermittant signal with your current lnb, a lower noise figure lnb improves things a fair bit.

That's exactly my case. I do get a picture 24/7 so I've got high hopes ..

[kota]

UPDATE

During the weekend I decided to modify an offset lnb I had lying around from a previous set up with surprising results. I knew this el cheapo supposedly 0.2 lnb was pretty good so I simply removed its plastic cover and cut part of the original feed with a saw. I went on to cut the C-120 flange from an old prime focus feed I also kept. After some work with a file I super glued the two pieces together ending up with something that looks very similar in shape to the Inverto prime focus lnb.

Swapped the old FTE lnb for the modified one and after a few adjustments with both focal point and skew, the results speak from themselves. I might not even bother to buy a new lnb as long as it stays in one piece and working well or if really bad weather prevents normal viewing.

After all lower noise lnb's do make a difference.

Here you go. Cheers

[digihoe]

It would great if you could supply some pictures with your modification, I'm sure I and others would like to see how you did.

Best regards!

[ian]

also it would have been better if you had used the same channel to compare before and after,although it is still the same transponder.but yes some pics of your mod would be nice as i would be interested in trying something similar.Ian.

[kota]

Ok no problem. It’s really straightforward and only a matter of patience.

This is what’s left of the original lnb



Now the old feedhorn butchered



The modified lnb in place







And finally the same channel at roughly the same time of day and with similar weather conditions



I know it looks a bit crude to say the least but as long as it works it’s fine by me.

Cheers

[Barney]

looks very impressive D.I.Y job kota m8 i think nowadays since parts and equipment are almost impossible to find for prime focus dishes you did well like myself i had to make some D.I.Y adjustments aswell with my prime focus dish too in order to obtain good signals accross the Arc .
as long as it works and saved a bit of cash then fair play i shall take some pics over this weekend of my dish and current set up too if that will help other members .
But for me 28e i can easily obtain on a small 60cm dish or bin lid even i guess ,LOL's !!
i will report back here with results a.s.a.p .
thnxs for uploading those pics kota very good job m8 ,


BTW. I only wish the sky was as Blue and clear here in Ireland , hahaha !!
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Barneycarlton

[kota]

Thanks for your kind comments Barry ... for someone like me who has been in this hobby for nearly 20 years it's always nice to share info with people with the same interests. By all means do show us your diy mods !!

As for our blue sky, yes we're lucky for having such a lovely one and the best for me really are our sunsets on the west coast. Absolutely stunning

Cheers

[Barney]

ok it was getting late and dark before i got a chance to upload some pics of my 2 meter prime focus dish ive had to do some D.I.Y jobs on LNB and even on polar mount as my pole was a little on the Big side for my polar mount but a little adjusting and got a perfect fit ive had this dish now about a year and previously i had a 1.6m offset dish but this 2meter dish has proven quite a lot better especially in poor weather conditions ,

you can also see ive installed a 1.1m Triax dish beside my prime focus dish which also gives me great results accross the Arc .


As you can see in the pics i can easily make any adjustements to both dishes without need for any big ladders a simple chair is enuff to work at my prime focus dish ...i can also see both my dish moving from my bedroom window very clearly and can spot any fault immediatly .


i have 1 other dish aswell which i didnt get a chance to get a pic of since it was getting too dark its on side of house only a 88cm triax motorised tho' :smilielol5:



sorry if quality is a little poor but was best i could manage in a hurry before it got too dark .

hopefully pics is ok ?
i have great shelter of all dishes as trees and hedge are in correct side to offer a really great blocker for high winds which is why on purpose ive decided to let 'em grow as much as poss .

have a nice weekend :cheers2::respect-054::king-041::respect-023:

[kota]

Looking good, Barney. Nice kit you've got there and the pictures are fine.

I had one dish just like yours once, different polarmount but with exactly the same feedhorn arms.

Anyway, happy viewing

Cheers