what satelite stb,in your opinion has the most sensitive tuner,for weak signals?

[Turok]

Hello!
good evening!
today i want to start a poll,in the fringe reseption zone,about curencly the best sensitive tuner for weak signals!
maybe thats not the first poll ,but the last i think it is long time ago and not up todate
i testet many stbs in my life,but coriously no blindscan has a real good tuner,maybe it is a technical reason!

here are my current top 5 of my favrite,testet on Nilesat 12034H during heavey rain with gregory 1,25!


Place 1 my Homecast HS 5101 same then ferguson HF 8800.but with build in multicam that the homecast dont have,has like and "audio" treshold
when other receivers squeaking,on the homecast i here nothing!
testet it on 11512 H Hellas S1 Beam,with a One Meter dish,very weak singal,hard at the limit!

Place 2,the Kaon Series Receivers ,i have the kvr 1000,but i think every kaon stb has the same tuner inside,minimum artefacts,on nilesat H,with my testsystem!
Place 3 Echostar 5020 Pvr,simular to ariion,and better then dvr 7000!
also a very good but old echostar is the ad 2500 but the software is very bugy!

vantage,tuners,i never testet,but i read on the net the are not so sensitive,no i want to find out,what your faforites are!

in in the technical view how high you think is the change,that somewhere intime,comes a digital treshold out,like in the old analouge time?
dr dish mean,in a very old show on 1 west,that never will happen.!


lnb was used inverto white tech 0.3 db flange twin!
please dont forget to write your dish size/lnb your using for this poll!

now the rainy days are coming,iam looking forward to find maybe a new tuner champion!

but how many tuner manafactor we realy have now in the meantime philiphs and sharp and no others,and it is only a question how good the software is=?

 

[guest poster]

good post turok...

for us no.1 is a technomate ...has a sharp tuner and we get best results with a sharp lnb on various dishes, but I think koan or vantage might be a bit more sensitive from other threads.

 

[divibi]

but how many tuner manafactor we realy have now in the meantime philiphs and sharp and no others,and it is only a question how good the software is=?

Hi all,

I don't know but I've been told that the most sensitive tuner is found in TwinHam AD-SP 400 DVB-PCI card. Serious feed hunting dx experimentators claim it's the most sensitive. But I don't know what creates that 'sensitivity'. Would it help if the components were made of gold?

Or maybe it's the temperature, again! How about COOLING THE TUNER!!!???

 

[guest poster]

Hi all,

I don't know but I've been told that the most sensitive tuner is found in TwinHam AD-SP 400 DVB-PCI card. Serious feed hunting dx experimentators claim it's the most sensitive. But I don't know what creates that 'sensitivity'. Would it help if the components were made of gold?

Or maybe it's the temperature, again! How about COOLING THE TUNER!!!???

Thanks for the info on the card..

We've considered that and I think that maybe a very good point about tuner/stb cooling, at least to ensure the stb/ tuner isn't being 'baked' in a block of media products and/or nice attractive cabinet(aka oven) and losing x% just because it's too hot... possibly add a pc type cooling fan etc.. not sure about super cooling that .. but why not or explore a basic pc type cooling system.

 

[teppo]

Why there is no more answers for this poll? We are not the only ones who are struggling in fringe areas.

My experiences with 2,4m prime with Invacom quad and weak Astra 2D transponders, like 10714H, etc.:

The most sensitive so far is Humax Freesat HD box. This one is still showing picture while Dreambox 600, Nokia 9800s, Topfield TF5000 fades away. Opticum 4100 was little better than these three, but not as good as Humax. Even with Humax I can't get perfect H pol. 24/7 picture, so I'm still looking for better receiver...

Any recommendations?


Turok - Is this Homecast still on top of your list?

 

[Channel Hopper]

Why there is no more answers for this poll? We are not the only ones who are struggling in fringe areas.

The reason is that most consumers buy a receiver, and find it does everything they need. The chances of somebody noticing a receiver misses a particular group of channels is rare, and even then, going up one size of dish to compensate works usually works out cheaper.

Sensitivity of channel selection is not the main aim of the receiver manufacturer either, almost all rely on the quantity running off the production line and the profit margins of the components used.

 

[shane77]

tm5400 super, for me really good tuner

 

[BombedOne]

I've compared a lot of various input blocks of various receivers.

So far, I found most sensitive to be:

1. AverMedia DVB-S Hybrid II (A706R) - Locks frequency where all others refuse, but not good at low SR transponders
2. SHARP Tuner (used in opticum 4100C, a lot of Eurosats and so on), Very fast blind scan, locks low SR TP without problem.
3. SkyStar 2.3i - Thanks to dedicated chip, is absolute champion in low SR TP locking, but sensitivity not good as it can be.

Outsider:

LG Tuner (used in octagon, supermax, next, openbox clones and lot of others) - Weak at low SR, bad overall sensitivity.

Some example of all above mentioned works on VERY weak signal:

Avermedia - locked frequency, but picture heavily pixelated. Others - can't lock frequency at all (Tested on Sirius 5 Europe FSS beams)

QUITE weak signal:

Avermedia - locked ok, channels ok. Opticum 4100C - "weak signal" is on screen, some pixellation. Skystar 2.3i and other receivers - frequency locked, but "no channels found". (42E weak TP's).

 

[swoosh]

hi everyone, i am new on this.
I need to find a very sensitive tuner, because I live in the fringe area for Astra 2D.
Technomates "super" are supposed to offer a super sensitive tuner.. anyone has detalis from the specifications or real test concerning the minimun signal level they can weok with??? typical -25 to -65 dBm. Humax HD CI 1000 / 200 / 5000 and i CORD work near -75 dBm (non freesat / foxsat, oriented to UK market and again only -65 dBm) PACE DS810 was supposed to be one of them but specifications say -65 dBm-

Anyone can help me telling me wich reciver IN YEAR 2010 is quite sensitive? I would like to find one near -78dBm....

 

[hexah]

When people worry about tuners and LNBs it is because their dish is too small.



The only real solution is a bigger dish.

 

[kamaleon]

when people worry about tuners and lnbs is maybe because they can't get bigger dishes.

Also, what's wrong in wanting to squeeze the most out of one's already existing dish by matching it to the the best components? Don't you think a big dish with a really bad lnb and really bad tuner is maybe worse than a sligthly smaller dish with a top lnb and top tuner?

I'm baffled by your post.

 

[hexah]

The poster is in Spain where they can have massive dishes. They are using a 135cm dish so plenty of scope to upgrade.

In terms of the UK you are quite right. Here you have to fiddle and experiment to get the best out of what you can, due to SWMBO, neighbours, councils, etc. Some people have done a brilliant job of this.

Experimenting is also great fun but a big dish is the best cure.

 

[ralphmagno]

hello,
what are you trying to receive in spain?
astra 2 d?
free bbc and itv?
first of all we need to see what some others in your area and doing to receive this.
most receivers will not go below -65 dbm.
short cable run from the dish and good quality cable and good lnd are the 3 prime factors for fringe reception.
good aligenment and good receiver are a must as well.
look at lyngsat and see astra 2 d in your area what size dish is needed.
keep us informed ralph

 

[ralphmagno]

hello again
ps
looked at lyngsat map and all of spain the signal of astra 2d is 46 to 49 dbw.
so a 1.35 meter good lnb and good low loss cable should be ok in all of spain.

the alignment needs to be right on.
and the scew of the lnb is importent as well.
if you have a sky box and card there are a lot of programs as well.
ralph

 

[hexah]

The Lyngsat map for Astra 2d in Spain is useless.

The other maps recommend a 1.5m for the Valencia area, which will include a reasonable weather margin. If Swoosh is having problems then perhaps they have a dish which gives a signal just above threshold and should have been offered a 1.5m by the installer.

If I lived there I would have bought a 1.8m because it will last for decades if properly looked after and is good insurance against slight drops in signal strength due to the satellite ageing (not a problem in the main reception area, but a big problem for fringe reception!). Astra 2d is ageing, it is due to be replaced in 2 years.

ralphmagno is right to say that you need to check the skew, alignment, cable and connections anyway. Especially if there has been wind / rain recently.

-25 to -65 dBm is the normal range for tuners. I imagine the Technomate super has the same tuner sensitivity but with more expensive and less noisy components to give the impression of a better tuner by slightly extending the threshold before breakup. This is why professional broadcast receivers are always better than the consumer models, lower noise and better rejection, though they are much more expensive.

The difference between -65 dBm and -75 dBm is very small in practice and I expect there must be exceptionally low noise in the system to actually see any benefit. If there was any real practical benefit, if it could be manufactured at reasonable cost, and if LNBs really did produce negligible noise then every manufacturer would be offering such high sensitivity tuners.

So we are back to increasing the weak signal at the input stage to overcome the noise generated in the LNB and the rest of the system. Which means a bigger dish.

 

[powel000]

I think relook 400s has a very sensitive tuner

 

[swoosh]

Thank you all. I really need your advise.
I don't have a system yet, so I am no experiencing problems (...yet). I just want to improve the whole thing from the beginning.
Astra 2D (BBC, CH4, ITV...) is the objective, ralphmagno. And footprints are painfull... 1,5 - 1,8m needed in Valencia.:mad:

I have a big terrace, but I can´t ruin it all with a 1,8m dish!! Also, my neighbours would force me to take it out for stetic reasons. (that's the neigbourghoods laws in Spain). We dont have gardens at the front and rear of our houses!!! I live at a 8th floor. Thank godness... (Glinda uses that) ...I have a terrace.
I am spanish, I am not an UK "expat" - as you seem to call it. And hexah is right: experimenting is just what i feel like doing for my hobby. I Dont need to have perfect reception 100% of the time!!

BUT i dont agree that -65dB and -75 dBm for a receiver is very small: Yes, you are right again, hexah: there will have to be as little noise as possible to make it success. (a good 0,1-0,2 LNB and 5 m cable can get it) At the end of the day, everything reduces to a sum of dB!! (that's why engineers invented them for)

And the formula is easy and clear (again, under good noise conditions):

Signal arriving to Valencia + Dish Gain + LNB Gain - Cable loss >= receiver sensitvility

Why spoiling a terrace with a 1,5 / 1,8 dish to get 1 or 2,5 more dB and forgetting about a good LNB (ranges may vary 6-7 dB!!!) and a good tuner (10 dBm additional can be added selecting a good super senitive one) There is also an economic reason, 150/180 cm dish is three times more expensive than 135. (expensive hobby then!) So, I would like to try the following:

* 135 dish Tecatel gives 43 dB gain (PIRE 39 dBW)
* adding a gregorian kit (Tecatel) will increase it 12% (specifictaions say converts to 150cm dish). Lets say 1 dB to be sure. I could go on with a PIRE of 38 dBW.

* Black Inverto ULTRA LNB has famous good performance LN 0,2 plain and High Gain (near 60 dB!!) I hope who drawed those hurting footprints used a poor old one!!
* I will have only 5 m of cable - best I can buy - not a great waste even if its double price, its only 5 m!!
* On the other side of the wall there will be a tuner. Please help me to find one with good sensibility. (arround -77dBm or so)

Thank you all.

 

[pipino]

take this from me m8 if you want to get maximum 1.50 here is the best combination

Antenna =Gibertini OP 1.50(forget about Tecatels 1.35 gregorian )
LNB= Inverto single Black Ultra
Decoder=Humax FOXSAT HD from "FREESAT" just Brilliant Tuner

,,if you read previous posts made by Huevos and my self about the matter you will quicky get a good overview about the reception of Astra 2D around (Alicante and Valencia region)...cheers

 

[swoosh]

But HUMAX Foxsat is designed for UK, not for fringe areas, and has a sensibility of -65dBm. If you trust Humax, then recommend me its sister, the iCORD with specifications of -75dBm!!!

Before writing here i read a lot about 2D in Valencia, but Alicante is a different scenary (i hope,a ccordint to the footprints that Valencia is more likely Sagunto (1,5m) than Javea/Denia/benidorm/Alicante (2,4m) Where is Huevos located? (not the human body part... hehe)

 

[kemal1923]

if you hv. good quality dish,lnb and coaxiel cable receiver sensitivity to be second importance then.ı follow many
sat-forums but first time ı hv encountered such a question?