Advice Needed 6 deg monobloc lnbs - a question?

jeallen01

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Morning

A quick/hopefully easy (?) question:

I've got a couple of the above just laying around, and I wondered if it is possible to use only the LNB that is mounted directly on the feedarm, and thus treat it as if the other offset one just didn't exist - but without using the DiSEqC "A or B" selection command, i.e. if I didn't set the receiver to send that command, would one section of the LNB still work?
(obviously, a quick test would be required to determine which section would work, although if one is actually marked as "A" then that's probably the one that should work without any command, or at least that is what I would hope)

Thanks in advance.
 

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If no diseqc command is sended , lnb A is allways connected
 

jeallen01

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If no diseqc command is sended , lnb A is allways connected
@Trust1

That's what I thought would (or at least should) be the case - many thanks for confirming it.:Y

Cheers
 

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Yep. Defaults to Port A.
 

jeallen01

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Update, and so another question:
Just picked up a Triax TD78 with an Inverto Black Pro monobloc for 15 quid the lot (!) from an ebay seller in High Wycombe - LNB A seems to be the RH one as one looks from the rear side of the unit towards the dish, and so is that the default (i.e. the RH one is LNB A) for monoblocs??

BTW: Oh Yeah, and am I "collecting" dishes & LNBs? Maybe "Yes" because that dish + Inverto monobloc is probably cheaper than buying just an Inverto Black Single ATM :-rofl2
 
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a33

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, and so is that the default (i.e. the RH one is LNB A) for monoblocs??

There is no official standard to that, so it may vary.

However many 13E-19E (6 degree) monoblocks have 13 as A,
and many 19E-23E (4.3 degree) monoblocks have 19 as A.
But if my memory serves me right, there are monoblocks with diseqc position the other way round.

greetz,
A33
 

jeallen01

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@a33

Many thanks, and that's good info
 

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In general (stores). 95% of cases
A.- Hot Bird 13E
B.- Astra 19E

5% and for use with receiver that do not handle DiSEqC such as Movistar+ (Iplus) and then have a second receiver that does handle DiSeqC.
A.- Astra 19E
B.- Hot Bird 13E
It is usually indicated on the box and they are also sold more expensive in Spain.
 

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All those I've either used or come across have defaulted to "A".
 

jeallen01

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Ref monoblocs & DiSEqC commands again:

I've seen that some receivers have a separate and specific monobloc "A or B" LNB selection menu list, and then another list for a 4-way DiSEqC switch, i.e. "A or B or C or D"/"1 or 2 or 3 or 4" . However, others (most?) have only the second menu for the 4-way switch.

Does that mean that if you use DiSEqC 1.0 commands and select "A"/"1" or "B"/"2" then that should trigger a monobloc to switch to LNB "A" or "B" respectively?
(never having used a monobloc I'm hoping that it does work that way, but confirmation either way would be useful).

Thanks in advance.
 

jeallen01

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@Channel Hopper

Many thanks and I'll take a look at that and see if I can understand that (but probably not that much!).

Edited: just checked the spec for the Inverto Monobloc picked up last week and it states:
"Control, Satellite A/B Selection - “DiSEqC 1.0 (Sat A* = Hotbird 13° East, Sat B = ASTRA 19.2° East)”

So it looks to be a fair chance that it will respond as hoped because that specifically mentions DiSEqC 1.0. :D
 
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jeallen01

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Possibly of interest to someone: Inverto does some triple and even quadruple monoblocs for closely-spaced sats for several sizes of small dishes - these obviously do use DiSEqC 1.0:
 

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And, of course, adjustable ones are easily available these days.
 

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There is the narrow feed / interconnect versions for such a system. I installed a few, all are still working.


They will - just - work on a 65 cm dish with 3 degree spacing
 

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A different DiSEqC logic, one is tone burst, one is a full switching command, though some LNBs will change input using either signal.

Had a skim through that document - some of it I half understood (or at least the concepts if not the details), and one thing caught my attention: there appears to be a DiSEqC command to full control LNB skew (not just set to H or V). Presumably that would be for an LNB that works like an old-style magnetic polarizer, but has any manufacturer ever used that approach because DXer's might have found it useful?
 

jeallen01

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A different DiSEqC logic, one is tone burst, one is a full switching command, though some LNBs will change input using either signal.

Had a skim through that document - some of it I half understood (or at least the concepts if not the details), and one thing caught my attention: there appears to be a DiSEqC command to full control LNB skew (not just set to H or V). Presumably that would be for an LNB that works like an old-style magnetic polarizer, but has any manufacturer ever used that approach because DXer's might have found it useful?
 

jeallen01

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Ref the Inverto monobloc:
- Yes, it does respond correctly to DiSEqC 1.0 commands - so receiver setting of Port A/1 gets 13E and of Port B/2 gets Astra 19E, (though signal levels on with that mono on the "new" TD78 aren't that great TBH as there's certainly a bit of a compromise in aligning the feedarm LNB on 13E and then getting the offset one to get decent signals on 19E, so maybe this mono isn't totally suited to the F/D of that dish.)
- Also switches correctly when connected to one of the LNB i/ps on the EMP "S16-1 PCP-W3" "16-1" switch when that is set to Uncommitted mode (OTOH, from what I read, I thought it would have to be Committed mode:confused) - confirmed with both the TM5402 M3 and SX88 in the "Office" (and thus also via one of the Smart Priority Switches in the box halfway along the garden).

Means I now have a spare i/p on the switch for something else.
 

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Normally (when no other text is given) a 6 degree monoblock is meant for a 80 cm dish; for what part in (western) europe it normally fits best, I don't know.

The distance between feedhorns might vary a little between certain types of 6 degree monoblocks, so the one might be slightly better than the other in a certain area.

The triax78 is I believe just a 70cm dish, so not really 80 cm...
However with good compromising in finetuning with the 3 feeds, a triple LNB for 19-23-28E for a 60cm dish performs better in the Netherlands on a triax 78 than on a triax 64 (60cm dish)! The bigger dish surface compensates more than enough for the slight misalignment of the feeds.


When you use a 16/1 diseqc1.1 (uncommitted), and then the monoblock, which switches on diseqc 1.0, you've built a diseqc cascade (serial setup of switches)!
(With an 'option switch' or with other 'tricks' you could also cascade with another diseqc 1.0 (committed) switch; but when you have a diseqc 1.1 switch and your receiver can manage diseqc 1.1, that is not so relevant.)

Greetz,
A33
 
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