Decent twin output Universal LNB options

[Adam792]

Does anyone have any recommendations these days? It's a fair few years since I've bought one.

Using an Inverto Black Ultra twin output on my 30°W dish that's a good few years old now, and it seems to have conked out as of this afternoon. I'm no longer getting any high band V channels - 11643V is the highest I can lock. Don't think it's a DiSEqC switch problem as there is one connected to each output and I'm not getting any high Vs on either cable. The 5°W dish connected to the other port on both is giving both bands/pols without problem. I will check to be 100% sure though of course.

To be honest, I'm half tempted to go to single output on the 30°W and 5°W dishes and put one on each cable, doing away with the switching altogether.

 

[ozumo]

The original IBU twin is still the best I've used, the newer PLL Invertos don't perform as well in my experience.

 

[Lazarus]

The original IBU twin is still the best I've used, the newer PLL Invertos don't perform as well in my experience.

Agreed, though they are prone to failure.

 

[rolfw]

I've given up using the Inverto Ultra, too many failures and also they are not so good on the weaker frequencies, most standard twins/quads are good.

 

[LateAdopter]

The Inverto LNBs have a split line on top. I put Sellotape over it to keep the rain out. You may need to dry yours indoors.

 

[Magmax]

Hello to all postwrs. My friend says that the Opticum LNB are the best.

 

[SimonE]

Does anyone have any recommendations these days? It's a fair few years since I've bought one.

Using an Inverto Black Ultra twin output on my 30°W dish that's a good few years old now, and it seems to have conked out as of this afternoon. I'm no longer getting any high band V channels - 11643V is the highest I can lock. Don't think it's a DiSEqC switch problem as there is one connected to each output and I'm not getting any high Vs on either cable. The 5°W dish connected to the other port on both is giving both bands/pols without problem. I will check to be 100% sure though of course.

To be honest, I'm half tempted to go to single output on the 30°W and 5°W dishes and put one on each cable, doing away with the switching altogether.

Adam, best to get an LNB with the Phase Locked Loop design [PLL] such as Octagon , Goobay or Golden Media. They are best for resolving low bandwidth low symbol rate signals such as on Es'hails2 for amateur activity or these radio signal you've been after. The separation of H & V signals doesn't seem to be a problem these days and noise figures of 0.1 dB are common. If you can afford several you can report back your findings to us all.

 

[SimonE]

Adam I've sent you a PM regarding this subject. SimonE

 

[Adam792]

Adam I've sent you a PM regarding this subject. SimonE

Thanks Simon, I don’t know if you got my reply!

It turns out the LNB is OK, and it’s seemingly the PC Card that’s on the blink (TBS6905). Seems a weird problem to occur, but I have noticed a couple of the frontends on the card reporting no signal over the last couple of months. Plugging one of the cables into my Satlink meter proved that the upper V frequencies were coming through fine. They’ve since come back on the PC Card.

Thanks for the recommendations everyone, interesting regarding the PLL LNBs. I recently got a cheap second hand dish that I presume has one (it looks relatively new and has no brand on it), and it definitely seems quite good at the low SR radio transponders on various sats.

 

[Adam792]

Well... Now I'm back to the original hypothesis of the LNB. My high Vs have disappeared again, including if I connect the cable up to my Octagon SF8008 mini instead.

In the last couple of days when they have been working, I've been getting regular glitches on frequencies across all the bands/pols even when the signal level is reported as high by the TBS card (~12-13dB C/N for DVB-S2 8PSK 3/4 which is plenty of margin). Weirdly now that high V has completely gone, the glitches on low H (11222H TVE1 and 11347H TV3 being the ones I've tested) seem to have stopped.

I guess these odd and inconsistent problems are normal behaviour for a failing LNB?

 

[Adam792]

A GT-Sat GT-TL1 seems to be on sale for £6.95, which seems a bargain. Anyone got any experience of these?

Otherwise there's the Technomate TM-2 for around £12. I know the Technomates have quite a high output level, I've noticed that before having used the single output TM1 years ago. That could be useful as the cable run is fairly long.

 

[ozumo]

Only LNB that failed for me was a cheap Sharp one, the high verticals slowly deteriorated over a few weeks and then gave up altogether.

Regarding output level my longest cable run is about 30m via a switch, it's not a problem for any of my LNBs from ancient Sky minidish LNBs to IBUs.

 

[Adam792]

Replaced the Inverto Black Ultra with a Technomate TM-1 I had lying about, and that seems to be working OK as a stopgap.

I can actually now borderline lock 11496H (TPA Asturias in PLS mode) which didn't lock on the Inverto. It's hovering around 10.5-11.0dB C/N, so it's glitching (8PSK 8/9 requires something like 10.8 minimum off the top of my head). No lock still on 11491V or the new 11502V.

The low H Abertis TPs seem stronger than with the Inverto.

I've self-amalgamating taped up the other cable for now, ready for if I do get a new dual output. Thanks all for your help and suggestions, I'll be having a think.

 

[Channel Hopper]

Replaced the Inverto Black Ultra with a Technomate TM-1 I had lying about, and that seems to be working OK as a stopgap.

I can actually now borderline lock 11496H (TPA Asturias in PLS mode) which didn't lock on the Inverto. It's hovering around 10.5-11.0dB C/N, so it's glitching (8PSK 8/9 requires something like 10.8 minimum off the top of my head). No lock still on 11491V or the new 11502V.

The low H Abertis TPs seem stronger than with the Inverto.

I've self-amalgamating taped up the other cable for now, ready for if I do get a new dual output. Thanks all for your help and suggestions, I'll be having a think.

You could consider running a quattro LNB along with a switch indoors. The advantage being the additional ports for other equipment.

 

[Analoguesat]

Avoid the 10 quid red lnbs from Amazon - the plastic horn covers arent UV stable & go brittle then crack after a couple of years.

 

[Lazarus]

Avoid the 10 quid red lnbs from Amazon - the plastic horn covers arent UV stable & go brittle then crack after a couple of years.

Ah, I got one of those a while back. Not used it yet, but it was effectively free as I got a £10 credit during Amazon's Visa fees debacle.

 

[mike1]

Yes PLL Invertos dont work well on 1.9e /39e i find even 13e is a little weak. I look for second hand older inverto lnbs on ebay!

 

[Adam792]

Having had a rummage through some clutter this morning, it turns out I actually already have a twin output Technomate TM-2 that I can use on the Hispasat dish. No idea when or what I bought it for originally, it seems barely used.

The TM-1 has been working without issue over the last week or so, and the rain margin has been better than the Inverto. The general performance across the bands/pols seems more balanced as well.

 

[rolfw]

Having had a rummage through some clutter this morning, it turns out I actually already have a twin output Technomate TM-2 that I can use on the Hispasat dish. No idea when or what I bought it for originally, it seems barely used.

The TM-1 has been working without issue over the last week or so, and the rain margin has been better than the Inverto. The general performance across the bands/pols seems more balanced as well.

That's what I found with the Triax LNBs against the Inverto, much more even signal strengths.