S.Sweden...Upgrading LNB...Will it help?

Rabbit

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I currently use a MTI AP82-TW 0.6dB LNB, and was thinking upgrading to something better. Current reception is good all day, but during bad weather, such as heavy rain or snow, I get pixilation. This happens only in the evening during a small period between say approx 8pm and 11pm. I have attached a makeshift cover for my LNB, which has worked a treat to keep the rain and snow away from the front of the feedhorn (it has improved reception during bad weather), but I still get slight pixilation during bad weather. Is there anyone in the South Sweden area using a better LNB which with eliminate the occasional pixilation?
Oh yes, the slight pixilation occurs on 2D horrizontal H transponders. I still receive no channels on V transponder. Would the upgrade in your opinion achieve V channel reception?
Before anyone says, align the dish better or change the skew...I have already done this to its maximum (I think!!!)... Thanks.
 

steffan_st

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I'm about 120 km:s NE from you and on the Fibo antenna I used for about 7 months I tried both AP 8 TW and Invacom 0.3.The MTI worked slightly better so it's useless for you to buy an Invacom.

If I were you I'd spend a couple of hundreds on a good 0.3 LNBF,cut the feedhorn off it and attach it to your CM feed.Not such a big investment just to try.

The AP-8 t2 n is claimed to be very good,it's the 0.3 version of the old AP-8 t2 that worked so good with 2d.If you can't find one,you could try a Sharp dot 4 or any of the other new 0.3 LNBF:s.

I don't say that this would cure your problems but could be worth a try!
 

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Id spend the money on a bigger dish :D
 
H

Happy-Buddah

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Ref: "Id spend the money on a bigger dish :D"

Perhaps they do not have skips or rubbish tips in Sweden where people dump large dishes (lol);) ;) :D
H-B
 

steffan_st

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Happy-Buddah said:
Ref: "Id spend the money on a bigger dish :D"

Perhaps they do not have skips or rubbish tips in Sweden where people dump large dishes (lol);) ;) :D
H-B

That's not a bad answer Buddah!:-righton
 

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Happy-Buddah

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"That's not a bad answer Buddah!:-righton"Nice one Steffan! :-thumb1

Bright sunny day here m8, hope your project can now get off the ground as the weather is improving:-bighappy
H-B
 

Rabbit

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steffan_st said:
I'm about 120 km:s NE from you and on the Fibo antenna I used for about 7 months I tried both AP 8 TW and Invacom 0.3.The MTI worked slightly better so it's useless for you to buy an Invacom.

If I were you I'd spend a couple of hundreds on a good 0.3 LNBF,cut the feedhorn off it and attach it to your CM feed.Not such a big investment just to try.

The AP-8 t2 n is claimed to be very good,it's the 0.3 version of the old AP-8 t2 that worked so good with 2d.If you can't find one,you could try a Sharp dot 4 or any of the other new 0.3 LNBF:s.

I don't say that this would cure your problems but could be worth a try!

I will investigate the LNBF:s.
Purchasing a new dish is out of the question. The dish I have is adequate and isnt worth spending all that money to get a few new channels on 2d V. Just need to try to upgrade the LNB, and tweek a little and I am sure the pixelation might dissappear. Corrigap who is 100km south of me has the same dish, so I think it should be possible. Thanks for the advice. :)
 

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Rabbit said:
I will investigate the LNBF:s.
Purchasing a new dish is out of the question. The dish I have is adequate and isnt worth spending all that money to get a few new channels on 2d V. Just need to try to upgrade the LNB, and tweek a little and I am sure the pixelation might dissappear. Corrigap who is 100km south of me has the same dish, so I think it should be possible. Thanks for the advice. :)

With extreme fringe reception, you find that a distance of a few miles can make all the difference in reception. The fact that Corrigap has the same dish should not be taken as an indication that it will work the same for you. Reception gets very spotty at the edge of the footprints due to minute variations in the reflectors on the spacecraft. He may well just be lucky and have a slightly stronger signal.

The other thing to think about is the boxes you are using - his might just have a more sensitive tuner in it.
 

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Analoguesat said:
With extreme fringe reception, you find that a distance of a few miles can make all the difference in reception. The fact that Corrigap has the same dish should not be taken as an indication that it will work the same for you. Reception gets very spotty at the edge of the footprints due to minute variations in the reflectors on the spacecraft. He may well just be lucky and have a slightly stronger signal.

The other thing to think about is the boxes you are using - his might just have a more sensitive tuner in it.

I wondered why my ears were burning!

@ Rabbit

If you can spare about a hundred quid or so, you should seriously consider upgrading your LNB to the Invacom quad (QDF 031). I did that last October and am pleased with the results. I got an immediate 5% quality increase on my Panny 30, this alone was enough to keep me dancing above the signal threshold in all but the worst of weathers. I know 5% doesn't sound like much, but it can make a big difference when signal levels are generally low and all you need is to stay above that 'blocking threshold'. I don't get anything worth speaking of on the V transponders, even with the Invacom. The API is a good LNB but the Invacom is better (this is all documented on other threads by the way, incl info about which ports to use on the LN:cool:. IIRC you have a Channel Master feedhorn, you'll need a feedhorn for the QDF 031.

Corrigap
 

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where do you buy the feedhorns for the Invacom, can you name a few Internet sites. Thanks
 

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powel000 said:
where do you buy the feedhorns for the Invacom, can you name a few Internet sites. Thanks

The feedhorn goes with (= is matched to) the dish rather than the LNB. The LNB in turn must be able to take a feedhorn, ie a C120 fitting.

Try this link, look towards the bottom of the page:

http://www.satellitesuperstore.com/lnbs.htm

Corrigap
 

Rabbit

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corrigap said:
The feedhorn goes with (= is matched to) the dish rather than the LNB. The LNB in turn must be able to take a feedhorn, ie a C120 fitting.

Try this link, look towards the bottom of the page:

http://www.satellitesuperstore.com/lnbs.htm

Corrigap

Thanks for your info Corrigap and all the others here. Somehow I feel the 5% increase in sensitivity would just be enough to keep me above the 'blocking line'. I will definitely give this one a go. Corrigap, about the V transponders, I remember a while back, you were receiving these loud and clear, what has happened since? A couple of posts back you mentioned you were not getting any V channels.
 

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Rabbit said:
Corrigap, about the V transponders, I remember a while back, you were receiving these loud and clear, what has happened since? A couple of posts back you mentioned you were not getting any V channels.

What I actually said was 'I don't get anything worth speaking of on the V transponders, even with the Invacom.', to be exact.

The V transponders do come in 'loud and clear', but only in good weather conditions and for about an hour or so in the am and again in the pm.

Best of luck with the Invacom, but it probably won't make a dramatic difference as regards V reception!

Corrigap
 

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Have you done anything to improve your 2d reception?!?
If not MTI has released a new C 120 0,3 dB lnb,maybe it would help you.
 

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It's always better to buy a bigger dish than you really need, in your situation you should have bought the 2.4 meter Channel Master or even a 3 meter dish.

Playing with different LNBs doesn't make any great impact, alway buy the biggest you can afford.
 

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Rabbit says in a previous post that he would be satisfied with a 5% increase,a better lnb could definately cure that.
 

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Likvid said:
It's always better to buy a bigger dish than you really need, in your situation you should have bought the 2.4 meter Channel Master or even a 3 meter dish.

Playing with different LNBs doesn't make any great impact, alway buy the biggest you can afford.

If 'your situation' refers to me then;

I'm quite happy with my choice of dish thank you very much! I have no need to get the vertical channels and I knew this would be the case at the outset. So my 1.8 CM does the job for me at far less cost than a 2.4 would have done.

Changing up from an MTI twin to the Invacom 0.3 quad made a solid difference in my case (mentioned earlier in this thread) and was well worth the 100 pounds or so that I paid for it.



@ steffan_st

This new LNB is not mentioned on the MTI website, have you got any details of it, like its designation?


Corrigap
 

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corrigap said:
@ steffan_st

This new LNB is not mentioned on the MTI website, have you got any details of it, like its designation?

Corrigap

It's designation is AP-8 STW,and yes it is mentioned and here's it's PDF:
 

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steffan_st said:
It's designation is AP-8 STW and yes it is mentioned,and here's it's PDF:

Thanks! Must have missed it.

Corrigap
 
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