Opticum white quad v Inverto Black Ultra single

[sonnetpete]

It was mentioned on my recent Red Rocket thread that the Opticum Quad was reported to be superior to a Black Ultra. Not being one to believe anything unless I see the proof myself, a new Opticum quad arrived at lunch time, crying "test me, test me".

I will swap out my Black Ultra on the 1.2M motorised dish to give it a proper test, however this afternoon I swapped it for the BU on 7W as part of my multi sat set up. Readings are taken from the VU+ Solo and less than an hour apart so the weather remained similar, cloudy and overcast.

Fox 11296H
B.U 51% SNR....Opticum 51% SNR
FX 12226H
B.U. 29% SNR....Opticum 0% SNR
MBC Action 11938V
B.U. 45% SNR....Opticum 51% SNR

On FX there was severe break up with the B.U. but as you can see, zero results with the Opticum. I'm intrigued by the increase on 11938V and wonder why.

 

[Lazarus]

Probably because the NF vs. Frequency plot for any and all LNB types is not flat across Ku Band.

 

[zorbua]

Probably because the NF vs. Frequency plot for any and all LNB types is not flat across Ku Band.

Agree, I would think all LNB'S offer different response to different Freqs in the spectrum. I suppose one of the reason being the manufacturing process.

 

[hexah]

The Black Ultra is supposed to be fairly flat across the band compared to a typical LNB.


Looks like some more tests will be required on the Opticum over the weekend.

 

[sonnetpete]

I intend to.....given reasonable weather....

 

[sonnetpete]

The weather was pretty good this morning so I got on with the comparison testing using my motorised 1.2M Laminas dish and the DrHD F15. Again I tried to make the swap between the Black Ultra and the Opticum as quick as possible to retain similar weather conditions. There was certainly less than an hour between readings. I chose to use what for me are fringe satellites and weaker transponders thereon.

53E 12717H Eritv 2
BU 7.4dB....Opticum 8.1dB

26E 12437V Alrayyan HD
BU 5.6dB....Opticum 5.3dB

4W 11570H CNL Ukraine
BU 6.8dB....Opticum 0 dB

7W 12226H Gear One
BU 5dB....Opticum 5.3dB

It's clear that the Opticum Quad does indeed perform better than the Black Ultra on certain frequencies. I'd hazard a guess that for fringe reception of 28E it would help with some transponders (I think I've seen CH5 mentioned on other forums) and that it may be particularly suited to dishes over 1M in size, though perhaps not those where a matched feedhorn is recommended. I'll recheck the results for 4W later as I'm not sure if those channels cease broadcasting at a certain time, though I doubt they switch the TP off. I will test the Opticum on the small dish I have set up for 28E too, though obviously I don't experience a problem with that satellite.

 

[timo_w2s]

Interesting, tempted to try one myself.

Have you got a link to the LNB so I can see exactly which one it is?

 

[sonnetpete]

I got mine from here Timo...

http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B002E3Q4JC/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm sure they are available fairly readily in Europe...

 

[hexah]

It looks to me like the Opticum does well on strong signals but can fall over on weak signals.


FX 12226H
B.U. 29% SNR....Opticum 0% SNR


4W 11570H CNL Ukraine
BU 6.8dB....Opticum 0 dB


Channel 5 is on 10964 H so it would be interesting to know if someone in Spain finds it does better on the low H frequencies because it isn't doing so well on some of the higher H frequencies.


So far it's not about to grab the crown from the Black Ultra.

 

[Steve Steve]

Nice test ..Pete....yes on the other forum ....is mostly. Expats ....struggling with reception of the 2F uk beam...(Me included).....ITV , ch4hd, all the channel 5's...bbc red button HD, and BBC Scotland /Wales HD....maybe the Opticum..is just better at those frequencys..?....I didn't mention this before......

After lots of tests...I found a Raven/Andrews feedhorn /invacom LNB...gave 10-15 % better Signal Quality (on the very weak evening UK 2F signal).. here in Munich....than any 40mm LNB...on my Gibby Op 150 dish......(Alps , Inverto, Opticum, Best, And Humax) were all tied and tested...

 

[hexah]

Shows how much of an improvement a well matched feedhorn can make.

 

[Steve Steve]

Yes ..for me...the feedhorn made the difference ..between signal or no signal in the evening ......for me tho....the opticum was the best 40mm LNB on 2F uk beam channels.....

 

[Steve Steve]

Any more tests "Pete " .....on other sattelite's / frequencys ...?.... Or is the testing finished..?

 

[sonnetpete]

Any more tests "Pete " .....on other sattelite's / frequencys ...?.... Or is the testing finished..?

I don't know, I'm in the middle of updating my TLE's and waiting to see if SES want more tests....

Seriously, the weather has been dreadful this last week and only today do we have sun and broken cloud. I've tested the sats and frequencies which cause me the most difficulty so I'll be refitting the BU as the losses with the Opticum outweighed the gains it gave. I will test it against a white Inverto on a small solid oval dish I've set up on 28E but we get a pretty reasonable all round signal here. I'll leave the small dish up to test Astra 2E when it moves into postion.....

 

[sonnetpete]

Got a chance to swap the BU onto my motorised dish and try the Opticum on the dedicated 28E dish.

Readings taken with my Satplus meter on a solid oval (60X50cm) dish using 12207V which is one of the weaker T/P's here

Inverto White........Opticum Quad
36%SNR 44%SNR

I'll leave the Opticum on the dish until Astra2E is in position and testing, when I'll try and test again...

 

[mr420]

@sonnetpete any update ? Since i am planning to buy new LNB would be nice to have some tests

 

[sonnetpete]

Actually I swapped the Opticum onto 5E on my multisat set up quite a while ago. However I may put it back on the small dish as I possibly need an additional direct feed for 28E. Next week if I get time...