INDEPENDENT TESTING by MIKE KOHL at GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS MAY 10


Antenna:		01	02	03	04	05	06	07

Vertical TPs:	Channel Used
01 11715 MHz	Ch 507	9.1 <9.4>	8.6 <8.8>	10.0	9.5	8.6	8.9	7.8 <8.0> (8.4)
02 11745 MHz	Ch 316	9.5 <9.7>	9.0 <9.4>	10.2	9.5	9.3	9.3	8.8 <8.7> (9.1)
03 11776 MHz	Ch 416	9.2 <9.6>	8.9 <9.2>	9.6	9.1	9.1	9.0	8.7 <8.3> (9.0)
04 11806 MHz	Ch 651	9.2 <9.4>	8.8 <9.1>	9.3	9.1	8.8	8.8	8.1 <8.1> (8.6)
05 11837 MHz	Ch 392	9.2 <9.4>	9.2 <9.3>	9.6	9.3	8.9	9.2	8.0 <8.1> (8.7)
06 11867 MHz	Ch 303	9.7 <10.2>	9.6 <10.2>	10.0	9.5	9.7	9.7	9.0 <9.0> (9.6)
07 11898 MHz	Ch 501	9.9 <10.5>	9.7 <10.3>	10.2	9.8	9.9	9.7	9.5 <9.3> (9.8)
08 11928 MHz	Ch 500	9.4 <9.4>	8.8 <9.4>	9.4	9.2	9.0	9.1	8.4 <8.3> (8.9)
09 11959 MHz	Ch 351	9.8 <9.6>	9.7 <9.7>	10.0	9.6	9.7	9.8	8.7 <8.5> (9.2)
10 11989 MHz	Ch 370	9.2 <9.2>	8.7 <9.0>	9.2	8.8	9.0	8.8	8.4 <8.1> (8.2)
11 12020 MHz	Ch 503	9.4 <9.8>	8.9 <9.5>	9.5	9.0	9.3	9.2	9.1 <8.8> (9.2)
12 12050 MHz	Ch 354	9.6 <9.9>	9.3 <9.7>	9.7	9.4	9.6	9.4	8.9 <8.6> (9.2)
13 12081 MHz	Ch 308	9.7 <9.9>	9.6 <9.7>	9.7	9.3	9.7	9.7	8.6 <8.4> (9.2)
14 12111 MHz	Ch 380	9.4 <9.7>	9.4 <9.7>	9.4	9.1	9.4	9.3	8.7 <8.4> (9.2)
15 12142 MHz	Ch 388	9.4 <10.1>	9.2 <9.6>	9.5	9.2	9.5	9.4	9.2 <8.8> (9.5)
16 12172 MHz	Ch 522	10.1 <10.4>	9.7 <10.3>	10.0	9.7	9.9	9.7	9.6 <9.2> (9.7)

Horizontal TPs:
17 11728 MHz	Ch 344	8.3 <8.0>	8.3 <8.6>	9.7	8.8	8.6	8.1	7.6 <7.4> (7.8)
18 11758 MHz	Ch 400	9.1 <9.7>	9.2 <9.7>	10.0	9.0	9.3	9.1	8.8 <8.5> (9.0)
19 11789 MHz	Ch 403	8.8 <9.2>	9.2 <9.6>	9.5	8.8	9.1	8.8	8.2 <7.8> (8.4)
20 11819 MHz	Ch 544	9.4 <9.5>	9.9 <10.3>	10.0	9.3	9.5	9.5	8.2 <7.7> (8.3)
21 11850 MHz	Ch 301	9.7 <10.3>	10.1 <10.6>	10.4	9.6	10.3	9.7	9.1 <8.8> (9.3)
22 11880 MHz	Ch 512	9.4 <10.1>	9.5 <10.0>	10.0	9.4	9.4	8.8	9.1 <8.3> (8.8)
23 not used
24 not used
25 11972 MHz	Ch 311	9.4 <9.3>	9.4 <9.9>	10.0	9.4	9.7	9.0	8.5 <8.0> (8.3)
26 12002 MHz	Ch 534	9.4 <9.7>	9.2 <9.6>	9.8	9.2	9.1	8.6	8.9 <8.2> (8.7)
27 12033 MHz	Ch 601	9.2 <9.7>	9.5 <9.7>	9.9	9.3	9.1	8.7	8.7 <8.3> (8.7)
28 12063 MHz	Ch 554	8.6 <8.6>	8.9 <9.3>	9.2	8.7	8.3	8,2	7.6 <7.2> (7.8)
29 12094 MHz	Ch 508	9.0 <9.2>	9.4 <9.7>	9.6	8.8	9.0	8.7	8.2 <7.8> (8.3)
30 12124 MHz	Ch 322	9.3 <10.1>	9.9 <10.0>	10.1	9.4	10.2	9.2	9.4 <8.7> (9.4)
31 12155 MHz	Ch 300	9.1 <9.9>	9.5 <9.7>	9.8	9.1	9.7	9.1	9.1 <8.6> (9.2)
32 12185 MHz	Ch 333	8.9 <8.8>	9.3 <9.5>	9.4	8.8	9.5	8.8	8.3 <7.7> (8.4)

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON TEST PROCEDURES:

GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS HAS OFTEN WONDERED HOW ACCURATE THE GAIN FIGURES PROVIDED BY VARIOUS OFFSET ANTENNA MANUFACTURERS ARE IN THE REAL WORLD. WE FELT THAT THE ONLY WAY TO MAKE A FAIR JUDGMENT OF ANTENNA PERFORMANCE WAS TO DO A "SHOOT-OUT", PITTING DIFFERENT ANTENNAS AGAINST EACH OTHER WHILE MEASURING SIGNALS UNDER CONDITIONS AS EQUAL AS POSSIBLE.

THIS PROVED TO BE QUITE DIFFICULT, BECAUSE THE WEATHER DID NOT WANT TO COOPERATE DURING THE MONTH OF MAY, 2006.
THE ORIGINAL TESTING WAS DONE ON SUNDAY, MAY 7TH, AND HAD TO BE DISCONTINUED DUE TO CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS.
THE FIRST NUMBERS GIVEN FOR SAMPLES 1, 2 AND 7 WERE ALL THAT COULD BE ACCURATELY DOCUMENTED ON THAT DAY.
THESE NUMBERS ARE GIVEN IN < > BRACKETS ON #1, #2 AND #7 COLUMNS.
#1 WAS A 90 CM ROUND OFFSET ANTENNA MADE BY PARACLIPSE IN COLUMBUS, NEBRASKA.
#2 WAS AN 85 CM ELLIPTICAL ANTENNA FROM PATRIOT IN ALBION, MICHIGAN.
#7 WAS A 76 CM ROUND OFFSET ANTENNA MADE BY WINEGARD IN BURLINGTON, IOWA.
OVERALL, THE 90 CM PARACLIPSE WON HANDS DOWN, BUT THE 85 CM ELLIPTICAL GAVE IT A RUN FOR THE MONEY.
THE 76 CM WINEGARD LAGGED ANYWHERE FROM 0.5 TO 1.5 DB ON MOST TRANSPONDERS; AN ACCEPTABLE RESULT GIVEN ITS SIZE.

PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 10TH, ALLOWED A LARGER SAMPLING, UNAFFECTED BY WEATHER CONDITIONS.
TYPICAL READINGS WERE ABOUT 0.5 DB STRONGER THAN THE MAY 7TH SAMPLE.
#1, #2 AND #7 WERE TESTED AS BEFORE, AND THE WINEGARD (#7) HAD RATHER DISAPPOINTING RESULTS.
#3 WAS A FIBERGLASS 84 CM ELLIPTICAL MADE BY CHANNEL MASTER, WITH #4 BEING THE 75 CM ELLIPTICAL VERSION OF THE SAME.
IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THE CHANNEL MASTER ELLIPTICAL ANTENNAS USED THE FACTORY-SUPPLIED KU LNBFs MADE BY NJRC.
ALL OTHER ANTENNAS TESTED WITH THE SAME 0.3 dB KU-BAND LNBF MADE FOR DMS INTERNATIONAL UNDER THE XTREME II BRAND LABEL.
WE NOTICED A FLATTER (MORE UNIFORM) RESPONSE ACROSS THE BAND WITH THE NJRC DEVICES, WHICH WERE BUILT FOR THE ORIGINAL PRIMESTAR PROJECT BY NATIONAL JAPAN RADIO. THE XTREME II LNBF WAS CONSIDERABLY MORE DIFFICULT TO CENTER FOR BALANCED RESPONSE BETWEEN HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL POLARITIES. THIS ACTUALLY CAUSED SOME ANOMALIES IN OUR READINGS THAT IN ALL FAIRNESS MADE THE WINEGARD 2076 (#7 SAMPLE) LOOK BAD ON SEVERAL READINGS. WE DID A THIRD TEST ON MAY 18TH TO CONFIRM OR DENY OUR SUSPICIONS ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE OF THE WINEGARD ANTENNA. DESPITE THE BEST WEATHER OF THE MONTH, WE HAVE TO REPORT SOME SHORTCOMINGS AND INCONSISTENCIES IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THE WINEGARD 2076. NO MATTER WHAT WE DID, ONE POLARITY GENERALLY CAME UP AS MUCH AS 0.5 DB LOWER THAN COMPARABLY SIZED ANTENNAS SUCH AS THE DMS HOT DISH 75 AND THE 80 CM FORTEC STAR OFFSET ANTENNAS.

OUR TEST INSTRUMENTS WERE A PARALLEL ARRANGEMENT OF AN AVCOM 37-D SPECTRUM ANALYZER AND A MOTOROLA DSR-315 DIGITAL RECEIVER, TUNING IN THE ANIK F1R SATELLITE AT 107.3 WEST, FROM OUR TEST LOCATION NEAR PLAIN, WISCONSIN. THIS RECEIVER HAS AN UNUSUAL ABILITY, AFTER GIVING THE COMMAND "OPTIONS 6-0-5-Right-Right", IN WHICH CARRIER-TO-NOISE READINGS CAN BE ACCURATELY MEASURED BY INDIVIDUAL TRANSPONDER WITHIN 0.1 DB. ALL AVAILABLE TRANSPONDERS USED BY THE STAR CHOICE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE WERE MEASURED TO PROVIDE A PERFORMANCE CURVE THAT COVERS THE ENTIRE 11.7 TO 12.2 GHZ KU-BAND USED IN NORTH AMERICA.

COMMENTS ON INDIVIDUAL ANTENNA PERFORMANCE:

PARACLIPSE 90 CM MILLENNIUM ROUND OFFSET ANTENNA
ONE OF THE FINEST 90 CM OFFSET ANTENNAS EVER PRODUCED. NO LONGER IN PRODUCTION, BUT SOME MAY BE AVAILABLE IN LIMITED QUANTITIES FROM SOURCES SUCH AS OURSELVES. EXTRA STRONG OUTER RIM HELPS KEEP THE ANTENNA'S CURVATURE ACCURATE OVER TIME.

CHANNEL MASTER 84 CM AND 75 CM ELLIPTICAL OFFSET ANTENNAS
VERY WELL MADE ELLIPTICAL DESIGN ANTENNAS ORIGINALLY USED IN THE PRIMESTAR KU-BAND DIGITAL TV PROJECT DURING THE 1990S.
THE 84 CM MODEL IS ESPECIALLY EFFICIENT, AND WELL SUITED TO MODIFICATION FOR MULTI-SATELLITE RECEPTION USING ADDED LNBFs LEFT AND RIGHT OF THE ORIGINAL CENTER LNBF. CHANNEL MASTER WAS PURCHASED BY ANDREW ANTENNA, AND IS NO LONGER SUPPORTING THESE OLDER MODELS. MANY ARE AVAILABLE ON THE USED MARKET; OFTEN SALVAGED FROM OLD PRIMESTAR INSTALLATIONS. BEST PERFORMANCE IS FOUND ON UNITS STILL NEW IN THEIR ORIGINAL BOX, WHICH ARE SOMETIMES AVAILABLE IN WAREHOUSE LOCATIONS. ANOTHER PLUS OF THESE ANTENNAS IS THE SUPER-STABLE ELEVATION ADJUSTMENT, WHICH USES A CONTINUOUS THREADED MECHANISM, AS OPPOSED TO THE OFTEN USED SLOT AND NUT/WASHER METHOD OF SECURING IN PLACE. MUCH EASIER TO ACCURATELY LOCK ON TO THE CENTER OF A SATELLITE'S BEAM.

PATRIOT 85 CM ELLIPTICAL OFFSET ANTENNA
AN EXCELLENT METAL ANTENNA NOW IN CURRENT PRODUCTION, AND SOLD UNDER THE PATRIOT BRAND NAME. UNLIKE THE ABOVE ANTENNAS, IT IS SHIPPED WITH A UNIVERSAL MOUNT INCLUDED IN THE ANTENNA PACKAGE, AND ALSO FEATURES ADAPTERS TO ALLOW UP TO 3 KU-BAND LNBFs TO BE INSTALLED USING 40 MM OR 23 MM NECK TYPE DEVICES. PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS MEAN THAT SATELLITES ANY CLOSER THAN 4.5 DEGREES APART CANNOT BE EASILY RECEIVED WITH FULL SIGNAL STRENGTH DUE TO THE LNBFs BEING IN THE WAY OF EACH OTHER.   DUE TO THE ADDED FEATURES AND SUPERIOR CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES AND HARDWARE, THIS IS A PREMIUM PRICED ANTENNA WHEN COMPARED TO MOST 75-80 CM MODELS.

FORTEC STAR 80 CM ROUND OFFSET ANTENNA
A BETTER THAN AVERAGE OFFSET ANTENNA SOLD AT A MODERATE PRICE. VERY CLOSE IN PERFORMANCE TO THE HOT DISH 75 BELOW.
SOME SIGNALS WERE BETTER; SOME SLIGHTLY LESS. OVERALL POTENTIAL IS PROBABLY 0.2 TO 0.4 DB MORE THAN THE HOT DISH 75, ASSUMING OPTIMUM LNBF ALIGNMENT.

DMS INTERNATIONAL HOT DISH 75 ROUND OFFSET ANTENNA
A VERY CONSISTENT PERFORMING OFFSET ANTENNA, WHICH HOLDS ITS OWN AGAINST THE SLIGHTLY LARGER (80 CM) FORTEC ANTENNA ABOVE, COMES IN AT A VERY ATTRACTIVE PRICE POINT, AND SURPRISINGLY ENOUGH GENERALLY OUTPERFORMS THE MORE EXPENSIVE WINEGARD BELOW.

WINEGARD 2076 ROUND OFFSET ANTENNA
A VERY CLEAN LOOKING ANTENNA, WITH A LONGTIME REPUTATION OF THE WINEGARD COMPANY IN BURLINGTON, IOWA. COMES WITH PREMIUM FASTENERS THAT WILL INTERACT LESS WITH RUST AND CORROSION, AND NOT ONLY INCLUDES A UNIVERSAL MOUNTING BRACKET, BUT KU-BAND LNBF HOLDERS FOR THE 23 MM, 40 MM AND EVEN THE 50 MM NECK CLAMP SIZES. THE 50 MM CLAMP MAY PROVE USEFUL IN ADAPTING CERTAIN CANADIAN SMALL DISH LNBFs PROVIDED BY STAR CHOICE IN PREVIOUS YEARS. A READY SOLUTION FOR SNOWBIRDS NEEDING A COMPATIBLE ANTENNA. PERFORMANCE-WISE, WE CAN ONLY COMMENT "AVERAGE" FOR ITS DIAMETER. LESSER PRICED ANTENNAS SUCH AS THE DMS 75 CM HOTDISH OFTEN OUT-PERFORM THIS ANTENNA IN A SIDE-BY-SIDE TEST.

SUBMITTED BY MIKE KOHL, GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS       MAY 24, 2006.
E-MAIL ADDRESS:   globalcm@mhtc.net        WEBSITE:   www.global-cm.net

INDEPENDENT TESTING by MIKE KOHL at GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS MAY, 2006 PLAIN, WISCONSIN MEASURING DEVICES INCLUDE AVCOM 37-D SPECTRUM ANALYZER, MOTOROLA DSR-315 DIGITAL SATELLITE RECEIVER NJRC LNBFs USED WITH CHANNEL MASTER 75-E and 84-E ELLIPTICAL ANTENNAS. OTHERWISE THE SAME XTREME II 10750 MHz, 0.3 dB KU-BAND LNBF WAS USED.	ANTENNAS USED: 01 PARACLIPSE 90 cm MILLENNIUM Round Offset 02 PATRIOT 85 cm Elliptical 03 PRIMESTAR by CHANNEL MASTER 84 cm Elliptical 04 PRIMESTAR by CHANNEL MASTER 75 cm Elliptical 05 FORTEC STAR 80 cm Round Offset 06 DMS INTERNATIONAL HOT DISH 75 cm Round Offset 07 WINEGARD 2076 76 cm Round Offset
RECEPTION WAS OF THE ANIK F1R SATELLITE AT 107.3 WEST LONGITUDE. OPTIONS 6-0-5-Right-Right COMMAND USED TO ACCESS EBNO READINGS IN DB. RESULTS WITHOUT BRACKETS WERE FROM TESTING DONE ON MAY 10, 2006. SAMPLES #1, #2 AND #7 WERE ORIGINALLY TESTED ON MAY 7. RESULTS IN < > SAMPLE #7 METICULOUSLY RETESTED ON MAY 18. RESULTS IN ( )