TEST REPORT Multifeed Adaptor

Vantage Multifeed Mount

Four Satellites
with One
Antenna
If you’ve ever thought about expanding your satellite system
to receive more than one orbital position, you really only
have two possibilities: either you install a DiSEqC
motor or you utilize a multifeed construction.
Your unfriendly neighbors might not like the
idea of a DiSEqC motor since the noise from
one of these small motors could be somewhat
disturbing especially at night. This leaves
only the second choice available: multifeed.
Various manufacturers offer special anten-
nas with double-reflectors providing a recep-
tion range of roughly 60°. Vantage, based in
Germany, thought that it didn’t always have
to be this way and worked on a solution that
allowed multifeed reception using a stand-
ard antenna. The result was a multifeed rail
that at first glance looked rather simplistic
but after assembling the individual pieces Typical multifeed mounts are usually the +/- 10° range of the antenna focal point,
it became apparent that the manufacturer installed on a rigid rail and the LNB holders this for the most part works without any
spent quite a lot of time in its design. can only be moved to the east or the west. In problems. But the further east or west you
go, the worse the reception becomes. The
receivable satellites are not positioned along
a straight line, as you might expect, instead
it is more of a curve as viewed from the sat-
ellite antenna. The southern-most satellite
from your position is at the highest eleva-
tion point and all the other satellites are on
a curve that runs from east to west. Thus,
Vantage manufactured their multifeed hold-
ers in such a way that they can be adjusted
vertically, horizontally and across. This lets
you adjust the position of each LNB for opti-
mal reception.

The workmanship of the individual pieces

is quite good and the assembly is easy. We
also liked the fact that it only weighed 343
gm (~3/4 pound). This multifeed solution
was ideally designed for use with Vantage
antennas although we had no trouble install-
ing this holder on other antennas (such as
Gibertini).

TELE-satellite International — www.TELE-satellite.com

TEST REPORT Multifeed Adaptor

In addition to the four holders for the

LNBs, the package also included the actual
multifeed rail as well as all the necessary
assembly hardware. Unfortunately, assem-
bly instructions were not included. Begin-
ners might therefore have some difficulties
putting this all together.

Everyday Use
Two screws are used to mount the multi-
feed rail in the spot on the antenna where
the LNB mount would have gone. Because
of the design of this rail, it is not possible to
install an LNB in the exact focal point of the
dish since the mount for the rail is in the way.
Before you start to install the LNBs and align
them, you must first decide what satellites
you want to receive since this will determine
which satellite will be roughly located in the
focal point and how the rail is to be installed
on the antenna.
For our tests we played around with a
number of different satellite combinations.
We started with Astra 19.2° east, Astra3A
23.5° east, Astra2 28.2° east and Turksat
42° east. In this case the Astra2 satellite
was aligned with the focal point of the dish
after which one LNB after the other was set
up and aligned. While reception of the three
Astra satellites was excellent (and this natu-
rally has to do with their high power output),
Turksat was receivable although there was
not all that much bad weather reserve.
the problem is: once the LNB is mounted in
its holder, it becomes somewhat difficult to
loosen or tighten the two other screws. And
if two or more of the LNBs are to be mounted
with only 3° of separation, the entire affair
will be a test of patience.
While aligning the four LNBs, we unfor-
tunately could see how there are fewer
and fewer analog TV channels available; in
the range between 42° east and 30° west
it turned out to be just a mere 17 chan-
nels (not including Astra and Hotbird). This
makes it especially difficult for beginners
to properly align this multifeed rail with its
multiple adjustment settings without the
use of a spectrum analyzer. Even for more
experienced users it would help to have the
spectrum of the more critical satellites mem-
orized in order to speed things up.
And let’s not forget to mention that with
multifeed reception the LNB has to be
installed on the rail on the opposite side
compared to the position of the satellite. In
other words, if the satellites are positioned
on the east side of the antennas focal point,
the LNBs would need to be installed on the
rail on the west side of the focal point. And
vice versa, the LNBs for western satellites
would be mounted on the east side of the
rail.

Additional satellite combinations tested

were Astra 19.2° east, Hotbird 13° east,
Expert conclusion
+
Astra2 and Sirius 5° east as well as Hotbird
13° east, Sirus 5° east, Thor 1° west and
Amos1 4° west. We also went even further The Vantage Multifeed Mount is solidly manufactured and offers
the first real multiple adjustment system allowing an expanded recep-
west with Hispasat at 30° west, as well as
tion range. The universal mount allows the rail to be installed not
PAS 3R 43° west and PAS1R 45° west. The
only on Vantage-manufactured antennas, but also on antennas from
design of the LNB holder permits reception of other makers. Thomas Haring
satellites spaced only 3° apart allowing com- TELE-satellite

-
Test Center
binations such as Astra Austria
19.2° east, EutelsatW2 16° east and also
Unfortunately, the instruction manual was missing. It also needs to be pointed out
Hotbird 13° east to be received without any
that the adjustment screws were very difficult to reach.
problems. In cases like this, make sure
that the LNBs used are narrow enough and
designed for reception of satellites only 3°
TECHNICAL
DATA
apart. As excited as we were with all of the Manufacturer Vantage Digital, Amalienbadstr. 36, 76227 Karlsruhe
LNB holder alignment possibilities, it turned
Tel.: +49 (0) 721 / 96 14 17-0
out that the actual setup was rather tiresome.
Fax: +49 (0) 721 / 96 14 17-9
Each LNB holder uses three screws, one to
secure the LNB and the other two for setting E-Mail: info@vantage-digital.com
the elevation and azimuth. And this is where Function: Multifeed Adaptor for up to 4 LNBs

TELE-satellite International — www.TELE-satellite.com