Lifespan of LNB?

[William Eng]

The Fortec LNB that came with Sadoun's M1 package has stopped working on my in-laws satellite. I confirmed this by swapping the LNB with my working system.

My question is this. Does the LNB have a limited lifespan? (like a lightbulb)? does it burnout? or this limited to the Fortec brand?

[wejones]

Originally Posted by William Eng

The Fortec LNB that came with Sadoun's M1 package has stopped working on my in-laws satellite. I confirmed this by swapping the LNB with my working system.

My question is this. Does the LNB have a limited lifespan? (like a lightbulb)? does it burnout? or this limited to the Fortec brand?

I've had lnbs last 10-12 years, and keep going, and I"ve had lnbs die after 3 weeks. I think overall they are pretty stable things, and don't usually just burn out, but they can be damaged by static potentials accompanying lightning storms, and power surges, etc. Out of about a dozen or so lnbs I've owned, I've had 1 die completely (the 3 week one), one had a LO freq shift after about 6 years, and one developed a temp related internal oscillation after about 5 years. Other than that, I haven't had many lnb problems. If they last a year, they should last >10 years, unless you have bad storms or power surges.

[1captain]

wejones you are 100 percent correct lnbs just dont go out or off frequencey (unless they are cheep junk) an some lnbs will last longer than others, i have a 35 degree gardener on my dish now an its got to be about 20 years old an still work great, but on the other hand had bought about 20 eagle aspen an with in about year had to warranty out about half of em or close to it. now their is 1 more thing that i have seen that will take out lnb that was not mention is a receiver, have seen some of the old uniden like 4400 would have a regulator go out, an send 26 to 36 volt on if line an a lnb wouldnt last a week an when you would change it out was hotter than a normal lnb. an with lnb-f had ran in my share of problems with the fotec an also with zinwell, of both shiffting frequencey an missing transponder, but the majority of em will last till a lighting season an then i dont care what brand or type you have a will normally be a door stop. Hope all this info helps you out WilliamEng an may want to keep a spare on hand, for testing or in case 1 goes out. Captain

[wejones]

Originally Posted by 1captain

.... but on the other hand had bought about 20 eagle aspen an with in about year had to warranty out about half of em or close to it. ...

The lnb that I had that only lasted 3 weeks was an eagle aspen.

[William Eng]

My in-laws satellite system has now gone through 2 Fortec LNBs in the past year. The first one lost was probably due to nearby lightening. The second one mysteriously stopped working overnight. When I changed it out, I don't remember it being "hotter" than usual. If the receiver is shooting out too much voltage, is there another easy way to tell this? I don't have a volt meter or oscilloscope.

[1captain]

Yes william it is easy to do just get a 2-way satellite splitter that is passive on both ports an hook it up in line an with youre meter read voltage on 2nd port of splitter. then chage some channels on receiver an you will see voltage peak an settle down, an most lnb can take up around 20 to24 volts an still work for many years. Captain