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The new DMS Avenger 321 and 322 are standard Ku LNBFs meaning that they do not use 22kHz and do not scan a bunch of empty frequencies that are not used in North America. Both use a LNB frequency of 10750. When I was first told of the Avenger I know that we would all be interested in these for use with the OpenBox S9 and S10. The Spitfire 0.1dB universal LNBF has been great to us and is unbeatable, but it suffered from several issues with our S9 and S10.

The Avenger 321 is a single output, Avenger 322 is a twin.

First impressions
Avenger 321: Nice looking case. After the DMS Spitfire v WSI DMX521 testing, the first thing I did was put my thumbnail in the casing groove to see if it instantly fell apart like the WSI did. Nope, lines on the Avenger are pretty tight and build quality appears good. Weight is light but not too light. Net weight on Avenger 321 is 3.5oz vs the slightly lighter Spitfire at 3.1oz

Avenger 321 and the Spitfire Elite

Avenger 322: The case also looks nice and the feed neck is a bit longer. I actually prefer this, as it allows some adjustment to get the LNBF in the focal point sweet spot. Avenger 322 has a grey bottom section. I wasn’t sure what it was so I did the guy thing and pulled on it. The grey part drops right down, it’s a cover for the connectors. VERY COOL! Avenger 322 weighs in at 6.5oz, which is over 2oz less than the 8.7oz JSC322 twin. Avenger 322 is much physically smaller as well.

Avenger 322 and the JSC322

One thing I noticed pretty quick was the EXTENDED RANGE of the Avenger 321 and Avenger 322. A standard Ku LNBF functions between 11700 – 12200MHz which is where our North American linear FTA is. Above that is the DBS stuff like Dish Network, Bell TV, and DirecTV. In some cases we can get Dish In The Clear (ITC) stuff on Universal LNBFs due to the higher range. The Avengers also go up in this range, but without duel LNB frequencies and 22kHz. I’ve confirmed that on blindscan Avenger picks up the Bell TV 91W transponders I normally see with the Spitfire.

Avenger frequency range: 11700 – 12750MHz.

Installation
I had noticed that the skew scale was on the side of the Avenger series, so I foolishly mounted the Avenger 321 on its side, resulting in reverse polarity. Installed properly, the side skew scale is worthless to me, but skew is easily found by lining up the groove in the case with the scale on the LNBF bracket. Unfortunately I know I will not be the last to put it in sideways. LOL

Proper alignment of the Avenger 321

Testing
Testing of the DMS Avenger 321 was performed on the new version HOTDISH90 using the FridgeFTA SatHero to get numbers. Avenger 321 is also currently running continuously with the OpenBox S10 here.

Due to testing being moved up and time constraints, I did not do formal testing on the Avenger 322 other than to install it and confirm similar performance to that of the Avenger 321.

Testing was performed under light rain with heavy low overcast clouds. AMC21/125W was chosen due to the variety of DVB-S and DVB-S2 frequencies, ranges and strengths available. The peak repeatable reading on the SatHero is shown. Both LNBFs fluctuated typically less than 0.5dB mostly due to the weather conditions.

Strong signal DVB-S and DVB-S2
Spitfire Elite is hard to beat. To date I am not aware of any other product that beats out Spitfire. For strong signals, Spitfire beat Avenger 321 by 0.9dB average. Avenger 321 performs fine on these signals even with its slightly lower performance, since they are all well above threshold, so the difference is not overly significant.

Weak signal DVB-S and DVB-S2
Here is where I was quite surprised. Spitfire has superior performance, normally by a large margin to previous LNBFs tested here and by others. With weak signals in this test, AVENGER MATCHED SPITFIRE!!!

As I mentioned, the strong signal differences are not significant, because they are strong signals with either LNBF. You will receive them just as well with Avenger or Spitfire. It would appear that the Avenger performs awesome where it is needed: weak signals. This is where other LNBFs fail.

Avenger with OpenBox S9 and OpenBox S10
We got samples of the Avenger specifically for use with S9 and S10. Of course Avenger should work well with any receiver, but enough people have had difficulties with the S9/S10 that we really needed something else.

Spitfire DiseqC 1.2 / 22kHz “cutout”
This actually isn’t the Spitfire’s fault, it is the 22kHz tone needed to lock it to the “high” band. With S9/S10, when using DiseqC 1.2 motor controls and manually “bumping” the motor position, the signal meter cuts out on vertical, making it difficult to impossible to peak on vertical transponders. Avenger does not use 22kHz tone, and works perfectly with S9/S10 DiseqC 1.2 without signal meter cutout.

Spitfire failure with S9/S10
No one seems to be able to figure out why, but there is a higher than normal number of Spitfires that spontaneously fail with the S9/S10. I cannot reproduce it here, DMS can’t and Eddie can’t either. In any case for the guys with the failure it is frustrating and discouraging. Avenger is of a different manufacture and design and should not have these failures.

Increased blindscan speed (all boxes)
Even with our trick of locking Spitfire and other universals to the “high” band, they still scan unnecessary frequencies between about 11600 – 11700MHz. Since there is nothing there in North America this is just wasted time. Avenger’s low receive frequency starts at 11700MHz, so a bit of time is saved, resulting in scan time improvement.

Conclusions
Since I run OpenBox S10 myself and FridgeFTA sells a ton of S10’s, it didn’t take much to sell me on Avenger. It is exactly what we need. Similar performance to Spitfire Elite, but without the associated issues. Avenger 321 and Avenger 322 appear to be well crafted, stable, good performers. Avenger makes OpenBox more “fun” too.

DMS intended Avenger to not only perform extremely well, but to be economically priced. FridgeFTA is purchasing a ton of them, and we are also going to price it well. Avenger will be as good as you can get in a very well priced LNBF. Our OpenBox S10 Complete True FTA package will be switched over to the Avenger 321. Anyone that want the Avenger in place of the JSC321S before it is changed in the store is more than welcome to request it.

Avenger is in the FridgeFTA Satellite Store for individual purchase now.

Avenger 321 single: http://store.fridgefta.info/?page_id=1214
Avenger 322 TWIN: http://store.fridgefta.info/?page_id=1221

FridgeFTA Satellite Store has lowered the price on Traxis receivers! Get the most accurate and fastest blindscanning STB’s on the market at awesome prices! Traxis is super easy to use on top of it.

Traxis DBS3500 – Without a doubt, the DBS3500 is the fastest, most accurate blindscanning receiver on the market. Scan in a few minutes and find the most possible feeds out there. Even the OpenBox S9 does not compare in accuracy to the Traxis. http://store.fridgefta.info/?page_id=195

Traxis DBS4000 – A personal favorite and my own #1 STB for a very long time. HDMI output for the best possible picture, with upconvert up to 576p. Blindscans just as accurate as the 3500, only a few seconds slower. Still kills everything else. http://store.fridgefta.info/?page_id=195

Traxis EasyFind System – This is the DBS4000 receiver with the patented EasyFind 0.1dB LNBF. It guides you right to the satellite, and very accurately. Not only are you getting an easy to install setup, you are effectively getting a signal meter for project use. I’ve used mine to quickly align sidecars, dishes and motorized systems, with accuracy that challenges digital satellite meters. http://store.fridgefta.info/?page_id=195

Yes, we’re nuts. The new Trimax SM-3500 satellite meter is on sale for a limited time at the FridgeFTA Satellite Store. The SM-3500 is the cat’s meow in satellite meters featuring satellite ID, real time spectrum analyzer, TV tuner, A/V in/out and more. No other meter offers the features found in the Trimax anywhere near the price tag. Now is the time to pick one up from FridgeFTA!

http://store.fridgefta.info/?page_id=239