After looking for about two years I've finally found a 10' dish! It's a SAMI (actually 10' 3") with a Von Weise actuator. My wife and I spotted it just off a country road near a wooded area. Nobody was home so we wrote down the address to look up later. Turns out the dish belonged to the father, of the husband, of our kids former school secretary and it's been standing unused beside the woods at their home for many years. They said just stop by anytime to get it. When my wife and I went to check it out we found the dish was leaning badly - and we had some company checking us out.
We decided to go back the next day to take it down and arrived just after 7:00am. I'm very glad it was next to the woods. We have had some of the warmest days of the year so far and with our health issues we both really mind the heat. The trees kept us mostly in the shade although that didn't stop the humidity (or the bugs from eating us
). I removed the bolt holding the actuator to the dish, then removed the four reflector bolts from the ring. Although rusty, they were in pretty good shape after having been exposed all those years and none of them snapped. We lowered the reflector to the ground then carefully rolled it up the hill to my truck. It was less than 10 miles to home so I decided to keep it intact. We loaded it on the truck and I used a ratcheting tie down and some rope to gently secure it for the trip.
The second bolt for the actuator was a bear to break loose but it finally gave. I figured we'd have a time getting the mount and ring off the pole but once I loosened the bolts it easily turned and slid right off. That left the pole. Even in the shade it was getting pretty hot. I thought we would have to come back for it but I gave it a push and it moved, so I pushed in the opposite direction and it snapped right off at the base. Except for the very bottom it appears to be solid and should be long enough to reuse.
Given the amount of weight on the pole and the ease with which it snapped I know the dish wouldn't have been standing much longer if we hadn't taken it down when we did. There are a few small slits in the mesh that will need repaired and it's covered with moss so it will need a really good cleaning but it looks to be in nice shape. I haven't tested the actuator yet. I will post more pics once I clean everything up. My wife used to question the need for 'all those dishes' but she was a great help to me in this endeavor. I don't think she loves the hobby like I do but she's coming along. Overall, it was a great day!
We decided to go back the next day to take it down and arrived just after 7:00am. I'm very glad it was next to the woods. We have had some of the warmest days of the year so far and with our health issues we both really mind the heat. The trees kept us mostly in the shade although that didn't stop the humidity (or the bugs from eating us
). I removed the bolt holding the actuator to the dish, then removed the four reflector bolts from the ring. Although rusty, they were in pretty good shape after having been exposed all those years and none of them snapped. We lowered the reflector to the ground then carefully rolled it up the hill to my truck. It was less than 10 miles to home so I decided to keep it intact. We loaded it on the truck and I used a ratcheting tie down and some rope to gently secure it for the trip. The second bolt for the actuator was a bear to break loose but it finally gave. I figured we'd have a time getting the mount and ring off the pole but once I loosened the bolts it easily turned and slid right off. That left the pole. Even in the shade it was getting pretty hot. I thought we would have to come back for it but I gave it a push and it moved, so I pushed in the opposite direction and it snapped right off at the base. Except for the very bottom it appears to be solid and should be long enough to reuse.
Given the amount of weight on the pole and the ease with which it snapped I know the dish wouldn't have been standing much longer if we hadn't taken it down when we did. There are a few small slits in the mesh that will need repaired and it's covered with moss so it will need a really good cleaning but it looks to be in nice shape. I haven't tested the actuator yet. I will post more pics once I clean everything up. My wife used to question the need for 'all those dishes' but she was a great help to me in this endeavor. I don't think she loves the hobby like I do but she's coming along. Overall, it was a great day!
