ID solid dish

kodaz · Dec 31, 2012

Post od is typical 3.5". I would not put a post over a post, that thing grabs all the wind that passes it.
post is 6' out of ground and lamp post set in about 7 wheelbarrels of concrete homebrew with test cylinder concrete (7000 psi break strength) making up support on walls surrounded by boulders up to 5' in diameter on the worst rocky ground in PA . Some rebar from work made a nice cage for in the crete. Used the cat 953 to dig out a large rock that made up the hole for the post

The bolts are not visible because there is a small concrete cover over them. post is 6ft out of ground is so i can brush hog around that area and tractor tire just fits under dish at 107w.
It is doubtful that the bracket for the actuator mount to dish is original.
some day, she wil get a paint job.

Chewie · Jan 2, 2013

Hello Kodaz I thank you for these pictures, very nice, i noticed your mount is a bit different than mine, i will keep these pictures for referance.
I will weight my dish and find the weight of it, i need to figure out how many bags of cement i will need, one question, do you get a very good quality signal with this dish?
Regards.
Chewie.

kodaz · Jan 2, 2013

i recently put this dish in , I am very happy with the signal quality so far and it has the longest cable run of all the dishes in my yard. when i get some spare time, i will set it to 43w and check it against my 10ft unimesh that is set up on 43w.
i will post the results then. As i said earlier, it does a nice job with ku also.
i am very happy with it so far.

Chewie · Jan 19, 2013

Hello Gents
I am planting on how to install this dish, I have a WSI 6' dish, the pole on this dish is about 2 2/3 OD, about 5'1/2 Tall.
This new dish it requires a pole size of 3.5 in OD, here is what I am thinking of doing, I want to buy a 6' tall 3/5 OD pole and put it over the my existing pole on my WSI dish, I am attaching a drawing of it, the reason I want to try this is because the location on my yard.
The new dish it self weights around 220 lbs this includes polar mount,ring,panels and hardware.
I read this could be done, I am wondering if any members here have try this setup and if is safe and strong enough for this size dish.
I do not get a lot of high winds in my area and when we do get some winds, normally it comes from east to west, my back yard faces south.
therefore the wind hits the dish on the side and not head on.
thanks in advance for any comments.
Regards.
Chewie

primestar31 · Jan 19, 2013

I have done this, placed a 3" (3.5" outside) schedule 40 pipe over a 2" (2.5" outside) schedule 40 pipe, then drilled through and bolted. I have over 800lbs of cement on the original pole. I then also have 3 guy wires with turnbuckles around it just to make sure it stays stable. It all works perfectly, and I have no issues. Original pole was for a 6 foot dish, and with the new one I have a 10 foot dish.

SatelliteAV · Jan 19, 2013

Should be perfect for a sleeve. Drill through the poles at opposing angles near both the top and bottom to prevent slack, rotation and shifting of the outside pole.

Doubt that the side supports are necessary. You have alot of ballast underground! Just depends if it is currently stable.

Chewie · Mar 12, 2013

Hello Gents
Here is a picture of this dish assembled, it is a heavy dish, is painted in the inside, replaced all the bolts and nuts, the polar mount and the dish ring are also painted.
Because of the weight of the dish I decided not to use the pole in a pole idea, so went and got me a 10 foot 3.5 OD Sch 40 galvanize pipe.
Regarding the dish assembly, I read that is best to assemble the dish on a flat surface, like my driveway, did that, I try to lift the dish on one side and the panels still not very stable and they move and I don't want to damage the panels. it does not have the ring on it yet, I am thinking of assembling this way, put the mount on the pole, attach the dish ring to it and actuator arm, than disassemble half of the dish, 2 halfs and mount it to the ring while on the pole, this will make things a lot easier to install.
This procedure may not be the right one to follow, but I am open for suggestions.
please let me know, thanks in advance.
Regards.
Chewie

kodaz · Mar 12, 2013

if u leave it together on the floor, get a couple of guys to help you. I never disassembled my dish and never flipped it over. kept it on the ground and made a small cart that i pulled behind my quad to move it from point to point. I had help from another guy just to remove it from the doggone pickup.

SatelliteAV · Mar 12, 2013

Usually assemble the panels face down with a bucket supporting the center. Completely assemble with the ring and mount. With second person, flip over and string test to be sure the panels are forming a perfect parabola. Add the arms and scalar before mounting on the pole, using a laser level to be sure the feedhorn is perfectly centered on the reflector.

Too great of a chance to bend a panel if assembling in pieces on the pole and really difficult to center the feedhorn on the legs once it is up in the air.

Lone Cloud · Mar 12, 2013

Hi,

I put a a five foot length of 6 inch Birdview pole over a 3.5 inch pole and it has held up for years. There is concrete in the smaller inner pole, and in between the inner pole and the BV pole. I think the sheer mass of the pole and concrete filling helps it stay there in the wind.

If you are still going to do that, and there is any space between the outer and inner pole, I'd drill and tap four 1/4 inch bolts, drilling through the outer pole and tapping the inner. The two near the top ( enough to clear the mount) should be north and south. The two near the bottom should be east and west. Nuts near the bolt heads. Once you get it on there, you should use the nuts to plumb it up exactly. I did mine that way, and after I added concrete, I plumbed it up again while the concrete was still wet.

It's solid and plumb and has stayed that way.

FaT Air · Mar 12, 2013

Mount the ring and polar mount on it first. (the ring will add much in the way of stability to the dish. Making it more rigid) Then 2-3 people can stand it up** and slide it up the pole with the mount in position *open side down*. (polar mount is flopped all the way one way or the other) Lower the mount back down on the pole. Attach lnb supports and scalar & LNB. Attach actuator. (That's how we did 'em BITD)
**Ya don't really 'stand it up'. You carry it to the pole, then position it against the pole vertical. lift, and set.
With

Chewie · Mar 16, 2013

Gents
I thank you for your comments, Most likely I will need some help lifting this dish.
I am working on the hole for the pole, I read that the Dia. of the hole has to be 4 times the size of the Dia. of the pipe.
I had planted 2 dishes and the holes are 20 to 22 inch in Dia. all the way around and the depth is 4 feet, I am thinking this should be good enough for this dish.
Another question, is there any rule on how far 2 dishes should be from each other.
any comments will be appreciated .
Thanks in advance.
Chewie

primestar31 · Mar 16, 2013

20" or so at top, and then "belling" out at the bottom in a bell shape for stability. I also place a bag of gravel at the bottom, and put a flat concrete paver block in the middle for the pole to sit on (so it can't continue to sink, as I have very soft, loamy sand)

You need to have them far enough apart, so that one doesn't shade the others signals, and that when they are moved with a motor then don't hit each other.

Chewie · Jul 7, 2013

finally put this dish up.
Regards.
chewie

FaT Air · Jul 7, 2013

String test it for a warped condition. One string from 12 to 6, Another from 3 to 9. Another @ 1:30 to 7:30.[45° from the others] Watch where they cross as it's panned across the arc. They should stay within 1/4 inch of one another. (ideally the touch and stay) Could do this before the button hook is installed.

This is my first big dish install and I wonder how you all managed to set the skew in the LNB and tighten the screw on the LNB ring.

The seam in the dish panels in line with the polar mount will be the 12[top] and 6 o'clock[bottom of dish] position. The LNBF polarity mark will normally align to the 3 o'clock position (seam). Although, if you find the polarities are opposite of published, the 12 o'clock position would be correct. (some LNBF's are 12 o'clock)
Usually easiest done with the dish at actuator retracted limit. FL (focal length) can be a little time consuming, adjust, move it to a satellite, check, move it back to limit, re-adjust, repeat, but you don't have to reach over, and into, the dish.

Next thing to setup is the button hook , it may be a pain trying to set it so the LNB is pointing to the center of the dish.

With a button hook, check for centering measuring from the scalar to the dish perimeter. Then with strings attached from the dish perimeter to the scalar, check that their tension doesn't vary as the dish is panned across the arc. That would indicate that it's moving**. Retrofitting guy wires or modding to a multi leg support are about the only options.
**Trying to get it to track the arc is next to impossible

Chewie · Jul 7, 2013

Hello Fat Air
Thanks for your replay, I did the sting test and is very good, it pass with flying colors, no problems there.
I will keep on going and post my findings.
Regards.
Chewie

Chewie · Jul 14, 2013

Hello Gents
Here is this update, I installed the button hook and ortho feed to the dish and so far I have scan, 116.8W, 113.0W, 107.3W, 105.0W, 103.0W, 101.0W, 99.2W AND 97.0W so far it's looking good.
I want to make sure I am in the ARC before I start to make adjustments to the Ortho feed for ultimate signal.
I thank you all for your comments and suggestions.
Best Regards.
Chewie.

gardo403 · Jul 14, 2013

i can get 55w to 135w on my laux beta9...no flop either. a real tank of a dish.
my only grip is the dish sways in the wind.

an ortho lnb must be nice. I have lnbf on mine geosat c2 that I moded to also have ku. (cut the back off and glued the ku half of a c/k lnbf to it)

SatelliteAV · Jul 14, 2013

gardo403 said:
I have lnbf on mine geosat c2 that I moded to also have ku. (cut the back off and glued the ku half of a c/k lnbf to it)

Photos please!

Chewie · Jul 14, 2013

Hello Gents
Well, I am in the ARC, I scan from 72.0 W to to 127.0 today. i noticed is no much up there after 121.0W.
here are some pictures.
I need to rotate the ortho feed so the vertical LNB is on top.
GARDO - Can you tell me the focal distance of your set up?
Best regards.
Chewie

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