No receivers were part of the deal, so what stuff do I need to get it going?
8 ft dish tune-up
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No receivers were part of the deal, so what stuff do I need to get it going?
Looks to be in great shape. A new digital LNB and receiver, and you may be good to go. I suppose there is no motor drive box? With a minimal cost, you could have it back in operation in no time.
Lucky you. It's most likely still on track, which is good. It doesn't look to have been abused, but a few more pictures would help.
Welcome to Satellite Guys Alex T.
Wow, what luck! I have to go out and hunt down my dishes and you move into a house with one already there!
As others have said, get yourself a new digital lnbf, receiver and mover and you should be good to go. I don't know how experienced you are with FTA but my recommendations for an lnbf and receiver would be:
Titanium C1-PLL LNBF (Titanium Satellite)
Amiko Mini HD RE Receiver (Michael Electronics)
As far as a mover the Vbox units are cheap but not as powerful. I've used the Vbox7 and have had very few issues with them however I did read that later models had some quality issues. Rick's Satellite has the Vbox II. I have no experience with those myself but if you're looking to start up with lower costs it might be worth a try. (Ricks Satellite)
I don't have one myself (yet) but the Cadillac of movers is the ASC1. They are built like a tank and I've heard they are just as durable as one. Higher price, of course, but worth the investment in the long term. I'm on my second Vbox7 and will likely be moving up to the ASC1 when it finally kicks on me. It can be purchased from either Titanium Satellite or Michael Electronics.
Good luck!
Yes, but most of the stuff is C band on this side of the pond. So, OP will get the good stuff if upgrades to the digital world.
There is stuff on Ku, but I think most of us with BUDs spend most of our time on C Band.
To OP, you got a great deal there. Go to sathint.com or lyngsat.com and look at what is available in the clear, that has the frequency listed as 4 numbers (i.e. 3680). There is quite a bit out there. We are here and willing to help.
There is stuff on Ku, but I think most of us with BUDs spend most of our time on C Band.
To OP, you got a great deal there. Go to sathint.com or lyngsat.com and look at what is available in the clear, that has the frequency listed as 4 numbers (i.e. 3680). There is quite a bit out there. We are here and willing to help.
More pics.....notice name on cone.....Orbitron. Now to find out more about this model. Will have to see what's under the cone too I suppose. I have some experience with Ku dishes from a few years back. A friend mentioned getting a copy of 'the satellite bible'.
First thing you'll likely find are bees or wasps,and none too happy about you disturbing their home.
Actuator looks kinda rusty so it may or may not move,likely not.
Found the Orbitron manuals here so good to go there. Read some here and there about C-band dishes and such before tackling this dish tune-up.
4 screws that looked to have been there since 20 plus years ago held cone to plastic base with no gaps so I didn't think any bees or wasps had made a home inside.
That cone was on there so tight I had to remove the whole buttonhook thing. Marked the tube depth with some masking tape first. Took it over to my friend for help deciding what to do. He has some years experience and a few dishes including a C-band in his yard. We persuaded the cone to separate from the flat plastic piece with a cotter pin puller, walking it around until lip of cone was cleared.
Friend tells me that the 'feedhorn', a fixed Chaparral one, will be fine. Just need a better 'lnb' for today's digital reception. He said he may have a spare & some better coaxial cable for the job.
'lnb' that's on there now is a '35K Gardiner'.
We spent some time today hunting old satellite stuff at thrift stores. Found an old 'General Instruments 450' that he said could be adequate for dish moving until another day. Also found an old 'Coolsat 5000' he said will at least get some stuff until I decide what newer receiver to go for.
Until the house gets better situated, things will be slow on this project. Gotta know your priorities, right?
4 screws that looked to have been there since 20 plus years ago held cone to plastic base with no gaps so I didn't think any bees or wasps had made a home inside.
That cone was on there so tight I had to remove the whole buttonhook thing. Marked the tube depth with some masking tape first. Took it over to my friend for help deciding what to do. He has some years experience and a few dishes including a C-band in his yard. We persuaded the cone to separate from the flat plastic piece with a cotter pin puller, walking it around until lip of cone was cleared.
Friend tells me that the 'feedhorn', a fixed Chaparral one, will be fine. Just need a better 'lnb' for today's digital reception. He said he may have a spare & some better coaxial cable for the job.
'lnb' that's on there now is a '35K Gardiner'.We spent some time today hunting old satellite stuff at thrift stores. Found an old 'General Instruments 450' that he said could be adequate for dish moving until another day. Also found an old 'Coolsat 5000' he said will at least get some stuff until I decide what newer receiver to go for.
Until the house gets better situated, things will be slow on this project. Gotta know your priorities, right?
Not all thrift stores in our search had satellite or other such electronics guy. We were lucky.
What the heck is a macklemore?
Over the weekend my friend and I replaced the coaxial cables with some twin stuff he had, spliced the 'servo' control wiring, changed the 'lnb' to a 17 degree K one then set up 5 satellite positions on the General Instruments 450. Scanned in a few things with that Coolsat too. Will need to do some tree trimming to get more satellites. He showed me an app for his iPhone for checking satellite arc - neat stuff that!
What the heck is a macklemore?
Over the weekend my friend and I replaced the coaxial cables with some twin stuff he had, spliced the 'servo' control wiring, changed the 'lnb' to a 17 degree K one then set up 5 satellite positions on the General Instruments 450. Scanned in a few things with that Coolsat too. Will need to do some tree trimming to get more satellites. He showed me an app for his iPhone for checking satellite arc - neat stuff that!
Hip hop eh? That's why I wouldn't know what or who a macklemore is guys.
CW, blues, rock 'n roll and classical are all I need.
CW, blues, rock 'n roll and classical are all I need.
After some reading, found out this is a "Spinclination" Orbitron S-8.5 model. And, fortunately, the 'declination' tape is still intact on the mount tube that receives the dish offset angle tube. Still reading up on newer receivers to choose from. Long list.
Will be doing some yard cleanup and maybe even some tree trimming today to clear up a path for more satellite reception. Loaded Kvasha satellite on my old 4S iPhone for checking this out. There's got to be a way to limit the satellites that are updated as there are a lot of European and Asian satellites in the data that I cannot 'see' from Highland California USA.
Will be doing some yard cleanup and maybe even some tree trimming today to clear up a path for more satellite reception. Loaded Kvasha satellite on my old 4S iPhone for checking this out. There's got to be a way to limit the satellites that are updated as there are a lot of European and Asian satellites in the data that I cannot 'see' from Highland California USA.
Cleaned up trees in path of dish and now have an arc of from 77 w to 133 w satellites. My friend donated to me a Linkbox 8000 receiver that had had a board level failure. We repaired it after doing some extensive searching of forums. Did a factory reset and loaded it with latest 'firmware' from Link-media online. Works fine so I retired the Coolsat 5000.
More developments.
After much reading here and there, decided to purchase a Linux stb running Enigma 2. Found a review of an Irish seller in another forum for Formuler F1 stbs. 1.3GHz dual core, twin satellite tuner with full satellite arc including our North American satellites, with DVR function. Supposed to be here in 2 weeks, which is fine with me. Gives me time to read up on openpli in Formuler support forum, and elsewhere.
Glad I didn't opt for a certain other Chinese stb being marketed N of the border. Bad press for them lately, huh.
After much reading here and there, decided to purchase a Linux stb running Enigma 2. Found a review of an Irish seller in another forum for Formuler F1 stbs. 1.3GHz dual core, twin satellite tuner with full satellite arc including our North American satellites, with DVR function. Supposed to be here in 2 weeks, which is fine with me. Gives me time to read up on openpli in Formuler support forum, and elsewhere.
Glad I didn't opt for a certain other Chinese stb being marketed N of the border. Bad press for them lately, huh.
Think I'll search around for a larger dish too. Those 16APSK signals are just a little weak with this 8.5 ft Orbitron.
After reading some here I am loathe to buy one from the tek2000 'store'. Email only? No phone nor physical address?
This: Anyone buy the tek2000 dish?
Maybe iBoston can use those damaged panels for net fishing....ha ha ha.
After reading some here I am loathe to buy one from the tek2000 'store'. Email only? No phone nor physical address?
This: Anyone buy the tek2000 dish?
Maybe iBoston can use those damaged panels for net fishing....ha ha ha.
I was thinking about buying one from them, and then I saw some of the problems their dishes had, and opted out of the idea. Just as well since I found a 12 1/2 foot dish local that's built like a tank and in prefect condition. As the thread said, Tek's dishes come from China and tend to be built with metal that's too thin and they don't seem to monitor the manufacturing process as closely as they should.
All of the dishes in my profile picture were found locally and I got them for nothing. The 12 1/2 footer I mentioned will be added to my collection come spring. Had an injury and had to put that project on hold until later. Hopefully, you will be lucky enough to come across what you're looking for.
Yeah, have an acquaintance who works as field service tech and have asked him to keep his eye out for BUDs. Plus I go on country drives up in remote desert areas east of me. And generally keep my eyes peeled for big dishes in some valley areas.
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