Adventures in Dish Hunting 2009

[linuxman]

Outstanding!!!

As Anole said,

Isn't it amazing what we find, once our eyes and brains are attuned?

Congrats on your second Birdview, and why wouldn't someone want two Birdviews operational?

 

[jgabriels]

options for hidden dishes

Better read the HOA agreement carefully before you start putting up a big dish, if they have rules against it-you could be in for a fight.

Not too worried about it. They haven't collected dues in about 5 years
and instead collect donations once a year. They apparently tried to
start the HOA back up a few years back because someone wouldn't
stop draining down the lake to water their lawn.

That being said, what options are there for hidden dishes?
I read in one thread that the signal can transmit through a milk jug and
then this dish is fully enclosed:

GOsatellite.com - FTA Receiver - Vu Qube VQ2000 Portable Satellite Dish

What else can Cband penetrate?
Can you put a Cband dish in an attic, a sunroom, or a greenhouse?
What about making a discreet dish, disguised as a firepit, underground,
in a shed, a flat ring on the roof, etc...

Anyone ever experiment with this or know what the technical requirements
are to receive a cband signal?

 

[phlatwound]

edit: and as a thought, maybe swing your Prodelin 6' with an H-H motor like the big AJAK 180...?
Of course, there's nothing the Prodelin can do, that another 8½ foot Birdview solid cannot . . .

In all my (considerable) searching, I have never seen another H-H mount of any sort, and there are a LOT of old C-band dishes in this area. Maybe my conversation with the old installer will change that!

Congrats on your second Birdview, and why wouldn't someone want two Birdviews operational?

Thanks, I learned to hunt them from the best!

And you are right as usual, a man'd be a fool not to want a pair (or more) of Birdies roosting in the back yard.

 

[jamestheman]

you all need to come to my neck of the woods in tyler texas. I have a guy here that does commercial satellite work and he has like 4 of the 6 foot prime focus channel master dishes, about 10 1.2 meter dishes, several 33-36 steel dishes, and a few 1 meter dishes. He wants me to buy them all! he claims the lnbs dont work on most of them, big deal, i wouldnt use those old circular lnbs and internet lnbs anyways. I got a 1.2 meter from him and ordered a bsc 621 and now get both c and ku off the dish.

His yard looks like a cable tv station.

 

[Comptech]

Yippy!

I got my perforated birdview today. To dark for pictures now,but I know Anole will want some,so I will take some at lunchtime tomorrow and post them. That has got to be the heaviest dish and motor I have ever seen. Four people and some sore backs it made it home.I still have to go saw the pole off. In a couple of weeks you will see a new thread with a subject of Comptechs birdview install. I have to measure it also and see what the diameter is, not sure if it is eight foot or eight and a half.

 

[turbosat]

congrat comptech and phlat on the birdviews!
JGabriels>if that's the case with the HOA I'd start digging myself a hole, and let'em bitch later.
(I'm that type lol) Seriously if they aren't operating as an HOA it'd be hard to see how they could suddenly start enforcing any rules. *Not a legal opinion just my personal viewpoint.
Sure you could build a little greenhouse and put it inside, the dish will see thru glass or plastic. You'd have to watch for where the joints went, or braces though, if they were metal, it wouldn't see thru that at all.

 

[linuxman]

I got my perforated birdview today. To dark for pictures now,but I know Anole will want some,so I will take some at lunchtime tomorrow and post them. That has got to be the heaviest dish and motor I have ever seen. Four people and some sore backs it made it home.I still have to go saw the pole off. In a couple of weeks you will see a new thread with a subject of Comptechs birdview install. I have to measure it also and see what the diameter is, not sure if it is eight foot or eight and a half.

Congratulations!!!

You will like the Perfed. They have a distinct look, and perform exactly like the solids do.

 

[Comptech]

Thank you guys, I am sure I will have plenty of questions when it goes up. I would like to start Saturday, but I have to go harvest a channel Master mesh Saturday morning.

 

[mbarnes]

you all need to come to my neck of the woods in tyler texas. I have a guy here that does commercial satellite work and he has like 4 of the 6 foot prime focus channel master dishes, about 10 1.2 meter dishes, several 33-36 steel dishes, and a few 1 meter dishes.

What kind of prices? I don't have a lot of money and the five hour round trip will use lots of diesel. I'm in North Richland Hills. But it would be nice to add a 6 footer and a couple 1.2s to my collection.

 

[Comptech]

Ok, no lunch today so no pictures. But I did measure the perforated birdview and it is seven and a half feet in diameter. What is that LNB? It has BNC connections and says birdview 20/20,and has only one probe and no servo. How did this work?I do not plan on using it, but it has my attention. Also came complete with wasps nest. Two support arms are broken, but a buddy of mine that used to do installs brought me six arms that are about a half inch short.Thank god I have a freind who builds tuna towers for boats and is a expert in aluminium fabrication.Also my old installer friend says he thinks he has many more parts for these dishes including motors. I see where most of these dishes are 8 or 8 and a half foot,is mine a oddball?

 

[Anole]

Birdview Bits:

I did measure the perforated birdview and it is seven and a half feet in diameter....
I see where most of these dishes are 8 or 8 and a half foot,is mine a oddball?

The docs I have on Birdviews (an old brochure which was posted on this forum) says:
-o- the white solid was 9 feet @ 102 lbs. Linuxman says it's 8½ feet...?
-o- the perforated black dishes came in three sizes:
-- 8 feet @ 68 lbs (you say it's 7½ feet...?)
-- 9 feet @ 88 lbs (Linuxman says his is 8½ feet...?)
-- 10 feet @ 105 lbs (the urban legend which nobody has seen)
I hesitate to draw any conclusions, but somebody needs glasses.
If you get a chance to weigh it, that'd be interesting.
Do you suppose Birdview draped a tape measure down inside the dish, or across the back to measure it ?

What is that LNB? It has BNC connections and says birdview 20/20,and has only one probe and no servo. How did this work?

They basically had a dual output LNBF where each receiver could select either polarity.
That was one of their big selling features, when a user had multiple receivers.
edit: not compatible with modern receivers!

Two support arms are broken,

There have been discussions in some of the BV threads about repairing/replacing them.
Search threads by Phlatwound for repair.
I think Linuxman did some extensions earlier, too.
Search thread by Stogie5150 for replacing one with all-thread.

Also my old installer friend says he thinks he has many more parts for these dishes including motors.

Some users have worn out motors or could use other parts.
I wouldn't mind having the 70:1 motor and gear assembly, but Linuxman runs fine on the 37:1, so it's not a big deal.

I'm currently experimenting with magnet wheels, and will have more to say in a week or two.

 

[Comptech]

Birdview Pics

Here are some pics of the dish. And yes Anole if I put the tape measure down in the dish it is 8 foot. Now one question, the blue thing in picture three is the old potentinometer right not the reed conversion? I have had great luck with everything coming apart easy,so I know I could not get lucky enough to have the conversion. Oh yeah,the motor even runs fine.

 

[Comptech]

8Ft ChannelMaster

Here is a pic of the 8 footer I harvested this morning.Dish is in great shape but needs a new actuator.

 

[Comptech]

Here are two pics of the soon to be obsolete current setup. A 1.2 meter Fortec on a stab HH120 motor and a Generic 6 footer on a moteck 180 motor. Both have dual feed LNBF's on them connected to a 4x4 switch feeding four recievers in the house.

 

[Anole]

good lookin' perf'd Birdview

The blue cylinder at the end of the worm shaft is the potentiometer.
Note the gear reduction to run it.
Regular pots go about 270°, not even one full turn.
I'm sure anyone with that pot can tell if it goes around more than once.

At one time I was wondering how many turns the worm made, moving the dish horizon to horizon.
Because, there are 10-turn and maybe 20 or 25-turn pots available.
But it was only idle curiosity.
Multi-magnet wheels and reed switches are the order of the day.

PS: good lookin' sky in your pix. Where ya located?
Oh, and start a thead for that Birdview.
I may start my own tonight.

 

[Comptech]

I am in about 40 miles north of West Palm Florida. It may be awhile until I start a Birdview thread,I have to figure out how to get it to my house in S.C. Jself are you listening? I think you are in Easly just a few miles from me. Want to go offshore fishing in Florida? Have a trailer? My yard here is to small for a line of site for the Birdview,it would have to go on the roof and I think it is a couple hundred pounds too much for that! The 8 foot CM I got today will go on the roof nicely.

 

[voomvoom]

Here are two pics of the soon to be obsolete current setup. A 1.2 meter Fortec on a stab HH120 motor and a Generic 6 footer on a moteck 180 motor. Both have dual feed LNBF's on them connected to a 4x4 switch feeding four recievers in the house.

Thanks for the pictures Comtech! Looks really good. I hope when you say obsolete, you mean the Birdview or the CM will become the main part of your system, and the 1.2m and 6'er will still be there for back-up or multiple receiver uses. And please don't mean that they will be coming down......? Please don't say that...!

 

[Comptech]

Nope nothing going bye-bye. I will keep the 1.2 for Ku, put the channel master 8footer on the roof here in florida,take the six footer to South Carolina with the Birdview, put the dielectric plate in a bsc621 on the six footer for some atlantic sats with my 1 meter for Ku up there.I spend more time here but I cannot find a place for the Birdview with a line of sight.

 

[voomvoom]

What part of S.C. is Easly in? Or what part is your house in? Places I know are Anderson, Greenville/Spartanburg, Columbia, Florence, Charleston, and Hardeevile. Are you near one of them?

 

[Comptech]

What part of S.C. is Easly in? Or what part is your house in? Places I know are Anderson, Greenville/Spartanburg, Columbia, Florence, Charleston, and Hardeevile. Are you near one of them?

I am about 15 miles north of greenville off of hwy25.Although I am north of the city my mailing adress is Travelers Rest SC.