Adventures In Dish Hunting 2010

[beavs2112]

Dish Hunting

Hi

Now that I have my 1 meter Ku up an running I'm itching to get into C-band. Unfortunately my current home has LOS issues for a ground mount so I had to put it on my roof. I live in London ON Canada.
During a city bus ride downtown last week I saw the mesh dish on top of the tax company's office. I think it used to be a bank office.
During an exercise walk around my block I spotted the solid dish. no one was home so I don't think its still being used. It looks pointed due west with trees blocking the LOS across the road.
Apologies for the poor pics. Any ideas on the make of the solid dish? Is one dish worth pursuing more than the other? From reading posts i gather the solid will outperform the mesh on Ku.
Is there an etiquette to dish hunting? I am new to this addiction/hobby so I don't want to step on another sat enthusiasts toes so to speak. The only other member I know of in my area is davage. Is it expected that i ask him if its ok to talk to the owners?
Any ideas?

Sincere best wishes for a happy July 4th!

 

[toucan-man]

Is there an etiquette to dish hunting? I am new to this addiction/hobby so I don't want to step on another sat enthusiasts toes so to speak. The only other member I know of in my area is davage. Is it expected that i ask him if its ok to talk to the owners?
Any ideas?

I think it would be unlikely that you or I'd bump into anyone else who also collects dishes, and would actually fight over one. If you see it, inquire about it now, finders keepers. I have seen three 10 footers disappear in one season -- all to the scrap heap, I imagine. Better ask soon while the getting is still possible.

I think it takes a bit of a knack to get a dish home for free. I tried a simple line something like this last year "You need anything for it?" meaning, "Do you expect to get paid for it?"; it worked. Once, anyway. Sometimes people don't have a clue what their BUD is worth and need to be informed that their expensive dish is not worth anything more than scrap these days.

Do keep us informed of your progress.

 

[beavs2112]

thanks for the help toucan-man i'll keep trying to locate both owners. the solid dish is on the side of a building that houses 2 car repair garages and a multi unit rental place. i'm job hunting tomorrow and up north here it's a holiday on thursday so maybe friday.

 

[Dishman Dan]

Be freindly but not pushy during "negotiations!"

Also try to follow up once in a while on the deals that are in the works and that take a while.


I lost a 12 footer from an elderly lady recently.

I talked to her about 4 months ago but she insisted she needed the BUD to receive her pizza service. The C band receiver and positioner were running while I was there but I do not think that they were hooked up! She refused to take my name and number because she said she knew who I was. I wanted to stop in about a month ago but was in a hurry and did not stop. On Sunday I saw the BUD was gone!!! There was a car there on Monday and I stopped and knocked on the door. A younger couple answered the door and told me that the woman passed away a week ago and they were cleaning out...

 

[toucan-man]

...On Sunday I saw the BUD was gone!!!

Sad story, I feel your pain. I lost a 12 footer last year, too, went and talked to the homeowner after it disappeared anyway, and was met with suspicion and yada yada yada. Strange woman.

You can find the nicest BUD imaginable, but as they say, a bird in the hand...

 

[Anole]

just opinion

I saw the mesh dish on top of the tax company's office.
I think it used to be a bank office.

It is likely on a non-penetrating roof mount, which would be a very desirable haul.
If not for you, if not for now, then maybe as a fine trading item! - :up
Also, the dish may come apart into four wedges for easy transport.

During an exercise walk around my block I spotted the solid dish. ...
Is one dish worth pursuing more than the other?
From reading posts i gather the solid will outperform the mesh on Ku.

If you've got good Ku on your little dish, does it matter?
The solid is beautiful, but it'll be hard to get down, and hard to transport as one piece.
See my signature where I used a flat bed truck to move two spun aluminum dishes.
You might also consider how much of that pole you want to recover.
If you can hack it off at ground level and still have enough, then that's a deal! -
I used a cut off wheel on a grinder; the sawzall was a distant second choice.
If you have a torch (I didn't), that might work, too. -

Is there an etiquette to dish hunting?

Find out what Davage is looking for, and be on the look out for it as you search for yourself.
However, if you find something that suits your needs, I agree that it's first-come, first-served.!.

Keep in mind, that I've had the good luck of having a number of people suggest, recommend, or save dishes for me.
One guy even shipped me some little ones!
And likewise, I've found, recommended, reserved and given dishes to folks who live around here.
It's just being a good neighbor! -

 

[beavs2112]

hi guys. thanks to anole,dishman dan and toucan-man for the friendly informative replies. you guys rule

i am so excited about these finds i couldn't sleep!

you're right anole it doesn't matter about Ku. for whatever reason i was thinking only of getting both c&ku on the big dish but there's no reason not to keep them separate. i am glad i asked!

i am thinking about moving from my current house to get a better view of the southern horizon. since i live in the city my ground level LOS is terrible.

i think the pole for the solid dish is at least 10 feet tall. it had these 3 odd looking metal pieces welded to the bottom of the pole. maybe for stability or something. it looked very similar to one of the poles i saw in a post that member immo started or replied to.

 

[beavs2112]

well I talked to the building owner about the solid dish today. it's not in use since all the tenants have cable. he doesn't want to part with it however. he loves the look of it. there was no receiver hooked up that i could find.

onto the next candidate

 

[Anole]

well I talked to the building owner about the solid dish today.
it's not in use since all the tenants have cable.
he doesn't want to part with it however. he loves the look of it.

I'd offer him a giant American flag to fly from the post.
And whatever hardware it'd take: pulley, rope, etc.
Never know, he might go for it! - :up

onto the next candidate

Right, ask enough people, and you'll get a bunch of "yes" answers!
Do not be disheartened.
The next one might be far better, far cheaper, lower to the ground, or closer to home! -
One of our members found a hidden Birdview just down the block from his house, once some building was torn down (as I remember the story).

 

[Dishman Dan]

Sad story, I feel your pain. I lost a 12 footer last year, too, went and talked to the homeowner after it disappeared anyway, and was met with suspicion and yada yada yada. Strange woman.

You can find the nicest BUD imaginable, but as they say, a bird in the hand...

The woman was 85 years old and quite the charmer! This hits close to home because my dad is the same age!

On the loss of the 12 foot BUD - There are a lot of 7 1/2 and 10 BUDs in my area. That 12 foot was the only one I have seen and that was the only lead I had on one that size!

 

[Dishman Dan]

10' Channel Master

I brought home a 10' Channel Master BUD in great shape!

I am going to replace my 10' Winegard with this one as my main dish and hopefully for 4DTV. My Winegard is a buttonhook and that was giving me headaches. This Winegard also is a real deep dish design which tends to collect snow and the wet "lake effect" snow freezes on a good 1 to 2 inches thick which does not come off easily. This snow knocks out the Ku totally and degrades the C band enough to mess up reception. The Channel Master has the 4 support arms and is not all that deep of a dish. My BUDdy up the road never had snow problems on his "shallow" BUDs like my snow catching Winegard does. I hope to get this set up this weekend and post pictures!!!

 

[Dishman Dan]

10' Superior

A guy up the road has a Superior 10 footer for me if I want it!

This is in nice shape but it is a button hook design. I did not have good luck in the winter with my buttonhook Winegard but most of that BUD's problem was the snow buildup due to its deep design. This Superior looks a lot like the Channel Master I drug home. Looks like a Unimesh too! Are they related??? Any info is appreciated!

 

[ynnedibanez]

A guy up the road has a Superior 10 footer for me if I want it!

This is in nice shape but it is a button hook design. I did not have good luck in the winter with my buttonhook Winegard but most of that BUD's problem was the snow buildup due to its deep design. This Superior looks a lot like the Channel Master I drug home. Looks like a Unimesh too! Are they related??? Any info is appreciated!

it would be easy to add braces
1/2 inch galvanized conduit works wonders

 

[pjcl]

I just got two 8-footers this weekend!

 

[Anole]

thoughts

it would be easy to add braces
1/2 inch galvanized conduit works wonders

I used some to make new LNB support struts for a little dish.
Easy to work, shape, cut, and drill.
I painted mine with several coats of flat grey primer paint (99¢ for the can, as I recall) -

But for a BUD, I have read where fellows used stainless fishing leader or very light steel cable as guy wires from the scalar to the dish rim.
If I had a wiggly buttonhook, I'd give the guy-wire idea a try, first.
Or at least get some advice from those who've tried it. -

 

[PANHANDLER]

Should i or shouldn't i , is the question

I was at my sister inlaws house this weekend for a wedding , she lives 200 miles from me and i renmemberd the nieghbor had some sort of dish that was no longer in use . I remembered the spot where it was at and didn't see it anymore so i asked . What happened to the dish that was sitting over there , They told me it was still there . I took a look thru the growth in the area and sure enough still there . I put a tape measure accross it and it measured 12 feet from corner to corner ( now i'm drooling at this time ) . If any of you have been following my dish adventures this one looks like a great project. It is a paraclipse and it does have some damage , the pics don't do it much justice , but definatly restorable . The major prob with it is a branch is growing thru one section . Nothing that can't be repaired. I need to know one thing from others that own a Paraclipse is that , is this dish worth saving , how is the gain . The mesh has just about 1/8" opennings in it ,mmmm wondwer how that would work for ku. Thanx for all responses .
PS: I enjoy saving these old dishes.

 

[Anole]

Not trying to discourage you, but I'm thinkin' that's not a Paraclipse.
Maybe one of the owners of such a beast can give the last word.

Looks like extraction will be a delicate job.
However, if just for a few of the panels, I'd say it's worth some thought. - :up

 

[ZetaMale]

If the mesh is bad you'll find that it's expensive to replace but about 60% cheaper than buying a new 12 footer.

 

[PANHANDLER]

If the mesh is bad you'll find that it's expensive to replace but about 60% cheaper than buying a new 12 footer.

I looked it over very well except a string test , all the mesh looks great except one section , but maybe it can be hammered back into shape.

Thanx for the the response Anole , i am sure it is a paraclipse due to the unique ribbing structure. Oh yes i am thinking about it , looks like a great winter project , ooops did i say the bad word ;{

 

[ZetaMale]

I looked it over very well except a string test , all the mesh looks great except one section , but maybe it can be hammered back into shape.

If the string test is good then smoothing out the one section you should be OK. But, I think Skyvision sells mesh, for somewhere around $65 per mesh, that you'll have to cut . I don't know if you can get it cheaper locally. It's possible that the actuator and feed may be bad, also.

I smoothed out all the panels on my Paraclipse after a hail storm and I was surprised at how well it performed with less than perfect panels - some panels had holes in them from baseball size hail - obviously, Ku won't work well though, if at all. Of course, new panels should substantially improve it's performance.

Good luck with the dish.