Adventures In Dish Hunting 2012

[ken2400]

I found the arm and the LNB working. I also found a mover box that does not want to turn on all the time. Well I got it on and left it on to play with the dish. In the end I replace the Novsat LNB from 1994 with a DXM 241. Need to get the other dish before it is too late. Keep looking, the dishs are out there.

 

[ken2400]

Just an update on the Echostar dish.
It has been moved to it's new location.
Only two misfires. Left the sledge hammer behind.
Tried to knock off the ball at the end of the pipe and it was too tough so we gave up.
That burned up 10 extra mins. Thought of it about 5 mins out.
The truck we used ran out of gas about 1/8 of mile before the drop point. Was not too bad because we know the guy near where we are putting the dish and he had gas

Keep ya posted on the arm and LNB status.

Keep looking. There out there. Good luck

 

[pitman1]

Shortly after waking up this morning a possible solution came to me : SCAFFOLDING. Put some up beside the house. Loosen and swing the dish over so its accessible and disassemble in sections. Then lower the sections,mount etc. down with a winch of some sort.

I read all the way thru this thread to see how you made out with the scaffling? I got one that I need to take down also and that was the way I had planned to do it. Not sure where I'm gonna get the scaffolds though.

 

[johncomp99]

Just talked to a neighbor about this dish, I took a few photos quickly as they were getting ready to leave. Can anyone ID this dish? the feed cap says Sami, but I don't know what size 8ft maybe?

 

[pitman1]

it looks just like my dish. A 10' SAMI. good luck with the removal and transport.

 

[Dishman Dan]

I brought home a 7 1/2 foot BUD tonight with a C band feedhorn and 24" actuator. The dish is in great shape overall but the feedhorn cover is missing. Most likely this is a Unimesh and they were very popular in my area. I have 2 more 7 1/2 footers to pick up and they both have C/Ku feedhorns and covers!

 

[johncomp99]

Olegray, I have a 10' Sami that I am getting ready to remove, do you have any tips or notes from the one that you took down? Did it fit in you pickup truck like the photo?

 

[johncomp99]

View attachment 74866View attachment 74867View attachment 74868Picked up this 7 1/2 foot this morning, next door where we got the 10 foot yesterday. I was surprized to see it was a SamI. Anyway, I helped them unclutter their yard and brought it home. The home owner thanked me two or three times for taking it away.

Olegray, I have a 10' Sami that I am getting ready to remove, do you have any tips or notes from the one that you took down? Did it fit in you pickup truck like the photo?

 

[skideric]

Was out hunting today in some sunny weather. Pic 1 is a dish farm right next to a trailer park. Pics 2,3,4 are of a 10 foot Prodelin I spotted in 2010. The owners still don't want to let it go. So I went about 30 miles further to Grand Bend Ontario Canada and spotted the dish in pics 5,6,7. I think it is a 10 foot. The black plastic cover in the center said Channel Master. Since I want to plant a dish for the Atlantic birds I inquired of the owner. He's willing to part with it so now I just have to plan how to get it home.

Just Yesterday acquired rights to a MONSTER 12 Ft Fiberglass Dish! Looks similar to the one above roof in your pics.The Pole is 5.5-6 Inches! Goes all way to ground OVER other pole.(What owner said anyway).He give it to me.It's going to be a JOB to get dismantled.Got eye on 10.5 Ft Fiberglass just few blocks from here.Think i can get it.12 Ft is 7-8 miles away.Boy,neighbors here will LOVE me if i get the 12'er up. LOL!

 

[rv1pop]

Just Yesterday acquired rights to a MONSTER 12 Ft Fiberglass Dish! Looks similar to the one above roof in your pics.The Pole is 5.5-6 Inches! Goes all way to ground OVER other pole.(What owner said anyway).He give it to me.It's going to be a JOB to get dismantled.Got eye on 10.5 Ft Fiberglass just few blocks from here.Think i can get it.12 Ft is 7-8 miles away.Boy,neighbors here will LOVE me if i get the 12'er up. LOL!

My neighbors would NOT complain if I put up MANY more dishes! But the wind might do something to them.... Just ordering 18 bags of quickcrete. The back hoe should be here this week - or next. Ground is getting firm again.

 

[olegray]

johncomp99, the 7 1/2 foot fit in the pickup fine, but we had to take the 10 foot apart in sections, not hard to do. We numbered the sections on the back, so it went back together real easy. Sorry about the delay, haven't been on here in a few days.

 

[Dishman Dan]

I have hauled home 10 footers in my pickup in one piece! I did not have to haul any dish over 8 miles so far. If you could mooch a trailer like for lawn mowers it looks a little bit more legal. A trailer is lower to the ground and easier to load plus it will not scratch your pickup. If it kinda fits... It ships!

 

[johncomp99]

Thanks for the info/inspiration. 5 guys, 1 sawzall, 1 pick-up truck and 1.5 hrs and down cam the Sami! The dish was about 6 blocks away so transporting wasn't very bad. It cleaned up nicely, and the actuator still works great! Even had a chaparral feed horn/polarizer. Now I just need to work on getting the end of the pole that we cut to be even.

 

[skideric]

Here's some pics of my PS/Charter dish (One of MANY!) with NEW LNB mounted on arm & PICS of Original Charter LNB arm,etc.I'm using one of the DUAL Charter dishes to get AMC-9 & Gal-28 (Receives Sats 6 Degrees apart).Have quite a few of these & still spied a few more around here!Got a few ROUND PS as well.Have a 1.2 M CM also on Gal-19.Still have to take down the MONSTER 12' Fib Dish i mentioned & Possible other 10.5 solid dish.Well hope these pics help
someone. Thanks for a GREAT Forum!

 

[Dishman Dan]

Today's haul is a 10 foot Channel Master!
I was driving by a closed bar/grill and the owner was out weed whacking so I stopped in. This one is a button hook and has a couple of damaged panels along with some hail dings. I do have extra panels in the dish barn so no problem there. The actuator is rusty looking but I will check if it works.
I saved another BUD from the scrappers! :

 

[T4Runner]

Don't need to worry about the cut uneven end if you put that end down in concrete? Unless its too short?

 

[skideric]

Finally got to check out good & start taking apart the 12' Fiber Dish i mentioned.Well.... turns out it is just a VERY WELL BUILT,DEEP,COMMERCIAL TYPE 10' FOOTER! Didn't have the heart to tell the old guy.(He swears it's a 12' dish). The 5-6 Inch mounting pipe goes all the way to concrete slab poured about 5' square.There's another pipe,full length i guess that goes all the way inside it.It has setting/clamping bolts at 3-4 places along the pole.Got the LNA (Avantek AWC-4213N),Downconverter (CM 6128),Scaler ring & one Panel off it in short time i had this evening with it. Got some pics including LNA,DC, & mount i'm posting. Anyone with info/help/advice on this one FEEL FREE to jump right in!

 

[stogie5150]

Finally got to check out good & start taking apart the 12' Fiber Dish i mentioned.Well.... turns out it is just a VERY WELL BUILT,DEEP,COMMERCIAL TYPE 10' FOOTER! Didn't have the heart to tell the old guy.(He swears it's a 12' dish). The 5-6 Inch mounting pipe goes all the way to concrete slab poured about 5' square.There's another pipe,full length i guess that goes all the way inside it.It has setting/clamping bolts at 3-4 places along the pole.Got the LNA (Avantek AWC-4213N),Downconverter (CM 6128),Scaler ring & one Panel off it in short time i had this evening with it. Got some pics including LNA,DC, & mount i'm posting. Anyone with info/help/advice on this one FEEL FREE to jump right in!

View attachment 77152View attachment 77153View attachment 77154View attachment 77155View attachment 77156View attachment 77157View attachment 77158View attachment 77159

That's not a commercial dish, but a very good one. I have one just like it, and it was equipped just like yours was. Yes, they are built to last. Mine outperforms my 12 foot paraclipse on S2 signals, so its a keeper indeed. Lemme root around here, somewhere I have a thread when I got mine....ah...here it is...

http://www.satelliteguys.us/c-band-satellite-discussion/256824-how-did-i-get-into-mess.html

Have FUN and ask away if ya have questions.

 

[skideric]

Thanks for the INFO! Really meant it's BUILT like a Commercial Disc.He actually got it from Rat Shack in '83 i think he said.You using standard NEW type Feedhorn/LNB on yours? Man the solid Aluminum scaler is awesome.Glad to hear it performs good.Got the S9 HD PVR on two ku Band (One Dual LNB's) now.Really wanting that C-Band also! You getting GREAT Ku performance also? Thanks again for post.Like to see that thread for sure.

 

[stogie5150]

Thanks for the INFO! Really meant it's BUILT like a Commercial Disc.He actually got it from Rat Shack in '83 i think he said.You using standard NEW type Feedhorn/LNB on yours? Man the solid Aluminum scaler is awesome.Glad to hear it performs good.Got the S9 HD PVR on two ku Band (One Dual LNB's) now.Really wanting that C-Band also! You getting GREAT Ku performance also? Thanks again for post.Like to see that thread for sure.

I didnt mess with Ku on it, no reason why it wont be at least passable on Ku, my thread will show you it has ku mesh under that fiberglass. I have a c-band orthomode feed on it now, no ku. I took the stock feed/scalar off of it, and added the ortho, mine was too far gone, corrosion had ate it up. BTW you do NOT have to have the 5" pipe for it to work with the sleeve, I put mine on a 4" pipe that I already had, put longer bolts in it, and it works fine. only thing is its HEAVY, as you already know. It was pretty easy to get dialed in, too. One thing I did find is that a el-cheapo actuator will NOT move it, its too heavy. I was fortunate that the Saginaw actuator that was on it worked fine, I just had to find a dish mover to work with the old potentiometer saginaw.

Feel free to PM me if you have questions, or just post to my old thread. Its a straightforward install, probably the easiest in my farm.