Adventures in dish hunting and what we find

[linuxman]

I'm with you Inno,

When I started my FTA addiction here I didn't ask anyone and don't give a rat's a$$ what anyone thinks. No one said a word to me. Course this is a small town in a rural area and no one would say anything. The dishes are up there now and will be as long as I am alive with plenty of spares for replacement if need be.

I felt sorry for the poor guy. He knew his stuff about satellites and knew the difference between analog PQ and D* PQ. I told him he could put up a 1M dish and no one could say anything. He was very interested in FTA with the Ku dishes and small motors. I think he may become a convert if he ever visits this site like I told him too.

Hey Al,

That's part if the long story. That Cassegrain dish and the other are located at a radio station that has gone dark. The problem is there is a new station in town that currently transmits from another location, but bought this property and are going to move into this facility. They already have new wiring from the 2 Ku dishes run inside. If their engineer tells them they don't need the Cassegrain he has my card and will call me to see if I still want it.

It would take some work to make it a movable dish, but I think it would be a great dish.

Fred

 

[osu1991]

I think the building and dishes, that I posted in post 86 of this thread were probably for an old radio station. That Cassegrain dish was in perfect condition, and I am trying to find some info on the owner. I had an employee leave my card there a couple days ago. I plan on going back there at the first of the month myself looking for that big dish and the two 1m channelmasters that are there. May have to go get the county records to find an owner.

 

[linuxman]

Hey OSU,

I got lucky finding the owner of this cassegrain. I was driving through town and found a residential building in a commercial part of town that had two big dishes in front of it, so I went up to the door to inquire about the dishes and discovered that was where the new radio station was broadcasting from. I asked about the old station and got the whole story including the fact that they now owned the dish.

Fred

 

[linuxman]

Well I finally heard from the owner of the Ku dishes in post #194 that are together with the very small C-Band dishes.

He bought them and knows what they are for and thinks they are worth a fortune. I asked him to name a price, but he wasn't interested in selling them.

He was very nice and did return my call from the multiple cards I left in the door for several weeks. He called me on my cell, so I now have his phone number. I will check on the dishes again in a few months and if they haven't been moved, I will call him again.

I doubt very seriously if he will ever use them, but is like the guy with the solid Birdview. I think his attitude is one of "They are mine. I may not ever use them again, but no one else is going to either". We have all met people like that, and they are his property, so what else can you do.

Move on in the hunt for others.

Fred

 

[turbosat]

Scored a freebie today

Just thought about it being Saturday, and if maybe somebody might be on the local radio call-in ads show to give away a dish. Turned on the old am radio, the very first caller I heard was a lady wanting somebody to come get her big dish out of her yard! A mesh dish, she said , but no receiver.
Luckily I got her first call, got there (only 10-12miles) in about an hour. Small dish, so I wasn't overjoyed, but hey the price was right, it was planted right by the driveway so no long walks. I think it's a 6' but it might be 7', perfect 10 brand gray mesh, motor still attached but looks rough. Dish was in very good shape until I squirted PB-Blaster all over it to loosen the rusty bolts. Guy brought his big Holland tractor with bucket around (farmer) hooked chain to the pole and yanked it up for me too!! Well the pole wasn't very thick and bent a little but I think I might still use it, if I decide to put this one up soon.
Perfect 10 was a pretty popular brand, I remember, made in USA too. Looks a lot like my 7.5 winegard, just without the reinforcing middle ring on the panels.
Something to play with later, at least I kept it from the scrap-shredders. Had a good weather cover, Eagle Aspen 25degree lnb, but no c/ku.

 

[linuxman]

I think it's a 6' but it might be 7', perfect 10 brand gray mesh, motor still attached but looks rough.

Hey Turbosat,

If it is a Perfect 10 dish, according to my spec sheet, the smallest they made was a 7.5 footer. I have 4 of them, one on the roof and three in the warehouse. They are a very good dish. I am currently using the one of the roof for my 4DTV, and it does a great job.

Great find, and the way you found it is very similar to the way I have found many of my dishes. It just happens!

Fred

 

[turbosat]

its bigger than 6'

After I got outside this morning and looked at it again, it looked much bigger. I think I am so used to my 10', and 12' dishes anything else looks tiny. This one is more like 7.5 or 8' , I'll know for sure when I put it together again. Right now I am wire-brushing off some rust on the mount so I can prime it this afternoon.
I was amazed this motor works too-just hooked it up and it runs smooooth.
Its an old HTS /acme actuator, very little rust on the tube too. That turned out to
be a pretty good trip...

 

[linuxman]

Its an old HTS /acme actuator

Is that what the HTS actuators really are? ACME actuators manufactured for HTS and sold under their name?

Fred

 

[turbosat]

I'll have to read that label again lol, I saw that, but always thought that acme was just a generic
name for the things. acme vs ball-screw actuator etc. It is curious.

 

[turbosat]

7.5 test

Put that 7.5 perfect 10 up on a pole today, with a 15degree Precision lnb (didn't even hook up the polarotor) Somehow I manage to hit the Dr Scott channel again lol, I can always seem to find that one first. I was amazed at how clean the picture was on my 13" test tv! Messed around with it for 2hours trying to find CNN and Showtime on G14, not nearly as clear there, still not tracking well. Parked it on AMC6 for NASA for the time being. This 7.5 seems to be a better dish than my 7.5 Winegard, it is a good dish for its size but the perfect 10 is a bit more shallow, has very good shape, and just plain does better so far 69% signal quality on NASA channels, 54% was tops for the Winegard , using same lnb. This freebie was a good find.

 

[linuxman]

Hey Turbosat!

They are a pretty good dish. It took me a while to get mine pulling the entire arc in well, but it is doing a great job now.

You are right, it is pretty shallow though not as shallow as some but enough to give pretty good gains.

Fred

 

[turbosat]

Jackpot today!!

Well a small jackpot anyway, ran across another primestar oval today, whilst out in the country. Been going thru this rural area for years, but somehow today my benedryl-blurred eyes noticed a primestar dish at a house back off the road a ways, behind some trees. Decided when my shopping trip was done I would stop. Couple of hours later I drove up at this old farmhouse, beat on the door. The lady said, Ask my husband, he's out in the field at the catfish pond. So I walked out away dodging fresh cow----!! Good country soul said "Sure I been wantin to get rid of that thing" I was planning on comng another day but when I told him I was about 44 miles from home , he said, Hell I will pull it up for you now with my tractor and save you another trip. 30min later I was on the way , grimy 1.0 oval primestar, slightly-bent pole, lol and all.
It was almost dark when I got in, but the moldy algae looking stuff is coming off pretty good, tomorrow it will look like new.
This one is nicer than the one I already have, as it has no bullet hole in it, hehe.

 

[linuxman]

Another great find Turbosat!!

I'd love to get my hands on another one of those.

Just a reminder to everyone, the leaves will be coming off in another couple or 3 weeks, and that makes prime (no pun intended) dish hunting season. You can spot them so much easier when the leaves are off, and the weeds are down.

Fred

 

[turbosat]

Yep I only need to find one of those really big 1.2meters ones now to have the entire collection! But they are even more scarce, I have heard.

 

[voomvoom]

Nice find turbo. By the way, what are you using to clean it with? I need to clean all my dishes? Thanks!

Al

 

[gabshere]

i plan on testing my 1 meter p* for c band later this month
but would love to find a 1.2 m one . i also have a couple of big dishes to setup. maybe soon i will get to go hunting leaves will be falling soon.....

 

[stogie5150]

What NOT to do when getting a free dish

I went to harvest a storm damaged Winegard Pinnacle this morning... It was lying on its side out of the ground, pole and all. Things went fine until I turned the bolts to the mount loose...it folded like a cheap suit.

So I pass along this tidbit. Two things you need when harvesting a BUD.

1) Help
2) More help.

At least I got a nice Toshiba TRX-1820 Receiver with all documentation, original manual yet. And a remote with the original batteries still in it.

 

[turbosat]

Might be some mesh that's usable, otherwise that is sad looking affair.
At least you got a receiver out of it . Must've been a tough storm on dishes.
And everything else.

 

[stogie5150]

Might be some mesh that's usable, otherwise that is sad looking affair.
At least you got a receiver out of it . Must've been a tough storm on dishes.
And everything else.

I did most of that when it fell. But whoever moved it to begin with smashed one edge, so it was iffy anyway. Made that elderly lady happy though lemme tell you.

I took it apart this afternoon, and yes, all that is useable is the mesh and the stainless bolts.

 

[yankee495]

Hello everyone,

This dish is in my yard now! Been using it for about 4-5 years. A friend called me and said he was at a yard sale and the lady ask him if he wanted to buy them. He told me about it and she gave them to me. Yes them, two of them. I added a C/Ku feed to the one in the picture. A while back I was given two 10' dishes with everything except receivers, forgot the brand, and they have only C band LNBs.

Anyway the bad news is I am going to have to move this dish because of a neighbors tree. I don't know if I have a good place for it because it is where it is as it was the best place at the time. NO tree at all.

I am hoping to use it with my VS Ultra for C and Ku band.