Care and Feeding of a 12 foot Paraclipse...

[Anole]

Just yesterday, I saw a standard American pick up truck parked at the curb.
Two city workmen were using a little boom on it to put the roof onto a bus shelter.
Never saw such a small or limited boom, but by golly it sure did the job!
I was thinking how nice that would be for picking up BUDs. ! -

 

[stogie5150]

UPDATE: I am in the process of fitting a Sat AV CK-1 C/Ku LNB to this dish, to get some skew adjustment room I have had to clearance the ring that the feed mounts to...details later...

 

[No Doubt]

stogie, how is this working out? I found this thread & am impressed with the Paraclipse. I found one today. I hope this last mod works for you.

 

[stogie5150]

stogie, how is this working out? I found this thread & am impressed with the Paraclipse. I found one today. I hope this last mod works for you.

I have a weird aiming problem. from 43w to 91w Ku works flawlessly. From 91w to 125w its poo poo. I tried moving the whole dish on the pole left and right, I could not get it better.

My personal feelings on the dish are as follows....if you can get one with the H-to-H mount, get it. Otherwise......YMMV. The angles are hard to set on the dish, especially the declination. And add in KU and it compounds the problem.

Good luck.
LMK if you need any consultation, I definitely have experience.

 

[Greg Mueller]

UPDATE: I am in the process of fitting a Sat AV CK-1 C/Ku LNB to this dish, to get some skew adjustment room I have had to clearance the ring that the feed mounts to...details later...

Nice job

 

[Anole]

.... from 43w to 91w Ku works flawlessly.
From 91w to 125w its poo poo....

Isn't that why you have two BUDs?

 

[No Doubt]

The one I found has a actuator, 10-12 ft with a square mounting tube. It has the Paraclipse sticker on the backside & looks in good condition. I knocked on the door & the daughter said she would ask her dad about it. I really dont neen another bud, but these things sure are impressive looking. I hope you get yours working like you want it to, No Doubt

I have a weird aiming problem. from 43w to 91w Ku works flawlessly. From 91w to 125w its poo poo. I tried moving the whole dish on the pole left and right, I could not get it better.

My personal feelings on the dish are as follows....if you can get one with the H-to-H mount, get it. Otherwise......YMMV. The angles are hard to set on the dish, especially the declination. And add in KU and it compounds the problem.

Good luck.
LMK if you need any consultation, I definitely have experience.

 

[stogie5150]

Well, I am happy to report some success finally with C AND Ku on the Paraclipse with the CK-1 From SatAV.

First, I went out and measured the scalar centering and made a slight adjustment. So I was confident in that.

Then I checked the declination. It was off by almost a degree. Now, adjusting the declination on a Paraclipse is a daunting process, because there is NO jackscrew to hold you in place, just a bolt to tighten down in a slot when you get it where you want it. So I ran it to TS, and put a 4' ladder under it near the outside edge, along with some wood blocks on top of the ladder to get it close, then release the declination bolt and let the dish down on the blocks. I then put a wooden wedge under the rim of the dish on top of the blocks to adjust the angle. It took me about four times before I got it to the correct angle, and get it tightened down. Checked the Ku....nothing.

Hummmmmm.....

Check the Elevation!

Luckily the elevation has a turnbuckle, so it was a simple thing to loosen the pivot bolt and adjust the elevation. Took about three turns on the turnbuckle to bring it in. I got 97 quality on the G17 TXCN mux....I was on my way...ran the dish over to G18 to check....NO ku. Well....maybe it needs turning on the pole, so I loosened the sleeve and gave it a nudge....in it came. Bump the motor a little, peak the signal, turn the dish, bump the motor...finally got G18 at over 90 quality on the Coolsat.

Motored on over to AMC 6, it was maxed out on the Live tp there..and even the shopping channel was 87 quality.

I stopped at every Ku satellite I could find in between, and it was all very near the same, with the exception of AMC 5. I don't know why it was lower, but the NYN's were in the low 60's quality. But sats on either side were good. One of those things.

And, to boot, the LPB mux on AMC 21 came in just fine on the Diamond.

C-band continues to be great on all satellites, BTW. Peak the dish on Ku and the C will be stellar.

Finally, some success. It CAN be done, fellas. :up

Thanks to all for their guidance and motivation. :up

 

[turbosat]

Stogie I was watching NYN after lunch, it was snowing up there so that might have been the reason for the lower numbers. I didn't have a problem watching it on my 1m, so I never noticed what the signal level was .

 

[gabshere]

sounds good Stogie5150

i' knew you could get it now if it will only dry out a few days here
plus i got to find time to go get that birdview

 

[14karat]

I'm going to have to nab a CK-1 and replace the 621... Sounds like they are a bunch better...

 

[Cadsulfide]

Stogie;
An excellent job! I may call on you for advice this spring, only 14 weeks away!

 

[hphase]

Sorry to light up an ancient thread, but finding it has piqued my interest in refurbishing my Paraclipse 12-footer that has been out in the woods for a long time. This is a great thread!

My Paraclipse is a stock 12-footer that I first installed in 1985. I moved it to my new house in 1988 and upgraded it a 16-footer with an H-H mount. I needed more J-clips to atach the mesh (I think I overdid it on the spacing) and Paraclipse was kind enough to send me another bag. I went over to a Dish Network system in about 2000, and the Paraclipse been sitting, untouched and unmoved, since then. I dropped Dish ages ago and went over to the dark side (Comcast) but I maintain an OTA system for HDTV.

It's got a buttonhook feed, and I think my biggest performance issue will be figuring out if these moder-day LNBFs can just bolt on where the old Poloarotor did. If any other old-timers are still here, maybe you can shed some light on this. I'd also appreciate any tips on freeing up rusted mounts and drive chains...

 

[stogie5150]

My chain was sitting for 15 years the owner said, and I had no problem with it working. I soaked it down with PB Blaster and let it sit for a couple days, then did it again and again, wire brushing what I could between treatments ( obviously under the cover you wont be able to wire brush), before I started it for the first time I soaked it down with synthetic engine oil from a squirt can. After that I moved it enough to get the chain under the cover out in the open so I could give it the works too. After install I rubbed some marine grease on the chain, and I do that about twice a year now, and its been fine, runs smooth and quiet. If all that sounded like it made a mess, it did. I had oil and pb and grease everywhere, but it was worth it.

IIRC my dish had a co-rotor on it, but I have had about five different feeds on it, no problem. With yours being a buttonhook, I'd make damned sure the scalar ring is still centered, there's been reports of them sagging. I have a quad leg, so I didn't have that problem.

Welcome to Satelliteguys, and if ya need anything else, ask away. As you saw from reading the thread, I have been from one end of the dish to the other, I know it pretty well.

 

[hphase]

Thanks for the quick reply. I've got the buttonhook feed supported with guy wires, but they've probably loosened over time. I've also got the counterweight installed. I was real particular about setting up the mount and aligning it to the satellite arc, so hopefull all the adjustments just rusted in place. I had Ku working, but not too well. After a point, all that extra refector probably caused as much cancellation as reinforcement. C-band from the Intelsat hemispheric beams worked pretty well. Circular polarization also worked well with a home-brew dielectric insert, and I had gain to burn on the linear transponders on the domestic sats.

Once the weather warms up, the first order of business will probably be chain-sawing the trees out of the ribs... Then I'll work on the chain so I can point it close to the horizon and replace the feedhorn. I can't imagine any of the parts at the focal point are working anymore. I'm sure the mice have been living there a long time.

The motor may still work OK, but I figure the sensor or magnets might not be good any more. Any thoughts about replacement parts?

Thanks again!

 

[stogie5150]

As long as the cover is on your motor, the magnets and sensor likely look real well. I was astounded how well mine looked then I took the cover off. I had to change the reed sensor on mine, I think I got the sensor off ebay or something, I bought two so I had a spare. I have a thread on it here somewhere, I'll see if I can find it. I'd bet as long as the dish hasn't been struck by lightening, the reed is still good under that cover.

The rest of the dish, if something breaks, you better make friends with a welder and a fabricator. There are no parts available that I know of. Good part is Paraclipse built these things like a tank. I'd bet with a little care they will last longer than satellites will be available for us to hit.

Paraclipse perhaps isn't the best dish ever built, and it isn't the prettiest, but I can tell you, those of us that have them love them. they get under ya skin like poison ivy!

EDIT: here's the reed sensor on my dish. YMMV

http://www.satelliteguys.us/c-band-...7-paraclipse-h-h-reed-sensor-replacement.html

 

[Mauiguy]

A sixteen foot Paraclypse? Man I got dish envy.....

 

[hphase]

It's been a while since I took a walk in the woods... I got my stories all mixed up. It turns out I've got two Paraclipse dishes out there. The one I moved from the old house got put up, but never used. I've got a piece of mesh in the garage that I took out so I could reassemble the hub, and I think the buttonhook is in the shed somewhere.

I added the second 12-footer and that's the one I upgraded to 16 feet. It's a 12-foot Series Four built in November of '88. I guess I put it up in '89. I vaguely remember that the extender kit was not made by Paraclipse. I also remember that if you wanted warranty repair on the Paraclipse you had to send in a rib so they could see it wasn't drilled to add an extender. Don't know why they cared, the extenders were built with the same care and quality of the original dish. Maybe an older mount wouldn't survive the additional load?

It's covered in vines but not too badly rusted. Off to get some PB Blaster and to start coaxing some life back into it...

I didn't take the cover off the H-H drive, but some of the posted pictures brought back memories. It's already at one end of the arc, so I won't have to move it before inspecting the feedhorn. That must have been the last thing I did before I put it out to pature.

 

[phlatwound]

Pics, please!

 

[rrob311]

Ya any pics? I want to see the 16' setup. That is crazy. I bought a spool of steel cable from harbor freight and was able to rig together new cables for the feed on my 13 footer. Cost maybe 20 dollars for everything (cable, eyebolts, crimping ferrules, turnbuckles for adjustment) and I replaced both cables and it looks almost factory. Have most of the roll of cable leftover.