Dish Antenna DIY question

[mojoshtudd]

Zip code is 92126 and I do have the table that tells me the elevation/pitch angles etc for this zip code. Hopefully I should be able to get some time before the weekend to complete all this.

To summarize my attempt:

1. I will buy a 5-6' pole and fit it onto the existing setup of umbrella stand.

2. Attach the mast to this pole such that the top part of it is vertical to the ground.

3. Most likely the skew and elevation angles need not be changed from what it was before if I can make it face the direction it was facing before.

4. Either way, identify the 119 and 110 LNBF and adjust elevation and azimuth.

Hope to post something positive by next weekend. I think joining this forum was a terrific idea

 

[SmityWhity]

When I used to live in an apartment I couldn't use lag screws or any fastener that penetrated structure. However I could use u-bolts and that sort of thing. I ended up making a flat metal plate 1/4 thick with drilled holes to match the mounting base of the dish arm. Then I used four 3/8 x 7 in. bolts , lock washers and nuts to attach the arm to a 5 in. sq. post on my patio. The dish mounting arm base went on the south side of the post and the backplate went on the opposide side of the post with the 4 bolts fastened in between to secure the base. Another rule was that the dish could not project out into the common area and I was able to conform to this also.

Similar to my situation. On the side of my SuperDish 121, I have a Dish 500 also mounted to the railing, but I had an extra Dish 300/500 foot laying around that I used on the backside of the railing. Since I did not have an extra SuperDish foot, I went to Home Depot and bought some thick metal strips that already had holes drilled, and used those to mount the SD foot.

mojoshtudd:

Go for it, you have about 66,000 people here backing you.

For Zip Code 92126, a Dish 500 for 119 & 110, would have the following settings:
SKEW: 86
ELEVATION: 51
AZIMUTH: 162

If the original mount was plumb and you had good signal, then transferring the dish to another plumb mast would not require very much adjustment if any. But could require minor adjustments for being a hair off.

However, if your Elevation and Skew are not close to the above settings, then maybe the original mast was not plumb, and Two Wrongs almost made a Perfect Right.

The LNBF holder has 2 markings on it to let you know which LNBF is for 119 and which is for 110. Although the 119 sat is west of the 110 sat, the LNBF's are reversed to compensate for the reflected signal. This info is useful when trying to find the satellites, since the Dish 500 can pick up two satellites approx 9 degrees apart from each other. Therefore, you could pick up either of the satellites on either LNBF, but won't get the second one; which is the reason for blocking one of the LNBF and then initially look for just the one.

 

[SmityWhity]

Although you probably have your dish re-installed and watching TV, here's a link to a thread posted by Clancey, which as a link with the information needed to fabricate a low mount.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=87606