Does anyone see any glaring errors with this sd180pm 6 foot install?

[cermak]

It's my first attempt. I think I need the actuator spacers after all. My true south is 91w. I have not yet set the angles, I'm just looking to make sure I got the basics done right. I haven't yet attached the LNB or the supports for same or the center cover yet (wishing I had done that before it was mounted on a pole that's 5 foot above ground).

 

[primestar31]

Wow, yeah you need spacers or washers on the actuator tube end and center clamp. Also, it HAS to be installed in the same "plane". That means if you have the middle (center) of the tube brace UNDER the polar mount (as you do above) the END of the tube also must be installed UNDER that brace. Personally on my Sadoun 6 footer, I installed them both on top. The way yours is, the first time you run it hard East, it's likely going to break in half and dump your dish.

I also suggest installing bolt DOWN, as if the nut ever comes off, the odds are the bolt will stay in and keep it from dumping. If you nut came off (unscrewed) now, you'd lose the bolt, and your dish will take a header into the ground.

P.S. What happened to your nylon inserted locking nuts on the mount pivot points? They seem to be missing, and you've replaced them with standard nuts. After running your dish back and forth a few times, your nuts are going to unscrew themselves...

Ok, I'm going to suggest you do a search on satguys for others that assembled and installed these dishes, look at their pictures, and COPY THEM! That's what I did, and it made a serious difference. There are some very good threads here with many pics of this exact dish..

http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/192045-sadoun-sd180g-review.html (ground mount, but good info)

http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/192603-sadoun-1-8m-polar-mount-assembly.html (SERIOUSLY good post for this exact dish!)

I highly suggest you study this site here, and it'll help you understand what you need to do: http://www.geo-orbit.org/sizepgs/tuningp2.html#anchor469886 Some info is quite old, but it's all still valid for what you need to do to get this installed properly.

 

[cermak]

Thanks. I actually did use the second link as a guide while assembling. Also the video I found online. I'll take another look. It'll be a couple weeks until I can play with it again.

 

[primestar31]

Just remember that this isn't a game of "horse shoes" or hand granades. CLOSE isn't good enough, you need to be right on the money with your tolerances and settings to get it to work properly. You don't want any slop, and you want everything tightly fitted and things that should move smoothly, moving smoothly! The pole it's on needs to be perfectly level, the mount itself needs to also be level on the pole both ways. Sure, you can most likely get it to work on c-band even just messing around, but that will just make you frustrated eventually and that wouldn't be a good thing. C-band is much more forgiving than KU, but if your tolerances aren't nearly perfect, you won't be happy with your results.

Study those pics from that thread closer, and look at the types of nuts and such used, where they are used, and how things are placed, and duplicate it. If you didn't get nylon inserted nuts for where they are needed for some reason, go to the hardware store and buy them. If you put them in the wrong place, move them where they belong. This is a great dish for a 6 footer, if assembled correctly.