Review: Fortec 180cm Dish
Upon arrival from Sadoun, I noticed the care taken to ship this dish. The box was made from thick cardboard and contents were protected by molded foam. There was no damage to contents.
You will "want" the following tools to assemble: 10mm & 14mm Socket Wrench, 10mm & 14mm Socket Drill/Driver, torque wrench, and a good friend or neighbor.
The dish is composed of 6 triangular shaped panels constructed of thin metal and coated with the normal "gray". The included LNB arms have multiple mounting options and attached easily to the scalar ring of the ASC-421 LNBF. The operational winds are rated at 70mph and survival winds rated at 90mph. This seems a little high but I will have to wait and see.
The included "fixed mount" is also somewhat dissapointing as it doesn't appear to be designed to hold a dish this size. But, after mounting the dish to the stand, the weight was very well balanced. A great feature with this stand is the ability to easily change the elevation of the dish by using the tool-less adjustment bar at the rear of the stand. It makes lifting the 50lb dish up and down childsplay! The entire assembly is very easy to move.
Three step aiming process:
In my opinion...
I am somewhat concerned about the thickness of the metal and its ability to withstand high winds. This being said, if it cost you a fortune to have a dish shipped to you, package is only 60lbs gross weight. I believe once the panels were joined the entire structure became stronger. I would rather there be a polar mount option than the fixed mount, and Sadoun assures me there will be one very soon.
This dish was a good buy for the money and is proving to be a good addition to the "farm". I just hope no hurricanes come this way. Questic
Upon arrival from Sadoun, I noticed the care taken to ship this dish. The box was made from thick cardboard and contents were protected by molded foam. There was no damage to contents.
You will "want" the following tools to assemble: 10mm & 14mm Socket Wrench, 10mm & 14mm Socket Drill/Driver, torque wrench, and a good friend or neighbor.
The dish is composed of 6 triangular shaped panels constructed of thin metal and coated with the normal "gray". The included LNB arms have multiple mounting options and attached easily to the scalar ring of the ASC-421 LNBF. The operational winds are rated at 70mph and survival winds rated at 90mph. This seems a little high but I will have to wait and see.
The included "fixed mount" is also somewhat dissapointing as it doesn't appear to be designed to hold a dish this size. But, after mounting the dish to the stand, the weight was very well balanced. A great feature with this stand is the ability to easily change the elevation of the dish by using the tool-less adjustment bar at the rear of the stand. It makes lifting the 50lb dish up and down childsplay! The entire assembly is very easy to move.
Three step aiming process:
- Turn entire dish/stand east or west to desired location
- Raise/Lower elevation with tool-less knob at rear of stand
- Adjust skew by rotating LNB left or right
In my opinion...
I am somewhat concerned about the thickness of the metal and its ability to withstand high winds. This being said, if it cost you a fortune to have a dish shipped to you, package is only 60lbs gross weight. I believe once the panels were joined the entire structure became stronger. I would rather there be a polar mount option than the fixed mount, and Sadoun assures me there will be one very soon.
This dish was a good buy for the money and is proving to be a good addition to the "farm". I just hope no hurricanes come this way. Questic
