Got free Andrew 1 meter dish!

[bill190]

I was helping a friend take a load of garbage to the dump/transfer station....

The smell of the place was nasty. Rotten this and that everywhere as I looked around...

And then I saw IT!

Could it be?

Yes it was. It was an Andrew type 100 - 1 meter dish. It even had a short pole still attached...

I asked the guy there if I could have it. He said sure, take it.

So I got it home and mounted it on the side of my house today. Installed a spare LNB I had. Working just fine!

And boy is this dish well built. In addition to having elevation markings, there is an adjustment screw for fine elevation adjustments. So it was a breeze to install.

Also it is pole mount, and inside the pole mount "cup" is what looks like sandpaper or that tape they put on stairs so you won't slip. This grips the pole when the bolts are tightened. What a clever idea! (I don't know if this came with the dish or someone put it there.)

The only downside is it is missing the red lightning bolt decal. But I sure like this dish!

 

[KE4EST]

Glad to hear!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Tron]

Free dishes, especially large ones, are always a plus! Did it have any LNB installed when you found it? The feedhorns for these dishes are not too hard to find.

 

[tvropro]

"And boy is this dish well built. In addition to having elevation markings, there is an adjustment screw for fine elevation adjustments. So it was a breeze to install."

This is the same as my 90cm Channel Master Primestar dish. I have the same fine adj nut.

"Also it is pole mount, and inside the pole mount "cup" is what looks like sandpaper or that tape they put on stairs so you won't slip. This grips the pole when the bolts are tightened. What a clever idea! (I don't know if this came with the dish or someone put it there.)"

Yes that is on my P* too. I set mine up a year ago and nothing has changed in adjustments.

Too bad you didn't get the factory feed and LNB. If it's just like the Primestar the feed's were designed to fully illuminate the reflector. You may be loosing a bit without it.

Good Find!

 

[swampman]

Yeah Andrew bought out Channelmaster. Kept the same quality. My Primestar(Channel Master) has that elevation screw you're talking about. Not sure why even the small dishes today dont have this nice feature.

 

[tvropro]

Yeah Andrew bought out Channelmaster. Kept the same quality. My Primestar(Channel Master) has that elevation screw you're talking about. Not sure why even the small dishes today dont have this nice feature.

That elevation screw idea is taken from the big dishes I believe. The reason most little dishes don't have it is cost. It's alot easier to fine adj with that nut then sliding the dish up & dn and keep it at that sweet spot when tightening it up.

 

[bill190]

...Too bad you didn't get the factory feed and LNB. If it's just like the Primestar the feed's were designed to fully illuminate the reflector. You may be loosing a bit without it...

Actually it did come with a round feedhorn and grey metal LNB with 2 connections, (H and V).

However the translucent cover over the dish end of the feedhorn is a little warped and quite dirty.

So I have a choice of an Invacom SNH-031 Ku LNBF or SNF-031 Ku LNB with this dish.

Would using the old feedhorn and SNF-031 (C120) be that much better than using a SNH-031?

How should I clean the translucent cover? Replace it?

I have this dish pointed at G10, so I every little bit helps!

 

[tvropro]

Actually it did come with a round feedhorn and grey metal LNB with 2 connections, (H and V).

However the translucent cover over the dish end of the feedhorn is a little warped and quite dirty.

So I have a choice of an Invacom SNH-031 Ku LNBF or SNF-031 Ku LNB with this dish.

Would using the old feedhorn and SNF-031 (C120) be that much better than using a SNH-031?

How should I clean the translucent cover? Replace it?

I have this dish pointed at G10, so I every little bit helps!

Try putting the stock LNB and feedhorn on there and test the difference. You can pop the cover off to test. I loose like 1 quality point with my cover on. Wash the cover with soap and water. If that setup works better then use it. I know Iceberg has posted on the forum before which switch to use to run V & H with the P* Lnb's. Im not sure so hope he can post that again here.

 

[iafirebuff]

AWESOME find!

 

[stogie5150]

Try putting the stock LNB and feedhorn on there and test the difference. You can pop the cover off to test. I loose like 1 quality point with my cover on. Wash the cover with soap and water. If that setup works better then use it. I know Iceberg has posted on the forum before which switch to use to run V & H with the P* Lnb's. Im not sure so hope he can post that again here.

Ya need to use a 3 X 4 multiswitch to use those dual h/v P* LNB's.

My suggestion, go on EBAY and get a Hughes LNB off of the Internet dishes. The one that I have SMOKES the stock P* LNB. You can get them for 10 bucks. Put it on your feedhorn, you'll be good to go. I gained 10 quality points on my 1m P* when I went from the stock LNB to the Hughes. Plus the Hughes has only one output so no multiswitch needed.

Oh, and nice find! :up

 

[stogie5150]

Actually it did come with a round feedhorn and grey metal LNB with 2 connections, (H and V).

However the translucent cover over the dish end of the feedhorn is a little warped and quite dirty.

So I have a choice of an Invacom SNH-031 Ku LNBF or SNF-031 Ku LNB with this dish.

Would using the old feedhorn and SNF-031 (C120) be that much better than using a SNH-031?

How should I clean the translucent cover? Replace it?

I have this dish pointed at G10, so I every little bit helps!

on my 1m P* the Invacom quad was worse than the Hughes LNB I mentioned in the post above. The stock feedhorn is a must, I believe. Use the flanged Invacom withe the stock feedhorn, IMO. but try them both, YMMV.

 

[gabshere]

The SNF-031 would be a good fit with the feedhorn from the original dish
or a new lnb likehughes lnb that you can match the feedhorn to

but i agree you would get a good signal but just not at its peak.

 

[Tron]

The problem with the C-120 flanged Invacoms is that they cost LOTS more than the Invacom LNBFs. I did not realize this until recently...

 

[Anole]

can you hear me now?

That was always my fantasy combination, too.
Seemed to be the best of all worlds.
But, I think I've read a post on this forum where someone reported that the expected performance just wasn't there.
Always look forward to other testers, to verify.

As for price, I found it well under the reported $100 price point, and I think down into the $60 range.
That was for the linear/circular unit, of course.
(not sure what else they make in -flanged-, but if you're going for the gold, don't stop at bronze)


btw, I'd think a proper test between two LNBs would be where both were sucking at a very weak signal.
Anything will do the strong stuff, but where do you turn when the bird's power is low due to an eclipse, and you're fighting a hurricane?

 

[Tron]

btw, I'd think a proper test between two LNBs would be where both were sucking at a very weak signal.
Anything will do the strong stuff, but where do you turn when the bird's power is low due to an eclipse, and you're fighting a hurricane?

Agreed... It's like peaking a dish. Find the signal with a strong TP, peak it on a weak one. That's where the better LNB(F) should shine.

Gotta still pick myself up a few of those nice Hughes LNBs with CM feeds attached