Hopefully Someone Remembers...It Seems That I Can't

[guido49]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here, so please bear with me.

WAY back...let's say late 70's or early 80's...when cable was just beginning to take control...

I bought a magazine (Pop. Science, Mechanics, Mechanix Illustrated, Pop. Electronics...don't remember which one now, of course!) that had a picture of a DIY hexagonal dish made from redwoood on the cover, and also included the plans. Of course, being the smart guy I am, I threw the magazine out many moons ago 'cause I figgered I'd NEVER, EVER want to build it.

Guess what? I'd sure like to build it now !

I sure would appreciate it if someone can tell me where I can get those plans, or at least remind me of the magazine's name.

Thanks a lot.

Guy

 

[JerryDowning]

Radio-Electronics, if it's the one that I remember.

 

[. Raine]

Welcome to SatelliteGuys!

I don't remember the magazine, but there's been a few discussions of plywood dishes on here before. Member primestar31 uploaded plans of one for me to look at not too long ago, maybe a month or two? Try doing a search for plywood dish or something like that, maybe. If I can find the thread that Primestar31 posted the plans in I'll post it here for you.

 

[. Raine]

Fresnel dish is what it was called. Go to C-BAND Satellite Discussion and find/do a search for the thread called North American BUD Production. It was Radio Electronics in the 80's and that thread has all the plans and the whole article.

Figured out how to copy a link to it for you: http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/324433-North-American-BUD-Production.

 

[guido49]

Thanks Guys...BUT...

That's not the one I meant, although it IS cool !

I'm attaching 3 pics of the dish I'm trying to find the plans for. I stumbled across them ssearching the net.

I really do appreciate your help.

Thanks again.

Guy

 

[. Raine]

I've never seen that one before. Like to see the plans for that one myself, that one looks to be relatively easy to build.

 

[guido49]

I Musta Been Trippin' or Sumthin' When I Saw This Thing

It absolutely amazes me that, to this day, I'm the only person who remembers seeing this dish. It was featured on the cover of a magazine and had detailed plans included. That was the entire reason I bought the magazine.

It's a 12 footer, by the way...everything needed to build it could/can be bought locally. Basically, the frame is 2x6 redwood, the struts across the back are 3/4" conduit, and the reflector surface is 1/4"x1/4" hardware cloth.

It would be really KILLER to build, I'm thinkin', so if there are any engineers out there who can figger out the angles, cuts, blah, blah, blah...I'd be interested to see what you come up with.

I did also stumble across a link about 6 months ago that referred to a company who had purchased the rights to the manufacture of this thing. Do you think I can find it...? NAH !

So, I guess I'm at a loss for now.

Thanks for your help.

Guy

 

[mike123abc]

Looks like a far more decorative dish than normal.

 

[guido49]

That's what struck me about it...it's so cool-lookin'...

And supposedly it DOES function...

 

[mike123abc]

That's what struck me about it...it's so cool-lookin'...

And supposedly it DOES function...

It should with the wire mesh...

 

[. Raine]

Somebody might still come up with something. I like the looks of it in the pictures you posted, would be a good summer project! I hope somebody does know something of it.

 

[JerryDowning]

I've seen it but I recall that they got into trouble for hacking once the providers started scrambling signals. I would guess that Radio-Electronics magazines with C-Band info are no longer available for that reason.

 

[raoul5788]

to Satelliteguys guido49!

 

[BM10K]

the Radio-Electronics Archives are available on the internet archive and can be downloaded as a pdf

Posted Via The FREE SatelliteGuys Reader App!

 

[JerryDowning]

I've found the plans for the plywood dish. It can be found at https://archive.org/stream/radio_electronics_1985-10. (Note that there are two underscores and one dash in the link.)

 

[JerryDowning]

Plans for the 8-ball antenna can be found at https://archive.org/stream/radio_electronics_1981-08. Once you have logged on, you will need to scroll to the appropriate page.

 

[FaT Air]

Want to do your own calculations?
Parabola Calculator 2.0

I remember one that was just a square frame. Front side covered with mesh. Back side was either angle iron and or 2x4's. The mesh was pulled into a parabolic shape by wires between the mesh and backside framework.