ID this Dish....

[jcb287]

Can someone ID this dish for me please.Its setting on my grandfathers old house and the owner said its free for the taking.Its looks like a generic Birdview. The dish is perforated and formed over at the edges.The holes are a little oblong from the forming process I would guess and they measure .055x.045. A little surface rust here and there but is still very stout.I thought this dish may do very well for KU.
I also have located 2 solid Birdview's that I may be taking down also,both are in pretty good shape also.
Thanks in advance...John

 

[Mr Tony]

that my friend is a NFD


a nice f-ing dish

 

[Anole]

no expert, but . . .

I don't think that's a Birdview.
NFD it is for sure, though!

Birdviews have six supports holding the scalar ring in place (the LNB)
As far as I know, they are all aluminum in the actual dish...(?)... and all about 8' across.
Plus, that's a regular dish-mover, too. (not a Birdview motor)
Not that I wouldn't take it home if offered, mind you! - :up

Show us pictures of the other dishes, and their motors.

 

[jcb287]

I'll get some pics of the Birdviews and post them later today.One of them is 5 minutes away from my house and the other is 15 minutes away.Like I said,they are both solid Birdviews.The one 15 mins away is bolted onto a pad in the ground.Square plate with 4 bolts and triangular gussets running about 8-10" up the mast.I'll get the pics up later.Also a question...What voltage is the Birdview motors and will a Gbox control it?

 

[linuxman]

Hi There!

I don't think the dish in the first picture is a Birdview, but it is a very nice perforated dish, and it looks to be patterned after a Birdview. The question will be if whether the surface accuracy, and the parabolic form are the same as a Birdview. If it is very similar, it will make an excellent dish.

Also a question...What voltage is the Birdview motors and will a Gbox control it?

I don't remember off hand the voltage on the Birdview motors, and everything I have is packed up and moved to storage to escape any possible flood water here.

The GBox will control the motor very well provided you put a reed-sensor conversion kit on it. I haven't heard lately whether Skyvision is still selling them or not. I made my last one from scratch and it is still working well. There is a thread here somewhere that details how to make one. Here it is.

 

[thomas34461usa]

a clone to look a lot like a Birdview

Hello JCB287,
Since I see this was your 3rd post here I would like to say to SatelliteGuys.us and the C-Band Satellite Discussion group!
Now about that dish that is on your Grandfathers old house. I'm not sure the make of it either but do suspect that its a clone to look a lot like a Birdview Satellite Dish. It looks like a great dish to have. I would and others here I suspect wouldn't mind having that one in their hands. At the same time knowing that it would be going to a good home rather then a scrap yard we would all be glad that you would have it and even offer you support with any questions you have. I know if I don't have the right answer there are many others here that have been doing this for years that can really help you out. I for one would like to see more pictures of it and the 2 solid Birdview's you found. Anyway Its a great find!:up

Tom

 

[Anole]

Birdview motors

What voltage is the Birdview motors and will a Gbox control it?

The most common 37:1 gear motor is 36 volts and 2.5 amps.
I've seen a rare 110:1 which is rated at 36 volts and 5.0 amps.
The other rare motor is 72:1 (I think), but I don't have a picture of it.

As for a Gbox or Vbox running one, Linuxman is the expert in that area.
We've been following his exploits for over a year, and he's been telling us of all his successes.

Give 'em a good cleaning, and lube 'em up with the best grease you can find.
I'd use axle bearing grease, with Molybdenum disulfide, myself...
The way they're built, they look like they'll do another quarter century without complaint! - :up

Oh, and based on all the pictures I've seen, all the solid dishes are white, and the perforated Birdviews are black.

We look forward eagerly to your pictures.
And wish you well in setting up a dish farm filled with little Birdviews! -

 

[melgarga]

Iceberg hit it on the nose NFD. Be careful talking about free Birdviews, you might make Linuxman cry...............lol.
By all means, do not let that lil beauty get carted off to the scrap yard!

Is it just me or does the focal length seem close for that dish's diameter/parabole?

I love this........We need a new section............"Name that dish"
I'm going to post some pics of a commercial ~ 8 1/2 ft solid alum AZ/EL offset feed w/a monster sized NEC lnb I acquired this weeekend. Might be good for some type of signal collection. Dunno, comments will be welcome.
I'll even post a pic of a Birdview perf down the road that was given to me a few months back..........guess I need to get around to taking it down before Linuxman finds it............lol

 

[jcb287]

Went over and took apart the feed supports today.Here is what was under the feed cover.All pretty much useless to me as I'm using a VS Ultra, except for the scaler ring.Old analog LNC and polarator.

 

[Mr Tony]

the LNB will get one polarity as is so it would be fine for right now for a fixed system at G4/G16 (as most everything is on H polarity). I did that for a while. Had a fixed dish on G16 for the networks

 

[jcb287]

the LNB will get one polarity as is so it would be fine for right now for a fixed system at G4/G16 (as most everything is on H polarity). I did that for a while. Had a fixed dish on G16 for the networks

If anyone wants it,its free you just pay the shipping. Dont know if the servo works.I'm keeping the scaler ring.

 

[Anole]

ID this dish?

Okay, here you go.
DH Satellite brand, is my guess.
They make a lot of dishes that sure look like yours.
It's a low production, commercial dish.
And probably quite a prize
I'll take it if you don't.

You didn't say what size it was!

 

[melgarga]

the LNB will get one polarity as is so it would be fine for right now for a fixed system at G4/G16 (as most everything is on H polarity). I did that for a while. Had a fixed dish on G16 for the networks

Wondering if maybe the old C band box is still around, in a closet or attic or something. Then he could control the polarotor and possibly even the jack. I do enjoy browsing C band on my Coolsat..........

 

[jcb287]

Okay, here you go.
DH Satellite brand, is my guess.
They make a lot of dishes that sure look like yours.
It's a low production, commercial dish.
And probably quite a prize
I'll take it if you don't.

You didn't say what size it was!

I think its 10' Anole,I haven't measured it yet. DH does look close........Hopefully I will have it down and at my house on Friday.

 

[jcb287]

Wondering if maybe the old C band box is still around, in a closet or attic or something. Then he could control the polarotor and possibly even the jack. I do enjoy browsing C band on my Coolsat..........

I wish it was still in the house melgara.... My Mom, Aunts and Uncles did a pretty good job of getting rid of the "Old" stuff after Grandma passed.

 

[jcb287]

Oh, buy the way, here is a pic of the dish that one will be replacing.It was brand new,never out of the box since 1985, 10' Continental Satellite Systems CX-105. I got it off a friend at work who used to sell and install them back in the day.Had it in his barn 23 yrs.Picked it up for $50. Its just not getting it done on the KU side. Mesh is diamond shaped and just a hair under 1/4". I'll more then likely pack it away and store it.I just put it together last month. It's a bummer because it's a damn good looking dish....
:river

 

[melgarga]

Now that's another NFD. I know where there are two near by very similar to that. One is pointed due south and is NIS 'cause there's several inches of leaves on it. The other is in a fenced back yard and has fallen over resting on the fence, obviously NIS as well. Guess I need to get by and check on them too. Forgot about them until I saw your pic. Guess you have no way to control the polarity on that one either.

 

[jcb287]

Now that's another NFD. I know where there are two near by very similar to that. One is pointed due south and is NIS 'cause there's several inches of leaves on it. The other is in a fenced back yard and has fallen over resting on the fence, obviously NIS as well. Guess I need to get by and check on them too. Forgot about them until I saw your pic. Guess you have no way to control the polarity on that one either.

The LNB you see on it is a BSC621-2 C/KU unit.Polarity is switched by my receiver.

 

[Anole]

I think it's beautiful !

... brand new,never out of the box since 1985, 10' Continental Satellite Systems CX-105.
I got it off a friend at work who used to sell and install them back in the day.
Had it in his barn 23 yrs.Picked it up for $50.
Its just not getting it done on the KU side.
Mesh is diamond shaped and just a hair under 1/4".
I'll more then likely pack it away and store it.I just put it together last month.
It's a bummer because it's a damn good looking dish.... :river

Ya know . . .
There are some of us who think the Ku band is for little 1m Ku dishes . . .
And so a nice dish like that would be freekin' fantastic for C-band, only -

Pass it down the food chain to someone locally who doesn't have one, and would enjoy and appreciate it.

Please show your City/State shown so others have a clue where you are:
Go to -
- User CP (control panel)
- Edit Profile
- scroll down to Additional Information
- fill in: Location (where you live)
-

 

[melgarga]

The LNB you see on it is a BSC621-2 C/KU unit.Polarity is switched by my receiver.

Guess I should have took a closer look at the pic before I asked a dumb question. I guess I had it in my head that since it was so vintage the lnb would be OEM as well.
Are you dead set on a dual band feed from a single dish? I've got a C/Ku [ex-4DTV dish, the ird's long gooone] :river
I'm supposed to go take down, but havent been in much of a hurry since a lot of folks say running dual band on one dish is a compromise on both bands. Cant speak to it from experience, My Ku 'catchers are retired primestars.

Ya know . . .
There are some of us who think the Ku band is for little 1m Ku dishes . . .
And so a nice dish like that would be freekin' fantastic for C-band, only -

Pass it down the food chain to someone locally who doesn't have one, and would enjoy and appreciate it.

I agree, if he can find any fellow TFTA enthusiast in his locale. Prolly should at least run an ad and see if you get any bites for a reasonable price and use any proceeds to put towards upgrading your station to 920/922 or the 410 setup that Skyvision is offering. A fellow hobbist that is local could prove to be an asset for both of you. Might want to get the perf'd baby home and set up before doing anything, just in case the performance is less than expected.