mesh repair?

[swampman]

In my quest for my future dish, I came across this one today. It's a 7.5 ft. Unimesh(a more appropriate size for my backyard than the 10 footer I was looking at). But here's the only problem I've found. The owner thinks it's a "stray football" that damaged the mesh as shown in the photos. Any ideas on how to go about repairing it? Maybe stitching it back together with small wire? Or replace the entire panel. BTW, the is the small mesh so I assume it should be replaced with the same. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[linuxman]

If you can get the entire panel, that is the proper way to do it.

If you can't, you will have to try and straighten it as best you can and stitch it with some small wire of some sort.

I did a repair on one of mine using a single wire from a phone cable. It was copper, and relatively easy to bend for the stitching.

Others might have better ideas.

 

[Anole]

beautiful dish

If you can get the entire panel, that is the proper way to do it.
If you can't, you will have to try and straighten it as best you can and stitch it with some small wire of some sort.

Yes, I think the LinuxMan is right, and . . .

1). it's more cosmetic than a technical tragedy
- the dish works just fine as-is.
2). you could stitch it back together with heavy black nylon fishing line
- doesn't need to be metallic.
- or consider some of that plastic edger string
- it's quite heavy, comes in various weights, and you can blacken it with a magic marker or shoe polish.
3). you might find some stainless steel wire to re-stitch with.
- it'd be stronger and last forever
- what do they sell in fishing stores for the end of the line?
4). getting the edges re-attached to the frame could be interesting...
- maybe some thin sheet metal (a cheap baking sheet at the 99¢ store?)
- cut it two inches wide and 10? inches long (adjust to your liking)
- fold down the middle
- insert edge of mesh inside the fold
- run existing screw through the metal and into the frame?

 

[chefwan]

you can fix that back easy i droped my dish awhile back while trying to mount it and it stabbed a hole in the mesh and i just patched it up with another satellite i had for parts its not hard just use some wire and twist it together the back it wont hurt it a bit do you already have it ? or havent got it yet?

 

[swampman]

4). getting the edges re-attached to the frame could be interesting...
Yes it could. The rest it looks like screws holding it down, but I cant really see form the pics, just how the mesh "attaches" or "inserts" onto the frame. Maybe a closer look in person will help.
Would soldering be a practical option? Kindof stiff...probably not. .

 

[Anole]

Get some more pictures, and we'll brainstorm some more.

Soldering is an electrical solution which we don't need.
By itself, it doesn't usually have a lot of strength.

Welding or brazing might be possible, but it depends on the material (!), your skills (!), and the tools you use (.!.)
In other words, if you aren't a master-grade metalsmith with the right tools, you'll just make it worse.

Now, having said that, I used to have a friend who welded two thin aluminum soda cans together at right angles.
And, he welded a cracked sand-cast aluminum printer frame for me. (something usually considered nearly impossible)
Too much heat on either would have resulted in a puddle of aluminum.
He had the right tools and knew what he was doing, so such things -are- possible.

If I could easily get that dish, and didn't have any better ones around, I'd take it in a second, and worry about the mesh later.
As I said, it'll run fine as-is!

 

[linuxman]

If the mesh is aluminum and the frame is aluminum, you would need a TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welder with an extremely low amperage with a High-Frequency starter. You would also need a very experienced welder who has years of experience using that type of welder.

If you used the Hi-Freq anywhere near the LNB, you would probably destroy it.

Best try something besides welding.

Fred

As Anole said, Aluminum turns into a puddle at about 1200 degrees F.

There are specially made welding rods with the right kind of flux that could be used with an oxy-acetylene welder, if done very carefully. I used this method with two soda cans once without turning them into a puddle.

 

[swampman]

OK I guess I failed to mention, this isn't an aluminum dish.
And if it is just a cosmetic repair, then I will attempt using small wire to stitch it together with the rest of the mesh, then secure it with more wire to the metal frame. Not sure how good it will look...but we'll see. Lots of great ideas guys, thanks.

 

[gabshere]

my 7 1/2 unimesh is aluminum or so i thought.... maybe i have to check.....
i know my 10ft odem is aluminum.

 

[chefwan]

heya

OK I guess I failed to mention, this isn't an aluminum dish.
And if it is just a cosmetic repair, then I will attempt using small wire to stitch it together with the rest of the mesh, then secure it with more wire to the metal frame. Not sure how good it will look...but we'll see.

hey swampman ....you can use small wire to patch it back together with. it wont hurt a thing as long as its not any gaps . but i did that awhile back patched it back and havent had a thing happen it has a great picture and im using 4dtv for my TV just to give you an idea how i did it. 2 of them are when the holes was there and the other are when i fixed it have fun

 

[swampman]

my 7 1/2 unimesh is aluminum or so i thought.... maybe i have to check.....
i know my 10ft odem is aluminum.

Well now you have ME thinking. When I go back to see it I guess I'll have to give it the old magnet test.

 

[Anole]

works for me !

Chefwan did a fine job, as best I can tell from the pictures.

Only problem for SwampMan, is re-attaching to the edge of the frame.
Maybe lay another piece of -similar- material over the bad section, and stitch 'em together with just about anything (but make it tight).
No need to be metallic, but use whatever is strong.
The patch can be some coarse wire mesh behind your existing surface.
It's just there for mechanical purposes, much like the bottom layer of a carpet.
...or the carcass of a sock, or a towel, after all the yarn is worn off it.
Ask your wife about those patches she irons on the knees of your kid's jeans or shirt elbows when they get ragged.
(they go on from the back side)

THEN, a can of black (?) spray paint will hide all your handiwork.
I think we've solved this pretty well.
Any more questions ?

 

[swampman]

Lots of great ideas guys. Here's a couple of more pics to see what you guys think about the rust on actuator arm. And also I'm not too familiar with c-band setups, so is it just me or does something look a little odd about the polar mount? Looks kinda sideways from others I've seen. But maybe it's just me.

 

[Anole]

The geometry looks normal to me.
Seems a good match for the one a little ways down on this web page.

As for rust, isnt that just a problem begging to be solved?
What's popular? Some penetrating oil on the bolts for a couple of days?
Would the other surfaces benefit from a good day-long oil soak, followed by some scotch-brite buffing?
Maybe powered by a sander or buffer?

I'm taking notes for when I run into a nice find like this.

 

[chefwan]

that looks like an Venture arm on that dish and thanks Anole it is a nice job thanks make sure you get it real right against the other mesh swampman and close to the other as you can get it you dont want any gaps on it at all and swampman if you wanted to save some money you may want to try and take it apart and clean it with a wire brush if it will come apart i know some will but im not sure about that one. just an idea good luck

 

[swampman]

OK thanks guys. One thing I failed to mention, the dish doesn't come with a receiver. I read that you have to be careful about buying certain receivers that will match up voltagewise with the actuator. Any particular type receiver(analog) to look for?

 

[gabshere]

a vbox II will move it with your DVB receiver or i know a bunch that went to ebay and got a c/ku receiver , i think it was like new and it had an offer price don't know if they are still being sold but you can also ask the ones who got one how they like em.
Nextwave

the other option is get a use one off ebay but you have to pay s&h and some are expensive.

 

[lumpkin666]

If you're going to use the old corotor lnb on the dish, then you'll probably want to just get a cheap $5 analog receiver from ebay to move the dish and set your polarity. I've never heard of voltage compatibility, except that if your receiver only sends 24v instead of 36, it will move the actuator a little more slowly.

If you are going to eventually upgrade to an lnbf instead of the corotor, then definitely consider the vboxII. It integrates into your fta system and moves using diseqc commands without requiring any manual adjustments on your analog setup everytime you want to move sats or change polarities.

 

[swampman]

If you are going to eventually upgrade to an lnbf instead of the corotor, then definitely consider the vboxII. It integrates into your fta system and moves using diseqc commands without requiring any manual adjustments on your analog setup everytime you want to move sats or change polarities.

OK so you're saying a vbox can be connected to my coolsat(and cband dish) therefore controlling the BUD through my CS remote? But I still need a c-band receiver right? A diagram of how this all hooks up would be nice.

Before I ask too many dumb questions I really need to read up on vbox.

 

[wildboys]

In my quest for my future dish, I came across this one today. It's a 7.5 ft. Unimesh(a more appropriate size for my backyard than the 10 footer I was looking at). But here's the only problem I've found. The owner thinks it's a "stray football" that damaged the mesh as shown in the photos. Any ideas on how to go about repairing it? Maybe stitching it back together with small wire? Or replace the entire panel. BTW, the is the small mesh so I assume it should be replaced with the same. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.

This will fix your problem .
http://www.skyvision.com/store/mi1500055.html