More dish fun

[ParaclipseCKu]

You've got a nice garden growing

 

[RT-Cat]

OFF does work but the DEET in it burns my skin like oven cleaner!

Ouch! Well, that IS a bummer.

What I have set up at this moment. Subject to change as rapidly as my mind..

Like the picture. Looks like the big dish had lots of kids.
Wonder what you neighbors think of all those dishes?

RT.

 

[Dee_Ann]

Ouch! Well, that IS a bummer.


Like the picture. Looks like the big dish had lots of kids.
Wonder what you neighbors think of all those dishes?

RT.

They not only ~think~, they are certain of it, that I am a certifiable kook.
I'm the official neighborhood kooky old lady. I told one guy who questioned me that I listen to Martians on them. Another neighbor asked me what I was doing with these things and I told him I'm trying to make contact with aliens.

All the neighbors are either a lot younger or a lot older than me so I don't really fit in anywhere. Sometimes people see me out back at 3am and 4am standing on cinder blocks staring into a little tv screen as I wiggle dishes back and forth. So because I'm not very social with people that are of a drastic age difference than I, they are convinced I'm a kook. Maybe they are right...

 

[Anole]

which dish for the motor ?

Just my opinion, but I'd think both your Prodelin and ChannelMaster 1.2m dishes were about the same quality.
At least so far as you could tell, for receive use.

So, if you wanted to choose which one to motorize, I'd weigh 'em without mount.
You can build something light to hook the dish to your motor.
The original mounts are just too big, and heavy. ...IMO...

For LNBF support arms (if you're missing 'em) I can think of three sources:
- recycled aluminum TV antenna bits (smaller tubing)
- new anodized aluminum tubing from the hardware store (a little expensive, but many sizes)
- someone suggested small steel tubing for brake lines on a car (automotive repair or store?)
If there is no fancy bending, only flattening on the end and bending with a vice, any of the above should be easy.

I'd consider the lighter of the two dishes, and...
- work hard to get the LNB at the focus
- use a matching or proper feedhorn
- select a high quality LNB

 

[Dee_Ann]

Just my opinion, but I'd think both your Prodelin and ChannelMaster 1.2m dishes were about the same quality.
At least so far as you could tell, for receive use.

So, if you wanted to choose which one to motorize, I'd weigh 'em without mount.
You can build something light to hook the dish to your motor.
The original mounts are just too big, and heavy. ...IMO...

For LNBF support arms (if you're missing 'em) I can think of three sources:
- recycled aluminum TV antenna bits (smaller tubing)
- new anodized aluminum tubing from the hardware store (a little expensive, but many sizes)
- someone suggested small steel tubing for brake lines on a car (automotive repair or store?)
If there is no fancy bending, only flattening on the end and bending with a vice, any of the above should be easy.

I'd consider the lighter of the two dishes, and...
- work hard to get the LNB at the focus
- use a matching or proper feedhorn
- select a high quality LNB

Thank you, these are all some very good ideas.

As for motorizing one of the 1.2's, I was actually considering taking the WSI 6' C band dish off of it's mounts and adapting the white 1.2 to it somehow. The bolt holes on the back of it are spread much further apart than the other dish (and the other 1.2 is already up and in use now. )

I think that with the bolts spread further apart like it is that it would be a better candidate to adapt to the WSI polar mount ring.

It would be far stronger than using an HH motor and there's already a good strong motor on it now.

I would think that I could buy a proper ku lnb that would be centered over the dish rather than offset since I would have to start from total scratch anyway, as all I have is the dish alone with no other parts for it.

I looked at the arms for the .9m dishes and they are just metal tubes with the ends mashed, bent a little and holes drilled in them. I can do that! I have a hammer, a saw and a drill. I suppose I could use a vise too, dad has one but it's big, nasty, heavy and 6 miles away, 12 round trip. I'm going to ask him to pick me up a small one at Harbor Freight next time he makes a trip there to pay homage to the tool god. He's usually there at least once a week. I'll they know him on a first name basis!

I'm going to see if I can talk him out of that electric pole saw he has, that thing is wicked! It cut right through those 3" poles like hot butter.

It would have taken me hours with a hand saw..

Besides, I could use one for my wind chimes hobby.

 

[Anole]

...I would think that I could buy a proper ku lnb that would be centered over the dish rather than offset since I would have to start from total scratch anyway, as all I have is the dish alone with no other parts for it.

The dish is a slice out of a big parabola.
The focal point is where it is, and can't be relocated.
You must put the Ku feed 'n LNB at the one true focal point of the dish to get it to work.

There are two things you -can- do to make it work.
Of course, first it would be good to read up where a few others have put offset dishes on BUD(like) mounts.
Basically, they tilt the dish forward (downward) about the 24° (approx) degrees of its offset...
... or....
They make sure the elevation on the mount goes far enough down to compensate for the offset.
Living far to the south like you do, you're in better shape than say someone in central Canada! - :up

If ya need pix or a list of likely suspects, I'm sure I can dig some up.

edit:
Okay, here's a hint.
I don't know what the elevation of your TS bird is, but let's say it's 50°
If you can dial that elevation down to around 25°, then I think you could bolt your 1.2m dish right onto the ring, and tune it up... (?)

 

[Dee_Ann]

The dish is a slice out of a big parabola.
The focal point is where it is, and can't be relocated.
You must put the Ku feed 'n LNB at the one true focal point of the dish to get it to work.

There are two things you -can- do to make it work.
Of course, first it would be good to read up where a few others have put offset dishes on BUD(like) mounts.
Basically, they tilt the dish forward (downward) about the 24° (approx) degrees of its offset...
... or....
They make sure the elevation on the mount goes far enough down to compensate for the offset.
Living far to the south like you do, you're in better shape than say someone in central Canada! - :up

If ya need pix or a list of likely suspects, I'm sure I can dig some up.

edit:
Okay, here's a hint.
I don't know what the elevation of your TS bird is, but let's say it's 50°
If you can dial that elevation down to around 25°, then I think you could bolt your 1.2m dish right onto the ring, and tune it up... (?)

But when I look at that thing it looks like a perfect bowl to me.

But I believe you though I'm not understanding the "why" part.

I will do some reading and see what I can find that others have done as you suggest. I had seen in the past where you guys had mentioned fixing up similar things, ku to C band parts.

I am in no huge hurry and haven't committed to anything yet, it's not going anywhere so I'll take my time and do a lot of reading first.

Thank you...

 

[Anole]

If you're looking for a picture . . .
Turbosat mounted a 1 or 1.2m offset to a BUD mount.
Pendragon mounted a 6' offset Prodelin dish to an AJAK H-H mount to run Ku.
1captain either adapted or built an H-H mount for ... (it's been a while)... some sort of offset dish.
Phlatwound put a 1.2m (?) offset Ku dish on a Birdview H-H BUD motor (as I recall).
I'm sure there were others, but those come to mind just off hand.

SatelliteAV recently pointed out that if your BUD mount has enough range in the elevation adjustment, you can dial out the 20-some degree up-look offset of the dish.
Smarter people than me have overlooked that point.
AND, I saw an adapter for sale on a UK satellite web site, so apparently it's not well known/understood.
I don't have the hardware to run the experiment, but I do trust Brian at SatAV, so brownie points for him! - :up

I'd look to see if you could build an aluminum plate to tie the back of the dish to the ring on your mount.
Just something with two sets of holes to hook the two together.
(cut a big hole in the middle to lighten it?)
Of course, you might come up with something simpler, but that's a start.

For alignment, what problems would this cause?
Well, the declination, is still the -difference- between two angles on your mount, just as before.
Only the elevation will be funny.
And with your experience, I don't see that giving you pause at all.
The elevation will be 20-some degrees lower than normal (dial 'till you hit your TS bird)!
If you can find the exact offset angle of the dish, then you can use that number to help.
But a lot of this is seat of the pants, 'cause once you understand what's needed, it's really not hard to do. - :up

 

[Dee_Ann]

Well I added in another Directway dish last week.
It was one of the batch of dishes that was recently gifted to me by a very kind individual.

There was an old pole in the ground that had nothing on it. I just couldn't allow that situation to continue!

I went through the stuff and found the parts to put together a complete Directway dish. I aimed it at 89w for the ABC stuff.

One thing I have decided, the dishes are all too close together, some of them are overlapping, most are so close that it limits where I can aim them.

It's a mess. So this fall when it cools off I'm going to dig up all the poles and re-plant them in a pattern that's not so stupid and not totally random as these are.

I've also got to get those bleepin trees cut down. I'm extremely annoyed that I can not get that Canadian satellite with that Dallas channel, HOT TV !!!

I wish I had another C-band dish that I could plant in a better place to avoid the trees.

Oh well. All in good time..

Now if I only had artistic skills so I could paint them up nice like Chapelrun did..