Need Advice Re Shaky Pole Cap for 12 Ft Dish & Pics

[jsattv]

Ever since mounting the 12 Ft Mesh Dish I have wondered why there was only ONE Welded Screw and another Loose One that cannot be tightened up too far to secure the Pole Cap and Dish to the Vertical Pole. See Pics of Dish and Pole Cap - if thats what it's called. Well last week a gust of wind swung the entire Dish around to the Westerly direction and I had to go out and try to tighten down the Pole Cap. The bigger 1/2 inch screw with the welded nut is the only one that works well, while the other one has now been replaced twice and just keeps turning!! I have seen other Dish caps which usually have 4 Bolts, and thanks to some great advice from Anole, I was finally able to salvage an old Actuator and a Dish Cap from a location where the City is now building a small shopping Mall.

Other Dish Cap: In comparing the Pole Cap that I have on the 12 Footer to the Pole Cap I was able to salvage I discovered 4 Welded Nuts on the salvaged Pole Cap - see picture. The other problem is it seems the one screw is affecting the plum of the Dish itself in that when I place a Level on the pole cap the Bubble is touching one side and is NOT as level as the Pole itself. What would be the best way to better secure the Dish Pole Cap to the Pole - ie take the whole thing off and get a welder to weld on some nuts and tap and drill 3 new holes? Any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

[Anole]

Since I assume it would be a big pain to take the dish off the mount....
... could you get someone to weld some new nuts onto the existing pole cap?
One of the little electric arc welders should do the job.
Not really my field, but hiring a professional to come out would be expensive.

If you want to cut corners you might see what some of the experts here have to say about a MAP gas torch.
They're a lot hotter than a crummy propane torch, which just would not be up to the job.
And the map gas torches are not expensive.

If you do it yourself, you'd have to drill the new holes in the outside sleeve (cap) and not drill into the post.
You'd need to grind or file around the hole to get to bare metal.
The nut would have to be of similar material to the cap.
Whatever plating the nut had, would have to be ground or filed away to allow for welding.

Of course, if disassembly to remove the cap is possible, then you could take it to a welding professional.
Or, with no big heatsink on it, you could much more easily do it at home.
Just be sure to clean and paint it when done.

... and thanks to some great advice from Anole, I was finally able to salvage an old Actuator and a Dish Cap from a location where the City is now building a small shopping Mall.

Was this where I suggested you get the mount and motor from an abandoned C-band dish that had been ripped off by scrappers?
Hey, parts is parts!

 

[jsattv]

Thanks for the reply Anole. So I guess having someone weld 3 more nuts on the Pole Cap would be the way to go, but to drill and tap the holes for the Bolts wouldn't I have to lift it off or tilt it anyways?

Yes I got the parts from the Site we previously discussed, and the Pole is still there, frozen in the ground right beside the contractors' construction shack.

 

[Hermitman]

How about trying something a little easier. Get a longer 1/2 inch bolt and a nut for it. Also, get a nut for the smaller bolt. Put a dull point on the ends of both bolts. Screw the nuts onto the bolts before putting them back into the mount. Put the bolts back into the mount and torque them down tight. Then use the nuts you screwed on the bolts as lock nuts and tighten then down against the mount. Might work. Good Luck.

 

[jsattv]

How about trying something a little easier. Get a longer 1/2 inch bolt and a nut for it. Also, get a nut for the smaller bolt. Put a dull point on the ends of both bolts. Screw the nuts onto the bolts before putting them back into the mount. Put the bolts back into the mount and torque them down tight. Then use the nuts you screwed on the bolts as lock nuts and tighten then down against the mount. Might work. Good Luck.

Thanks for the tip Hermitman well give it a try.

 

[Anole]

... but to drill and tap the holes for the Bolts wouldn't I have to lift it off or tilt it anyways?

I was thinking of drilling new clearance holes in the cap, but not tapping them.
That's what the welded nut is for: big meaty threads.
From what you've said, threading through the cap just doesn't give enough reliable grip, so I'd discounted the idea.

But frankly, I like Hermitman's answer better.
You only have the one reliable bolt/nut, but by all means try what he suggested.
If that gets you locked down, that's certainly the path of least effort -

Yes I got the parts from the Site we previously discussed, and the Pole is still there, frozen in the ground right beside the contractors' construction shack.

Well, all right! - :up
Thought that stuff might come in handy.
And even if you don't use it now, nor on this project, you'll have it for later.

 

[gabshere]

yeah i was going to suggest grinding down the end of the bolt to give it a bite and try that

or

on mine i drilled the hole all the way through mount-->pole-->pole--> mount and lock nut on outside end (of course this limits your adjustments so it would need to be done after final adjustments)

 

[jsattv]

Thanks for the replies guys. Hermitman what do you mean when you say " Put a DULL POINT on the ENDS of BOTH Bolts - Do you mean grind them down till they are Flat?

Question - How does the Polar Mount work?
Also been wondering how the whole setup works re the Actuator and rotation of the Dish. It seems you still have to find your True South Satellite and then Secure the Dish via the Pole Cap Bolts. My friend asked me if you tighten down the Bolts - then how does the Actuator Drive the Dish to the East and the West? Is it scraping on the inside Pole?? Not sure how it works but when I connect the 12 VDC Battery Charger to the Black and Red wires the Dish does move East or West until it hits the Limits of the Actuator Travel. Is the Pole Cap the Pivot Point for the Ring that the Mesh Dish is attached to??

 

[Anole]

I learned most everything I know about C-band dishes and motors from the Geo Orbit web site.
Took several readings to sink in, but I finally got it on how to track the Clarke belt, too.
It may look like something from the 50's, but it's got all the basic info.

There may be another site or two the guys can direct you to.

 

[Hermitman]

Dull point means to round it down. That leaves less area at the end of the bolt to contact the pole and has more force to hold it tight. What you call the pole cap is the part of the dish mount that is securely tightened to pole. It does not move and holds the rest of the dish mount secure. Looking at the picture of the dish, there is a ring-looking fixture about 3 foot in diameter attached to the back of the mesh dish. On this ring fixture, there should be 2 plates at opposite ends with bolts going into a square or round tube. Those bolts are the pivot points for dish movement. The actuator arm pushes and pulls between the firmly secured motor end on the pole cap and the moveable attachment point on the dish. As for setting up the dish, make sure the pole is plumb, make sure the dish and dish mount point due south (toward the south pole, not magnetic south), set the elevation and declination on the dish. This will put you on the arc. The website Anole referenced is good and goes into details if you have any questions. The true south satellite stuff started with a different kind of mount. It will work if your willing to spend time doing some fine tuning adjustment. Have fun.

 

[jsattv]

Dull point means to round it down. That leaves less area at the end of the bolt to contact the pole and has more force to hold it tight. What you call the pole cap is the part of the dish mount that is securely tightened to pole. It does not move and holds the rest of the dish mount secure. Looking at the picture of the dish, there is a ring-looking fixture about 3 foot in diameter attached to the back of the mesh dish. On this ring fixture, there should be 2 plates at opposite ends with bolts going into a square or round tube. Those bolts are the pivot points for dish movement. The actuator arm pushes and pulls between the firmly secured motor end on the pole cap and the moveable attachment point on the dish. As for setting up the dish, make sure the pole is plumb, make sure the dish and dish mount point due south (toward the south pole, not magnetic south), set the elevation and declination on the dish. This will put you on the arc. The website Anole referenced is good and goes into details if you have any questions. The true south satellite stuff started with a different kind of mount. It will work if your willing to spend time doing some fine tuning adjustment. Have fun.

Thanks for the great explanation Hermitman. One thing I did discover today is that I can locate Satellites close by my true south Satellite Galaxy 25 / 97.0W but when I go a longer distance ie trying to locate G 10R / 123.0W the Dish does NOT seem to be accurate enough to find these Satellites farther away. Does it have to be fine tuned for Satellites Farther away from true south?

 

[Hermitman]

If you're getting some satellites, that's a good thing. All you need to do now is some fine-tuning. If you use items 6, 7 and 8 in the website Anole recommends, you'll find the fine-tuning procedures with reference pictures. It may take some time to get things perfect, but it will be worth it. Have fun.