Ok, now what?

[ftageekyyc]

I went on a short journey across the city tonight to see if a guy was really advertising a ChannelMaster 1.2 metre fibreglass dish for 10 Canadian plastic dollars, and came away with 5 dishes for 50.



Now, they aren't all 1.2 metre fibreglass - after all, I am still hoping to win a real lottery some day, but this comes pretty close. The CM is on the bottom of the pile, then I have 4 other metal dishes with their mounts in decreasing size from ~ 42, 39, 30 and 24 inches.

So, what's the collective wisdom say for the best use when installing a CM 1.2 at a northern latitude?

1) dedicate it for a fixed mount on 125W? Previous discussions have suggested I will need a 4 footer to get PBS on Ku in HD at my latitude. I thought I would try a 39, then a 42, then finally the 4 footer in order until I get a good enough signal.
2) jury rig a small dish motor then see how long it lasts? I have a SG2100 I am willing to sacrifice to the experiment.
3) order a Primesat mount/actuator from Europe? Any feedback on these? Brian from SatAV had posted about them around Christmas.

I still have a BUD to put up- which means buying a single output LNBF, tracking down a reliable V-box/G-box and I need to see if either of the two actuators I have acquired work.

I have to plant a couple of poles out in the yard for the motorized dishes.

For the overall plan I am thinking I can locate the C-band dish covering from ~72W to 111W, with the Ku from ~79W to 125W .

If I also have a fixed dish for 125W, and I am not expecting to view on more than 2 receivers, I think with proper wiring and switch planning this would work for my needs.

Thanks in advance, all feedback appreciated.

 

[FaT Air]

Sounds like a plan. But I think I'd start with the 1.2 and build a little 'data base' of it's performance on various satellites. From that think you could get a reasonable indication of where the others may work well. That 24 inch, think that's destined to become a DIY WIFI booster. It's small. But who knows? I could get only some transponders on 97W with an 18. Didn't leave it up long enough to see how reliable it would have been.

 

[ftageekyyc]

I think the 24 inch is either going to go away or join an 18 inch in the yard as a bird bath. Not much use for linear at my elevation.

I really didn't intend to come home with 5 more dishes tonight but when we started sorting through mounts and the seller said he'd like to get rid of the whole works... Well, ther ya go.

These five are joining 2 ShawDirect ellipticals (60 and 75), a StarChoice 30 inch round and a 1 metre Fortec I've already got taking up space.

I think it's time for Tex and Edna Boil's dish warehouse to have a sale. Right on the corner, right on the price.

 

[Anole]

Let's see proper pictures of the 42 & 39.
Include their mounts, and Feedhorns.
Those and your 48" dish were well worth the $50.

People do wonders with 30" dishes, so you might get some value from it.

If the 1mtr (39") isn't too heavy, it might make a good candidate as a motorized dish.
Id think about using the others fixed...maybe even with more than one LNBF on it.
You could grow quite a dish farm, there. :up

Also, the dishes should be taller than they are wide.
Those are "Round" dishes. Tell us their width.
You can use any common round LNBF on them.

If you have any which are wider than tall, those are "elliptical", and are best with the original matching feedhorn.
(but will still work on round feeds, if you want to experiment)

 

[ftageekyyc]

So it appears I made a couple of mistakes when I picked up this pile of equipment that I can certainly live with.

Mistake 1 - I miscounted in my original post, it's actually 6 dishes, two of which are ChannelMaster fibreglass, 1.2 metre (51.5 inches high by 47.5 wide) and 1 metre (43 inches by 40).

The total collection also includes 4 stamped metal dishes, 22 x 20, 32 x 30, 39 x 30, 43 x 40.

Mistake 2 - while I was discussing whether I wanted any LNBs (most of which were circular) with the seller I didn't realize that the CM's had a different attachment to their support arms. I have contacted the seller and hope to make arrangements to pick them up this week. If not, it appears that they are still available for sale from a couple of sources. If I do end up buying new LNB brackets for the CM's, is it worthwhile getting the metal versus the standard black for longevity? And, I see there appears to be a skew adapter available for multi-LNBs configs.

Pictures of the pile o hardware follow.

First, pile o mounts. I appear to have all the mounts and arms for the ChannelMasters. The LNB support arms for the generic dishes have standard 30mm ends, while the two Bell dishes have DMount style arms.



Next, ChannelMaster 1 metre dish and mount



Finally, ChannelMaster 1.2 metre dish and mount



Just heard back from the seller after posting, heading over to pick up the brackets tonight.

 

[FaT Air]

My 1.2's have their original black composite LNB mounts. I'd say they were from the early to mid 90's (Ex Primestar) Same vintage for the (2)30 inch. (Ex DTN) Just use some anti seize lube on the bolts. (they tend to rust quickly)
"Bell dishes" attach a conduit hanger with a long bolt to hold a 'proper' LNBF at the focal point. (if contemplating using them)

 

[ftageekyyc]

I think I've got enough dishes. I'll show the CEO and head gardener that picture from your post FaT Air and see what she says.

I will probably bundle up the Bell/Dish gear with any circular LNBs I have plus any related bits and try to get rid of it all in one shot.

 

[Panavision]

I'm in Minnesota and I run a CM 1.2 on an SG2100. I used some angle iron and swapped out the stock mount to lighten the load. Plus I've got 2 heavy LNBs and an OMT that adds considerable weight. This plus the snow and the motor always chugged right along.

 

[FaT Air]

CM 1.2 on an SG2100

Pictures???