ok, ok... You guys talked me into it.

[Dee_Ann]

Ok, here we go..

I'm going to upload them in three batches.

I'll try to describe them in the third batch

 

[Dee_Ann]

2nd batch

 

[turbosat]

Hey Dee, I like those pictures, it reminds me of that "Life After People" show, LOL..
I have the pieces of a 12' Dark Star, Pro is right, they are junk, big plastic ribs (that are actually hollow inside) that crack and break easily. I guess if you got one together in good shape and didn't move it much, it would be alright, but still more trouble than it's worth.The freezing of that water inside the ribs was what made mine crack and bust so many ribs. I even took some off and tried various glues to repair them, but none of it worked for long. Thankfully I have a couple of metal dishes and that's not a problem with those, around here at least. Good luck on the big dish project.

 

[PANHANDLER]

Hi Dee_Ann
If i was you i would definatley grab the 7.5 unimesh (pics 5 -11 )thats a keeper . I am running one right now and have no complaints at all . When i first aquired my uni it came with the exact same lnb ( chaperal ). I was lucky and was able to save the positioner after a bit of work . I mounted a Geosat CK1 C/KU on it and after some fine tunning i can get from Intelsat 11 @ 43.1 to AMC8 @139 . I have been following your interest in C-band and i would strongly recomend grabbing the unimesh , easy to transfer . looks in great shape also an excellant starter in c-band . Good luck with your venture .

 

[Dee_Ann]

last batch..

Ok, in the first batch there are -two- ten foot diameter dishes stacked together and leaned up against an old pole barn. They are devoid of the misc. hardware. Just two big bowls.

There is a third 10 foot dish laying in the weeds about 20-30 feet away. Stuff is grown up through it, it appears.

Pic # 4777 shows the backside of the giant "Dark Star" dish.

In the second batch are more pics of the Dark Star then a gob of pictures of the Unimesh brand. It's the one leaned over and appears largely intact and undamaged as best as I can tell, given my limited knowledge of them.

It does appear the motor is missing from the motor arm thing. Ding-dong told me he moved the dish with a wrench to a satellite that had radio on it and he left it there. He had a machine shop on the lot once upon a time and would play the satellite radio to speakers in the shop while he worked.

Last batch is more pics of the Unimesh and some parts I found laying around. There are various lnb things and it looks like the remains of the unimesh motor that ding-dong tried and failed to fix.

I'm shocked no one has stolen the tuner, they sure stole everything else they could.

I wish he would just sell the place and give me the money. It's a dump and serves no purpose any longer.

Anyway...

So here's the deal. The Unimesh dish is inside a debris zone. There were several metal buildings that were built up around where the dish is, after the dish was put in. Over the years, several hurricanes have destroyed the buildings and the area where the dish is located is 100% surrounded by debris piles 6 foot deep in places. Mostly twisted steel beams, sheet metal, big machines and lots of board with lots of nasty, rusty nails sticking all out. The place is a death trap.. Death by impalement is a near certainty. I haven't had a tetanus shot in like well over 25 years. Someone is going to end up getting badly hurt out there.

So taking the dish out intact as a single unit, not going to happen. Quite impossible.
It must be taken apart into smaller pieces and taken out a little at a time.

Dad says the best bet is to just saw all the bolts in half and replace them later with stainless steel bolts, all the ones on it now are all rusted up anyway so unbolting them just "ain't gonna happen".. He has some big saw he says will cut through anything and another one that cuts through big pipes.

He can't help me this week so he said maybe next week he can help me with this.
Actually, I'll be helping him. I think this project is a bit over my head. But, I moved one of those big ten foot dishes and they are not too heavy, I guess they are made of aluminum. So I'm thinking if we can cut the 8 foot dish into quarters then it shouldn't be too bad.

As for putting it back up here at home, Dad says "Good luck.."

OK, time for a cold soda. I'll let you guys look through it all and see what you can make of it.

Thanks!

 

[tvropro]

Grab the Unimesh it comes apart in 4 sections. When you reassemble it just do a string test to get the parabolic shape back. If the servo, LNB and receiver are good all you will need is a new actuator (no biggie).

 

[putney]

More than likely there is no need to saw anything. The bolts will likely snap with 1/2 a turn.

I have a unimesh and like it as well.

 

[mike74820]

i have that receiver in last picture in my closet, was a good receiver when it was analog

 

[Anole]

Unimesh is lookin' better by the minute! - :up

- on some of the other dishes, they still have mounts. Offer them to some Texas BUD lovers to haul off. Let somebody get a mount and haul off a truck load of trash. - :up

- regarding that rusty motor with the gears spilling out... we had someone on the forum looking for just a gear. Pack 'em up and send the whole lot to him for the cost of postage. -

- as for the old analog receiver, I'd be afraid to plug in anything that's been rained on. You might find someone who would thank you for the remote, though. -

- the comment above about a lot of the bolts snapping when you crank on 'em, is actually the easy way to get 'em out. If not, then don't use a saw, see if Dad has a hand grinder with a cut-off wheel. He'll know what that is. If not, you might get a cheap one at Harbor Freight. Cuts through anything, like it was butter! -
You can even take down your pole with one.

- don't discard broken bolts. Take them to the hardware store - it'll be easier to find new ones with the old pieces in hand.

- if you take apart the Unimesh, mark each pie section where it mates to the next with 1, 2, 3, or 4 lines across the void.
Grease pencil (china marker) , crayon, or felt marker will do.
Then, when you are home putting it together, all you do is line up the marks and you have the wedges back in the same place.

 

[Dee_Ann]

What is a "string test" ??

mike74820 - i have that receiver in last picture in my closet, was a good receiver when it was analog

So the BUD satellites are digital now too? As in that tuner is no longer usable?

My intention is to connect the dish straight into my pc tuner card. I would have no idea how to connect that tuner into the pc. Should I toss the tuner out?

And the Dark Star, just let nature reclaim it? I think it's a bit over the top for me anyway. I think that's a project that would far exceed my capacity.

I can sandpaper and paint things and make them look new but broken things like that, I can't imagine how one could fix that.

The three ten foot dishes, I guess I'll leave those for mother nature to consume as well. Considering they are missing all the parts, I can see no use in the world for them now. Unless I want to make a Redneck Gazebo. I have seen pictures of people actually doing that.

 

[Dee_Ann]

Oh, and what sort of pipe should I purchase to put the unimesh on?
Like I know I'll need to call around but what should I ask for? Like dimensions and stuff? How long? I'm thinking it needs to be high enough up for me to be able to weedeater around it without getting knocked silly in the head and also so I can work on it.

I'm planning on having it up and just aimed at the satellite with thisTV on it, for now but in the future I'll want to put a new motor on it so I can move it around to AMGTV too. (Booooo on Equity!!)

I'm sure the amount of pole that needs to be in the ground should be substantial taking into consideration the height of this big old thing and that I am very much in a hurricane zone and we have been getting a lot of BAD hurricanes lately. We've had three direct hits in the last 5 years, two of them exceeding 100mph. The two big ones, Rita and Ike, tore things up really bad around here and my place did not escape the wrath of any of them. Humberto was pretty lame in comparison and I actually went out back on the deck during some of the strong parts, just because, well, I'm not so bright all the time.. Humberto only got up to around 90mph here and that only lasted a few minutes. The whole storm came through and was gone in a matter of hours. Ike, was painfully long. 14 long hours of hurricane force winds. Nerve wracking.

So anyway, I want to be sure to set the thing up so that it will have a good chance at surviving at least a Cat 2 hurricane.

 

[Tron]

Wow Dee! You could shoot the fifth Indiana Jones movie in that lot! "Indiana Jones and the Quest for the BUD" ...

I like the BUD with the double-ribbed sections, looks something like a Paraclipse, but different. It will be hard to get the vines out of the mesh without damaging or destroying it. The Unimesh is looking like the winner of the group.

Good luck with your C-Band project, and if you are ever in doubt... YES, it is worth the trouble!

 

[gordonkearse]

Dee Ann,
The wonderful part about this hobby is how easy it is to find equipment for nothing. And the stuff you have to buy is cheap, cheap, cheap. And that's because BUD stuff is mostly generic. Actuators are either 24 volt or 36 volt. And they're either 24 inches long or 36 inches long. And most are interchangeable.

There's really no need to buy a pole. I had a fellow weld two short poles together (with a sleeve in the middle) and I now have a fifteen foot pole with a ten foot dish on it. He charged me $20. But I know a pole that long would have cost me $75 new. And I'm talking about a big, heavy pole.

I used an old pickup with a bedliner in it and didn't mess up my truck or my dish. I drove about 25 miles to where it is now. Of course, I took back roads and drove slow.

And you really need to shop around for stuff you do buy. I found a v-box 6 on flea-bay for $39 shipped. An lnb won't cost more than $45 or $50 shipped.
That's it. And you can use old orange extension cords inside conduit for your reed sensor and motor wire. It won't matter that you splice them. I bought used cords at a pawn shop. Just make sure you use the best quality of RG6.

And don't mess with building a dish out of three or four dishes. Shop until you find a good one. Of course, you may want two or three extra dishes for parts you might rob off of them later, especially since you live so far up north where the weather is bad.

I'm lucky that I live way down south where winters are much easier on all fta equipment.

And have fun with your Big, Ugly Dish. You haven't made a mistake. Big is better.

 

[gordonkearse]

And another thing. I just wanted to send you a picture of my 10 foot Perfect 10.

I am getting approximately 20 satellites between 85 degrees W and 127 degrees West. And the satellites are approximately two degrees apart. The fence in the photo runs north to south. I get just about all the satellites in the sky from the position I took the picture to the point where my dish is pointed down the fence line. So I'm getting everything broadcasting over North America.

The challenge now is to try to get the eastern satellites. I haven't had any luck yet getting any of them. I may even have to resort to putting up another big dish just to get the satellites over the Atlantic Ocean towards Africa. Those are the ones on the other side of the fence.

The only problem with having the dish so high up in the air is fine-pointing it.
It takes a long ladder. But it does make it very easy to keep the yard clear of vegetation.

The Big Ugly Dish opens a whole new chapter in satellite hunting, and you can still do it with a plain jane fta receiver.

 

[Blindowl1234]

Gordon, You don't need a ladder just stand on the roof of one of those cars lol Blind

 

[Dee_Ann]

I still haven't gotten over to retrieve that unimesh dish yet but I was doing yard work yesterday and I dug out a big dish the ex left here leaning on a tree for I don't know how many years.

I knew and still know, nothing at all about it.

It was apart in quarters. I was amazed at how light it is. I was expecting it to be very heavy as it's remained leaning against a tree through numerous hurricanes, two of them being severe hurricanes.

So, I was bored and started digging the parts out of the weeds.

I found the four quarters. They are mostly in very good shape with only some very minor damage, namely some of the mesh is popped out of it's tracks in places. I think I can fix that myself.

There are four metal band things that look like they go around the edges to keep the mesh things from coming out.

There is a big metal ring. I guess it goes on the back of the dish. How, I have no idea.

There is a big heavy metal thing with bolts and stuff. It looks like it sits on a pipe.
How it connects to anything else is a mystery to me. It has an enormous bolt thing on it that appears to be bent. Fat chance of finding a new one.

I can not find any of the bolts or screws for any of it. All those would have be be bought new.

It looks like there was a round plate in the middle of it to hold it together, maybe 10 inches around? No clue on earth what it looked like or where it went.

I also can not find ANY stickers or markings on the dish at all, nothing. There is one sticker on the pipe thingie but I can't read it. Maybe someone will recognize the font/logo style. I can't tell if it says codom or odom. I have no knowledge about satellite stuff so I can only say, I do not know.

And of course it appears the motor stuff is missing and I can not find anything that looks like it might be anything to do with the lnb holder. I wouldn't have a clue as to where to find one. I think that may be the biggest problem.

I laid the parts out on the ground and tried to connect the panels together with some wire, just for fun to see how big the thing is. It's kinda floppy like a wilted flower but I was able to put it enough together to measure it. I had to stop because some severe weather is about to hit here soon. Oh, and it measures ten feet across the edges. It's pretty darn big!

I'll try again later to put it all into one piece. I was thinking of leaning it against a chair and seeing if I could hold an lnb in my hand or put one on a stick in the ground enough to find a satellite. Just for fun.. (I'm bored and easily amused...)

Also, I ordered a new lnb that is supposed to work in a way like the ku types with only one wire. I think. I hope.

The lnb came from China. (doesn't everything?)
I was *shocked* at how light it feels. Like it really weighs almost nothing at all.
Being somewhat curious, I noticed there was a plastic cap on it that looked like it was just pressed in. I pried it out and was angry to see that that big old tube was empty! There's nothing in it except some little metal rods. Obviously it's a fake.
I guess I should have bought one from a site sponsor. I was trying to save money.

I don't even bother contacting people on ebay when I get ripped off from someone in China. It's not worth the expense to mail it back. I just toss it in the trash. I've been ripped off more times than I can count on stuff like iPhone accessories. Maybe one day I'll learn.

And here's the pics. I'm still thinking I would be better off with the unimesh dish as it appears to be fully intact except for the motor. This one is missing a lot of stuff but I think it could be made to work. I dunno...

 

[osu1991]

That tube is supposed to be empty except for the probes. The cap was to keep things from getting inside and corroding the probes which capture the signal from the dish.

10ft odom looks like it is just missing the arms to hold the lnb.

 

[qwert1515]

Like OSU1991 said, the inside of the LNB is supposed to look like that. The electronics are underneath the label that says 17K on you LNB.

Attached is the inside a universal LNB and a C-Band/Ku-Band combo unit.

 

[Anole]

10' Odom:

The jury is out on the Odom dish for now.
I think your other dish is probably easier to work with and in better shape.
That's a trade-off with the trouble of rescuing it, so it's a decision you'll have to make.
Personally, I'd get the 8'er up 'n running and by the time I'd conquered that, this 10'er would no longer seem such an effort.

However, let's talk about the Odom:

In picture #2, & #3, you have the mount.
You can see which end of it goes on top of the pole.

The big bent threaded rod is the elevation adjust, and will probably work as-is.
Worst case, you might run some nuts onto both ends, then slip it into a vice, and give it a little nudge to straighten.
I think I'd just give it a good wire-brushing with a wire cup brush in a drill, then put on some light grease to protect it.

See the big ring in picture #4?
Note the two heavy tabs welded onto it.
One is longer than the other, and has several holes in it.
You attach the ring to the ends of the long heavy box tubing of the mount.
Probably have to examine the parts and see what needs cleaning, brushing, lubing, and maybe replacing.
This picture on Geo-Orbit will give you a basic idea how the ring fits to the mount, and to the back side of the dish.
The ring goes on with the longer tab to the top, and you select one of the holes to set the general declination.

You motor bolts to a tab on the ring or back side of the dish, and to the short stub (box tubing) on the back of the mount.

Not finding the original LNB mounting arms is a disappointment.
However, they are easy to fabricate.
Again, this all is a job for another time, but if you break it down into little parts, none are really that substantial.

If you can find a pole, that might be a head start for the 8' dish... so look around.

 

[Dee_Ann]

Like OSU1991 said, the inside of the LNB is supposed to look like that. The electronics are underneath the label that says 17K on you LNB.

Attached is the inside a universal LNB and a C-Band/Ku-Band combo unit.

Oh......

Whew.. Well, it seemed far too light then I saw it was empty so I thought for sure I was ripped off. Whew...