please help with info about old c band 3mt dish

[flintstonenz]

hi i have been offered a c 3mt dish from joysky model ct-10 some of the petals have come unriveted (the mesh on the petals) , or been dammaged.
can they just be re rivved up and still work ok or should i buy a new petal for it thanks.

what should i look at on old dishs when you buy them eg faults problems etc

thanks again

 

[FaT Air]

If they're not missing completely or totally 'out of shape', should be able to repair them. My steel 10 ft has one panel where one side has the welds broken by hail. 3 zip ties fixed it. Some dents can be massaged out. There's some that have repaired holes and torn out sections with a mesh available at Lowes or Menards, I believe.
to satellite guys!

 

[Lone Cloud]

Since I have always had spun aluminum solid C band dishes, I can't speak from experience, (I've had hail, wind and even some flying branches broken from a nearby oak tree - no damage) but I have wondered for awhile if another section of a mesh dish were undamaged, you could make a form for it out of ready mix concrete. Then maybe after the concrete cured totally, you could put the form behind the damaged section of the mesh dish, and then slowly and gently peen it back into shape with a small hammer.

I don't know, but when the dish isn't installed yet, it would be the ideal time to try this experiment.

And remember, it's a theory only. I haven't tried it.

 

[johann12]

This is what my dish looked like when I got it. It was laying at somebody's backyard in pieces for about 10 years or better.
I hand formed it using my hands. On the edges and hail damages I used the back of a hatchet. I used a torch to get the tension out of it, but I think a heat gun is way better. It is easy to burn holes in it.
I numbered each panel so I could put it back where it came from.
Also, I turned the screen up-side-down (flipped it over) and this also helped with warpage.
If you have patience and take your time you can be rewarded like I did.

The result.


If you use your dish for c-band little dings etc. should be ok.
But if you thinking using it also as KU then it has to be perfect, since KU is not so forgiven.

I am using my dish as C and KU and I have no problems at all.

 

[joshrr]

Great job johann.

 

[johann12]

Great job johann.

Thank you.
It was way easier than I thought it would be.
I spend 2 evenings on it. I done it at my front steps which is concrete and very smooth.
I made the screen flat, since the webbing on the dish will give it the curved form.
And I forgot to mention that I took the screen off the webbing while straighten it up.
After I was done I cleaned it and painted it with high heat paint which has ceramic in it and it should hold up for a longer time.
Also I replaced all nuts and bolts on it which added only a few dollars.
Out of 12 sections, 10 where dammaged and only 2 where good.

1 day after I had the dish assembled and mounted on the pole, a branch from a oak tree fell on the dish.
You can see it on the finished dish photo if you zomm it in. The ding is at about the 5 o'clock section.

 

[truckracer]

i have an old 10' channel master that has terrible hail damage. it picks up ku quite well along with dvb s2.

 

[flintstonenz]

hi thanks all for your input , it has been very helpfull

 

[flintstonenz]

is there anything else i should look at on old dishs which normally go wrong thanks

 

[FaT Air]

Not much to go bad on them. If refurbishing one, maybe get the mount sandblasted/painted. It's just nicer working on something that's at least "new Looking". Check the polar pivot for lateral play. Drill out to use next size larger bolts if needed. If there are bearings on the polar pivot, inspect and grease or replace. Let's see some pictures of the project, we all like pictures here, and you'll get more, and better, help suggestions when we can see the "what's up".