Question about a solid Bud

[linuxman]

For those following my Birdview thread, I couldn't work on peaking it today because of rain so I went to look at a dish that I saw the other day.

I went to look at a 7'8" Perfect 10 solid metal dish today. The owner said I could have it as long as I cut off the pole at ground level.

Looks to be in good shape, has a 24" Von Weise actuator on it, and is not hail damaged. It doesn't look warped visibly. Didn't have a string to put on it.

I scratched it with my pocket knife and it appears to be aluminum. When I tapped on it though it sounded like steel. Maybe they both sound the same.

I'm going back by there later today and take a magnet and a camera for pics.

My question is:

Does it make a difference whether the dish is made out of steel or aluminum for signal gathering?

Thanks,

Fred

 

[Mr Tony]

I dont think it would. I think the Fortec dish is made form aluminum (it has to be as when it fell off the table it dented pretty quickly but was easily punched back into place)

 

[linuxman]

Thanks Iceberg!!

I wouldn't think it would make a difference in gathering signal either. But what do I know?

I'll find out later today with a magnet.

As long as it isn't warped or mis-shapen and has a well formed parabolic curve, one metal should be as good as another.

Hopefully some of the experts will chime in here.

Fred

 

[caddata]

Fred:

Give it the magnet test. Either material would be fine and would perform in similar manners electrically, but the aluminum would not corrode like the steel.

 

[linuxman]

Hey Harold,

I stopped by and took some pictures on my way to a friend's wedding reception, and put a magnet to it.

It is definitely not steel and looks to be aluminum. Magnet will not stick.

It is a little strange looking, and the mount is strange looking. Maybe not as strange as I think, but different looking than what I am used to seeing. There doesn't seem to be any dings, warpage etc., inside the outer ring. There are a few dings outside the ring.

Here are the pics:





I will need to get the old paint off somehow, and paint it up good and put new bolts on. I have an air compressor, I might as well buy a paint sprayer and skip the cans.

Is it ok to sand this dish to get the old paint off? Or what is the best suggestion to prep it for painting?

Thanks,

Fred

 

[Mr Tony]

looks like a VERY nice dish

 

[linuxman]

Thanks Iceberg!

I need another dish like a hole in my head. But I love dish hunting, and I love seeing the different varieties out there. Different shapes and sizes, solid and mesh, and the Birdview was the ultimate. I have started being very picky and only want the unusual and good ones any more.

I have sanded the mount and painted a 7.5 Perfect 10 mesh dish this winter, and was going to put it where the Winegard is, but now I'm thinking this dish might be better there. It's sole purpose will be for my 4DTV. From the look of the mount it should have pretty good travel, and great Ku performance.

My refurbished dish looks almost brand new. One of nephews was by the other evening, and showed an interest in FTA. I may give him one and help him get started. Maybe the Winegard. It will be fine on the ground with maybe a wind stop around three sides of it.

If you were close by, I would give you one of my BUDs. I seem to be able to go out and get them any time I want one.

Must be a gift.

Fred

 

[lumpkin666]

linuxman - that solid dish looks just like one that I was looking at the other day - same mount too (except that his doesn't have an actuator anymore). They guy hasn't used it in years, but doesn't want to get rid of the dish because he wants to flip it upside down and turn it into a roof for a little "gazebo" that he has been planning on making for the last 3 years He said I could have the pole/mount though.. but it's a 4 inch pole, and too big for anything that I have.

 

[gabshere]

man you find all the good looking dishes

my only thought on the swap Fred is that this is a solid and will catch all the wind might be better low mounted and not on the edge of a building. the mesh that you have there or will swap out will pass most of the wind. but you would know better how the winds react in your area... just a thought.

but i bet this one has better reception than the birdview

 

[linuxman]

That's a shame lumpkin666!!

You could still use the pole/mount and maybe adapte another dish to it. With that kind of frame it would be easy to do.

Your are right George about the wind thing, but I don't know what to do with it otherwise. I was going to put the SAMI up for the family and still plan on doing that.

I doubt if it will catch more wind than the 10 footer I have at the edge now. The 10 footer would be OK even now if it had been designed better, with a bigger mounting ring, and not have the feed-horn supports on the outer rim.

This one has at least the same size mounting ring, is smaller diameter by 2.5 feet, and the feed-horn supports are half-way down inside the dish.

I think I will at least give it a shot there.

Edit: PS, I don't know, the Birdview is pretty hot.

Fred

 

[Lynskyn]

That looks like an old Hydroform dish. They were shaped by a water-filled bladder pressing the aluminum into a parabolic mold. I think the original company was VSE (not sure) then Paraclipse started selling them. I use the Paraclipse version now and gets excellent C & Ku reception. I don't remember Perfect 10 making a solid dish, so it might just have a Perfect 10 feed cover.

 

[chefwan]

it reminds me of Somery's 10ft alum dish but his is gooseneck instead of quad legs

 

[linuxman]

Hey Guys,

I didn't know that Perfect 10 made a solid dish either. I can probably find out on Monday. I have a friend who works for a local distributor that used to sell Perfect 10's. I'll call him and see.

I'm glad to know that it will get good reception.

 

[linuxman]

Hey lumpkin666,

I had an idea about the dish you are wanting and the guy wants to make a gazebo out of it.

Go out and find a mesh dish that has been beaten up pretty good, offer to give it to him and sell him on the idea that it would work better for him because it has ribs to fasten the roof onto which would leave the solid intact for you to take.

I've got a 7 foot mesh here that the only reason I took it down was to get the actuator. I am going to have to scrap the rest.

I'm sure there are others like that out there.

 

[lumpkin666]

linuxman - I have a 7.5ft mesh dish that I'm not quite ready to give up on yet. I do have a lead on a 7ft fiberglass dish with absolutely no mounting hardware/lnb/anything else (all recycled/salvaged). I'm thinking maybe I can offer that for trade, plus toss in some beers to get him to use his big boom truck to pull the pole out, and see how that works for me. We'll see.

 

[linuxman]

lumpkin666 - That sounds like a good plan.

Hope he goes for it!!

Fred

 

[SatelliteAV]

A very low wind speeds, the air does pass through a mesh dish quite well, but as the wind velocity increases, the surface will be no different than a solid.

Read a study many years ago (wish I could remember where - no Google) regarding survivability of dishes in hurricanes. The data indicated that over 50mph, the windloading was almost identical on a solid -vs- mesh.

man you find all the good looking dishes

my only thought on the swap Fred is that this is a solid and will catch all the wind might be better low mounted and not on the edge of a building. the mesh that you have there or will swap out will pass most of the wind. but you would know better how the winds react in your area... just a thought.

but i bet this one has better reception than the birdview

 

[linuxman]

Hey Brian,

I read the exact same thing and found it here. It is at the bottom of the page.

WIND LOADING:The bottom line on wind loading (on the surface of a dish) is the bigger diameter the dish the more wind it traps and the more the dish faces into the dish the more wind it traps. Mesh dishes act as solid dishes at about fifty miles per hour though will still experience approximately 40% less force than a solid dish.

I figure on the basis of that reading the 7.5' solid will be about the same wind resistance as the 10' mesh I have mounted there now. The numbers may be off a little, but you get the idea.

Thanks for the information,

Fred

 

[cband48]

Mesh vs Solid

Several years ago, before the small receivers came upon the scene, my Dad and i sold a few of the larger systems and upgraded many more. While picking up a couple of systems at my distributor, I found a couple of Birdview dishes that they had removed and had sitting behind the warehouse. I purchased two- one nearly 10' and the other just about 9', as far as i can recall. I had the mount, pole and all and had to modify the feedhorn area to accept a C/Ku feedhorn, but accomplished the deed with only a small amount of work and mounted the Birdview on a very large concrete slab I poured just for this purpose. All went well and it had a really great picture on all satellites. Inclination was accomplished by placing flat washers between mount and dish, but it appears to track correctly all across the sky. I was gone for a couple of years and am now back and it still works, although I do need to locate a C/Ku Satellite chart my old mind can read and understand to get it programmed with the correct satellites and positions. I would recommend a solid dish over a mesh dish any day. This one has withstood the weather here in West Texas with no visible damage.

 

[Anole]

peeling paint

Has anyone suggested a pressure-washer for blasting off the flaking paint?
I don't know how much force they produce nor how soft the aluminum is, so keep that in mind.
If it works, it'd sure be a heck of an easy way to clean up a solid or a perforated dish.

The way a car chassis and body would be cleaned, is with media blasting.
That's where they use walnut (?) shells blasted against the metal to peel off any coating or rust.
It's a step down from sand-blasting - less harsh - and won't hurt the underlying metal.

There're a lot of ways and finishes to protect the metal.
Anodizing would be great for the aluminum, but probably expensive
You could powder-coat most any metal.
And people who do that sort of work might have an oven big enough for a dish (or parts of one).
I've had stuff powder coated before, and would give that a serious look.

I don't know about some sort of anti-corosion protection you might put directly on the bare metal.
For the parts of the mount or dish that was steel, there are several choices.
For aluminum, I think the choices are quite different .
Anyone know what they use on aluminum parts (wing spars, screws, etc) for use on airplanes?