Re-meshing dish

[qwerty81]

Where does one go about to get mesh for their satellite dish? I read to go to a sheet metal shop, but what do you ask for is their a depth or should you just bring one good panel and have them duplicate it?

Happy Thanksgiving to all and your families.

 

[stogie5150]

I took down a wrecked dish, and used that mesh. You can cut it with tin snips, no problem. Now, if you HAVE to have mesh that matches what you have now, Brother are you in for some headaches!

 

[Ga.Boy]

replacement mesh

I was interested in doing this one time. I could only find one place that sold replacement mesh. The cost was $62.50 per panel plus shipping. This price made me go looking for another dish in good condition. You could replace whole dish or use it for replacement parts and have parts left over. My limited experience.

 

[Radioguy41]

If it's just one or two panels take a good one to a shop and have them duplicate it including the curve in the panel. If it's more than one or two panels I would look for a used dish somewhere.

 

[turbosat]

mesh

I have several stacks of mesh panels and pieces taken from wrecked dishes, if you can measure what you need, PM me, maybe you can use some of it. It has small enough holes it should work fine for c or ku.

 

[sergei]

How about a picture of the dish so we all know what type of mesh you need.

 

[14karat]

I know Skyvision lists it in their catalog, don't remember the $...
I'm sure other places have it... I'd go with the others here and say find another old dish - I know it's a terrible thing to cannibalize a dish, but sometimes you just gotta...
Maybe you can find one that is warped beyond repair and use it.
That way you can still sleep at night...

 

[turbosat]

14karat, one of the first 10' dishes I had, I ruined in pretty short order (drove it down on a @! ladder-it happened to meet the ladder exactly where 2 panels bolted together, ruining exactly 1/2 the dish) So I've had the remains of that dish for years, prob helped remind me where not to leave the ladder when working on the big dishes. I'd love for somebody to get some use of the parts, since I haven't really needed them.

 

[qwerty81]

Let me know if these pictures help? Also this is a total newbie question and I am sorry for asking it. Would I still be able to get signal with this dish and the missing mesh? If so about how bad would the signal be?

 

[sharpee]

Good question. I'm very interested in this thread. There is a mesh dish I drive by everyday that has about three panels missing. It looks like it's not being used. I wonder if I were to get that dish, could some aluminum screen mesh be used to replace the missing ones??

 

[Anole]

just a guess

Unless the dish uses the stressed panels for structural rigidity (which it may), I'd fire it up with a few missing panels!
You will have a little loss of signal (which should be fine), but still have the accurate focus (if it holds shape).
I think a Paraclipse would hold its shape after having its panels blown out by a nuclear blast! -
Oh, and maybe a bit more ground noise.

There is a mesh dish I drive by everyday that has about three panels missing.
I wonder if I were to get that dish, could some aluminum screen mesh be used to replace the missing ones??

The screen wire isn't flat, but for C-band, it's probably flat enough.
From what I've read about Ku on BUDs, I'd give you even odds it'd work.

Maybe some of our old timers have first hand experience with missing panels or screen wire??
There must be some reason nobody uses nor recommends the aluminum screen.

 

[Mauiguy1]

Let me know if these pictures help? Also this is a total newbie question and I am sorry for asking it. Would I still be able to get signal with this dish and the missing mesh? If so about how bad would the signal be?

When I installed my fourteen foot paraclypse, I raised the dish to the pole without having installed 1/4 th of the mesh. I did it that way so we could lift that monster to the mount. That evening I watched C band even though the mesh was not yet installed.

There will be a significant signal loss, and I would think the smaller the dish, the more noticeable the loss would be because of adjacent satellite interference and lower gain overall.

Some sheet metal suppliers have a product called "expanded metal." It is essentially sheet metal with tiny perforations in it then it is "stretched " to make the holes open up.

Try using google and search for "expanded Aluminum".

I just looked at the following site: Micro Expanded Metal


You may be able to find a local supplier of stuff like that....

 

[14karat]

If you aren't worried about looks, or just need something temporary, go to your local newspaper and ask them for some used printing plates.
These are sheets of thin aluminum around 2ft X 3ft or bigger and you can probably get them for less than a dollar a piece.
If you do the entire dish, just paint the whole thing... just clean off the panels good first, paint won't stick to printers ink!

 

[turbosat]

mesh

Here's a half-@SS blurry pic or two of this stuff I have:

 

[sharpee]

Hey Turbosat, What kind of mesh is that?

 

[turbosat]

It's metal, aluminum I presume. Mesh from some old dish's I had, some broken down.etc.
One was a 10' oddball brand, another was a 8' Janeil Dark Star, I also have some from a 12' Dark Star that broke down last year, ribs cracked, etc fell apart mostly but the mesh is good (for c-band only on that one)
You need some mesh? PM me

 

[Lone Cloud]

first of all, I'm really glad decided to go solid dish.

An idea I haven't heard is doing the pie sections alternately in solid and mesh.

Anyway, what I might do if I had a mesh dish is pick the best pie section, tape the back and make a concrete mold of that good section, and then peen all the the other pie sections to thqt shape. If I had some old. wrecked mesh thqt came with it, I'd peen that to the shape of the mold then weld or braise it on there.

I do not have that issue with either of my buds