Refurbishing a BUD.

[123tim]

I don't know if this is proper thread etiquette, but I'm stealing part of a thread and starting it as a new post. I think that more people might see it and benefit from it this way. If this is wrong, please let me know.

In the post entitled "I took the plunge - C Band on the way" posted by rjc3895,
Wyrtwister said that "mesh panels can be replaced with fly screen or hail cloth."
This has me wondering how hard it would be to refurbish an old C- band dish. Would it be a good idea to take on a dish frame with no mesh at all? Do you loose much (or any) gain by not forming the mesh to the exact contour as the original? Is there much margin for error?
I am asking these questions because I know of several large BUDS which are missing panels. I've never looked at one closely, and always assumed that the panels had a molded curve to them. Maybe this is incorrect? Maybe it isn't all that important? This would be strictly for C-Band.

I'd appreciate any comments which pertain to refurbishing a BUD. I had considered this in the past. I know of one 12' that I could pick up for free. I also know of a few still posted in the ground which are missing all of the mesh.

Thanks!

 

[gizzer777]

It really depends

I don't know if this is proper thread etiquette, but I'm stealing part of a thread and starting it as a new post. I think that more people might see it and benefit from it this way. If this is wrong, please let me know.

In the post entitled "I took the plunge - C Band on the way" posted by rjc3895,
Wyrtwister said that "mesh panels can be replaced with fly screen or hail cloth."
This has me wondering how hard it would be to refurbish an old C- band dish. Would it be a good idea to take on a dish frame with no mesh at all? Do you loose much (or any) gain by not forming the mesh to the exact contour as the original? Is there much margin for error?
I am asking these questions because I know of several large BUDS which are missing panels. I've never looked at one closely, and always assumed that the panels had a molded curve to them. Maybe this is incorrect? Maybe it isn't all that important? This would be strictly for C-Band.

I'd appreciate any comments which pertain to refurbishing a BUD. I had considered this in the past. I know of one 12' that I could pick up for free. I also know of a few still posted in the ground which are missing all of the mesh.

Thanks!

Hi Wyr:

Is it Mesh or Perf Alum, or?

I did a Mesh panel once using something that was made to keep a dog from scratching through a screen door (door protector?)

I cut it to shape and fasstened it to the dish where the missing pan el was. It was a 8 footer whith rather large holes, so the door protector worked...obviously, the smaller the dish and thew larges the dish, the worse the results would be!

Luck
jeff

 

[123tim]

Thanks Jeff,
That sounds pretty promising.

Maybe I should go for the 12 foot dish!
I starting to wonder how a re- meshed dish might work with KU?

I put Wyrtwister in the title of my post thinking that he might see it (since I stole his quote from another thread.) Maybe I shouldn't have done that. I can see how it might look like he wrote this.

 

[Mr Tony]

fixed title

 

[hubba]

i read somewhere about a guy that cut sheet metal panels for a 8 foot and painted them epoxy paint (gray) and pop revitied them on and used it for fta. it looked cool but the wind load probably picked up.

 

[WyrTwister]

i read somewhere about a guy that cut sheet metal panels for a 8 foot and painted them epoxy paint (gray) and pop revitied them on and used it for fta. it looked cool but the wind load probably picked up.

I read a post , somewhere , of a guy that re-skinned a mesh dish w/ aluminum sheet metal . He claimed it worked better .

Read anaothe post from an Australian forum of a buy building 75 cm - 120 cm Ku dishes out of wood & glueing Al foil to the surface for a reflector . He claimed it was about 75% as effective as a factory dish og the same size .

With a 12' dish , you would have a lot of margin of error .

Best of luck


wyr

 

[sksatellite]

Hmmmm did anyone try >> a 10' dish without the mesh screen. Ho Ho Ho

 

[gizzer777]

Hey....

Hmmmm did anyone try >> a 10' dish without the mesh screen. Ho Ho Ho

You are stealing my line (used to be in the casino Business for 30 yrs) My Xmas cheer was ho ho ho...GIMME YOUR DOUGH!!!!
jeff

 

[gizzer777]

Ku

Thanks Jeff,
That sounds pretty promising.

Maybe I should go for the 12 foot dish!
I starting to wonder how a re- meshed dish might work with KU?

I put Wyrtwister in the title of my post thinking that he might see it (since I stole his quote from another thread.) Maybe I shouldn't have done that. I can see how it might look like he wrote this.

Now KU is a completely different ballgame....I have an 8ft perf Alum dish with SMALL HOLES and a pretty good LNB...Mesh dishes can present a problem depending on the hole size!

 

[bryansr]

Another consideration in dish repair for Ku is the reflecting surface must be smooth as possible too.... That is why some older BUDS do not perform as well on Ku band, espically if there is a LOT of hail damage.

 

[dfergie]

Check out the listing one on top...
http://skyvision.com/store/system_replacement_parts.html

 

[123tim]

Check out the listing one on top...
http://skyvision.com/store/system_replacement_parts.html

Wonder if this works better than screen from the hardware store?

 

[dfergie]

Try the screen first... a lot cheaper

 

[gizzer777]

Yes, and SKY+++ has outrageous prices!

That cut up panel worked fine on the Mesh dish I had to work on...never even noticed it was different (my friend that is)