Rescued 8 Foot Dish From Swamp

[dsmith0429]

OK, here's a solid 8 footer that I literally dragged out of a small pond. I don't know who made it, but it looks like it's fiberglass. The bracket on the back was corroded beyond use, so I am going to have to cut it off and make my own. But it also has 2 areas that are bulged, so I may need to figure out a way to repair, or if it will work as is, I'll leave alone. The feed arm is also bent and will need to be straightened or maybe I can convert to a 3 or 4 arm support, I would think all I would need to do is make sure the focal point is the same. Then just fill in the holes with automotive fiberglass, sand it down and repaint the dish. Here's a few photos:

 

[navychop]

Well, if nothing works, you can always chuck it in the swamp.

 

[dsmith0429]

Well, if nothing works, you can always chuck it in the swamp.

Or I can use it for the roof of an outhouse...

 

[phlatwound]

I would make that swamp critter pass the string test to see whether or not it is warped before you expend much effort on it.

 

[dsmith0429]

UPDATE: Have the arm and mount straight, new scaler ring installed, and a Titanium Satellite CK1S C/Ku Band Combo LNBF installed. Getting a signal, but needs tweaking. Started raining so will have to wait to finish. So I'm going to mark everything, disassemble, and get it cleaned up and permanently mounted and start enjoying C band

 

[dsmith0429]

I would make that swamp critter pass the string test to see whether or not it is warped before you expend much effort on it.

It's not perfect, but it is working. It does have some "dimples" where 2 of the original mounts were, but at least it picks up better than my Mini-BUD. I set it at 97w. Started raining, but I think a little more tweaking and using it as a fixed dish will be fine. Don't think it would do so well motorized in the condition it's in. It's a freebie, and I like a challenge, so why not?

 

[wvman]

OK, here's a solid 8 footer that I literally dragged out of a small pond. I don't know who made it, but it looks like it's fiberglass. The bracket on the back was corroded beyond use, so I am going to have to cut it off and make my own. But it also has 2 areas that are bulged, so I may need to figure out a way to repair, or if it will work as is, I'll leave alone. The feed arm is also bent and will need to be straightened or maybe I can convert to a 3 or 4 arm support, I would think all I would need to do is make sure the focal point is the same. Then just fill in the holes with automotive fiberglass, sand it down and repaint the dish. Here's a few photos:

The dish itself looks like a UFI, and if its an original, it will have UFI somewhere around the outer lip. If it's a copy, it will not have it. They were good dishes, and if I remember correctly, the gel coat on the outside surface of the dish had powdered metal in it, which was the reflective material for the dish. The copies usually had a screen bonded inside the fiberglass. I saw some of the originals lose their reflective properties over time when the weather deteriorated the gel coat. When the gel coat washed off over time, it lost the powdered metal too.

 

[ken2400]

NICE JOB on the reusing the dish.
Please post some pics when done.

UPDATE: Have the arm and mount straight, new scaler ring installed, and a Titanium Satellite CK1S C/Ku Band Combo LNBF installed. Getting a signal, but needs tweaking. Started raining so will have to wait to finish. So I'm going to mark everything, disassemble, and get it cleaned up and permanently mounted and start enjoying C band

 

[dsmith0429]

The dish itself looks like a UFI, and if its an original, it will have UFI somewhere around the outer lip. If it's a copy, it will not have it. They were good dishes, and if I remember correctly, the gel coat on the outside surface of the dish had powdered metal in it, which was the reflective material for the dish. The copies usually had a screen bonded inside the fiberglass. I saw some of the originals lose their reflective properties over time when the weather deteriorated the gel coat. When the gel coat washed off over time, it lost the powdered metal too.

Didn't find UFI on it anywhere, and just for kicks, used a handheld metal detecter, and apparently there is something metal inside. I remember my Uncle saying he got this dish from a radio station. He had 6 c-band dishes setup, 5 were mesh 10 to 12 footers, but all were destroyed or damaged by hurricanes after his death in 2004. This one has been laying around for about 15 years. I took it down a few years ago, and just never seemed to have enough time to play with it, and Hurricane Irma decided to toss it into a small pond. Wasn't easy to get out, but once I had it out, decided it was time to see if it was useable or not. We also lost all of his Ham radio equipment and several old radio towers to the hurricanes. There's a couple of old radio towers that came from an airport that are still intact because he never got to use them. I'm thinking about trying to use one for over-the-air radio & TV, just not use the entire tower, since it is in sections, maybe just use 36 foot of it.

 

[wvman]

Didn't find UFI on it anywhere, and just for kicks, used a handheld metal detecter, and apparently there is something metal inside. I remember my Uncle saying he got this dish from a radio station. He had 6 c-band dishes setup, 5 were mesh 10 to 12 footers, but all were destroyed or damaged by hurricanes after his death in 2004. This one has been laying around for about 15 years. I took it down a few years ago, and just never seemed to have enough time to play with it, and Hurricane Irma decided to toss it into a small pond. Wasn't easy to get out, but once I had it out, decided it was time to see if it was useable or not. We also lost all of his Ham radio equipment and several old radio towers to the hurricanes. There's a couple of old radio towers that came from an airport that are still intact because he never got to use them. I'm thinking about trying to use one for over-the-air radio & TV, just not use the entire tower, since it is in sections, maybe just use 36 foot of it.

The tower should work just fine for that. I haven't had my radios fired up in ages. I have two towers, one 65 feet tall with a horizontal beam on it, and another 45 feet tall with twin Moonrakers co-phased on it. I have a 3rd Rohn crank-up tower not in use at the moment just standing there doing nothing. I've had OTA antennas on the 65 footer, and still no luck getting locals on account of the mountains. They did me in when it went digital.

That dish should work alright if it isn't warped. May take a bit of work geting in whipped into shape.

 

[dsmith0429]

Anybody tried one of these? Holds 4 C-band LNBFs on a single dish. Was thinking about getting one to experiment with...

 

[FTA4PA]

Anybody tried one of these? Holds 4 C-band LNBFs on a single dish. Was thinking about getting one to experiment with...

Don't know of anyone trying a quad but here is a thread with the dual model.
Say WHAT?!?!!?
I was looking at one myself (but haven't yet) and the quad is pretty reasonable here.
Lnb Holder Mulitfeed Lnbf Bracket Audio Visual Technician Av Technician From Satmaximum, $25.62| Dhgate.Com

 

[Brct203]

Anybody tried one of these? Holds 4 C-band LNBFs on a single dish. Was thinking about getting one to experiment with...

Could be interesting... This said, looks like the 2 center LNB(F) spacing is not adjustable, so that might limit its usability.

 

[FTA4PA]

Could be interesting... This said, looks like the 2 center LNB(F) spacing is not adjustable, so that might limit its usability.

Also, the two center holders have only one mounting bolt to hold the lnbf in place which would make it harder to adjust for best signal. Since the material is aluminum I suppose one could drill a couple extras and thread them but they would not have the thickness of the original single one provided.

 

[dsmith0429]

Could be interesting... This said, looks like the 2 center LNB(F) spacing is not adjustable, so that might limit its usability.

Thats what I'm thinking too, and I couldn't find any info on the degrees between them... but may be possible to use as a triple instead...

 

[dsmith0429]

Don't know of anyone trying a quad but here is a thread with the dual model.
Say WHAT?!?!!?
I was looking at one myself (but haven't yet) and the quad is pretty reasonable here.
Lnb Holder Mulitfeed Lnbf Bracket Audio Visual Technician Av Technician From Satmaximum, $25.62| Dhgate.Com

on eBay for $25.99

 

[FTA4PA]

on eBay for $25.99

Nice find! A few dollars cheaper and you have the ebay guarantee if there is an issue. Here is the eBay link for anyone interested.

C band Mulitfeed LNB holder For 4 C band LNBs | eBay

 

[FTA4PA]

Nice find! A few dollars cheaper and you have the ebay guarantee if there is an issue. Here is the eBay link for anyone interested.

C band Mulitfeed LNB holder For 4 C band LNBs | eBay

Listing has ended but here is the new one. C band Mulitfeed LNB holder For 4 C band LNBs | eBay