She is starting to Sag!!!

[Dishman Dan]

My Winegard 10' Pinnacle has been giving me reception problems lately!

This Bud has a "buttonhook" setup for the feedhorn. I have been blaming the recent high winds for messing with my alignment but I may be barking up the wrong tree! I think that the buttonhook is sagging!

What would be a good guesstimate on how long the feedhorn will stay centered and not sag?? Is there a way to support the buttonhook or should I just replace her with a BUD with the support arms??

The reception of this BUD was great a couple of years ago with its deep dish shape. There is also a problem with the depth because this catches a lot more of that good ole sticky wet "lake effect" snow that we get so much of!!

 

[Anole]

I've seen folks post they uses the metal fishing leader to stabilize it.
I'd think four of those should do the job...?

 

[Dishman Dan]

I've seen folks post they uses the metal fishing leader to stabilize it.
I'd think four of those should do the job...?

Thanks!

Would that be adjustable by twisting the leader??? Or once she is centered that is all you can do and it should not move?

I was wondering about making struts out of 1/2" EMT (conduit). The ends would need flattened for a few inches to fasten down. Hmmm.

 

[Anole]

I think one clever fellow used just one string of some sort from his Ku LNB to the top of his little dish, to counteract the sag when installing a heavy QPH-031.

As for the 1/2" conduit, it's quite easy to deal with.
Here's an example on a smaller project. Flatten, bend, drill, file, paint. Easy.

 

[Dishman Dan]

The fishing leader would work but this time of the year it will be cold like ice fishing! I must do something about it soon and a BUD transplant this time of the year will be a lot harder to do!

The link to the conduit project reminded me that also I have to beef up my 1M with a Invacom like that! I have made mirror brackets out of EMT for farm trucks before and they turned out great.

We need a break in this cold weather soon!

 

[PopcornNMore]

I had a 10' dish with a buttonhook feed support back in the 80's. I purchased a kit from Shawn Kenny's Green Sheet that came with three steel strands that got attached from the dish to the feed and could be tightened with included turnbuckles. It kept the feed centered even during high winds and snow storms.

You could probably buy the pieces needed at Home Depot or Lowes.

 

[ZetaMale]

Thanks!

Would that be adjustable by twisting the leader??? Or once she is centered that is all you can do and it should not move?

I was wondering about making struts out of 1/2" EMT (conduit). The ends would need flattened for a few inches to fasten down. Hmmm.

You could use turnbuckles with the wire which will allow you to center feed as necessary.

 

[crackt]

wire and turnbuckles will be the quickest / simplest fix. i scrapped the button hook on my dish and fabbed up four lnb struts. if you do go with a rigid fix make sure you build in a bit of adjustment. i have pics of the fix i did somewhere. ill post em if you want. but the path i took was a bit of work.

crackt out,.

 

[phpinfo]

Is there anywhere online where you can buy a new buttonhook center plate and back plate?

Also, is there anywhere you can get the 4 leg setup for the Pinnacle, instead of using a buttonhook?

 

[capned]

If you decide on making legs from EMT, one of my Pinnacles is apart in the shop, so I could post a pic and dimensions from one of the legs, and where they attach to the dish. They each attach to a rib with 2 (I think #10 X 3/8) sheet metal screws. You could also make new center plates for your buttonhook, but that will require a lot more work. Sorry, I don't have any button hook centers.

Greg

 

[phpinfo]

If you decide on making legs from EMT, one of my Pinnacles is apart in the shop, so I could post a pic and dimensions from one of the legs, and where they attach to the dish. They each attach to a rib with 2 (I think #10 X 3/8) sheet metal screws. You could also make new center plates for your buttonhook, but that will require a lot more work. Sorry, I don't have any button hook centers.

Greg

That would be great if you could post pics and dimensions for the legs. I would prefer to do a 4-point leg setup anyway.

 

[capned]

@ phpinfo,

I'll be heading down to the shop this morning, and will get the info posted later today.

Greg

 

[truckracer]

Definifely make legs out of emt conduit. You wilk never have a problem again.

 

[Hermitman]

I really think this whole buttonhook sagging is a bit overblown. I have 4 buttonhook dishes in my dish farm and haven't had any problems since I set them up years ago. I had one dish with an old STS C/Ku octopus feedhorn (the heavy, dual servo type) that I loosely put a support cable on to see if it would sag over time or during the heavy snows (lake effect) and it barely moved. I could see there might be some possible sagging with the older aluminum buttonhooks and heavy feedhorns. Maybe they're make the newer buttonhooks out of cheaper, thinner steel.

If you really thinks it sagging, I'd say the best thing to do is measure it. See if the center of the feedhorn is dead center in the dish. Also, all of my buttonhooks are secured by either set screws or bolts and are adjustable. Are yours tight? You might be able to eliminate an off-center condition by just rotating the buttonhook 180 degrees. You just have to remember that you'll need to re-adjust your polarity settings. Good luck.

 

[capned]

That would be great if you could post pics and dimensions for the legs. I would prefer to do a 4-point leg setup anyway.

phpinfo,
Here are some pics of the original, and a drawing of the Pinnacle replacement feed support legs. The originals are from 1" aluminum tubing, but 3/4" EMT should be fine. Pic #1 end that mounts to reflector. Pic #2 is feed end. Pic #4, and on the bottom of the drawing shows where to drill the .140" pilot holes for the #10not longer than 1/2") hex head sheet metal screws, to mount the legs to the reflector ribs. If I forgot something, or you need more info, don't hesitate to ask. Let us know how it works out.
Greg

 

[phpinfo]

phpinfo,
Here are some pics of the original, and a drawing of the Pinnacle replacement feed support legs. The originals are from 1" aluminum tubing, but 3/4" EMT should be fine. Pic #1 end that mounts to reflector. Pic #2 is feed end. Pic #4, and on the bottom of the drawing shows where to drill the .140" pilot holes for the #10not longer than 1/2") hex head sheet metal screws, to mount the legs to the reflector ribs. If I forgot something, or you need more info, don't hesitate to ask. Let us know how it works out.
Greg

Awesome. Thanks for the specs. I am looking into making some of these legs. I can't find any originals, so this is the way to go.