Storm - 1 Primestar -0 :(

[iafirebuff]

Well, just had a real bad storm come through. Had 70 mile per hour winds, baseball size hail in the town to the west of us, weak tornado about 1 mile to the south of us. ANyway, we were watching Meet the Parents on dvd, I fell asleep as usual, and my wife woke me up and told me it was storming. So after the wind died down, my daughter and I went out in the downpouring rain to survey damage. Lots of branches and twigs stern about. I can see my Primestar in the bucket atop my hill is on its side. OH MAN! It is laying on its "face", with the arm busted off! It broke the dish itself. No fixing it :-( I hope the lnb is still ok. I had about 150-200 pounds of cement blocks holding this dish down. So it must have been really windy. So, no more 30w. No more Primestar in a bucket TIme to have some pizza and go to bed.

 

[turbosat]

Too bad, sorry you lost out, at least you still have a house. Maybe you can salvage part of your dish, or find another one. I'm trying to scrounge up a few more primestars that I keep driving by.

 

[voomvoom]

That's too bad Larry.... Maybe the lnbf will be OK, and maybe you'll find another P*.... Hope your neighbors fared better than you have, especially those who may have been in a Tornado.

Al

 

[lumpkin666]

I heard that it hailed so heavily in areas up by you, Larry, that it looked like a snowstorm had hit. Hope everything else is okay for you!

 

[linuxman]

Hey Larry,

I'm sorry to hear about your loss!!

I'm glad you and your family and house are still OK!

I've got an 84e here I'll give you if you want to drive down and get it. Shipping it wouldn't be worth the cost.

Fred

 

[iafirebuff]

THanks for the kind words and offers! We missed the hail, neighbors looked to have fared well. Mainly tree branches and some power lines down. We live in a newer area, so all utilities are underground. A cornfield about 1/2 mile away was totally flattened in the middle of it. Looked like a giant UFO landed on it. As for my Primestar - it was my "test" one. The one I used to haul around the yard looking for spots, etc. I had meant to plant it last week, but worked too much so didn't have the time. So, now I will have to think of something else....maybe a 6' c-band I think the lnb will be ok. I might go down the street to a house I saw that has an old Primestar and see if they want to get rid of it

 

[Tron]

Larry, sorry about your dish... what mold (size) Primestar was it? I have a couple of spare 84E reflectors (courtesy of Stogie) which I am hoping to find arms for some day, probably not worth the shipping though...

 

[stogie5150]

Larry, sorry about your dish... what mold (size) Primestar was it? I have a couple of spare 84E reflectors (courtesy of Stogie) which I am hoping to find arms for some day, probably not worth the shipping though...

Did you get us those 1.8 m reflectors yet?

Dangit I want C-band!

 

[iafirebuff]

It is the 84e if I remember right. Thanks for the offer! There is one down the street I have been meaning to ask them about for over a year now. THis was just a spare one I had, so I really won't miss it. I just love the Primestars, so I had to shed a tear!

Maybe my wife will fell sorry for my "loss" and insist I buy something to cheer me up

 

[Mr Tony]

Dang Larry that sucks...but at least it was just a dish and not the house or family

satellite equipment can be replaced...lives can't

 

[mastermesh]

Wonder if dishes, even primestars, can be put on homeowner insurance coverage? Doubt it, unless maybe it's attached to the house?!?...

 

[iafirebuff]

I am not complaining, that is for sure! To the west of me on the other side of town, there was grapefruit size hail! There were 3 storms that came through last ngiht - the 1st on we just got a little rain about 630pm (thats the one w/hail) the 2nd one was the 70mph winds and down pur - got about 2" of rain with that and the 3rd came about 4am, and we got about 1.5" of hard rain. Now I am going to have to mow again THe grass was dead before

 

[iafirebuff]

Wonder if dishes, even primestars, can be put on homeowner insurance coverage? Doubt it, unless maybe it's attached to the house?!?...

I suppose for a price they will insure anything If I had planted it the other day it would still be there. Oh well, now I have an "excuse" to get a 90cm or a 6' c band

 

[gabshere]

I have a couple of spare 84E reflectors (courtesy of Stogie) which I am hoping to find arms for some day, probably not worth the shipping though...

tron i have an idea for a replacement arm

 

[stogie5150]

tron i have an idea for a replacement arm

Well share it with me because I have two reflectors and no arms...I don't have a tubing bender so the 1/2 inch conduit is out of the question....

 

[Anole]

bend it, shape it, anyway they want it

Well, if bending my own was the only solution, I don't think I'd let that stop me.
Having the drawings with accurate measurements is far more challenging.
Are there not cheap tube bending tools or techniques one could use?

Is there a spring you slide over the tubing, which holds it round while it gets arched?

I watched a "How It's Made" the other day, and they made trombones.
They used a hundreds of year old (?) technique to bend the tubing.
... I just wish I could remember what it was . . .
Did they freeze water in it, to keep it from collapsing while bending?
The final step was to put it in a U-shaped two-part wooden die, then feed a ball bearing into one end, and tap it through by following it with slightly smaller balls.
Lots of lubricant was applied, as you might expect.
The lead ball was pushed through, enlarging the tubing to the final diameter, and clearing any compression the tube might have suffered.
If the ice worked, I think you could ignore the ball-pounding step.
Sounds far too painful, anyway.

 

[iafirebuff]

Well, I cleaned up the mess tonight. If anyone wants the mounting plate (piece that attaches to the reflector and to the pole) or the arm you can have it for whatever it cost to ship. I kept those parts off the dish. LNB looked ok. I hate to see them go to waste

 

[stogie5150]

Well, I cleaned up the mess tonight. If anyone wants the mounting plate (piece that attaches to the reflector and to the pole) or the arm you can have it for whatever it cost to ship. I kept those parts off the dish. LNB looked ok. I hate to see them go to waste

PM sent.

 

[gabshere]

Sorry Tron & Keith , I didn't get back with you , got called into work

hopefully i will get time in the morning to attempt it and it does deal with 1/2 inch conduit, no bending. the bottom mounting bolt is drilled straight through, the lnb mounting bolt can be drilled at a angle or can be mounted with a hanger. will post pictures in the morning. actually the hanger method should also work for a multi lnb mount. i have three different size primestar dishes so will check the length of the arms.

this could be substituted with a square tubing and then the the lnbf's holder sold by the sponsors would then fit
pictures in the morning.

 

[jayelem]

Now I am going to have to mow again THe grass was dead before

LOL ........... Yep same with me , we finally got some rain too and I haven't cut the lawn for at least a month , more yard work means less FTA time.

Sorry for your P* loss .