Thinking About Putting My 12' BUD Back to Work-Advice?

[arcticracer]

Hey guys, thinking about getting an FTA receiver and refurbishing my old 12' Paraclipse copy dish. It's the "Bud From Hell" that I have posted photos of here in the past. The one on a 20 something foot pole with a combination service platform/Moose stand.

My last use of C band was with my old Motorola analog receiver. The dish has a Chaparral C band feed with servo, and single LNB, don't even recall what it was probably about 30 degrees. It has not been used in close to 10 years, and I was having trouble with the servo then.

I do not have any experience with FTA receivers at all, and am not really interested in any subscription services since I have Dish and Shaw Direct for that. Mostly interested in what I can do with FTA. I have an 18" actuator that is more than good enough to reach everything available from my location in Alaska.

I've read that receivers are scarce that have the ability to operate the Polarator servo, and most are using a dual LNBF or C band dual feed with 2 LNB's. I don't think I want to try a dual band setup, and will concentrate on a no compromise optimized C band setup. I can use my old receiver to move the dish, or if that is too cumbersome I can get a new controller. I will probably get rid of the buttonhook feed and go with a quad arm setup too.

Fire away with your ideas!

 

[Lone Gunman]

Openbox S9 or S10, DMX-741S LNBF and either use your old analog receiver to move the dish or buy a Vbox X to do that. This stuff isn't a lot of money (less than $175 for the receiver and LNBF) and will get you "most" of the stuff that's worth watching. FYI, I watched ALL the MLB playoffs and the series on backhaul feeds with close to zero commercials! There's other stuff up there also depending on what "trips your trigger".

And another FYI, if you file the numbers off the sides of that DMX LNBF it will probably fit in your button hook clamp just fine. Then all you need to do is put 3 guy-wires on it to stabilize it and you're done.

 

[arcticracer]

Do you think the DMX-741S is as good (or close) as a dual feed with 2 LNB's?

 

[Lone Gunman]

I swapped out a Corotor II with Norsat LNBs for a DMX-741S and didn't see enough signal loss to make me think that was a mistake. Did it loose any? Yes but as I said, there's more on the plus side than the negative. One thing about the DMX is that the FTA receiver will switch between C and Ku along with switching polarity. Oh, and one advantage of the Vbox X dish controllers is that you can setup that S9/S10 receiver to automatically move that dish to preset locations/satellites. My first blind scan of all the satellites I have stored in my S9 was done automatically while I was gone to watch my grandsons play baseball. I like that feature. ;-) Oh, and if you decide to add a Vbox X controller, they are available on fleabay for around $35 and sometimes less. I own 3 of those.

 

[brex2001]

Paraclipse pdfs

Found some stuff that you maybe could use, including the retrofit instructions for buttonhook to quad leg for Paraclipse dishes.
I would think up there in the arctic you'd want something more substantial than guy wire. Imagine now is when you're seeing a lot of metal fractures in anything metal that's exposed.

 

[arcticracer]

Good Reading

Thanks brex2001, a little bit of nostalgia there. My dish is actually a Paraclipse copy, made by a company from Michigan that was called UP Superior (as in Upper Peninsula). It's a good dish, my family had a Satellite TV business and this was the last brand we used before getting out of the business about 1987, when I moved to Alaska. I brought this one with me in a box. Not as good as a Paraclipse but nothing else was either.

I never did like buttonhooks, but they came with them so oh well. Fairbanks is what they call Sub Arctic, we don't get any wind in the winter like the coast. Cold as h*** yes but no wind. Haven't really had any trouble with metal fatigue.

 

[Kallesatman]

How about a link to your photo album. I would like to see it. I've been to Alaska, like Fairbanks and the hotel that I stayed at is now burnt down, Anchorage, Prudhoe Bay ( ARCO and RM Peterson Co. ) straightend out their lower 48 Communications system, Galena, Valdez and Sitka; absolutely fell in love with that part of the world. Still I prefer to stay in Denver Colorado.
K0ELE, Karl
reply via e-mail pls grafx at attglobal dot net

 

[arcticracer]

Album

Hi Karl-

You should be able to click on my user name arcticracer on one of the posts, and go to my profile where the album is located. Don't blame you to prefer being in Denver, after all these years the winters are getting old for me. When I retire in a few years I will definately be leaving during the winter. I've never found anything that pays like Alaska though and I know you would agree!

KL7V

 

[stecle]

Arcticracer I never get tired of looking at the great pictures that you uploaded. I have got a 24 inch Von Weise arm kicking around that you can have for the shipping if your 18 won't do the job on that 12 footer. Living in the coldest city in Canada I have great respect for what you do.

Steve

 

[toucan-man]

Living in the coldest city in Canada I have great respect for what you do.
Steve

You live in Nain, Labrador? Dawson, YT? Arviat, Nunavut? Which coldest city do you live in? Canada has a vast supply of them...

 

[Lone Gunman]

Wow, and here I am bitching about the winters here in Virginia? ;-)

I'd still try the guy wires to see how it works as it's not much work involved and if it doesn't work, then you won't have much time or money in that effort. ;-)

 

[arcticracer]

Canadian Cold

Steve,

Thanks for the offer, first I have to find out if my 18" actuator will even work. It could be seized up good. I found an 18" on a Paraclipse type antenna will provide ample travel from the eastern horizon to just past due south, the farthest satellite available.

When I used to install these in Oregon the same situation applied, 18" was plenty. In fact the 24" units were dangerous, cause if you go too far to the west the dish will flop over and you destroy the actuator, I did it once. An 18" will run out of travel just past the last western bird. This was well before the first H-H units came out.

If it warms up some say to 20 or so, I think I will try to get up to the dish with my longest ladder, and start checking things out. Update the feed, add quad arms in favor of the buttonhook, check out the actuator and all that.

I'm glad you like the photos I feel like they are of interest as long as I don't go too far off topic, after all everything at work is C band!!!

 

[arcticracer]

I am curious too what town he is in.... The canadian north is the only place than can compete with Alaska for cold. BTW, Fairbanks set a new record low for yesterday of -35F. It was colder last night but no record about -37.

 

[Cham]

I am curious too what town he is in.... The canadian north is the only place than can compete with Alaska for cold. BTW, Fairbanks set a new record low for yesterday of -35F. It was colder last night but no record about -37.

No antenna works better than one put up on the coldest day of the year... :|
-gfm.

 

[stecle]

No antenna works better than one put up on the coldest day of the year... :|
-gfm.

Cham knows exactly what I am talking about. According to Wikipedia, Winnipeg is the coldest city in the world (the key word being city).

I ran into a guy at the Satellite show in Vegas who used to install dishes in the NWT back in the day. He told me that he used to set up a big army tent which he heated and did the complete install nice and warm.

Steve