weekend project idea for large dish i purchased?

[outbackjack]

well i won on fleebay the databahn satellite for one dollar. i went today to see what i need to take it down. it is a monster! i measured it and it is 54 inches top to bottom and side to side. the label on it is patriot satellite as well as the lnb. is there any ideas besides the motor Anole recommended dgx 380? does anyone have any idea if patriot is a good use for fta? the dish is round like a larger version of direct tv dish. i'm hoping to use it for ku and possible c band dxing. is there a daul band lnb c/ku that works better than others. the receiver im am going to use is a traxis 3500. i will put some pics up tomorrow when i get it home.

 

[Anole]

nice haul:

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You know how many members would happily give a dollar for that dish?
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. . . everyone with a clue! -
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[jayelem]

Very Nice find , looked at the ebay ad ............. you scored a big dish for a dollar , good thing it was local pick-up .

 

[outbackjack]

i had no idea what i was getting by the listing but was grinning from ear to ear when i saw it i think they might have used it a year or so because it looks brand spanking new. im not sure what to expect once i get it going because info on them that i can find is minimal.

 

[outbackjack]

'Very Nice find , looked at the ebay ad ............. you scored a big dish for a dollar , good thing it was local pick-up .'

yes i was suprised no one else bid on it, i have the uhaul rented for tomorrow

 

[Anole]

let's add it up:

1). it's a 1.2 meter dish - score
2). it's a commercial molded dish - score
3). it's made by a big name US dish company - score
4). it only cost a dollar to buy, but probably $40 to rent the trailer/truck - still a score!
5). it comes with an LNB and matching feedhorn - score

Don't sweat the setup. It's a nice big Ku dish, and will blow the doors off your LNB.
Yea, it'll even do a little poor-man's C-band.
Consider SatelliteAV's GeoSatPro CK-1, from either his site or Sadoun.
Alternately, that DMX-741 should work.
Get a conical scalar for best results.

You will want to take the mount off the back side and weigh the reflector with LNB arms, to see if the DG380 motor can swing it, but I have hope.

 

[ghia]

That's an incredible score! Patriot dishes are nice.

 

[DishDigger]

Congrats on the $1 "win", that's a nice dish . Not the BEST for C-band, but a fun size and NOT a loss, there are signals out there, I'm in the process of finding a few myself with a 1.2 non-commercial dish (and the GEOprosat CK-1 C/Ku LNB).

Enjoy the hobby, I hope you'll get a lot out of it.........:up

 

[outbackjack]

new pics of lnb/feedhorn?

thanks guys for the comments. Anole thank you for the info on the dish and what i need to get for it. i went today but in maine i was on the wrong side of the mountain and of course there is rain. so i put off getting it until monday but i did get the lnb / feed horn. i am not sure if i can do anything with it or the bracket. i included some pics to see if you guys know what possibly can be salvaged for use. i know the one smaller white box says low noise block down converter but thats all i can find on it. it was previously used for internet service and i think that is what the larger white box was for.

 

[Anole]

The big white box with all the cooling fins is the transmitter.
The small white box looks like a standard single-polarity Ku LNB.
That long square connection between the LNB and the back of the feedhorn, probably contains a filter to keep the transmit signal out of the LNB.

You'll need pictures, and drawings, and measurements of exactly where the current feedhorn is located.
That location is very important. Put it back together, and shoot us a side view.

Here are some possible scenieros for using the dish:


Workable:
Aim the existing hardware at your favorite satellite, and be satisfied with only one polarity.
Probably should do this first, both to test out everything, and to get the dish aligned for one of the steps below.

Best bet:
Mount something like a DishNetwork FSS bandstacked LNB or an Invacom with a flange mount, to the existing feedhorn.
Double check, to see if the bolt pattern will mate up.

Second choice:
Put a standard LNB with its own feedhorn where the existing feedhorn is located.
Might not collect alll the signal, but should still do a good job.

edit: looks like the LNB holder is attached to the feedhorn.
That's good, because it establishes a fixed relationship between the feed and the dish!
Remove the filter/transmitter/LNB (whole thing) from the feedhorn, and measure the bolt pattern behind the LNB holder.

 

[Cadsulfide]

Yep, I picked up one of the same dishes last summer, but the reflector was trashed. Ended up using the mount on a DTN 1.2 . The feedhorn does not fit a DSS lnb, just a hair off on the bolt pattern. The Ku lnb is a single polarity Norsat, good as a sanity check as Anole said. Should be a sweet dish with a standard Ku lnb.

 

[outbackjack]

thanks for all the help Anole. i will get it together monday and take measurements with pics attached when i get her home

 

[outbackjack]

"feedhorn does not fit a DSS lnb, just a hair off on the bolt pattern." Cadsulfide was the bolt pattern close enough to drill a little larger hole? or is it not worth the headache?

 

[Anole]

Don't know about the bolt pattern, but I've seen comments on the forum, that all are not created equal.
So, checking is always wise.

The other thing I ran into with a DirecWay dish, is the feedhorn was threaded.
On Dish (and presumably Invacom) lashups, the LNB is threaded.
No way to bolt the DirecWay Feedhorn to the Dish LNB without drilling out one or the other.
.... and that's assuming the holes lined up!
(I'd never apply the vibration of drilling to an LNB)

What would I do with the dish/feedhorn you have?
I'd strongly consider adjusting the feedhorn to fit a regular LNB.
(yes, that might mean drilling it)
But, first I'd see if there is a better alternative.
Maybe one of our more experienced members will come up with a bolt-on solution.
I really hate to make permanent and irrevocable mods to metal, if there's another way.

So, if you can get two of the bolts to line up with no mods, I might consider that good enough!
edit: upon closer inspection of your pictures, the feedhorn flange is attached with screws and nuts.
So, it's not threaded!

 

[FTABman0]

Congratulations on your win and Patriot Dish score outbackjack!

Yes it would be nice to find $1 dishes, free is better but you could say you got it for free!

The price was just right! Great bid and find dude!

It should bring in some whopping KU signals!

Make you a nice little Mini Bud as well for c band!

Post some pictures of the dish for us later on when you get it BIS!

K e v i N

 

[Tron]

If the feedhorn isn't a proper C-120 flange, here is another idea that *may* work. Looks like a waveguide with two WR-75-flanged ports bolted to the feedhorn. The Rx LNB is on one port, the Tx on the other. You may be able to remove the Tx (transmitter) and replace it with another WR-75 Rx (receive) LNB for the other polarity. That will work if the ports are opposite polarity of each other. Then combine both LNB outputs into a multiswitch.

 

[outbackjack]

thanks for all the feedback. i just got back from terminator salvation, great movie (but thats for the other section of satguys). i will post pics on monday of the sat and the lnb hooked up to it with the measurements. i am finally getting into fta after a long hiatus from divorce and such. im hoping that sd signals will still be there once i get this beauty all together. i am still going for the traxis 3500 or the fortec classic. i am trying to get all this going at the smallest price (no work, no unemployment blah blah). but i really want to say that i have become a big fan of this board for the past couple years and will post the pics on monday. everybody have a great weekend.

 

[Cadsulfide]

"feedhorn does not fit a DSS lnb, just a hair off on the bolt pattern." Cadsulfide was the bolt pattern close enough to drill a little larger hole? or is it not worth the headache?

I thought of doing that, but it looked as though I might have trouble getting it to seal against water. And, at the time I had several redheads.

The LNB mount should take a 40mm standard LNB with no trouble. The Norsat does bolt up to the 90 where the transmitter is now, I still have my old one if you want it, single polarity.

 

[outbackjack]

new pics of dish i picked up today

okay here are the pics of the dish i went to get. total cost was 1 dollar ebay, 61 dollars uhual , 7 dollars for gas ......finally will be doing fta = priceless. it only took me 20 min for disassemble which i was real pleased with. Cadsulfide thank you for the offer. if it looks like i might be able to use it from the pics then yes i would be interested in it. i'm not sure because i'm a newbee to this if i can use the feedhorn or not (what do you think Anole?). the angle seems to go to the center of the dish. i measured it and it is between 32 - 33 inches from the center of the dish to the feedhorn. it also came with viasat surfbeam modem but have no use for it.

 

[amc1]

okay here are the pics of the dish i went to get. total cost was 1 dollar ebay, 61 dollars uhual , 7 dollars for gas ......finally will be doing fta = priceless. it only took me 20 min for disassemble which i was real pleased with. Cadsulfide thank you for the offer. if it looks like i might be able to use it from the pics then yes i would be interested in it. i'm not sure because i'm a newbee to this if i can use the feedhorn or not (what do you think Anole?). the angle seems to go to the center of the dish. i measured it and it is between 32 - 33 inches from the center of the dish to the feedhorn. it also came with viasat surfbeam modem but have no use for it.

thats is 1 sweet dish bro ,keeps us up on how you make out.:up