weekend project idea for large dish i purchased?
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a dish that size you might be able to get some C-Band on there...otherwise it will be a great KU dish 
i think its 3 inch. it was on a fence post pole when i disassembled it. i'm trying to figure how to set the lat. im used to the pizza dish and not one that has the long screw and bolts. i will prob use ws internationals c/ku lnb and feedhorn to try to get both bands. how did you set the latitude with the long screw? or does the motor take care of that?
no motor on mine
honestly with mine I tried to use an angle finder but didnt know where to put it. I just slapped a KU Band LNB on mine and started aiming, raising and lowering the elevation until I got something...but then again I've been doing this for 5 1/2 years so its a little easier to eyeball it and use a receiver
If I remember right, the angle finder just went on the arm of the dish (that holds the LNB to) and it was close
honestly with mine I tried to use an angle finder but didnt know where to put it. I just slapped a KU Band LNB on mine and started aiming, raising and lowering the elevation until I got something...but then again I've been doing this for 5 1/2 years so its a little easier to eyeball it and use a receiver
If I remember right, the angle finder just went on the arm of the dish (that holds the LNB to) and it was close
sounds good. i will try the angle finder on it. i like figuring things out. maine is supposed to have nice weather this week (outside of 2 days) so it will give me something to do
maine is supposed to have nice weather this week (outside of 2 days) so it will give me something to do
Maine? So your dish is a New England Patriot, eh?
I found that SAME Patriot dish and asked about it, here in Arizona. It was used, as has been said, for TX/RX but there was no feedhorn on it. That had been sent back to (whomever) so you scored a MAJOR plus with the LNB holder. I had to make one from plumbers strap.
The large bolt on the back is how you'll raise and lower the dish for elevation. And I measured the pole mine was on when I picked it up, 2 7/8" was hard to find but a local pipe store had it, cost $5.96 per foot.
It took two of us to lift it off the old pole, way too heavy for a motor that I could afford, to I pointed it at G18, 123W. It was the first of two dishes I scored on in one week.
Go to dishfinder (dot) com and find the location of the dish you want to aim at, set the direction from there, then start raising and lowering the dish in that general vicinity, you'll find what you're looking for in no time. It would help if you have one of those small (under $20 Rat Shack) signal locators (not sure of the exact name) and once you lock on to a sig, set the two nuts on that long bolt. Now you'll be in the ball park.
I found 123 and 97 pretty quick that way.
Being as I AM from Boston, mine IS a New England Patriot here in Arizona.
Photto
The large bolt on the back is how you'll raise and lower the dish for elevation. And I measured the pole mine was on when I picked it up, 2 7/8" was hard to find but a local pipe store had it, cost $5.96 per foot.
It took two of us to lift it off the old pole, way too heavy for a motor that I could afford, to I pointed it at G18, 123W. It was the first of two dishes I scored on in one week.
Go to dishfinder (dot) com and find the location of the dish you want to aim at, set the direction from there, then start raising and lowering the dish in that general vicinity, you'll find what you're looking for in no time. It would help if you have one of those small (under $20 Rat Shack) signal locators (not sure of the exact name) and once you lock on to a sig, set the two nuts on that long bolt. Now you'll be in the ball park.
I found 123 and 97 pretty quick that way.
Being as I AM from Boston, mine IS a New England Patriot here in Arizona.
Photto
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yes it is a official new england patriots dish. thank you photoman for the info, i will give it a try once i get my receiver. photoman since you have one do you think that it can be motorized with a sg6000? i know nothing about actuators and was hoping to go with the 6000 motor if possible. one last ques, since the dish is so large how far does it need to be from trees to get a line of sight (same as a pizzadish)? thanks for all the help you guys helping me get started.
. thank you photoman for the info, i will give it a try once i get my receiver. photoman since you have one do you think that it can be motorized with a sg6000? i know nothing about actuators and was hoping to go with the 6000 motor if possible. one last ques, since the dish is so large how far does it need to be from trees to get a line of sight (same as a pizzadish)? thanks for all the help you guys helping me get started.line of site is the same regardless...I noticed my 1.2m was higher up than the Primestar dish (due to the mast length) so the LOS was technically a "little better" than the P*
yes it is a official new england patriots dish
First, it's "Phottoman" (or Photto, if you prefer) with two "T's", and I have no idea if any motor will turn this dish. It weighs as much or more than the Wineguard I just finally put up. I am NOT well versed in motors so some one else will have to answer that for you. Looking at the back of my dish, I don't even see how or where to add a motor or actuator without doing some major modifications.
I didn't weigh this when it was on the ground, but it is WELL into 80- 100 pounds.
As for height, I bought a 7' length of pole, sank it 3' in the ground, so the top of the pole is 4' high. That put the LNB also at or close to 4' high, VERY convenient and easy for working on and manually turning if need be, though I bought a very inexpensive LNBF on eBay (about $9 as I recall including shipping).
I'm using a Conaxsat DUO, and that seems to be working out pretty good, though it didn't come with all the locations and sat references I want, I am still struggling with ChannelMaster to add sats. I finally gave up and am using "Newsat" and blind scanning when I find a possible location or signal worth chasing.
I mention the difference in my name because although I have been using this name since the VERY early days of Internet, I believe (though I may be wrong) there IS a "photoman1" on this forum (or on another that I belong too).
Sorry about that.
Photto
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sorry about the mis-spelling Phottoman. i think i am going to use the c/ku combo from ws international and modify the L bracket to hold it. i am also tinkering with removing the lat screw on the back and installing (mod) sg600 into the L bracket or even attaching a pole (mod) to the back of the L bracket and using the motor attached to that. my ques i guess resides with if the motor does the lat and elevation adjustments. if i can hillbilly rig (yes i'm orig southern boy) all that together and get it to work i will have to post pics when its done.
Gosh, OutBackJack, I really hope you WILL take pictures, or at the very least, PM me as you do this project. I for one will be VERY interested in how you accomplish a motor add-on to this dish.
PS, a friend of mine I mentioned in another thread is in the business of making vinyl lables, and I think I'm going to have to ask hime to make me a "New England Patriots" sticker for this dish. Once done, I'll post pictures.
Photto
(Added much later: I talked to my friend today, he's going to make me that NEPatriots label and when it's on there, I'll post pictures ... thing good thoughts guys (and gals))
PS, a friend of mine I mentioned in another thread is in the business of making vinyl lables, and I think I'm going to have to ask hime to make me a "New England Patriots" sticker for this dish. Once done, I'll post pictures.
Photto
(Added much later: I talked to my friend today, he's going to make me that NEPatriots label and when it's on there, I'll post pictures ... thing good thoughts guys (and gals))
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Photto i def will post some pics when i get her going. and i would like to see that sticker when its on there.
I was up late last night, well, for me at least. I have been having a lot of trouble with my HH90 motor, so I decided to put some of the info gathered here to work, and start combining dishes into a usable package. Sorry there aren't any pictures yet, but there will be, it was well after dark last night when I finished. But here's what I accomplished (in the dark).
Got the BUD (10' Winegard) aimed at Galaxie 16, 99.0W, scanned and wonderful pictures on my DUO (Conaxsat), diseqc port one, found and loaded NASA on d*, port two, took the 30" motor dish off the motor and is now stationary looking at Galaxie 3, 95.0W for History and Bio, this is shared on port three with the Patriot through an SW21, and the Patriot is on 123W for ... well ... for everything ON 123.
I still have an open port on the switch, and there is a strong possibility of another 30" dish moving to my yard today or next week, from an abandoned property not far from home. I talked to the Real Estate Investors yesterday on the phone. They told me that there is a "deal in the works" and if the lady looking to buy the property doesn't show up today to sign the papers, I can have the dish (looks like a DirectWay with old LNB), and if she DOES show up, they will give her my number and have her call me for the removal of said dish.
I "had" things set up to receive WSTV, but set the DUO back to Factory Default and lost that sat from my lineup on the DUO. I have been struggling mightily with Channel Master to add that sat, but still haven't figured out how to do that (thanks, el bandido, for all your help, I think I am beyond help on this one). Once that is accomplished, I have yet another 10' dish to bring over here. My sister has a BEAUTIFUL dish in her yard that she said I could have, and I think I can SW21 that with the existing Winegard to get another C Band sat. Neither big dish as of now is movable, though both have actuators, but I can't afford anything to move them with. Looking towards Christmas and maybe ol' Saint Nick will find a GBox to deliver here, dunno yet. (Is THAT 'planning ahead' or what?)
All in all, I am very happy about what I got done yesterday.
And I talked to my friend yesterday, he is very busy right now with a whole new order that he is working on, but by Friday he'll have the New England Patriots Sticker made for me. I'll get pictures of THAT when it is on the dish.
I'll come back to this thread later this evening after work and add pictures of the Dish Grove (not a "Farm" and more than a "Garden")
Photto
Got the BUD (10' Winegard) aimed at Galaxie 16, 99.0W, scanned and wonderful pictures on my DUO (Conaxsat), diseqc port one, found and loaded NASA on d*, port two, took the 30" motor dish off the motor and is now stationary looking at Galaxie 3, 95.0W for History and Bio, this is shared on port three with the Patriot through an SW21, and the Patriot is on 123W for ... well ... for everything ON 123.
I still have an open port on the switch, and there is a strong possibility of another 30" dish moving to my yard today or next week, from an abandoned property not far from home. I talked to the Real Estate Investors yesterday on the phone. They told me that there is a "deal in the works" and if the lady looking to buy the property doesn't show up today to sign the papers, I can have the dish (looks like a DirectWay with old LNB), and if she DOES show up, they will give her my number and have her call me for the removal of said dish.
I "had" things set up to receive WSTV, but set the DUO back to Factory Default and lost that sat from my lineup on the DUO. I have been struggling mightily with Channel Master to add that sat, but still haven't figured out how to do that (thanks, el bandido, for all your help, I think I am beyond help on this one). Once that is accomplished, I have yet another 10' dish to bring over here. My sister has a BEAUTIFUL dish in her yard that she said I could have, and I think I can SW21 that with the existing Winegard to get another C Band sat. Neither big dish as of now is movable, though both have actuators, but I can't afford anything to move them with. Looking towards Christmas and maybe ol' Saint Nick will find a GBox to deliver here, dunno yet. (Is THAT 'planning ahead' or what?)
All in all, I am very happy about what I got done yesterday.
And I talked to my friend yesterday, he is very busy right now with a whole new order that he is working on, but by Friday he'll have the New England Patriots Sticker made for me. I'll get pictures of THAT when it is on the dish.
I'll come back to this thread later this evening after work and add pictures of the Dish Grove (not a "Farm" and more than a "Garden")
Photto
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sounds good. i will try the angle finder on it. i like figuring things out. maine is supposed to have nice weather this week (outside of 2 days) so it will give me something to do
I had mentioned one of the small sat finders, and I have an angle finder, neither did me much good last night. I had a heck of a time finding where to place the angle finder, and nothing I could do would give me a usable angle to help locate 123 W.
I finally connected a coax to the tv output on the back of the DUO, fed cable and an extension out the window (got tired of running back and forth to look at the TV) and it took about three minutes to find 123. The problem I was having was the sats close to 123 are much stronger, and I kept winding up there instead of where I wanted to be.
I mention this because in my last post I mentioned aiming the Patriot at 123, I must have struggled with that one sat for well over an hour. I even tried looking for ANY sat East of me, and slowly moving the dish West, raising then lowering the dish as I manualy moved the dish West. That didn't work, but when I connected the small portable, watching the sig meter on that, as I said it only took a few minutes.
Once you mount the Patriot, add your LNB, no matter what else you try, you can always fall back on this medthod. Take a TV out to the site (how many times have I read that?) and look for the sat you want that way.
Just my two cents.
Photto
Ice, you may be interested in this, I seem to have similar problems you mentioned above.
Here are pictures of the angle finder attached to the Patriot. The picture quality may not be the best, they were taken with my phone, a Centro.
I tried and tried but never could make out where to get the angle I was looking for, 48.3 degrees.
That makes me wonder, on the other dishes I have, when I applied the called for degree of tilt, what AM I measuring, is it the angle of the dish, or the angle of the OUTPUT of the dish?
Currious minds NEED to know.
Photto
pic 1 reading from the back of the dish on the flat part of the mount that moves as the dish is ellivated.
pic 2 reading from the arm on the front of the dish that holds the LNBF
pic 3 reading from the opposite side of the back of the dish, seems to be the same angle
pic 4 measured from the outter center of the dish.
Here are pictures of the angle finder attached to the Patriot. The picture quality may not be the best, they were taken with my phone, a Centro.
I tried and tried but never could make out where to get the angle I was looking for, 48.3 degrees.
That makes me wonder, on the other dishes I have, when I applied the called for degree of tilt, what AM I measuring, is it the angle of the dish, or the angle of the OUTPUT of the dish?
Currious minds NEED to know.
Photto
pic 1 reading from the back of the dish on the flat part of the mount that moves as the dish is ellivated.
pic 2 reading from the arm on the front of the dish that holds the LNBF
pic 3 reading from the opposite side of the back of the dish, seems to be the same angle
pic 4 measured from the outter center of the dish.
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More Pictures
Here are the pictures of the "grove" and the attached LNBF on the Patriot.
I know there is still a lot of clean up work to be done, but there are only so many hours in my day, and I won't be off again to work on this till Tuesday. I have lots of things to change, weatherproofing included, and apply smaller bolts to the jury rigged LNBF holder, but it WILL get done.
Photto
pic1 The Cheta, using 3 ports of the four. port one is from 10' BUD, 2 is D* pair, used for NASA only, 3 is from SW21 using Patriot in sw21 port one, 30" formally motorized dish in sw21 port two.
pic2 all four dishes
pic 3 and 4 cheap LNBF used on Patriot using Carpenters Strap for mounting
pic5 self explanitory
pic6 THE FIRST BUD (stay tuned, there is at least one more to come, things will change)
pic7 The Label on the Winegard
Here are the pictures of the "grove" and the attached LNBF on the Patriot.
I know there is still a lot of clean up work to be done, but there are only so many hours in my day, and I won't be off again to work on this till Tuesday. I have lots of things to change, weatherproofing included, and apply smaller bolts to the jury rigged LNBF holder, but it WILL get done.
Photto
pic1 The Cheta, using 3 ports of the four. port one is from 10' BUD, 2 is D* pair, used for NASA only, 3 is from SW21 using Patriot in sw21 port one, 30" formally motorized dish in sw21 port two.
pic2 all four dishes
pic 3 and 4 cheap LNBF used on Patriot using Carpenters Strap for mounting
pic5 self explanitory
pic6 THE FIRST BUD (stay tuned, there is at least one more to come, things will change)
pic7 The Label on the Winegard
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If it is ya' better tighten it down real good then, so it doesn't turn, and look at someone elses playbook...err...uh....satellite!Maine? So your dish is a New England Patriot, eh?
Photto love the dish farm pics. i wish i could put that many up (my neighbors might show up with torches if i did. well in the spirit of watching orange county choppers i went into the garage and got out the mallet and the saw zaw. i took two old pizza dishes and cut the lat brackets so i could double them to replace the screw on the back of the patriot. the latitude plates line up pretty close when i double them; and used a marker to make them accurate for the degree positions. now i am going to get a plate to mount them to and will be able to attach a motor from the top. all this given that i can mount them securely but they are as tough as the original plates attached to the patriot. i will try to get this all together this week with pics. i am fortunate to have outside outlets so i can bring the tv out to dial it in. the dish weighs a lot less without the original setup so hopefully the sg 6000 can turn it. this all given that i make it in time for the hd transition to catch a channel before it changes over.
. well in the spirit of watching orange county choppers i went into the garage and got out the mallet and the saw zaw. i took two old pizza dishes and cut the lat brackets so i could double them to replace the screw on the back of the patriot. the latitude plates line up pretty close when i double them; and used a marker to make them accurate for the degree positions. now i am going to get a plate to mount them to and will be able to attach a motor from the top. all this given that i can mount them securely but they are as tough as the original plates attached to the patriot. i will try to get this all together this week with pics. i am fortunate to have outside outlets so i can bring the tv out to dial it in. the dish weighs a lot less without the original setup so hopefully the sg 6000 can turn it. this all given that i make it in time for the hd transition to catch a channel before it changes over.- Status
