Well, CRUD, I missed out

[bmcniel]

I was on my way to work this morning when my eye caught something, or to be exact, the lack of something. There is a convenience store near work and I pass it every day for the past 12 years. The store has had 2 dishes on its roof for ages and one of them was interesting.....until this morning. It was missing. I immediately slammed on the brakes and turned into the parking lot (yeah, crazy behavior, happens sometimes). I drove around the building and didn't see the beauty on the ground anywhere so I went inside and asked where it went. After some really strange looks from the employees, they said "oh yea, that was Exxon's dish, they came and got it yesterday". Needless to say I was heartbroken to think I would never be able to track it down. I'm sure the distributor just chucked it, probably had dozens lying around since everyone uses the internet these days.

Anyway, this dish *looked* to be about 5 foot wide by 3 foot tall, it was rectangular and was DEEP. I would say it was around 12 inches deep. It had an offset feed and was obviously a 2-way, it was adorned with a huge lnb-amp assembly. I have never seen one like it anywhere else around here. That would have made a tasty Ku dish, not only for the size of it but it was so odd, it really looked quality made.

Oh well, I guess it wsn't meant to be. I wish now I would have taken a photo.

 

[Tron]

This should be in a book titled "You know you're a SatelliteGuy when..."

Been there, done that myself. Have yet to cause an accident while slamming on the brakes, knock on wood...

 

[Dishman Dan]

This should be in a book titled "You know you're a SatelliteGuy when..."

Or a new thread!

You know you're a SatelliteGuy when...

You drive real slow gawking and drooling over a dish and not realizing that some babe in a bikini is out tanning and is getting ready to call the police!

 

[guacharaca]

I do not wait until it is gone. I go in and tell them how that weight on their roof is not good for their rafters especially after a heavy snowfall. Let me do you a favor by taking it away for you at no charge. They then ask what I will do with it and I mention something about a hobby watching news anchors pick their noses before they do a "take".

You know you are a SatelliteGuy when you get excited and take the attached photo while on vacation in Colombia. I even asked them if they would let me in the gate to take a better photo of their dish farm.

 

[T4Runner]

My current job takes me past a huge C Band sitting at the end of what must be a 30ft pole alongside an old brick building. I doubt the dish is being used. Never stopped and asked... yet... Then there is the one with the actuator unbolted and sitting flopped with no LNB on it along the hiwy that's been there for years.... I keep telling myself I'll stop and ask about that one... and then there's the one sitting alongside a 50yr old house pointed due West at nothing above a two story roof that I see once a week.

We all have the fever or we wouldn't be here...

 

[cyberham]

...I even asked them if they would let me in the gate to take a better photo of their dish farm...

1992....Nuku'alofa, Tonga....saw a beautiful antenna on a tall tower on the Friendly Island...interviewed by the local Mormon church representative who owned the antenna....considered joining a church just to use the antenna (almost!)...it was a ham radio antenna, not a dish, but the feeling's the same.

 

[Bob2011]

I see those square dishes on Mobil stations up in this part of the country so it must be a company wide purchase decision. Often there are two other regular offset dishes on the roof which I guess are for credit card processing and lottery tickets.

 

[bmcniel]

Well Bob2011, If you saw one on the Mobil station, I'm sure we're looking at the same one (Exxon-Mobil and all....). Anyway, what did you think of it? Is it me or is it begging to be in a backyard somewhere.

 

[stogie5150]

That's how I got my Prodelin, you have to be constantly aware and not scared to ASK. When I asked the demo operator about getting the dish he was looking at me like I was nuts...when I mentioned there might be 50 bucks in it for him, he was all for it then...LOL... I got WAY more than 50 bucks worth of use out of it already and I haven't had it for 6 months yet.

 

[sergei]

That's how I got my Prodelin, you have to be constantly aware and not scared to ASK. When I asked the demo operator about getting the dish he was looking at me like I was nuts...when I mentioned there might be 50 bucks in it for him, he was all for it then...LOL... I got WAY more than 50 bucks worth of use out of it already and I haven't had it for 6 months yet.

If I see something I can use then I don't mess around about not asking if I can have it. That's how I've got all three of my 1.2M Prodelin dishes. All they can do is say "NO" and I don't even offer any money. Tonight I when back with my Milwaukee Recip saw and a couple of batteries and cut down the pole, nothing goes to waste, so tomorrow I'll be able to set the pole and hopefully by Sunday have the dish mounted.

 

[Bob2011]

Well Bob2011, If you saw one on the Mobil station, I'm sure we're looking at the same one (Exxon-Mobil and all....). Anyway, what did you think of it? Is it me or is it begging to be in a backyard somewhere.

Well I grabbed pics of two stations with that dish from Bing Maps to see if we are talking about the same dish. The dish will probably perform like a round dish of the same height but the width will likely help with interference from transponders on the same frequencies on neighboring satellites. Hopefully someone with more experience can chime in here on this.

 

[bmcniel]

Ahhh, yes, thats the one. Your photos show quite a bit more focal doo-dads than the one I saw.