Wingard crankup dish multi LNB mod.

[steve4810]

Wondering if anyone has successfully modded the Winegard single LNB crank up dish to either a dual or three LNB setup? Here is a link to its description page at camping world.

Winegard Crank-up Satellite Dish - Product - Camping World

I'm going to give it a shot at any rate but I'm too old to want to be a trail blazer. I'd rather follow some successful person's efforts. But if I have to be first, I will.

In that vain, if anybody has any insight I'd like to hear it. Most specifically getting the distance from lnb face to dish face correct. getting a hunk of the right channel welded on is dead easy but making still fold down and spring back in the right position could get problematic.

Any comments are more than welcome.

 

[supermod38]

the biggest problem will be having enough room for the LNB when in the down position.

 

[hudgreen]

Good luck I don't think it will work very well because that dish (reflector) is designed to focus one sat beam back to one lnb.
Multi sat dishes use a complex "compound curved" reflector that focus more then one beam back to the lnb's.
You would also have to pay attention to skew or tilt
That said you could get lucky and still collect enough signal for it to work but it wouldn't be very optimal
You really can fit a square peg into a round hole (with a sledge hammer)

 

[steve4810]

You would also have to pay attention to skew or tilt
That said you could get lucky and still collect enough signal for it to work but it wouldn't be very optimal

Your right that at best I expect it would just perform "OK". I mentioned the 3 LNB just not to limit the responses but I actually have no hope that one of those beasties would work, either for physical fit or skew problems. As for folding down, I don't think I need to worry if it is "mostly" down, say 60 or 70 or more degrees... as long as it IS pointed straight aft.

 

[navychop]

I'm with hudgreen. I really don't think this is going to work. Why not just get a ViP211K and the Tailgater? Then you don't have to aim, crank up and down, move your rig for a LoS, etc. Much easier and maybe cheaper.

 

[hudgreen]

Maybe you could find a second crank-up and point each one at its own sat.
Since they are all but obsolete you could probably find one cheap.
Call around to some rv retailers they could have one just sitting around.
Now installing it may be a pain, but you sound as if your handy enough to get it done.

 

[steve4810]

Maybe you could find a second crank-up and point each one at its own sat.
Since they are all but obsolete you could probably find one cheap.
Call around to some rv retailers they could have one just sitting around.
Now installing it may be a pain, but you sound as if your handy enough to get it done.

They are kind of hard to find. The first one I bought had to be shipped from Riverside county as there wasn't any in San Diego county. That got left on the I-10 after some dumb-a** didn't retract it. The next Camping World did have one in stock. But I've never seen one cheap. $218 at Camping World is as cheap as I've seen.

Your right, installing them isn't much problem but my roof is already pretty tight on space with swamp coolers and solar panels and the dish already there. Finding a spot where the ceiling crank is convenient could be tough.

But thanks for the idea. I hadn't thought of it and I will definitely survey the roof for a possible location. And in the mean time I'll email Claude Greiner to see what lnb types he stocks. I already have an old "two lnbs clamped together with a plastic bracket" thing but I don't remember if both still work.

Actually the more I think about it, I just might use two rectangles of plexi and epoxy two of the skinny lnbs Wingard uses together. Then I'd just have to remove their mountings and epoxy a single between the two. And I can get the spacing from the old style dual in my junk box.

Heck, this is getting easier by the minute.

 

[hudgreen]

I can get the spacing from the old style dual in my junk box.

Heck, this is getting easier by the minute.

The spacing between the lnb's will be determined by the focal point (length of arm)and spacing between satellites.
And you will still have to address the skew issue.
Do you understand what skew accomplishes?
Since its a round dish you could adjust (tilt) the lnb's themselves
Though If you travel very far (especially east west) you will need to re-adjust the skew
Unless you can figure out another way of doing it, you would have to get up on the roof to change the skew.
BTW what 2 or 3 sats are you going for?
I have been amusing 110 an 119.

 

[navychop]

Why do you not seem to be interested in the tailgater?

 

[steve4810]

The spacing between the lnb's will be determined by the focal point (length of arm)and spacing between satellites.
And you will still have to address the skew issue.
Do you understand what skew accomplishes?

I sure do. It has been my experience over the years of camping that with the 2 lnb dish that I never had to change skew. I installed my first 3 lnb on my house I had to spend a lot of time to get a satisfactory signal on three birds so as i said earlier I don't plan a 3lnb setup.

BTW what 2 or 3 sats are you going for?.

110 and 119. And really the only reason is two news channels I like are on different birds. Although it isn't all that tough getting up and tweaking the roof crank to move between birds the delay with the guide updates annoys the crap out of me. I just got spoiled with the 2 lnb dish i used for several years until it was stolen from my camp site.

 

[steve4810]

Why do you not seem to be interested in the tailgater?

I had a nice custom built mount-on-the-wall dish stolen and it wasn't worth a damn to the thief without one of the trailer mounted brackets he didn't bother with. And we always go to bed with the TV on so the Tailgater would be left outside all night and I think it would be very tempting to any crook wandering by while we slept. I know of a lot of folk having their generators stolen in the night and they are way heavier than the tailgater to carry off.

 

[navychop]

Gee. You're scaring me off RVing.

 

[harshness]

You would also have to pay attention to skew or tilt

This is a show stopper for anyone operating at locations more than a few dozen miles apart.

 

[steve4810]

This is a show stopper for anyone operating at locations more than a few dozen miles apart.

I agree that the 3 lnb dish is very finicky but in 5+ years of traveling with a 2 lnb dish I never adjusted skew in a camping territory a couple hundred miles wide and tall. However last summer we did a road trip back and forth between San Diego and Titusville, FL and I'm sure if I still had the 2 lnb rig I would have had to tweak skew more than two or three times.

 

[steve4810]

Gee. You're scaring me off RVing.

Key take away: Buy cheap outdoor furniture so your stuff is junkier than the crooks. Same with your grill. mine's a real POS so after five years sitting alongside the trailer day and nite I still have it to tote it home every trip. And a Honda generator? NEVER turn your back on one for even a few minutes. Where as a used Coleman geni with a cheap Chinese gas engine might die of old age(which isn't that far away the day you buy it) before it gets swiped.

 

[Jimmerinwi]

If I camp anywhere with a Honda generator I would sure as hell chain that sucker to my trailer. Every year go to hodag country music fest and chain it down. Doesn't take any more time to do it and always guaranteed to be there when we leave. Unless the crook has a pair of bolt cutters to cut the chain, which is unlikely.

Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys

 

[steve4810]

If I camp anywhere with a Honda generator I would sure as hell chain that sucker to my trailer. Every year go to hodag country music fest and chain it down. Doesn't take any more time to do it and always guaranteed to be there when we leave. Unless the crook has a pair of bolt cutters to cut the chain, which is unlikely.

I hear that.

I have a friend that works the annual airshow at Oshkosh, WI. Last year with several hundred people camped at the airfield crooks went through the area in the night and stole thirty or something genies including my friends Honda. Didn't hear about bolt cutters though.

He didn't give me any stats but I bet they passed on lugging off the Coleman and Harbor Freight junk and just took Hondas and Yamahas. Half the weight and last 10+ times as long.

 

[JW900]

Steve,

Have done this mod with Dish 500 duel LNB, skew is manual and one setting will get you accross 3 or 4 east to west without changing.

Mod looks factory and functions as orginial with complete fold down. It has been functioning for two years without a problem.
Believe triple LNB and dish would be to heavy for crank.
Pics and information if wanted.


JW

 

[steve4810]

Steve,

Have done this mod with Dish 500 duel LNB, skew is manual and one setting will get you accross 3 or 4 east to west without changing.

Mod looks factory and functions as orginial with complete fold down. It has been functioning for two years without a problem.
Believe triple LNB and dish would be to heavy for crank.
Pics and information if wanted.JW

Boy do I! I want pictures and all the details you care to share! After putting the thing out of my mind since the last post here, just 30mins ago I went surfing for a cheap little LNB like Winegard uses but the replacement isn't available very many places so it wasn't priced below forty-five bucks anywhere, where as I saw fifty or more used Dish500 110/119 lnbs for five cents on the dollar.

Steve

 

[JW900]

O.K Steve,
Up on the roof with a camera, the mod is very simple and inexpensive. Lot of mind burning in the begining with trials and errors but end result works.
Left out the word states in org post regarding skew.
Give me a few days to get back to you, very busy being retired and all. (LOL)

Jim