Worth the effort?

[Dee_Ann]

Pardon my msg, I'm on my iPhone and I just had my nails done.

I am spending the week in the country with friends.
We were out shopping and I saw an enormous dish. As in Aricebo II.

It appears to be broken and unused.
Should I knock on the door and inquire or is this too big??

I could get help.

Aw poo. I can't upload a pic from my iPhone. Will try to add one tomorrow from a pc.

I would estimate it's 16 foot and it's solid, NOT metal.
Maybe I can get better pics with my Cannon tomorrow.
Nite nite.

 

[Blindowl1234]

Dee Ann how you gonna haul a dish that big home? Wonder what it would weigh? I'll let someone else answer the important questions that you asked.... 8.5 foot was big enough for me!
Blind

 

[1inabillion]

Dee Ann how you gonna haul a dish that big home? Wonder what it would weigh? I'll let someone else answer the important questions that you asked.... 8.5 foot was big enough for me!
Blind

Yeah 8 to 10 foot is good for the lower 48. 16 foot would be great for the north of nome AK. and the like :up

 

[Dee_Ann]

How would I move it? I have no clue. My first, best guess is dad and his trailer.
He has a trailer he can put cars on. Maybe the thing comes apart?
Someone moved it there in the first place, somehow.

Well, I borrowed my friend's laptop so I could post a picture of it, it's not a great pic, came from my iphone. I'll try to get over there with my fancy Cannon and get a good picture.

 

[crackt]

How would I move it? I have no clue. My first, best guess is dad and his trailer.
He has a trailer he can put cars on. Maybe the thing comes apart?
Someone moved it there in the first place, somehow.

Well, I borrowed my friend's laptop so I could post a picture of it, it's not a great pic, came from my iphone. I'll try to get over there with my fancy Cannon and get a good picture.

from the pic it looks like a 10 ft spun aluminum. i hauled one on a truck no probs. and its a wicked dish. good find.

crackt out,

 

[truckracer]

spun aluminum one piece dishes perform great on ku if its not warped.

 

[Anole]

Yes, please... get good pix both front 'n rear.
Get the actual size.
It does look like a 10' spun aluminum (I took some measurements from your picture, and agree with Crackt)
We've had members on the forum with similar ones.

If it's fiberglass in that size, it is probably too heavy and too much trouble, but without knowing more it's hard to say.

My 8½ foot spun aluminum solid dish -can- be lifted by two people, but three makes it a lot easier.
My 8 foot spun aluminum -perforated- dish is easily carried by two people!
See my signature for how I moved them.
May not apply to yours, but ya might get useful ideas.

 

[Dee_Ann]

we went by again today and I got some good pics from a few hundred feet away.

Me and my friend are going to go ring their bell and inquire about it.
He'll probably think we're crazy, two women asking about such an enormous machine like that.

Anyway, here's some much better pics. It appears to be bolted together like pie pieces, I think.

That's all I can figure out about it, it looks very different from the one the ex and I had way back, it was like black screens you could see through. This one is solid.

Ok, here we go..

 

[1inabillion]

Well it will break down easy to handle that way. looks to be usable to me.
jmo

 

[Greg Mueller]

Looks like fiberglass

 

[Anole]

Well, it's sure not spun-anything.
But, I believe it's metal.

Hard to see in the pictures - I only noticed one joint.
Does it come apart into just two pieces?
I thought those usually broke down into four identical segments.

And it appears to be run all the way to the east stop (or it may be broken).

I'd say you need input from some of our members with more experience with dishes like this one.

 

[zamar23]

Dee,

Just ask the owner, what's wrong with the dish, where is its pole, can it be motorized, what its weight, does it still able to turn (not much rust), what actuator size will you need, and if he has old one, etc. Sure, you can get it for free, but you'll need to make an educated decision first.

 

[Dee_Ann]

Dee,

Just ask the owner, what's wrong with the dish, where is its pole, can it be motorized, what its weight, does it still able to turn (not much rust), what actuator size will you need, and if he has old one, etc. Sure, you can get it for free, but you'll need to make an educated decision first.

I am back from my visit. Well, we didn't get a chance to go by the place again, we were too busy shopping. Just not enough hours in the day to hit all the stores in one day. Just can't do it. Dear Goddess how I love shopping!

Well, from what I could see on that beastie dish, it is sitting on a pole and it looks like there are a few large motors on the back of it.

I am quite certain that it is in four quarters like pie pieces all bolted together.
It's some sort of plastic looking material, most definitely NOT made of metal.
The metal stuff on the back of it is BIG and I'm betting, very heavy.
I know there is no way I can lift any of the stuff.
And there would be no way I could install it either. Much less transport it.
My friend and her husband said they would help and I could probably also get my dad to help too. My friend and I can use wrenches and take things apart and let the men carry the heavy stuff I guess. Or maybe just be in the way.

My friend's husband said to forget getting the pole, he said it's probably 6 feet in the ground with a ton or more of cement on it. He said just buy a new pole and start over, leave the old one behind in the ground. He said it would be impossible to pull it up. I don't doubt him. Sounds like a good plan to me.

Well, for now it's all on hold for awhile until next time I go visit with my friend, we'll go see the people then and find out more. It's probably insane to even consider this idea in the first place.