Today as I was driving home I glanced down a side street and just happened to see this dish right out in the front yard. As you can see, the lowermost five panels are badly damaged and what is worse, it looks like the damage was deliberate. It's not being used because the wires are going nowhere, so I'm tempted to walk up to the house and ask if they would like to have it removed from their front yard, but with all the damage I wonder if it would even be usable, or if there is some way to repair the damaged panels. I would not pay anything for a dish in this bad shape but if they were willing to give it to me, do you guys think it would even be worth taking, or would it be pretty useless with all that damage?
Would this dish be worth rescuing if I can get it?
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Unless the parabolic frame is out of whack that dish could be very functional, especially if it is a 10 footer.
My most-used BUD is not in a lot better shape than that one appears to be, and it works well.
I would grab it just for the pole, polar mount and actuator, if nothing else.
My most-used BUD is not in a lot better shape than that one appears to be, and it works well.
I would grab it just for the pole, polar mount and actuator, if nothing else.
GO FOR IT BUBBA!
Those SAMI panels are screwed on and are very easy to remove. Take the damaged ones off one at a time and lay them down on a flat concrete garage floor then use a large rubber mallet to flatten them out again. I did that with that 7.5ft SAMI I had and it worked great. Worst case is you might have to replace a couple of them but I'd try to straighten them before I did that.
Those SAMI panels are screwed on and are very easy to remove. Take the damaged ones off one at a time and lay them down on a flat concrete garage floor then use a large rubber mallet to flatten them out again. I did that with that 7.5ft SAMI I had and it worked great. Worst case is you might have to replace a couple of them but I'd try to straighten them before I did that.
Yep, try to get it... Better for it to go to you than the metal scrapman.
Straighten the panels as Lone Gunman described; with the mesh flat on concrete, I've also used a piece of steel pipe as a rolling pin to get wrinkles and hail dents smoothed out.
Straighten the panels as Lone Gunman described; with the mesh flat on concrete, I've also used a piece of steel pipe as a rolling pin to get wrinkles and hail dents smoothed out.
Thanks, everyone. I finally caught someone at home but it turns out they don't own the dish (I got the impression it's either a rental house or owned by a relative) and the owner lives quite some distance away. Even so they made it sound like he probably would not want to part with it, at least not without being paid some serious cash, otherwise he'd prefer to scrap it. It never ceases to amaze me how many people have dishes like this that think they are going to make a windfall if they take them to the scrap yard, and who are under the impression that the dish is solid aluminum (then when you don't bite the dish still just sits in their yard, because they will never be motivated enough to actually take it to the scrap yard). I don't know about other areas but I do know that with the scrap yard in our area, if an item is not PURE aluminum (with not even so much as a steel sheet metal screw in it) they will call it "mixed metals" and you would be lucky to get ten bucks for an item that size, which would barely cover your gasoline to get it there. I haven't completely given up on it, but I'm a lot less optimistic than I was.
(The scrap yards are ripoff artists in their own right, if I could get a pole like the one on that dish down they MIGHT give me two bucks for it if I sledgehammered all the concrete off first, but last time I went to buy a couple they charged me $15 apiece for a couple very rusty 8 foot pipes. I think if you have spare property and don't mind getting dirty, scrap is the business to be in!)
(The scrap yards are ripoff artists in their own right, if I could get a pole like the one on that dish down they MIGHT give me two bucks for it if I sledgehammered all the concrete off first, but last time I went to buy a couple they charged me $15 apiece for a couple very rusty 8 foot pipes. I think if you have spare property and don't mind getting dirty, scrap is the business to be in!)
Just wanted to say that I finally got hold of the guy who owns it and he seems to think he has scrapyard gold there so he wasn't willing to be reasonable. I also got the impression there was an ethnic component; we are of different ethnicities and I think he thought he could take advantage of me for that reason (or didn't want to deal with me at all) so I decided not to pursue it any further right now. I know of a couple others in better shape if I could ever catch someone at home; the problem is that often when I find one it's by an abandoned/unoccupied building or home and then all I can do is leave a note in the door and if they don't call me there's not too much I can do.
Worst thing about my area is that the company that did most of the installations back in the 80's had an antenna and tree service, so they had a bucket truck. So there are several in the area that are so high off the ground (and in some cases overgrown with trees) that there's about zero chance of getting them down in one piece, particularly if the current homeowner doesn't want anyone driving over their lawn.
Worst thing about my area is that the company that did most of the installations back in the 80's had an antenna and tree service, so they had a bucket truck. So there are several in the area that are so high off the ground (and in some cases overgrown with trees) that there's about zero chance of getting them down in one piece, particularly if the current homeowner doesn't want anyone driving over their lawn.
Ancient,
Don't give up brother... I took two down today that were 14 or so feet off the ground.. I just take my torch and cut the pole at the ground about 80% through. I have someone stand on the roof to give it a nudge in a safe direction. We tie a rope to the back of it to keep it from slamming to the ground and a third person walks the pole down as I heat the remaining 20% of the pipe.. Both of them came down nice and slow! Once its safely on the ground I finish cutting the pipe.
I have found replacement mesh material by googling "Aluminum Perforated round hole Sheet 1/16"
My local Aluminum supply house can also get it for me for $120 for a 4x8 sheet.
Sam
Don't give up brother... I took two down today that were 14 or so feet off the ground.. I just take my torch and cut the pole at the ground about 80% through. I have someone stand on the roof to give it a nudge in a safe direction. We tie a rope to the back of it to keep it from slamming to the ground and a third person walks the pole down as I heat the remaining 20% of the pipe.. Both of them came down nice and slow! Once its safely on the ground I finish cutting the pipe.
I have found replacement mesh material by googling "Aluminum Perforated round hole Sheet 1/16"
My local Aluminum supply house can also get it for me for $120 for a 4x8 sheet.
Sam
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