Still working on getting the new CKD-12 installed. Ran into some interesting stuff. Turns out that they sent me a 4.5" mount instead of the 3.5" as advertised at Skyvision. Skyvision told me that either mount works with the rest of the dish components but the manufacturer messed up and sent a 4.5" mount. Anyway, I decided to keep the 4.5" mount and I replaced the 3.5" pole with a 4.5" pole. Unfortuneatly, I didn't get a chance to assemble the dish last weekend and next weekend only has high's in the 40's. I miss DST right now. Anyway, the instruction manual for this dish recommends an 18" actuator for traversing 120 degrees. I'm going to confirm this with Skyvision as I thought you needed a 24" actuator for a 12 footer. The manual stated that a 24" could get bent with this dish if it extends more than 18". Of course, there are software limits that can be set. If an 18" actuator is adequate, I just happen to have one.

Hopefully, I'll have the dish up before Thanksgiving. Photos and performance evaluation to come.

I never got a reply from Skyvision to clarify the actuator question (I hate calling tech support - I'd rather do e-mail). So, I'm going to install the 18" actuator and see if it really will move this 12 footer over 120 degrees of the arc and if it'll hold up. Since this Saturday should have decent weather I'll get the reflector assembled and see if any friends are around to get it on the mount.

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Azbox Elite, 4DTV DSR922 with HDD-200, Paraclipse 12 foot Classic (work in progress on KTI CKD-12 - yes, I still don't have it installed), Sony Bravia 46", Sony BluRay, Onkyo 6.1 Amplifier, too many remote controls. Favorite shows: Stargate (all series) and Star Trek (all series), Babylon 5, Two and a Half Men, The Unit.

It might work but its hard to see how a short throw like the 18" will be enough to move that big dish very far. Maybe if you were to tweak it absolutely right...

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Icon 550, on .90M primestar DG380 motor.10'Sami+GI650 for c-band.
Merc2 now on 1m primestar-polar mount backup system.
*New Avatar-Sign of Spring-Possums return from Capistrano.

That's a stretch... maybe pushing the limit switches to the, well, limit...
As far as what they said about the actuator getting bent, well, any of them can get bent... but if a heavy actuator like the Venture 36" I've got was to get bent, well... I don't think a bent actuator would be at the top of my concern list in that case...
Just sayin'...

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Currently NO LONGER in use: 10' generic mesh w/ BSC621, 24" HTS actuator, movement USED TO BE controlled by analog HTS System 20. Coolsat 6000 premium handling the signals. Range 55-137W.
BUT, MY 17 YR OLD SON had to nail it with the tractor, so now that beautiful BUD in my avatar is a pile of spare parts....
HOWEVER:
Waiting to be added: 10' mesh, 8' mesh Winegard, Corotor II, 36" HD Venture actuator, 24" HTS actuator, GI 920 4DTV.
Saving money for: HD FTA receiver & PCI HD SAT card for PC.
Apparently my shot at the BirdView fell thru.
If anyone knows of one near the Memphis area (within 200 miles or so) let me know, eh?

I finally started putting the dish together. Turned out to be a lot of work and I'm still not done. Spent about 5 hours assembling the reflector so far. Looks like it's not going to go together perfectly. May have been poorly manufactured or distorted during shipment (or maybe I don't know what I'm doing?) Anyway, we'll see how it looks after finishing the reflector assembly and see how good the string test and, ultimately, how it performs. Not sure if I'll put a dual band feed on this - it's tough enough getting C band to work, let alone Ku.

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Azbox Elite, 4DTV DSR922 with HDD-200, Paraclipse 12 foot Classic (work in progress on KTI CKD-12 - yes, I still don't have it installed), Sony Bravia 46", Sony BluRay, Onkyo 6.1 Amplifier, too many remote controls. Favorite shows: Stargate (all series) and Star Trek (all series), Babylon 5, Two and a Half Men, The Unit.

Its wise to have a 24" arm then the 18". A 24" arm is better hold when you encounter the strong wind force. the dish can also give you more room to track more satellites.

Work continuing when I get to it. But, part of the problem is with holes not lining up correctly. Looks like I'll have to drill out some holes since I can't get them to line up no matter what I try.

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Azbox Elite, 4DTV DSR922 with HDD-200, Paraclipse 12 foot Classic (work in progress on KTI CKD-12 - yes, I still don't have it installed), Sony Bravia 46", Sony BluRay, Onkyo 6.1 Amplifier, too many remote controls. Favorite shows: Stargate (all series) and Star Trek (all series), Babylon 5, Two and a Half Men, The Unit.

Project delayed due to very cold weather. Suppose to get to -4 tonight with no 60 degree weather in sight. Bummer. Global warming? What's that?

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Azbox Elite, 4DTV DSR922 with HDD-200, Paraclipse 12 foot Classic (work in progress on KTI CKD-12 - yes, I still don't have it installed), Sony Bravia 46", Sony BluRay, Onkyo 6.1 Amplifier, too many remote controls. Favorite shows: Stargate (all series) and Star Trek (all series), Babylon 5, Two and a Half Men, The Unit.

Discovered that I'm missing a lot of hardware. I'm not surprised since the installation instructions are assembled out of sequence. I'm sure I didn't lose any of the hardware. I just bought the replacement hardware today. It should be warm enough to continue assembling the antenna this weekend. If I'm lucky, I'll get the mesh installed and then get the reflector mounted to the pole.

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Azbox Elite, 4DTV DSR922 with HDD-200, Paraclipse 12 foot Classic (work in progress on KTI CKD-12 - yes, I still don't have it installed), Sony Bravia 46", Sony BluRay, Onkyo 6.1 Amplifier, too many remote controls. Favorite shows: Stargate (all series) and Star Trek (all series), Babylon 5, Two and a Half Men, The Unit.

Did you leave the hardware loose and try using "line up" punches or "drift" punches??? I do not mean to physically punch the thing! But try a long punch or 2 in some holes and with some moving and twisting, some other holes (holes without the punch) might line enough up to put bolts in!