Thread: ok, ok... You guys talked me into it.

Ok, here we go..



I'm going to upload them in three batches.

I'll try to describe them in the third batch

2nd batch

Hey Dee, I like those pictures, it reminds me of that "Life After People" show, LOL..
I have the pieces of a 12' Dark Star, Pro is right, they are junk, big plastic ribs (that are actually hollow inside) that crack and break easily. I guess if you got one together in good shape and didn't move it much, it would be alright, but still more trouble than it's worth.The freezing of that water inside the ribs was what made mine crack and bust so many ribs. I even took some off and tried various glues to repair them, but none of it worked for long. Thankfully I have a couple of metal dishes and that's not a problem with those, around here at least. Good luck on the big dish project.

Hi Dee_Ann
If i was you i would definatley grab the 7.5 unimesh (pics 5 -11 )thats a keeper . I am running one right now and have no complaints at all . When i first aquired my uni it came with the exact same lnb ( chaperal ). I was lucky and was able to save the positioner after a bit of work . I mounted a Geosat CK1 C/KU on it and after some fine tunning i can get from Intelsat 11 @ 43.1 to AMC8 @139 . I have been following your interest in C-band and i would strongly recomend grabbing the unimesh , easy to transfer . looks in great shape also an excellant starter in c-band . Good luck with your venture .

last batch..

Ok, in the first batch there are -two- ten foot diameter dishes stacked together and leaned up against an old pole barn. They are devoid of the misc. hardware. Just two big bowls.

There is a third 10 foot dish laying in the weeds about 20-30 feet away. Stuff is grown up through it, it appears.

Pic # 4777 shows the backside of the giant "Dark Star" dish.

In the second batch are more pics of the Dark Star then a gob of pictures of the Unimesh brand. It's the one leaned over and appears largely intact and undamaged as best as I can tell, given my limited knowledge of them.

It does appear the motor is missing from the motor arm thing. Ding-dong told me he moved the dish with a wrench to a satellite that had radio on it and he left it there. He had a machine shop on the lot once upon a time and would play the satellite radio to speakers in the shop while he worked.

Last batch is more pics of the Unimesh and some parts I found laying around. There are various lnb things and it looks like the remains of the unimesh motor that ding-dong tried and failed to fix.

I'm shocked no one has stolen the tuner, they sure stole everything else they could.

I wish he would just sell the place and give me the money. It's a dump and serves no purpose any longer.

Anyway...

So here's the deal. The Unimesh dish is inside a debris zone. There were several metal buildings that were built up around where the dish is, after the dish was put in. Over the years, several hurricanes have destroyed the buildings and the area where the dish is located is 100% surrounded by debris piles 6 foot deep in places. Mostly twisted steel beams, sheet metal, big machines and lots of board with lots of nasty, rusty nails sticking all out. The place is a death trap.. Death by impalement is a near certainty. I haven't had a tetanus shot in like well over 25 years. Someone is going to end up getting badly hurt out there.

So taking the dish out intact as a single unit, not going to happen. Quite impossible.
It must be taken apart into smaller pieces and taken out a little at a time.

Dad says the best bet is to just saw all the bolts in half and replace them later with stainless steel bolts, all the ones on it now are all rusted up anyway so unbolting them just "ain't gonna happen".. He has some big saw he says will cut through anything and another one that cuts through big pipes.

He can't help me this week so he said maybe next week he can help me with this.
Actually, I'll be helping him. I think this project is a bit over my head. But, I moved one of those big ten foot dishes and they are not too heavy, I guess they are made of aluminum. So I'm thinking if we can cut the 8 foot dish into quarters then it shouldn't be too bad.

As for putting it back up here at home, Dad says "Good luck.."

OK, time for a cold soda. I'll let you guys look through it all and see what you can make of it.

Thanks!

Grab the Unimesh it comes apart in 4 sections. When you reassemble it just do a string test to get the parabolic shape back. If the servo, LNB and receiver are good all you will need is a new actuator (no biggie).

More than likely there is no need to saw anything. The bolts will likely snap with 1/2 a turn.

I have a unimesh and like it as well.

i have that receiver in last picture in my closet, was a good receiver when it was analog

Unimesh is lookin' better by the minute! -

- on some of the other dishes, they still have mounts. Offer them to some Texas BUD lovers to haul off. Let somebody get a mount and haul off a truck load of trash. -

- regarding that rusty motor with the gears spilling out... we had someone on the forum looking for just a gear. Pack 'em up and send the whole lot to him for the cost of postage. -

- as for the old analog receiver, I'd be afraid to plug in anything that's been rained on. You might find someone who would thank you for the remote, though. -

- the comment above about a lot of the bolts snapping when you crank on 'em, is actually the easy way to get 'em out. If not, then don't use a saw, see if Dad has a hand grinder with a cut-off wheel. He'll know what that is. If not, you might get a cheap one at Harbor Freight. Cuts through anything, like it was butter! -
You can even take down your pole with one.

- don't discard broken bolts. Take them to the hardware store - it'll be easier to find new ones with the old pieces in hand.

- if you take apart the Unimesh, mark each pie section where it mates to the next with 1, 2, 3, or 4 lines across the void.
Grease pencil (china marker) , crayon, or felt marker will do.
Then, when you are home putting it together, all you do is line up the marks and you have the wedges back in the same place.