Thread: Sadoun SD180G Review

First, a brief overview of the "PortaBUD" Project.

"PortaBUD" was inspired by similar projects undertaken by Iceberg, Guapoharry, Phlatwound, Corrado, and others. These members used six foot segmented dishes to receive some or all of their C-Band programming, and found ingenious methods of installing the dishes in a "quick and dirty" fashion (no deep holes, concrete, etc.). The need for such a quick and easy install arose late this summer, when I realized that I wouldn't have time to clear a portion of my backyard and erect my 7.5 foot Perfect 10 mesh dish before the upcoming STS-129 Space Shuttle mission. Since NASA only uplinks on C-Band, and I wanted to receive the occasional HD feed and other NASA channels instead of the overly compressed mush on 119w, a BUD was imperative.

I've been actively involved in the TVRO hobby for nearly 5 years, but up until now have only received Ku-Band. The recent loss of many Ku-Band "anchor channels" and the upcoming retirement of the Space Shuttle fleet compelled me to get my feet wet with C-Band. PortaBUD will be the first of at least 3 C-Band dishes I plan to erect (the 7.5 foot Perfect 10 will be the second). The following thread will document the construction, installation, and performance of Sadoun Satellite Sales' newest addition, their 6 foot SD180G ground mount stand segmented dish.

The anticipated arrival of the package containing the SD180G occurred on Friday, October 23rd. As you can see from the first picture, the dish comes in an angled box which is small and light enough to be shipped by conventional means (UPS instead of freight). Shipping cost varies, but is lower than one might expect due to the compact nature of the package. The cardboard is heavy enough to protect the dish from harm, and is strapped for additional security.

Upon opening the box, one is greeted by the stack of panels, six in all, that will form the reflector of the dish (pic #2). Under the stack of panels is the strut hardware for the ground stand (pics #3 and #4). Finally, under the styrofoam are the two rings that anchor the stand to the ground (or, in my case, the pallet) and the dish (pic #5). The bottom ring that attaches to the pallet is the larger of the two. I opened the hardware bag containing all of the nuts, bolts, and clamps, and sorted them all out in like groups (pics #6 and #7). The hardware bag contains a pre-formed wrench with both nut sizes, but an additional adjustable wrench or socket set will also be needed for construction.

I began construction of PortaBUD by choosing a hard, level working surface. In my case, this was the back patio, which is basically a concrete slab attached to the back of the house. I cut open the box used to package the SD180G, and opened it like a book. This provided a mat-like insulation, which prevented possible scratching of the parts by the patio concrete.

PortaBUD's operational location is a pallet base built in the backyard a few feet away from the patio. Since my existing dish farm is on the patio shed roof, this location does not require an extremely long cable run. The pallet base I built for PortaBUD was inspired by similar ones built by Corrado, Phlatwound, and Guapoharry. It consists of six 2" x 8" x 16" solid cement blocks on the ground, six 8" x 8" x 16" hollow building blocks on top of them, a 48" x 40" wooden pallet (treated with Thompson's Water Seal), and eight 4" x 8" x 16" solid cement blocks to anchor down the entire thing. The nearby pallet base was already completed before the dish arrived, so I was anxious to assemble the ground mount and get those parts out of my way.

The first step was to attach the various struts that comprise the dish stand to the bottom ring (pic #1). This is more or less straight forward, and is easy to do by following the included diagram. Next, I lifted the struts so that they could mate with the top ring, and bolted them into place. This had to be done in a particular order so that they would all clear each other properly when lifted. Once assembled, the parts form a firm stand (pics #2 and #3). The elevation of the dish is set by a knob screw (pic #4), which locks an inner shaft inside the back strut in place. The two front struts also allow the top ring to pivot up and down during elevation adjustment (pic #5). The front struts are fixed; They don't move, unlike the back strut (pic #6).

Once the stand was finished, I carried it out to the pallet base to make room so that reflector assembly could get started.

It was now time to put those six reflector panels together, and I needed a larger cardboard mat. I cut open another large box, and spread it out next to the SD180G box. The two opened cardboard boxes gave me enough room to assemble the dish without fear of scratching. My plan, which worked well, was to assemble the panels in twos; When I had three pairs of assembled panels, I would bolt the pairs together.

I started with the one panel that is different from the rest. It is the first panel in the stack, and has the Sadoun logo stamped on it (pic #1). Physically, it is no different from the other panels, but it will form the top of the dish. I turned it upside down, and bolted it to the next panel in the stack (pics #2 and #3). When bolting these panels together, it is important to make sure they align flush with one another so that the dish forms a perfect parabola (pics #4 and #5). Also, do not bolt the second hole from the center just yet. This will be where the ground stand clamps mount, and they will be attached last. My first pair was complete (pic #6).

I assembled the remaining four panels in pairs, then began bolting the pairs together (pic #7). Finally, all six segments were bolted together to form a dome-shaped upside-down reflector (pic #8). Now it was time to bolt the six ground stand clamps, one for each segment joint, onto the second hole from the center on each joint (pic #9). The reflector was now complete.

Other than mounting the LNB, scalar, and feed supports (the last step), all that was left to be done was to move the reflector from the patio out to the ground stand and pallet base. The reflector is rather large and heavy to handle alone. I was going to wait for help, but with a bad weather forecast for Monday night and beyond, I decided to attempt mounting the reflector on the ground stand by myself. Fortunately, I was able to do this without incident, although it would have been a much easier job for two people. I bolted the ground stand clamps to the top ring of the ground stand and left the dish pointed at 90 degrees (pic #10). The hole in the middle will allow the dish to drain. Assembly pauses here until the weather improves...

Great pictures and text Tron

Couple questions.

Did the damage to the Styrofoam happen opening the package or from shipping?

The clamps that hold the ring onto the dish look like they would be better if they were reversed so the screw clamp was centered more over the rib?

My dish is due to arrive this evening. Unfortunately a cold front and predicted high winds will likely delay assembling until the weather clears Thursday or Friday. I'll add photos of the polar assembly and actuator arm then.

Good work, Tron

I wasn't satisfied with the 8mm bolts supplied for the mounting pedestal legs. They were barely long enough. I ended up using different bolts with washers. I also added washers to the 6mm bolts on the petal segments. But, I over engineer everything to my standards.

I didn't use the 3 lower ring clamps supplied, the clamps appear insufficient for the wind load at my location.

To help focus the scalar once installed, I found a pipe in the garage that was a perfect fit and slid it down through to the center plate to tweak the ring in position.

We await further development and photos.

Originally Posted by wrdavis

Did the damage to the Styrofoam happen opening the package or from shipping?

When my package arrived a couple of years ago, it was a wreck. The arms were even hanging through. Had I been home at the time of delivery I would have wanted to inspect it before the carrier left. Thankfully, everything inside was perfect and nothing missing.

Sadoun requires a signature for the dish package now.

I'm tracking the packages and it is mentioned on the UPS website. A UPS female robot even called yesterday to say someone had to be home to sign or it would delay delivery. For the price of shipping a dish, really a good idea.

Originally Posted by wrdavis

Great pictures and text Tron

Couple questions.

Did the damage to the Styrofoam happen opening the package or from shipping?

The clamps that hold the ring onto the dish look like they would be better if they were reversed so the screw clamp was centered more over the rib?

The styrofoam was damaged during shipment, however, nothing was loose or damaged because of that crack. Opening the box probably made the crack a little worse than it was originally.

I think you may have a good point about the ring clamps. I'll reverse them when I repaint the ring and see if they seem to be more solid in that configuration.

Originally Posted by Corrado

Good work, Tron

I wasn't satisfied with the 8mm bolts supplied for the mounting pedestal legs. They were barely long enough. I ended up using different bolts with washers. I also added washers to the 6mm bolts on the petal segments. But, I over engineer everything to my standards.

I, too, thought washers might be a good idea. The panels seem very secure with the original hardware, though. I think I'll leave it as is now, since adding washers at this point would require an enormous undertaking ...