Noob question - Should I attempt it?

[Anole]

I called a property management company about the dish behind an old Blockbuster store (closed 9 years ago) about the Ku dish behind the building, but haven't gotten any word back from the property owner.
That dish is a pretty heavy-duty thing, a curved rectangular shape about 4 feet wide with an LNBF that looks like it has a heatsink attached.

I should have added, that any "gas station" dish would be very suitable.
Out here, liquor stores sell lottery tickets, and they have 1m wide oval dishes with heatsinks.



Your square-corner dish sounds a lot like a Prodelin 1.2 m (4 ft), and the heatsinks peg it for two-way communications.
Absolutely something to keep after.
The transmitter module is easily removed.
That's really all you need do to make it ready.

Apparently, that may be overkill for 30w, but as your interest grows on FTA, you'll eventually find a need.



iphone 4

[kittyhas1000legs]

I should have added, that any "gas station" dish would be very suitable.
Out here, liquor stores sell lottery tickets, and they have 1m wide oval dishes with heatsinks.

Your square-corner dish sounds a lot like a Prodelin 1.2 m (4 ft), and the heatsinks peg it for two-way communications.
Absolutely something to keep after.
The transmitter module is easily removed.
That's really all you need do to make it ready.

Apparently, that may be overkill for 30w, but as your interest grows on FTA, you'll eventually find a need.



iphone 4

What do you suppose the likelihood is of being able to get a dish like that? I know some gas stations around here have a few dishes; would any actually have a "spare" dish that's not in use? If you assume one dish for regular transactions and one for state lottery, there are a couple places around here that might have an extra. I suppose I can just ask around, since all there is to lose is some time and gasoline.

As for the dish behind Blockbuster:


I have a feeling you're right. I'd much rather save it than see it rust away, though it might be a bit big on a second-floor balcony. But there isn't really such a thing as overkill with FTA, right? I thought that bigger dish means better signal, and that can't be a bad thing, right?

Now that I think about it, the giant retail pharmacy chain I work for uses VSAT for most of our operations, and my location is an older store with a couple of dishes. Of course, getting permission to take a disused piece of equipment from the store would be like blood from a stone.

[Anole]

Gas stations, pharmacies, and liquor stores get torn down.
I wasn't suggesting you rob a dish from a live business.

I love molded Ku dishes, and one rated for transmission duty, is no slouch.
(they have to be more accurate than receive only dishes)
Yep, that looks like a Prodelin to me.
Overkill for 30w, and for your balcony.
Still, something for the future, a friend, a relative, etc.

A lot of local car dealers have decommissioned a sat system with 6' round Prodelin dishes.
Quite a few members have them.
Their transmitter module looks like a 2 lb coffee can.
The one-piece molded dish is around 75 lbs, if I recall.
You'll be excused for not bagging one of those! -

[kittyhas1000legs]

I figured I'd bump this thread rather than start a new one...

After checking the sunny spots on my balcony (based on the times from the solar outage calculator), it looks like Hispasat is a maybe (ugh). There are just a couple of branches that look like they may interfere with reception of 30W. I guess I'll ask my question again: should I attempt it? I assume I shouldn't bother with a modded slimline and buy a 90CM, but would that be able to compensate for a branch or two being in the way? Would the branches simply kill and chance at getting a reliable signal? The areas that had sun during the peak time of the solar outage were probably just as big as a 90CM dish, so there wouldn't be much margin for error.

[Anole]

Trees have leaves. They come 'n go different times of year.
Should you try? That's your call.
But, is 30w your only bird of interest?
Could you have a backup plan using the roof, neighbors balcony, or even the yard?
Expand your thinking. We'll help where we can.

[Kraven]

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Regarding Dishpointer.com, there might be a mistake when it provides your location (long/lat). I noticed the lat. provided for my address was 4 points off from other sites, including google.

Cheers, K