Non-moving C-Band Project

[linuxman]

As part of my over-all project to receive the whole arc with non-moving dishes, as much as possible, I have planned for 6 C-Band dishes.

As I have written in my Best Way to Receive Whole Ku Arc With Fixed Dishes? thread, what I am undertaking is to try and get as much of the most viewed channels across the arc on fixed dishes.

And to receive those channels simultaneously on more than one receiver without interfering with the other channels.

Thanks to SatelliteAV making the Dual output C-Band LNBFs available again, that is now possible with C-Band as well.

Due to some health issues as noted in the Ku thread, I will need to be working on the ground for a while before finishing the roof part of the Ku project.

So after thinking about all the possibilities for these dishes and mounts.

Since I have to take out the NPRM for my scanning dish, I am tossing around a plan to move the dish to the roof too along with it's NPRM.

I will replace the scanning dish on the ground with a solid Birdview dish I found and wrote about a couple of months ago. Another reason for the change is that the H-H mount on the Birdview will allow for travel over to 30W all on the same dish. The Perfect 10 can see 30W, but because of the actuator, it won't go that far over.

I spent the morning tracking down the owner's phone number and have left a message asking about it. I also called and left a message with the owner of another Birdview solid in St. Louis that I wrote about several months ago. Of the two I am pretty sure I can pickup at least one.

The one in the pictures below have no support arms or scaler, but that shouldn't be too much problem to come up with using all-threads and a flat piece of aluminum or steel.

I figure it this way. If I am going to take down a dish and sink a pole in concrete, ti might as well be a big pole for a great dish.

The Prodelin will go on a permanent mast about 2 foot to the right of where it is now, and it's NPRM will go to the roof for my 10 foot Unimesh dish.

I need to have some physical labor to keep building my strength and this will be the perfect interlude for the Ku project.

Here are the pics of the proposed two NPRMs and the Perfect 10 I will replace along with pictures of the Birdview I took today.

 

[Lak7]

Must be nice to have your own parkinglot!

 

[linuxman]

Must be nice to have your own parkinglot!

It is nice, but everything comes with a price. Just think about the cost to re-surface it.

Well, I went out to prove to myself that the Perfect 10 could indeed "see" Hispasat at 30W. That's a 13.9 degree elevation for me here in Mid-America.

I un-hooked the actuator and had my son hold onto the dish and move it over to the position, and sure enough I got Cubavision at about 80% SQ, so a Birdview in the same spot and the same height should be fine.

I snapped a picture through the center hole in the dish, just so I could see what the dish sees.

Here is the pic:

 

[osu1991]

I would love to do that with my parking lot, but they wouldn't last long with the traffic we get every day. I might have been able to get away with a cband over in the back corner but I just had a storage container dropped there, so I will have to make due with the lonely primestar dish I have for my office. Linuxman should have his own tv show, because he always has some interesting ideas and it is great following his adventures.

 

[turbosat]

Nice keyhole shot Linuxman! Looks like about the low-limit in that direction, because of the building. A mountain has me block to the east, and trees, though I did find out I can hit intelsat 805. I think I might get to 55 with some tinkering, soon as the pollen count drops back down to something that don't make my head split so much.

 

[linuxman]

I would love to do that with my parking lot, but they wouldn't last long with the traffic we get every day.

When I get the Prodelin planted, I will probably put a concrete curb on the street side to avoid any catastrophe's. We don't get a lot of traffic, but just to be safe.

I might have been able to get away with a cband over in the back corner but I just had a storage container dropped there, so I will have to make due with the lonely primestar dish I have for my office.

Nothing wrong with just a lonely Primestar. You can get a lot of channels with that puppy.

Linuxman should have his own tv show, because he always has some interesting ideas and it is great following his adventures.

Thanks for the kind words, but it is for my own benefit that I do these projects.

It helps me keep my strength up and keeps my outlook on life positive.

I love this hobby, and am grateful that I found this site to be a part of the FTA community.

God has used my interest in the hobby to help keep me alive for almost 3 years now. It's either keep moving, or sit down and die. I would rather keep moving.

 

[Corrado]

I'm thankful that people like Linuxman and Anole have the time, resources and ideas to keep us all interested in this hobby. I look forward to the discussions and brainstorming that we engage in here. I feel that I've learned so much from you guys in the past 2 years. Please keep it up.

One question about the street level projects...What about theft or vandalism to the dishes and equipment?

 

[voomvoom]

Fred, I see that Birdview has a hole in it. I'm guessing it's where one of the struts used to be bolted up? But even if it's not, I can think of nothing that should hinder it working at full capacity. With or without the hole?

 

[Anole]

ya made me look !

Fred, I see that Birdview has a hole in it.

heh ! Ya made me look ! -

That hole on the BV is to bring the coax down from the LNB to the rear of the dish.
They all have it.
If you look closely on the back side, you'll see three funny little circles (slightly larger than the hole) located just outside the backing ring.
Those are where the LNB support struts screw into the front of the dish.
Can't really see 'em in the front shot, due to all the dirt.

 

[voomvoom]

Ohh... OK, if I keep this up, I'll never get admitted into the BirdView Clone Club....? or any other Birdview Club?

 

[linuxman]

Nice keyhole shot Linuxman! Looks like about the low-limit in that direction, because of the building.

Thanks Turbo. I believe that is the low-limit from my ground level. It just goes to show you what you can "see" over if you try.

I'm thankful that people like Linuxman and Anole have the time, resources and ideas to keep us all interested in this hobby. I look forward to the discussions and brainstorming that we engage in here. I feel that I've learned so much from you guys in the past 2 years. Please keep it up.

Thanks Corrado, but every thing I know about satellites and signals I learned right here on this forum. I was fortunate to be taught by the Masters here, and I have only tried to put that knowledge to good use.
Thanks Anole for explaining about the cable feed hole in the Birdview. You keep right on inspecting Al. An extra pair of eyes is always a good thing.

Well during the course of the past few days it became apparent that my Birdview leads were not going to pan out. I still wanted a decent H-H mount for my scanning dish that I explained above.

I remembered an ad I saw on another forum where the guy was wanting to sell an AJAK H-H mount and a 10 foot Unimesh dish, along with a smaller AJAK H-H mount. He lives about an hour and a half North of me.

I called the guy on the phone and we began talking, getting to know each other. Finally got down to the negotiation, and came to an agreement on a price to buy the dish and the big AJAK mount. Grabbed a trailer and my son out of bed, and headed out.

By the time we got there, this guy and his brother had already dis-assembled the dish and had the mount off the pole, bolts in bag and everything. The dish was split in halves, so we loaded it and the mount in the trailer. I paid him my agreed on price in cash, and he asked if I wanted the Co-Rotor that came off it. I had told him on the phone that I didn't need it.

He also asked if I wanted the smaller AJAK mount. I told him I didn't have any other money but my expense money for the week. Not much, just lunch money.

I pulled out what I had and counted it out, and he said he would take it for the co-rotor/lnbs that were on it, and the smaller AJAK. I told him I would need to keep 10 dollars of that because my son was already whining about being hungry and I knew I would need to stop and buy him a burger so he wouldn't pass out on the way home.

He said that was fine, so I paid him for the co-rotor/smaller AJAK. We loaded that up.

Then he asked if I wanted his old LNBs that he had been saving since 1995, and I said sure, why not thinking I was going to get another pile of older C-Band LNBs. He brought out several boxes of LNBs both C and Ku and I almost fell over. Some were almost brand new. He said he upgraded every couple of years and bought better brands.

We continued talking and he asked if I already had a dish, and I explained to him about my dish farm, 4DTV receivers, and MPEG2 receivers.

He said, hang on, I have an old MPEG2 receiver that I want to get rid of too. So into the house he went, and came out with a Pansat 2700a. I asked him if it worked, and he said yes, but all the channels went scrambled, so he quit using it. I suspect what it was used for, but didn't say a word.

All the extra LNBS, Feed-horns, and the Pansat, he just throwed in the deal. My car was pretty well loaded, and my son and I headed for home after thanking him profusely.

The dish turned out to be a perforated Unimesh 10 footer with the huge mounting ring for the AJAK mount. The co-rotor that came with the dish has a Norsat 8215 C-Band and a Norsat 4206a Ku lnb on it.

I got 2 Astrotel PM-93-C/Ku feed-horns, one new in the box.

Two extra Norsat 8215's, and two extra Norsat 4206a's, 3 or 4 Astrotel Prcision Gold label C-Band and Ku band lnbs, Cal-Amp Ku LNBs, and 2 Chaparall 20K c-band lnbs.

I also got another patent infringing Chaparral co-rotor which I could hardly believe when I saw it. He wasn't even using it because he had bought the newer one.

I couldn't believe what I ended up with after starting out to just get the dish and mount. So as I have said many times, usually when one door closes, another opens up with even better possibilities.

Here are the pics of everything including screen shots of my regular Unimesh mesh and the Perfed Unimesh mesh holes:

 

[SpiffWilkie]

Wow. Next time I'm up that way, I need to see that parking lot

 

[SpiffWilkie]

I just got a BUD and wasn't planning on using it for ku, but I saw the pic of your homemade dual setup. That's pretty interesting stuff there. Is that easy to pick up stuff with? Did it require a bit of tweaking to get right?

 

[gabshere]

what a haul "King Hunter" things always seem to jump into your big ole pot
i need to get out more and talk to folks

 

[voomvoom]

Wow Fred, you lucky dog! I'm just surprised you didn't talk him into coming home with you and setting it up? That is my Unimesh dish, only mine has all the AJAK parts missing except the chain. You don't need an extra chain do you? hehe... Thanks for those close-up pictures. In the 7th picture across in the top row, what is all that extra chain for? Surely it's not part of the assembly?

 

[Cadsulfide]

Way Cool, glad you made the trip!

 

[linuxman]

Thanks Guys for the kind words and well wishes!

I have been rounding up my steel for my 3rd NPRM for the roof, and my welder is coming out tomorrow to pick it up with the pipes for the dishes to set on in the ground.

My son is gone all week-end, so I got some help from my daughters taking the Prodelin down and getting ready to drill the hole for the pole that it will set on. My wife was running the camera shots of me and the girls. One is 22 and the other is 18. The 22 year old has the glasses on. She came home from college this week-end, and wasn't planning on helping with dishes, but got roped into it anyway by the 18 year old with, "If I have to do it, you do to".

Here are the pics of the Prodelin coming down and being stowed for a few days.

 

[phlatwound]

Nothing like having some free and willing help to work on the dish farm.

Keep up the good work!

 

[linuxman]

Nothing like having some free and willing help to work on the dish farm.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks Phlatwound!!

I don't know how willing they were, but we got it done anyway.

Started getting ready for the hole where the pole/mast will go to put the Prodelin back up.

Somebody mentioned above how nice it is to have a parking lot.

When you own a parking lot, this is what you have to do just to dig a hole.

I drew a 2' X 2' square on the asphalt and started drilling with my hammer drill and a masonry bit. I had to drill all the way around the square, and then using a crow bar and hammer, start cutting the left-overs from the holes 3 or 4 inches from the corner where I started.

I then managed to start prying it up. It comes out in chunks, but cracks right along the holes. I will have my son dig down so that the slab part is 4 inches thick.

Once I have the scanning dish down, I will do the same thing where it is now standing.

I then have a tractor with a 10" auger lined up to actually drill the holes down 3 feet.

Here is a picture:

 

[osu1991]

Rent a concrete saw, I am kinda lazy when it comes to that kind of manual labor. I had to do exactly what you just did to set some guard posts at various spots around our property to protect drivers that don't pay attention and drive their cars off the 4' ledge that separates us from a neighboring business. Yes it has happened twice before I took matters into my own hands.