I'd like to connect with those of you who have Winegard Pinnacle's

KJ6EO · Jul 9, 2013

Hello. I'm new to FTA and just purchased my first BUD (Winegard Pinnacle). I have some questions that are specific to the Pinnacle. Those questions are: (1) Panel Cleaning, (2) Mounting Questions, (3) Dual Feed Horn and LNB's vs LBNF, (4) Which LBNF's would be compatible with the Pinnacle (F/D: .278). I'd like to aim with an inexpensive LBNF. Then later switch over to a Dual Feed Horn and LNB's. Regarding Panel Cleaning, I'm just going to try scrubbing them down with soap and water. I'm not sure if trying to paint them is a good idea or not. Mounting questions, I have the original factory Polar Mount. It was mounted on a 4.0" O.D steel pipe. I've been thinking about having an Aluminum Pedestal Mount made with a large base that I could put on the top of my Patio Roof. BTW the Patio is built like a Brick S**T House so it is capable of holding allot of weight. I don't want the BUD to be seen from the front of the house. Any suggestions you might have would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help!

primestar31 · Jul 9, 2013

Also realize that a 10ft dish, with up to 50mph wind load, will exert just about 800lbs extra stress on your structure. Any wind over 50mph and a mesh type dish is the same as a solid when it comes to wind.

I'm totally against mounting a c-band dish on a roof, without getting a structural engineer involved in designing the mount supports for your house. Ripping your roof off, and/or also seeing your dish fly off and smash to bits would not be a good day.

This is one of my favorites sites, I suggest you read it, try to understand it well, and memorize it!: http://www.geo-orbit.org/sizepgs/tuningp2.html#anchor469886

waylew · Jul 9, 2013

After sitting behind my barn for about 15 years,I finally put up my Pinnacle, to replace a rotted out steel mesh 10',about a year and a half ago.I basically just dusted it off and put it up piece by piece,by myself.Had to knock a few dings out,the original paint was more than good enough for me,a little rust on the mount and a few chips on the aluminum,but it doesn't bother me.
Using a 5? year old BSC621 C/Ku lnbf pretty much peaked for C,works fine, and Ku works at least on stronger transponders,I have other dishes for Ku.
Using a 24" Superjack,I think can't remember,that takes it from 139w to probably at least 30w but I'm not really sure,I don't get anything east of 72w due to trees,buildings and tracking may not be perfect,but 72 to 139 works great.
After just sitting there all those years I couldn't believe how much better the Pinnacle was compared to what it replaced,and I'm considering back to when the steel job was in good shape.Plus I still haven't gotten around to really giving it a fine tune,I'm lazy and you just can't rush into these things.

waylew · Jul 9, 2013

Oh alright pictures;

Magic Static · Jul 9, 2013

I have the same dish but AJAK mount and quad feed supports. The grey finish was almost totally gone from mine when I picked it up. I washed mine with CLR cleaner and painted it with Rustoleum. Painting perforated surfaces takes a lot of paint because you have to paint the inside of all the holes or it looks like s***. It's very hard to see if you have painted all the holes as well, until the sun hits it just right and it becomes glaringly obvious. Mine was on a 4" OD pole and that didn't fit the AJAK at all. Was kind of morphed onto the pole. I ended up finding some well casing 4 1/2" OD for my pole and remade the AJAK clamp to fit. It should have been on a 3 1/2" pole. Click the link in my signature for the thread on it. I would not consider mounting it to my roof.

KJ6EO · Jul 9, 2013

primestar31 said:
Also realize that a 10ft dish, with up to 50mph wind load, will exert just about 800lbs extra stress on your structure. Any wind over 50mph and a mesh type dish is the same as a solid when it comes to wind.

I'm totally against mounting a c-band dish on a roof, without getting a structural engineer involved in designing the mount supports for your house. Ripping your roof off, and/or also seeing your dish fly off and smash to bits would not be a good day.

This is one of my favorites sites, I suggest you read it, try to understand it well, and memorize it!: http://www.geo-orbit.org/sizepgs/tuningp2.html#anchor469886

Ok, this is the kind of information that I'm looking for. Mounting the BUD is going to be a real problem. I have young Kids. If they can reach the BUD they'll totally destroy it in about 15 minutes. I'd want the bottom of the BUD to be at least 6' off the ground. The longer the pole, the bigger the base (another complication). I'm going to think about this a little more. The solution to the mount might be not to mount it at all.

KJ6EO · Jul 9, 2013

Magic Static said:
I have the same dish but AJAK mount and quad feed supports. The grey finish was almost totally gone from mine when I picked it up. I washed mine with CLR cleaner and painted it with Rustoleum. Painting perforated surfaces takes a lot of paint because you have to paint the inside of all the holes or it looks like s***. It's very hard to see if you have painted all the holes as well, until the sun hits it just right and it becomes glaringly obvious. Mine was on a 4" OD pole and that didn't fit the AJAK at all. Was kind of morphed onto the pole. I ended up finding some well casing 4 1/2" OD for my pole and remade the AJAK clamp to fit. It should have been on a 3 1/2" pole. Click the link in my signature for the thread on it. I would not consider mounting it to my roof.
View attachment 89164 View attachment 89165

Now that looks very nice

. Something like that would be perfect for me. I could attach it to the top of my Patio (like you did to your house). It would be well out of the reach of the kids. What kind of base do you have at the bottom of the pole? How long is the pole? Did you disassemble the sections to paint them? (mine are disassembled)

Magic Static · Jul 9, 2013

All those questions are answered in this thread http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/247423-9-foot-mesh-dish-Livingston-Montana

primestar31 · Jul 9, 2013

Yes, a tall pole from ground to just slightly above the house eves line is an acceptable way to do it, but you might need a 6 ft deep hole. Also, you are going to need a lift of some sort (or a couple buddies to help lift the pole and drop it in the hole), AND a "Gin Pole" to lift the dish to the top of the pole. You can make a Gin Pole with an aluminum ladder, a piece of chain to strap both sections of ladder together, and a chain-drive come-along at the top.

I, years ago all by myself, lifted an 11.5 ft fiberglass dish mounted ON the polar mount (about 250lbs or more at least) to the top of a 12~ft pole and installed it once it was up there by pushing it over onto the pole with a long two by four. You HAVE to have everything calculated out beforehand, and also think ahead with some contingency plans if things don't go according to your best hopes. Or you take the easy way out, and get a guy with a crane or some sort of lift since your dish is lighter. Better way, but more costly. But if this is all done right, it might be your only time you ever need to do it, so a one time cost.

Anole · Jul 9, 2013

KJ6EO said:
Mounting the BUD is going to be a real problem.
I have young Kids. If they can reach the BUD they'll totally destroy it in about 15 minutes.
I'd want the bottom of the BUD to be at least 6' off the ground.
The longer the pole, the bigger the base (another complication).

The value to having your first BUD down where you can get to it easily, cannot be over emphasized .
Six or seven feet of pole sticking out of the ground would mean only a short safe ladder would be needed, worst case.

Would you consider a 3' or 4' high fence around it?
Possibly 8' or 10' square...or maybe round?

Is there anything wrong with taking 10-11 feet of pole and dropping it into a 4' hole along with some concrete?
If you insist on building a metal framework to sit on the ground, those are called: NPRM
Non Penetrating Roof Mounts
We have a number of members using them, even at ground level.
Yes, the shorter the pole, the better.
Not my first recommendation, but as a last resort, they work.

KJ6EO · Jul 11, 2013

Well ... Thank You for all of the useful information. Right now I'm going to focus on where I want to plant the pole. To complicate the matter, I've got sprinkler lines and yard drain lines running directly under all the places I'd like to put the pole

. Also, there are some trees around so I want to choose a location that provides "maximum unobstructed sky". I'm leaning to someplace on the West side of my house. From there I can most likely go from 72W to 139W with no obstructions. Furthermore, that location can't be seen from the street because there's a big tree there (tree would be North of the BUD). I'm planning on using a 15' schedule 40 steel pipe. 5 feet of it will be in the ground on a (2'x2'x5' concrete base). 10' should put the bottom of the dish at around 8'. That would put the bottom of the dish out of reach of just about everyone (except a basketball player maybe)

. I don't know how much the pole will cost, but we have a local metal supply nearby so I'll call them for a quote (they do free delivery ... nice). For the digging of the hole, I've called a Landscape Company that I've used in the past. They'll be allot less inexpensive than a regular Contractor. Most likely, they'll be able to help me with the concrete, rebar, too! I'll report back as soon as I have some additional information. Here are a few pictures of the disassembled BUD: (well the site still won't let me upload ... so will attach the pictures later)

FaT Air · Jul 11, 2013

Can't post pictures. MIGHT be the 'pop up blocker' settings in I.E. Add www.satelliteguys.us to the ALLOW list. Or install FF or chrome.

KJ6EO · Jul 11, 2013

FaT Air said:
Can't post pictures. MIGHT be the 'pop up blocker' settings in I.E. Add www.satelliteguys.us to the ALLOW list. Or install FF or chrome.

I don't think it has anything to do with the brouser. The uploads manager opens up, I can browse and select the file I want, the little "uploads wheel spins", but there is no activity on my router. It will sit there forever doing that and never time out. I think I must have exceeded my upload kb's (max uploads). There are a dozen or so pictures in my Upload Manager but I can't delete them. I sent a message to Admin without a reply. So for the time being I'm hosed as far as uploads go :rant:. Any thoughts regarding the size of my base? (2'x2'x5') to support the BUD on a 15' schedule 40 steel pipe?

KJ6EO · Jul 11, 2013

Ok .... upload problem resolved. For whatever reason I couldn't upload them across my network. To resolve, I just copied them to the desktop of this laptop I'm currently using. Anyway ... here are some pictures of my BUD including the Feedhorn, servo, C and Ku LNB's.

KJ6EO · Jul 11, 2013

A few more pictures:

Magic Static · Jul 11, 2013

What you need now is a 22khz switch to combine the LNBs and a polarity control device
http://www.gofastmotorsports.com/apc1.htm and a motor control ie VBox unless you can get the old receiver to do those chores for the new receiver.

Anole · Jul 11, 2013

Any thoughts regarding the size of my base? (2'x2'x5') to support the BUD on a 15' schedule 40 steel pipe?

I think your cement block is wildly over-engineered.
There are sites suggesting how much concrete to put around the pipe, and how deep to go.
I might also suggest you bring in some plastic pipe through your pad to run coax and control wires.
More than two or three inches for the pad is probably wasteful, too.
It doesn't need rebar in the thin pad.
I tore one out that was 2' x 2' x 2" thick, and it was a monster (been there 25 years).

As for the pipe, you've said 4" OD several times, and that size worries me.
Doesn't sound right, nor standard.
I took down a heavy BUD 9' up a 3.5" pipe.
It was just fine & stable.
Can you see what adjustment range the bottom of the mount has? :up

Are you going to have any trouble with the city?
.

KJ6EO · Jul 11, 2013

Anole said:
I think your cement block is wildly over-engineered.
There are sites suggesting how much concrete to put around the pipe, and how deep to go.
I might also suggest you bring in some plastic pipe through your pad to run coax and control wires.
More than two or three inches for the pad is probably wasteful, too.
It doesn't need rebar in the thin pad.
I tore one out that was 2' x 2' x 2" thick, and it was a monster (been there 25 years).

As for the pipe, you've said 4" OD several times, and that size worries me.
Doesn't sound right, nor standard.
I took down a heavy BUD 9' up a 3.5" pipe.
It was just fine & stable.
Can you see what adjustment range the bottom of the mount has? :up

Are you going to have any trouble with the city
.

I wrote a nice long reply to your message but I timed out and the forum dumped me ... I lost it all :rant:. So, here is the condensed "short reply" because I'm too tired to type it all in again

. The correct pipe size is of course 3 1/2". I just referred to it regarding it's O.D which is 4". Yes, most likely the concrete size I choose is overkill (I just took a guess). Winegard suggests a 18"x18"x48" for an 8' pipe. I could even most likely get away with 18"x18"x36". The only way to know for sure is to ask a local engineer to do a quick size calculation for me (then there will be no overkill). The mounting bracket has a 4 1/8" inside diameter. There are (6) 1/2"-20 bolts to secure it to the pipe. Regarding the City, they really don't get concerned until you exceed their easement which is 25'. There are no HOA's in my tract so I should be ok. Besides the BUD, I've applied for a Non-Commercial FM Radio Station License. So I've got to find a place for those antennas too

. Your expert advice and guidance are always appreciated

.

primestar31 · Jul 12, 2013

The hole for the dish should be BELL shaped, smaller at the top than the bottom. 20" at top should be enough, but the top should harden raised dome shaped to keep water from sitting there, you want that to drain off. I've done plenty of these, and that's the best way to do it.

At the bottom which should be tamped down, you put a bag or two of river gravel, level it off, then place a flat cement patio paver in the middle. Then, you put the bottom of the pole on top of the paver. That paver keeps it from sinking into the ground before the cement sets up. The gravel helps drain and keep ground water from lifting the pole. Then, you use long 2 x 4's strapped to the pole (and staked to the ground) to keep it up and level as you pour in the cement. The 2 x 4's get removed after a couple days/1 week when you feel your cement has hardened. With a hole the size you are talking about, you are going to need about 1200-1300lbs of cement, perhaps a bit more. Cement is cheap, do it once, and do it right the first time!

Don't forget that before you put the pole in the ground, you should drill a hole through it and place a long bolt/all thread in it sticking out from each side some inches. That gets embedded into the cement, and keeps the pole from finding a way to eventually spin (due to wind load, or whatever)

Make sure you use a good level, and it should be leveled North-South, AND East-West. Make sure it's right BEFORE pouring the cement, and check it several times while pouring the cement. Once all the cement is poured, you aren't going to easily be able to change it if it's wrong. You also pour that cement evenly all around the pole, not just in on one side.

As for wiring, you can go to Lowes or Home Depot and buy some coiled black drainage pipe to run in a trench from house to dish, and have it put so the cement will harden around it, and later strap it to the pole, (don't have it strapped while doing the cement work). That protects from wives with a gardening shovels. Use a large diameter size, so you can pre-pull all the wiring through it, and you might also pull a small/thin nylon rope through with the wires (comes in handy if ever have to pull additional wires). PULL SPARE EXTRA WIRES right away!! Trust me on that, you need extra wires for later, in case some goes bad, or even at least a couple coaxes for easy future changes/additions.

KJ6EO · Jul 12, 2013

Found some info on the WEB about pole size, length, and base size. It said rule of thumb for the diameter of the hole is 4 times the O.D of the pipe. Depth wise the rule of thumb they suggested was 2/3 up and 1/3 down. If I can get away with a 3 1/2" schedule 40 pipe x 12', the base size would be 16"x16"x48". Gravel in the bottom of the hole, paver, were also suggested. So, that's what I'm going to go with. Out in the yard dreaming looking for a spot to dig now! My neighbor has a mixer he said I could use so that'll help allot. Will come back later with more details

I'd like to connect with those of you who have Winegard Pinnacle's

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