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Cadsulfide
Last reply · posted in C-BAND Satellite Discussion
It must be spring on the Northern Prarie. Stopped by an old building in a small town 50 miles from here yesterday to ask about the "old dish" out front. The owner and I went out to take a peek, a 10' birdview! I offered him $100, he accepted. Has a minor ding on the bottom edge but otherwise complete, down to the plastic covers and molex connectors. Will get pix when I retrieve it next week.

Spotted an 8' BV last winter, no lnb's or support rods, have to do a follow up. Only spoke to the hired man when I last stopped.

Checked the phone messages when I got home, the son of a guy I know had called asking me if I wanted an old big dish in his yard. I returned the call, went to town and it looked to be a 10" CM with a von Weise actuator. It's on a tripod stand. I asked if I could wait a week or so to come get it , no problem.

I'm thinking of using some of those cardboard Sonotubes to pour support columns for the tripod with bolts welded to rebar for leveling. Any experiance with that, anyone?
24 Replies · 3837 views
Anole
BV history:

See this thread for scans of Birdview original sales material.
They call out 8, 9, and 10 foot dishes (zoom in), in solid and perforated.

First thing is this: the 9' dishes are what we call 8½ foot, measured straight across from rim to rim.
That's the honest way to measure a dish.

Second thing: some members have solid and perf in the 8½ size, but no others.
Linuxman has both, and they apparently both perform equally on C & Ku.

So, all solids are one size: 8½
The only perf we've seen is: 8½
Nobody has come up with the smaller nor larger perf, from Birdview.
There are a number of similar dishes around of equal and larger size, but if they're not on the unique Birdview mount, then they aren't even related to Birdviews.


Yes, there was a queer offset dish the company came up with just before they went out of business, but only one or two members have them.
The have regular BV motorized mounts, but I don't know of any put into service.
And due to their smaller size, I would not be anxious to fire one up.
They were called the Spoon, and if you must know more, I'm sure it'll come up on a search, here.
Cadsulfide
Got the mount on the trailer post last night, removed the plastic shroud, hooked it motor to a near dead car battery.

It's alive! Motor is quiet, and it pans very smoothly. Next step is to fab a magnet wheel.

Still too cold to paint, forcast for daytime highs in the 40's for another week. Will clean off the old grease and put new on the worm and arc gear. Maybe even clean and chase threads on the reflector.

Stogie; We do have spiders, ticks and mosquitos. No fleas or roaches--too cold. ;)
Cadsulfide
Got the Scalar ring back from my machinist buddy, honed out for a standard C-Band lnb, he used some unistrut scraps for centering clamps. Should work out ok. Went rooting through my junk boxes and found a couple of HP rotary optical encoders, going to replace the original 10 turn pot with an encoder/ reed relay setup, that way the original hardware is not being modified. With a 256 ppr encoder that should be 2560 pulses for the arc on one channel of the encoder. 14 tics/degree should be enough. If need be I can use both channels and an XOR gate as an edge detector to run it up to ~28 tics/degree.

Picked up the 8" concrete tubes this week, still a bit cool to dig. Will be welding some bolts to rebar for the trailer mount to sit on.
Cadsulfide
Drew up the encoder to dry contact circuit. I added limit switches with steering diodes to keep the motor from running off the gear. Also ordered a Vbox 3000 from Sadoun
Cadsulfide
Been a rough spring, finally got back to working on the BV. Dug three 3' holes, pounded in the rebar, put in the sleeves and leveled everything. Added 1 sack of quickcrete per tube before I ran out. Set the plywood jig on until cement cures. Lumber yard opens back up Monday, will pick up another 6 bags and do the 2nd pour with the BV tripod in place. the 3/4" bolts should give me about 1/2" adjustment room on any one leg, more than enough to get it perfectly level.
S
See this thread for scans of Birdview original sales material.
They call out 8, 9, and 10 foot dishes (zoom in), in solid and perforated.

First thing is this: the 9' dishes are what we call 8½ foot, measured straight across from rim to rim.
That's the honest way to measure a dish.

Second thing: some members have solid and perf in the 8½ size, but no others.
Linuxman has both, and they apparently both perform equally on C & Ku.

So, all solids are one size: 8½
The only perf we've seen is: 8½
Nobody has come up with the smaller nor larger perf, from Birdview.
There are a number of similar dishes around of equal and larger size, but if they're not on the unique Birdview mount, then they aren't even related to Birdviews.

Actually, that makes sense as the 10 foot I came across actually measures 9.5 feet across.

I have spoken with 3 former BV dealers. They tell me the preforated dishes were actually better constructed than the solid dishes. The dishes were stamped out of 8ft, 9ft, and 10ft pieces of metal, so that is why the 9ft measures out at 8.5 foot etc.
Scott Greczkowski
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!

So let the game continue!

The last song was added by Bobby who posted...

One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters

CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!

Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game

Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.

Example:

Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow

Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio

Another example:

Ride the Lightning -- Metallica

Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne


Get it?


An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
68509 Replies · 2671537 views
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long_time_Dish
Don't Do Me Like That - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
H
I LIKE It LIKE THAT-The Dave Clark Five
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ClarkGable
Five O'Clock World - The Vogues
FTA4PA
Six O'Clock News - John Prine
Bobby
It's Five O'Clock Somewhere - Alan Jackson
meStevo
Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
Continuing the Kilauea thread in the Pub here. Perhaps the Iceland one too next time there's remarkable activity.

Currently there is precursory lava flowing into the crater, leading to the next episode that'll probably start within the next day.

You can see the pace of inflation / deflation here. It serves as the primary predictor for when the expect the eruptions, which coincide w/ inflation turning into significant deflation and last for several hours on average with significant fountaining.



View: https://youtu.be/Uecu2seh4b4


Wife and I like the AfarTV feeds, for the discussion along w/ them, though they're otherwise just mirrors of the official USGS feeds.


View: https://youtu.be/iws3rh5vLAQ
119 Replies · 3227 views
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Foxbat
​
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Foxbat
​
Foxbat
Oooo, quite the show now. All three vents have doming and overflows. The cone that built up around the North vent lost its upper quarter at 02:50 Oct 17 and is now spewing lava at a healthy rate. Don't know if I would say it's a fountain, but it's close.


IMG_1534.webp

edit: The USGS has called the official start of Episode 55 as starting at 03:19 HST Oct 17, 2026:

Alert Level: WATCH, Color Code: ORANGE 2026-10-17 13:43:56 UTC
HVO/USGS Volcanic Activity Notice

Volcano: Kilauea (VNUM #332010)

Current Volcano Alert Level: WATCH
Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE

Issued: Saturday, October 17, 2026, 3:43 AM HST
Source: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
Notice Number: 2026/H488
Location: N 19 deg 25 min W 155 deg 17 min
Elevation: 4091 ft (1247 m)
Area: Hawaii

Summary: Episode 55 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption began at 3:19 AM HST on October 17, 2026.

Volcanic Activity:
Episode 55 of lava fountaining in Halemaʻumaʻu began at the summit of Kīlauea began at 3:19 AM HST on October 17, 2026.

Fountain heights are relatively low at about 100-150 feet (30-45 m), and it is not clear whether this episode will evolve to the same heights as previous episodes. Continuous overflows from the vents began yesterday, October 16, just before 6 a.m. HST and transitioned into episode 55 fountains at 3:19 a.m. HST this morning. The current forecast is for winds are blowing from the north-northeast direction, which suggests that volcanic gas emissions and volcanic material may be distributed to the south-southwest direction from Halemaʻumaʻu.
  • All eruptive vents and lava flows are confined to Halemaʻumaʻu crater within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Tephra fall from volcanic ash clouds is greatest within 3 miles (5 km) of the vents, lighter ash and Pele's Hair may stay suspended for large distances from the vents.
Foxbat
Kīlauea seems to be returning to the "normal" eruption script, impressive fountaining from the North Vent. For once, the V2 Cam has the best overall shot:
IMG_1535.webp
The lava flows have covered a good portion of the Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor.
BlackHitachi
Supporting Founder
Last reply · posted in Movie Talk
Since the Reds have there thread we should too!

Last watched Nine inch Nails
Next 3:10 to Yuma
5390 Replies · 510330 views
osu1991

View: https://youtu.be/9j3vxhzM8MY?is=Rs1cY1FQAiRWi87i


Come September (1961)
Rock Hudson and Gina Lollobrigida with Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin
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1791758462355.webp


Simple, charming. Entire premise is quite silly but Cary Grant carries it across the line in good fashion.
T
Last: The Social Reckoning. Spoiler alert, they make Zuck look like a...
Foxbat
Since it was already "paid" for, I spent the two hours of my time watching the John Cena action movie on Apple TV, "Matchbox The Movie" even though the reviews were brutal. It was better than I expected, so I didn't feel like I had wasted an afternoon watching it. But it felt like another "Reacher"/"Neghley"/"Mission: Impossible"/"Fast & Furious" crash and blow stuff up with lots of automatic gunfire mixed in movie featuring covert CIA operatives.

I don't think we'll get a follow-up movie from this. I expect Mattel will have other toy lines to exploit.
Van
Van
Last reply · posted in What's Cooking?
Who says dinner or lunch has to be the only good meals of the day?

Honey butter grits with scrambled eggs and grilled boneless pork ribs on flakey biscuits washed down with cranberry juice.
6629 Replies · 379363 views
dfergie
Egg, sausage and cheese sandwich between bread toasted in butter in skillet... Chocolate milk.
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dfergie
Egg, sausage and cheese sandwich between bread toasted in butter in skillet... Chocolate milk.
Add fresh hash browns, delete chocolate for milk with a slice of bacon.
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TRG
TRG
Bacon, eggs, hash browns and toast. Coffee.
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TRG
TRG
Wound up at the Waffle House this morning. Got the two egg breakfast with coffee.

1622.webp
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dfergie
Speaking of waffles, I'm going to put my mini waffle iron on stove so I'll remember to make waffles in the morning... Had some last week, been awhile.
dfergie
Dos cackleberrys over easy on top of 2 corned beef hash patties fried in skillet... Chocolate milk.
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dfergie
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!
Last reply · posted in What's Cooking?
Anyone making their own breakfast sausage? I've recently been trying different recipes, found some I like, some I've modified...
38 Replies · 3559 views
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navychop
Bob Evans Sage.
R
Bob Evans Sage.
I will look, but I don't think I have seen it. Owen's breakfast sausage use to be favorite, but I can't find it anymore. Jimmy Dean's country mild is OK also when I can find it.
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dfergie
Swaggerty's isn't too bad, sausage prices are lower per lb than making my own from pork butts right now so I've been buying JC Potter or Owen lately.
(Swaggerty's at Sam's is pre cut, I usually partially freeze the rolls and cut with my slicer and vacuum seal on parchment paper)
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S
I will look, but I don't think I have seen it. Owen's breakfast sausage use to be favorite, but I can't find it anymore. Jimmy Dean's country mild is OK also when I can find it.
amazon maybe :what
S
I will look, but I don't think I have seen it. Owen's breakfast sausage use to be favorite, but I can't find it anymore. Jimmy Dean's country mild is OK also when I can find it.
owens on amazon is 54.99 for a 4 pk 16 oz a sausage. i feel that's kind of steep!!!
S
Swaggerty's isn't too bad, sausage prices are lower per lb than making my own from pork butts right now so I've been buying JC Potter or Owen lately.
(Swaggerty's at Sam's is pre cut, I usually partially freeze the rolls and cut with my slicer and vacuum seal on parchment paper)
id'e rather make my own vs store bought.
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R
owens on amazon is 54.99 for a 4 pk 16 oz a sausage. i feel that's kind of steep!!!
Especially when I can get a two pound roll of Jimmy Dean from Sam's Club for $7.38.
dfergie
They run Owens at $3.99 for lb and $7.99 a couple times a month at some grocery stores here, I actually was wrong, just checked a pork sirloin roast it was $1.99 a lb. (cooked it yesterday so pack was in trash)
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TheRatPatrol
Last reply · posted in TV Shows
Anyone else watch this show? Any guesses as to what was in the box Gibbs gave to Abby that was on her desk? It look liked it was glowing.

I also heard that someone was leaving the show at the end of this season. Any guesses as to who thats going to be?
2134 Replies · 214756 views
Jimbo

Howard ...
You don't like Tony, or Tony as the Director (he's only been there for 30 seconds now) or you don't like NCIS ?
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Howard Simmons
Howard ...
You don't like Tony, or Tony as the Director (he's only been there for 30 seconds now) or you don't like NCIS ?
Tony as the director.🙄
Jimbo
Tony as the director.🙄
Would you rather have LaRoche ???
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dfergie
I liked this episode and a toned down Tony...
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Howard Simmons
Would you rather have LaRoche ???
No. Bring in someone new.🤔 Tony is not serious enough for me. Parker is too close to the team and Tim is too young to take over IMO.
Jimbo
No. Bring in someone new.🤔 Tony is not serious enough for me. Parker is too close to the team and Tim is too young to take over IMO.
I don't think Tim and Tony are that far apart in Age ...

Remember what Tony said to Tim when they first got back together ...
Tony said: I am the New Tony, Tim .... (something to that effect)

Tony has changed, he's been running his Security Business ... I'm sure he has grown up.

Give it time ... your judging the New Tony from the old Tony.

It sounds like Tim won't be around the Team much longer either.
KAB
KAB
I wonder it they will show the teased meeting (in Origins) with Tony and Gibbs.
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Jimbo
I wonder it they will show the teased meeting (in Origins) with Tony and Gibbs.
I'm curious how they are going to implement Tony into Origins (If they do) ...
Tony was introduced to Gibbs and the team, on NCIS, which makes it the Mothership side of things, he worked in Baltimore prior to NCIS, NO mention when they met that anyone had known one another ...