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Alright, so I ordered the Patriot 1.2m dish awhile back, should get here this week, maybe even today. In preperation for it, I took my 76cm Winegard off the motor and went to replace the old DirecPC dish that the wife uses in the bedroom (see location in picture 1- old DTV dish in that pic, but same mount). And guess what? The 76cm was too big to fit on that mount under the roof overhang. I HATE this blasted roof overhang; you'll see why in a minute.

So, instead of making yet more holes in the aluminum siding, I decided to mount it off the shed. That was my project two days ago; wife asked if it could be done before she gets home and wants to watch TV! Rule #1, never, EVER say "Sure, no problem!" on a dish install I spent over an hour trying to get 121 on that rotten dish, thinking it'll be alot easier to find and get my bearings than just aiming for G10. Even though my last SF-95 worked fine with my universal lnb, this new one decides it's not going to cooperate. So I'm left blind. I run a small tv out to where I'm working, try for another hour... nada. I feel like such a n00b! So I shove the dish in frustration, storm inside, and switch over from 121 to G10... bam! Watching Fox

That HAS to be the dumbest blind luck dish installation I've ever done. Anyway, back on point, I knew my little J-mount (see picture 2) would never support the 1.2m dish on it's own. I whipped up some "legs" to bolster up the motor directly, so it's more of a shed roof/shed roof/wall tripod affair. Then it occurs to me. It's a 120cm dish... 76cm never hit the house, but won't the 120cm? I checked. Yep, looks like it will. (see picture 3) Cr@p.

So now I need to figure out a new mounting method for my MicroBUD. I have limited choices. I can't put it in the tiny little yard we have. There's absolutely no LOS, there's a 10' wall about 10' from the back of my house. So mounting on the ground isn't an option. I was even worried about mounting the Winegard on the shed, but that turned out ok (about 6' up). Picture Four shows my initial insane setup using a long pole I still have. Yes, it worked, but as the motor turned the dish it leaned enough to mess up the arc (big suprise). Since a j-pole doesn't seem to work, I'll probably end up using this pole again, even if I have to cut it somehow. I would run it up the side of the house, and just leave enough sticking up to put the motor and 1.2m on, but (see picture three again) I have a killer overhang that's much too big to get the mounts to go from the wall underneath to the pole. I suppose I can take a dremel to the pole (all the power tools I have here currently, don't laugh ), shorten it, and use the same setup as I did before. The base of the pole was secured on the shed roof. Maybe it would be sturdier with half the pole gone.

Sorry for the humungous post! But I'd like your opinions. Keep in mind I'm on a negative budget (if I don't have it, I pretty much am screwed) and I'm eager to get something set up so when my Patriot shows up I can actually DO something with it Thanks in advance!