10ft. Mesh ChannelMaster

[O'Doyle]

So I decided a few days ago to post an ad on craigslist here where I live saying I was looking for a 8-10ft mesh satellite dish, and I received a message from a guy who manages a storage facility about 6 miles from me, he said he has a 10ft. mesh dish if I was interested, I went and looked at it today, I have (in my opinion) found a needle in a haystack! sure enough he has a 10ft. mesh quad leg ChannelMaster dish!!!. Now seeing that I would have to dismantle it from the pole and it has been there for several years not being used, what would you all suggest my best attack method for taking this beast home??? or is there a general dish disassembly method I could download and read? By the way I offered him $150 for it since it was a 10 footer, he tells me he needs to check with the property owner and get back to me on Monday, he said they just might let me have it for free! I can only hope!! Let me know what you all think and if you have any info or dealt with a ChannelMaster dish before and if it is a good find. Thx!

 

[Magic Static]

Here's a 10' Channel Master in the back of my Subaru. Comes apart in four sections. The mount and the rest are underneath the panels.

 

[beavs2112]

good find. yes channel master make excellent dishes. did it look like this some recent talk here about dish removal http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/threads/free-dish-any-advice.345355/

 

[O'Doyle]

Yes it looked like your picture, just wanted to know in the dismantling process which should be done first since I will probably be doing most of it myself.

 

[Magic Static]

I've done several 10 footers by myself. Not a problem. I usually pull the LNBF supports first, than pop the dish off the mount. I disassemble the dish on the ground. Then pull the mount off the pole.

 

[beavs2112]

ahh MS beat me to it. there isn't a specific order that must be followed everytime. every dish breakdown is unique. generally feedhorn & legs come off first (lightweight). then individual panels (medium weight) then back support ring & pipe cap mount (heaviest items). when I disassembled my 10 foot fiberglass beast it was above someones roof & i was alone so I tilted it via the elevation bolt so it sat like a birdbath for easier access .... i'm 5'3" . also another consideration is renting a boomtruck crane & operator. I've heard (no firsthand knowledge) in the usa its very economical (around 300-500ish?) to do so plus they're insured for damages. (not so economical here in Canada).

 

[O'Doyle]

kool! thx guy's for the pointers and when I start my project of bringing this beast home I will update here with pictures, by the way can I post pictures here from my phone or do I need to upload them to a website like Flickr or Photobucket before I post them here?

 

[ancient]

Great find! We moved one a few miles last spring on a small 4x8 utility trailer that had about 2 foot high sidewalls. We popped it off the pole and laid it flat across the trailer sidewalls with the mount facing down, and then tied it down really well so the wind couldn't pick it up like a giant sail, and we drove fairly slow on the way home. I would not recommend this if you have to go more than a few miles or if you have to go expressway speeds, but it didn't seem any worse for wear when we got it home and has been the best performing dish I've ever had.

Just one caveat if you do this, check the width restrictions on towed items and/or do as we did and stay on the back roads where there is less likelihood of encountering an overzealous police officer. In my neck of the woods I think you are technically supposed to get a wide load permit and use a wide load banner for anything over 8 feet in width but you see people hauling 10 foot storage sheds on the back of a flatbed on the back roads all the time without permits or banners. The cops only seem to get out their tape measures if they catch you on an expressway or a busy main road. Also if it has one of those big plastic LNB covers I would stow that in the car, because those could conceivably offer enough wind resistance to bend the LNB support arms if you encounter a really strong headwind or crosswind.

 

[beavs2112]

by the way can I post pictures here from my phone or do I need to upload them to a website like Flickr or Photobucket before I post them here?

ya you can upload them here directly no need for flickr or bucket. most people prefer a thumbnail view in the thread or as an attachment so our members with lower bandwidth don't have to see full 2M picture in the thread.

 

[fulszjep1]

I always number the panels before dismantling

 

[O'Doyle]

Thx fulsz, good idea, just waiting to hear back from the owner...rather anxious!

 

[O'Doyle]

Good News! got a call today to let me know I can come get the dish! Just hope all the bolts are not rusted too badly, will take some PB blaster with me in case. Going next Monday to get it (weather permitting)

 

[FTA4PA]

That's great! Good luck with disassembly!

 

[O'Doyle]

Thx!

 

[KE4EST]

Good to hear!!

 

[O'Doyle]

Update! Went this morning and had a helper to assist me in the dis-assembly of the dish, I had gone a few days ago and soaked all the bolted areas with PB blaster, thank heavens I did!, bolts came lose with no problem! had the dish off the pole in under 40 mins. transported home and now to clean it up a bit and figure where the best spot to place is going to be. It came with quite the LNB set-up , I will take some pic's and post tomorrow, and let you all see what it is and if the LNB is worth keeping or just a good paperweight. Happy to have it home with no big issues!

 

[FTA4PA]

Nice! Glad it went well!

 

[O'Doyle]

ok folks... here are some pics of the LNB that came with my channel master dish, looks fairly impressive, just need to know what I have and if it still good or not.

 

[KE4EST]

What you have there is a Chaparral CoRotor. The short White LNB is C-band and the longer one is for Ku.
I'm sure it still works and yes people still use them. I use one myself. I had to replace the servo motor on mine about a year ago, but it still works great.
You will need something like the Titanium ASC-1 so you can change polarity. Very nice though to be able to dial it in on some birds.
I would try and see if it works and consider changing the servo motor if it does work. Then look for a good quality LNBs for it.
It may work as is though at first and give you some time to do some research.

 

[O'Doyle]

could I just use the c-band part if I wanted? (considering it still works that is)