12 footer found!

[armadillo_115]

Found a 12 footer today that may be available.30 miles away.I'm calling the owner back after he has time to think about it.Dish hasn't been used in years and over-grown with rose bushes,saplings, and weeds.Owner asked what I thought it was worth as scrap metal...so I'm hoping he prices it cheap or free.

Has anyone heard of a 'Starcatcher' or "Starchaser' dish? I never found a name but the owner thinks that's what it is.Sorry,no pictures because I didn't want to appear overly interested.Dish is a natural metal color.Aluminium mesh that appears to be C Band capable ONLY.The mesh is in 2 sections for each 'slice'.A triangular section from center until maybe 12' or 16" from the outside edge where there is a double support band..Then a horizontal piece of mesh on the end.I believe it is called an expanded mesh...it isn't flat.Each weave is slightly angled and the following weave is stacked above it.(Kinda like rubbing your fingers over a large cheese grater)

Oh...I believe the mesh was pop riveted rather than screwed on.

The following wasn't measured,I'm just guessing and relying on my poor memory: Mounting ring is huge ... maybe 4 ft circle from side to side which bolts to the ribs.then the pivot bar is maybe 4 foot as well.Elevation rod was either a loooong threaded rod or a turn-buckle.(Rose vines growing on it) I'm not sure if it has declination adjustment.The main things I can say for sure...the mount is HUGE and HEAVY....and it will be a pita to get out of the over-growth.

Actuator arm was only used about 1 year before the dish was taken out of service back when,so it may still be usable.

Between the rose thorns and the women folks wanting to hurry home,I didn't get much time to study it.It was unlike any dish I have seen to date though.The mount reminded me more like what I've seen on fiberglass dishes rather than metal dishes.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[fred555]

The only thing I can find is there is a Star Chaser Satellite Service in Concord NC.
Were you traveling south?

They were in business starting in 1992, so they could have just been the original installers, maybe.

 

[armadillo_115]

No,north of Galaxy Va.I saw that star chaser sat service on google as well.

The owners memory may have been as bad as mine and he had the name wrong.lol.He thought it was installed in '87.

I'm going to look at some google pics and see if I can find any dish that looks similar.

EDIT:Fred, Make that WEST of Galax.more or less.I still don't have my bearings right up here.Half the time on these back roads I don't know where I'm at.lol

 

[fred555]

No,north of Galaxy Va.I saw that star chaser sat service on google as well.

The owners memory may have been as bad as mine and he had the name wrong.lol.He thought it was installed in '87.

I'm going to look at some google pics and see if I can find any dish that looks similar.

EDIT:Fred, Make that WEST of Galax.more or less.I still don't have my bearings right up here.Half the time on these back roads I don't know where I'm at.lol

Did you try to walk around in google street view and try to get a look at it?
If its not to far from the road.

 

[migold]

WOW! That is close to you! Congrats! Hope you get it!

 

[armadillo_115]

This is the best I could get from Street View.It is too far away and too obscured by overgrowth to make out much detail.(Actually,it is even more overgrown now than in this photo)

 

[armadillo_115]

Regardless whether I get this dish or not: The 7.5" KTI dish is available to any member here who wants it.If you have some dish part to trade that I can use,that would be great.If not,come get it for free.I'm easy.

Only the dish and mount,no actuator goes with it.Just shoot me a PM if interested.

 

[armadillo_115]

Owner just priced the 12 footer at $50...I didn't even try to 'jew' him down. Plan to pick it up the first day the weather co-operates,have a helper,etc.

This mount is gonna be one heavy rascal to lift.I have the option to saw off the pole or leave it standing...depending on what I decide after getting a better look at it.I'll be lucky if there are not yellow jackets or worse in the over-growth.Think I'll carry me a can of hornet spray when I go.

I'm not sure how well this dish will receive...the way the mesh attached to the dish didn't look too inspiring to me.I hope it isn't a 12' that only performs like a 10'. Time will tell.I'm not concerned if it doesn't do KU.I sure hope the actuator arm works...I need a good actuator worse than I need another dish.(Well...now I need TWO good actuators)

I have looked at BUD photos online until my eyes hurt...found nothing I thought looked the same.The large mount ring and pivot rod looks more like something on a fiberglass dish IMO. (Maybe a Frankendish?) I'll take some pics before we dismantle it and post 'em...if I can remember to take the camera.
This dish will give me TWO dishes that I don't need.Momma let it be known that this BETTER be my last dish. I'll have to butter her up before I find something else. lmao

Crap...I have not removed the last 10 footer from the truck yet.Better get busy.

 

[armadillo_115]

Ain't been able to pry the remote out of the wife's hand all day.I finally told her: "The only way I'll ever be able to watch tv with you around here is if I install a second BUD system". She countered by saying that another huge dish wouldn't look good in our front yard.At which point I replied: "Ok,I'll forget the second dish ... just hand over my remote".

I never got that remote ... Looks like I'll be digging another hole. (There are other projects to do first though.Hopefully before Winter rolls back around)

Funny how it wasn't that important until she realized it might be HER who did without.lmao

Seriously though...I'm glad that she gets so much pleasure out of it.

I'm wondering now if I even NEED to keep looking for a H2H motor. I can mount the actuators so my dish gets the extreme West Sats,and Momma's gets the extreme East Sats.Not that I'd turn down a free one if the opportunity arises.

 

[KE4EST]

My wife was the same way until she got hooked on it. She would always be saying,why you need all them dishes. Now she yells at the kids if they get near them. She is afraid to lose her channels if they bump a dish.
My plan worked so well.

She knows how to work the ASC1 also and such. If it gets near a certain time and I am out side I will see the dish moving to her preferred satellite. It is actually pretty neat, knowing she knows how to work everything, without hollering at me all the time now.

 

[fred555]

My wife was the same way until she got hooked on it. She would always be saying,why you need all them dishes. Now she yells at the kids if they get near them. She is afraid to lose her channels if they bump a dish.
My plan worked so well.

Exactly why I have 6 stationary multi-lnbf dishes.
She can watch whatever she wants in her room and me in mine.

 

[armadillo_115]

I believe I finally found a similar dish by Googling "Star 12 foot dish".Joe, a mod at Rick's site posted the following pics in their forum :

First,notice the large mount ring.
Second,the long triangle shaped mesh panels with the horizontal additions on the outside.Looks like the outer band might be an add-on.I believe the support ring closest to the outer edge is doubled on mine.
Third,the super long pivot bar.
Fourth,the long,heavy duty inclination bolt/turnbuckle at the bottom.
My dish looked all metal colored ... I didn't notice any lingering black paint.But I could be wrong.If any thing.my mounting system is even heavier duty than the one in these photos.

We'll see how well my memory compares to the actual dish when I go get it.

 

[armadillo_115]

Went and paid for the dish today.PB Blasted the crap out of it.Removed part of the buttonhook and lnb...in case of wasps or snakes inside.And mashed down and removed some of the overgrowth...including some Poison Oak vines.
I hope to haul it home tomorrow. Took some photos for you folks to enjoy as well.
Notice how heavy duty this mount is...might strain my truck to haul it home.lol. The nose cone was completely full of old birds nests,but no wasps or snakes to be seen.The mesh is going to need quite a bit of straightening but intact.Mesh IS pop riveted on.I'm a bit concerned about how some of the mesh panels overlap.Wonder how much those overlaps will effect the reception? One photo shows how large the mesh holes are.

Back side of dish is white,not silver as I first thought.Easier to see with the sun out and vines removed.Aluminium mesh was probably white when new.I'll plan to paint it all black.

Notice how clean the actuator clamps are.Was slightly used previously...hope it works! SuperJack...forgot to measure it.
Center support plate is small,maybe a larger one would be better?
Upper Declination bolts.HUGE!
Lower Declination bolts and Inclination turn-buckle.
Inclination lower end and junction box.
< Mesh close-ups.Penny for scale.
Square mount on a round pole?

Part of buttonhook after removal.This baby is truly adjustable.

 

[Titanium]

Good find! Nice condition for the age. I wouldn't worry about modifying the design. It looks well built for areas out of the path of a hurricane. Clean it up and enjoy C-band. Agree, the buttonhook design will sure simplify FD setting!

Mesh overlap will not be an issue at 3.7-4.2Ghz and was very common in many dish models during the early 80's. Take a few pairs of gloves. The mesh edges will eat gloves like bonbons! Hope you are up to date on your tetanus shot!

The design of the dish is a series of semi flat panels and not forming a true parabola. The design will be less efficient than a formed / shaped surface, exhibit a higher noise level with slightly increased sidelobes. I am sure that C-band performance will be fine, but KU will likely not be very good. The dish was probably distributed long before KU reception was common.

 

[armadillo_115]

The design of the dish is a series of semi flat panels and not forming a true parabola. The design will be less efficient than a formed / shaped surface, exhibit a higher noise level with slightly increased sidelobes. I am sure that C-band performance will be fine, but KU will likely not be very good. The dish was probably distributed long before KU reception was common.

Do you think it will perform better than a 10ft perf on C band? I would hate to go to all the trouble to repair it and find no improvement.The paint alone will be some serious coin.lol

KU doesn't concern me at all on this dish,I can get what little KU we need on the other dish.I bet we haven't watched 6 total hrs of KU since I installed the CK1S.(The CK1S works great! Just not much there)

PS: After proclaiming that I wouldn't have a shiny metal dish in the front yard...what do I go and find?

 

[Titanium]

A formed perforated reflector in good condition would have better surface accuracy and efficiency regardless of the diameter. Unknown how this 12' dish would compare against the 10' perf. The increased size might provide a better mainlobe and the flattened panels increase noise, resulting in a similar/better/worse Signal to Noise ratio. Side by side comparison will be your defining test.

If it were me, I would try to obtain a temporary installation permit from the WIC *(Wife In Charge) and test before performance putting to much labor and materials into the project. Too bad it couldn't be hauled intact to your home without requiring disassembly/reassembly!

 

[armadillo_115]

A formed perforated reflector in good condition would have better surface accuracy and efficiency regardless of the diameter. Unknown how this 12' dish would compare against the 10' perf. The increased size might provide a better mainlobe and the flattened panels increase noise, resulting in a similar/better/worse Signal to Noise ratio. Side by side comparison will be your defining test.

If it were me, I would try to obtain a temporary installation permit from the WIC *(Wife In Charge) and test before performance putting to much labor and materials into the project. Too bad it couldn't be hauled intact to your home without requiring disassembly/reassembly!

Not what I was hoping to hear...but about what I was afraid of after first seeing the flat mesh panels and over-laps.I'm not sure when I will install the second pole,but I will hold off on the restoration until I can test the receive properties..IF the actuator is good,I'm not hurt on the deal regardless.Thanks for the info, Titanium!

I plan to take down the 10 ft buttonhook mesh and mount the 10 ft quad support perforated first anyway.(After it is restored) Might be a good time to evaluate the 12 footer in between.Will see how it goes.It's nice to have extra dishes to fall back on.

I'm hoping that the owner of the similar dish I posted above (#12) can tell me how HIS dish performed when finished.Could save me some trouble.

 

[armadillo_115]

Update: Wife and I got the dish home today.Took about 3 and 1/2 hours to get this bad boy down and loaded.We were not in a hurry.Lots of smaller bolts wrung off.Whew,the mount is heavy.24" SuperJack XL Pro Actuator appears fine! Removed motor,PB Blasted it and could turn it with my fingers.Cleaned out the motor housing and re-mounted to the arm.Ran it in and out with the truck battery.Looks almost new inside.

Tinkered a bit with a hammer and dolly: Mesh is very easy to work and got it much improved in only 30 minutes or so.Made a big difference just removing all the vines and small limbs that had grown thru various cracks.It will require some extra pop rivets and flattening in spots,but I don't believe I will have to remove any mesh to re-work it.I'm feeling much better about this dish already..as the pics will show.

These panels are almost good enough as is.Notice the dish would not break down into quarter section.Total of 10 segments.So 3 and 2 , 3 and 2.

The worst hole on the dish after working it our with hammer and dolly, and pliers.Distant and close focus.Will require some wire stitching.Had some type of small tree growing thru it.

A second small hole.

Brush had grown thru the bottom edge of dish and will require some pop rivets and flattening. This is the worst edge break on the dish but there are several small places that need an extra rivet or two.

Finally the mounting ring.This booger is 55 inches wide !

I'm about wore-out but happy! Need to work on some house projects next,so it may be fall before there is anything more to report on the Sat dishes.

 

[Jason S]

Congratulations on the rescue!

Looking forward to more posts about it!

Not what I was hoping to hear...but about what I was afraid of after first seeing the flat mesh panels and over-laps.

Tried to post this yesterday, maybe helpful...
Here's a photo of the panel overlap on a 'newer model' SAMI 10':

 

[armadillo_115]

Tried to post this yesterday, maybe helpful...
Here's a photo of the panel overlap on a 'newer model' SAMI 10':

Looks like that Sami has 5 rows of holes in a penny width.Mine only has 3 rows...so holes are much larger on mine.I believe it will still suk down some serious C Band though.