12 ft fiberglass dish

[thomas34461usa]

I was driving back home taking a different route just to see if there were any Big Dishes on this one road. I see this large satellite dish that looks to me like its 12 footer. It has 4 sections that bolt up to each other. The Feedhorn was I think is referred to as a "Buttonhook". The feedhorn looked OK except it was missing the cover. It looked like it was just set up for C-Band only.

I went to the door and asked what they were going to do with that large dish. The guy told me it was his brothers and most likely would give it away or try to sell it. I laughed and said yeah a lot of people back then made a lot of money for them and they think that they are still worth it! Then they have to spend 200.00 to 500.00$$ to have them removed. I do it for Free. I don't pay, this is just one of my hobbies so it good for everybody around! By the time I got home I got a call from him saying for me to come and get the dish. So I made plans and went to go and get it.

This dish is almost like the one I found before where the guy wanted a lot of money for it. I think he just said a high price because he wanted to keep it. I have photos of that one. Just remember the only thing different is the feedhorn. The one that I got, a section of the mound bar will need to be replaced. That shouldn't be a big problem thought. The actuator looks good and is hardly rusted at all. I think it might be a 24' mover.

The thing that is making me wonder about whether to go ahead and replace the mount is when we were picking up this Super Heavy 4 section Fiberglass dish is that it moaned with the sound of cracking noises. Are these fiberglass over mesh dishes worth keeping? Or what I was hearing a normal thing while it was being carried to the trailer? Should I keep this one or haul it away??

Thanks,
Tom

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n228/thomas34461usa/solid_0001.jpg

 

[voomvoom]

That is not a Buttonhook... maybe a Tripod...?

 

[ACRadio]

On a dish that old, the first thing I would do is take a Dremel tool and grind away a very small section of the fiberglass from the back rim and see just what type of mesh it has. If it's regular C band mesh I would skip it. If it's more like screen door wire then I would go to the next test.....

 

[thomas34461usa]

Image showwing is a Tripod but it has a Buttonhook

That is not a Buttonhook... maybe a Tripod...?

Al,
The dish I got I forgot to bring my camera. These pictures are of the same typeof dish that I got only it has a Buttonhook on it. The photos I took of the other same type of dish has the Tripod on it. I will take some picures of it on my trailer. Wanted to take other pictures of it when it was off the trailer but have to wait for help since this fiberglass dish is so darn heavy!
The mount that you see on the back of these photos is pretty rusted... the one I got is even worst! Don't know if I would be throwing my money away on a bad project? Or I could be wrong, Maybe it will be a good dish to have.


Thanks,
Tom

 

[thomas34461usa]

On a dish that old, the first thing I would do is take a Dremel tool and grind away a very small section of the fiberglass from the back rim and see just what type of mesh it has. If it's regular C band mesh I would skip it. If it's more like screen door wire then I would go to the next test.....

Thanks ACRadio for the suggestion. I'll do that when I get it out of my trailer soon.

Thanks,
Tom

 

[gabshere]

if it passes your mesh test you might want to make some support plates for where the 4 pieces bolt back together for support ( this will also allow you to add new bolts washers and nuts) ...... creaking and cracking due to age & weight

 

[thomas34461usa]

correct photos of the 12 foot fiberglass dish

Hello everyone,
Here are the correct photos of the 12 foot 4 section fiberglass dish that I got. The other photo’s that were seen posted earlier were of one that was very much a like. Well this is the right one. I took several images of the dish to try to show you in what I’m seeing. Sometimes the photos don’t show what I’m trying to capture. The main thing that is plain to see is that the mount is shot and will have to be prefabricated. I think I can get away with using the center box steel that turns and just replace the four sides of the angle iron plus make new brackets that are attached to the mount and bolt onto the fiberglass dish. What are your thoughts? On the feedhorn which is a button hook, the metal bar has rusted out and is broken where the two bars bolt together. My thinking is putting on a tripod type of feedhorn to replace the buttonhook. Again your ideas and suggestions are greatly appreciated.
As far as a time schedule for putting this one up, Its going to have to wait till after I get my two meshes and my beloved Birdview up!

Another question is coming to me and that's about the wiring and hooking up of four dishes and bringing in a good signal into the house. I took notice of ACRadio's Dish Farm. He has what he calls a Switch Panel. Will this be something I will need to configure the signals coming from each satellite dish into the house?
Visit ACRadio's Dish Farm

This was taken after I got back from using the pressure washer at the car wash. Looks a lot better now that all the mold and gunk is off!

Thanks,
Tom


BTW: On the Thumbnail images, on the bottom roll, image 5th from right looks like a possible fix up job with extra bonding glue? The next one bottom roll 4th from the right at the bottom bolts appears to be a couple of hairline cracks. The photo doesn't show it goog. Suggestions? Thanks again.

 

[ACRadio]

I'm sorry to say that after looking at the pictures I personally would pass...the dish is warped...

 

[thomas34461usa]

the dish is warped

I'm sorry to say that after looking at the pictures I personally would pass...the dish is warped...

You know I was wondering that too as it appears the four sides don't match up. Also was wondering if this was bacause the metal mount is all rusted away and not securing it right. So you think even if I did go forward and put in a new mount it still wouldn't bring it back right?

Also If i do go ahead with using the good dishes that I have, the Unimesh, Janiel and the Birdview would your type of Switch Panel be good to have?

Thanks,
Tom

 

[rv1pop]

I'm sorry to say that after looking at the pictures I personally would pass...the dish is warped...

Tom, looking at the dish and looking at what you have fabricated for other projects, I think you could make a frame, maybe from Aluminum, that would straighten out the warp and make it better than new.
I will be looking for pictures of your new dish and mount!

POP

 

[ACRadio]

You know I was wondering that too as it appears the four sides don't match up. Also was wondering if this was bacause the metal mount is all rusted away and not securing it right. So you think even if I did go forward and put in a new mount it still wouldn't bring it back right?

Also If i do go ahead with using the good dishes that I have, the Unimesh, Janiel and the Birdview would your type of Switch Panel be good to have?

Thanks,
Tom

The mount isn't what brings or keeps a reflector's shape...it is the quality of the reflector itself and how well it was originally assembled. The only chance that reflector will have to work reasonably well is to disassemble the panels and swap opposite panels so that no surface that was mated will be mated again. The reflector should be reassembled face down on a flat surface such as a driveway or parking lot. Put all reflector screws in finger tight, then start with the rim bolts and tighten in a spiral until you end up in the center. When you tighten the rim bolts feel with your hand to make sure the panels are flush in the front where they join.

When it gets in the air do a string test to check for warpage.

I have many dishes and I felt that if all the switches were together away from the receivers (wife factor - the wiring is bad enough ) that troubleshooting and testing different configurations would be easier. I have seperate lines for each dish position coming into the basement and with this method no switches are in the weather. It's also close to the breaker box for grounding purposes.

 

[thomas34461usa]

Following Advice

The mount isn't what brings or keeps a reflector's shape...it is the quality of the reflector itself and how well it was originally assembled. The only chance that reflector will have to work reasonably well is to disassemble the panels and swap opposite panels so that no surface that was mated will be mated again. The reflector should be reassembled face down on a flat surface such as a driveway or parking lot. Put all reflector screws in finger tight, then start with the rim bolts and tighten in a spiral until you end up in the center. When you tighten the rim bolts feel with your hand to make sure the panels are flush in the front where they join.

When it gets in the air do a string test to check for warpage.

I have many dishes and I felt that if all the switches were together away from the receivers (wife factor - the wiring is bad enough ) that troubleshooting and testing different configurations would be easier. I have seperate lines for each dish position coming into the basement and with this method no switches are in the weather. It's also close to the breaker box for grounding purposes.

Thanks RV1Pop and ACRadio,
Right now I have the dish leaning on the side and will be a future project for me. Right now I want to get my two mesh dishes and my Birdview dish up and running. On the Birdview I will have to take the support pole, the part of the pole I cut off from the main pole and have it welded onto a longer and same size pole. Then when I get to the point of working with the fiberglass dish I will do just like you said ACRadio of taking it apart and labeling the parts as I go. That way I can make sure it goes back on by swaping opposite panels so that no surface that was mated will be mated again, like you said. If all looks good from there I will start by having a mount built with Air Craft Tested Aluminum.

Thanks,
Tom