12' Paraclipse Questions

[shultz]

Well, i found 3 of these things this last weekend, so i thought i'd bring one home. It seems to be in really good shape, with just some rust on the mount that can be sanded and repainted. My questions are:
1. it came with a Von Weise v76-5 actuator, but it was all rusted and froze up, so on this size of a dish, would you stick with a 24" or go with a 36" ?
2. i have a 3 1/2 pole in the back yard that my 8' unimesh is sitting on and its 8' above ground! Would you try to get this monster up 8' on that pole, or would a pole thats about 5' be better on this dish?
For everything being FREE, i just couldn't pass on a 12 ft'er.
Thanks for any advice.

 

[esteveW]

Nice find

I had heard of these but the pics are great.

I rig either my 10 mesh or my recent 3 meter solid onto my 8ft pole with an A frame rig on my small tractor loader. I call it my BUD-Picker.

A while back someone ask for a picture of what it looked like and at that time I had already dismantled it. I remembered that last week while taking down my mesh monster and took a pictures.

I prefer to rig a line or small chain thru the button hook hole in the middle and this lets me rotate the dish as needed. I handle it from the face side for better balance. I remove as much of the mount as possible and usually disconnect at the azmuith pivot. The 'solid's mount doesn't tilt down to put the dish in full vertical. The 'mesh's mount does and that is a big help since the dish balances almost vertical.

I'll be putting the mesh back up when I find another pole.



I might mention: I do almost everything by myself. It's a challenge and I enjoy that, especially when it "all comes together" and no one knows about the screw-ups.

Steve

 

[phlatwound]

Well, i found 3 of these things this last weekend, so i thought i'd bring one home. It seems to be in really good shape, with just some rust on the mount that can be sanded and repainted. My questions are:
1. it came with a Von Weise v76-5 actuator, but it was all rusted and froze up, so on this size of a dish, would you stick with a 24" or go with a 36" ?
2. i have a 3 1/2 pole in the back yard that my 8' unimesh is sitting on and its 8' above ground! Would you try to get this monster up 8' on that pole, or would a pole thats about 5' be better on this dish?
For everything being FREE, i just couldn't pass on a 12 ft'er.
Thanks for any advice.

If you go with a 24" I would make sure it was a very heavy duty one, probably be better off with a good 36", IMO.

As far as how tall a pole to use the determining factors are your line-of-sight and how close to the ground do you want it (you have to mow around it and the lower it is the greater the possibility of damage).

Here is stogie5150's Paraclipse install thread, he had an H-H mount on his but you may find some good info in here:

http://www.satelliteguys.us/c-band-satellite-discussion/142822-care-feeding-12-foot-paraclipse.html

 

[shultz]

Thanks guys for the input. I like that "bud-picker", although i still need someone around to blame for my screw ups I thought maybe a dish that size might need a 36" on it and was kinda surprised to find a 24" instead. I don't have a LOS issue, and my brother-in-law and i picked up that 8' Unimesh and got it mounted by ourself's, so i'm sure with about 4-5 of us, we could get that 12 ft'er up there. I was more worried about what mover to get than anything.

Thanks again

 

[stogie5150]

Well, i found 3 of these things this last weekend, so i thought i'd bring one home. It seems to be in really good shape, with just some rust on the mount that can be sanded and repainted. My questions are:
1. it came with a Von Weise v76-5 actuator, but it was all rusted and froze up, so on this size of a dish, would you stick with a 24" or go with a 36" ?
2. i have a 3 1/2 pole in the back yard that my 8' unimesh is sitting on and its 8' above ground! Would you try to get this monster up 8' on that pole, or would a pole thats about 5' be better on this dish?
For everything being FREE, i just couldn't pass on a 12 ft'er.
Thanks for any advice.

You did GOOD! :up

I am a Paraclipse Believer. Mine has the quad leg LNB setup with the H to H mount, so I can't hazard a guess on your actuator issue, but I know that we mounted mine on the motor with two guys, took a bit of lining it up but we did it, its not THAT heavy. But remember, like I said, I have never messed with one with a polar mount. SO I would imagine as many guys as you can get together will be just about enough.

As far as mounting pole mine is about 5' off the ground and at the far ends of the arc it is about a foot off the ground...I wouldn't go any lower than 5' pole.

As somebody said above, have a look at my thread and if you have any questions shoot me a PM.

I LOVE PARACLIPSE DISHES. THEY'RE JUST LIKE ME. BIG, MEAN, BUILT STOUT,AND HAVE A BAD ATTITUDE.

 

[shultz]

You did GOOD! :up

I am a Paraclipse Believer. Mine has the quad leg LNB setup with the H to H mount, so I can't hazard a guess on your actuator issue, but I know that we mounted mine on the motor with two guys, took a bit of lining it up but we did it, its not THAT heavy. But remember, like I said, I have never messed with one with a polar mount. SO I would imagine as many guys as you can get together will be just about enough.

As far as mounting pole mine is about 5' off the ground and at the far ends of the arc it is about a foot off the ground...I wouldn't go any lower than 5' pole.

As somebody said above, have a look at my thread and if you have any questions shoot me a PM.

I LOVE PARACLIPSE DISHES. THEY'RE JUST LIKE ME. BIG, MEAN, BUILT STOUT,AND HAVE A BAD ATTITUDE.

Thanks Stogie. I read your thread :up Thats what made me tell one of them Paraclipse's to follow me home! It's not all that heavy, just awkward, so i'm just going to leave that 8' pole where it is. I know we can get it up there!

 

[wa9zug]

"In da day" I put up a bunch of 12 foot Paraclipse's. The earliest ones had clips to hold on the mesh. J hooks and U hooks. Probably had to put in 200 clips to make sure the mesh stayed nice and tight to the frame. I always used 24" actuators here in the Midwest. As I recall they weren't so hot on KU. Although the later versions were better.

 

[turbosat]

I had a 12'mesh on a pole for awhile, it was also prob about 5' off the ground to the top of the pole. It was on level ground, but I found out it got really close to the ground if I moved it over to 137, that was the west limit for that setup here. I'd go with the 24" actuator, should have plenty of travel across the arc.

 

[shultz]

"In da day" I put up a bunch of 12 foot Paraclipse's. The earliest ones had clips to hold on the mesh. J hooks and U hooks. Probably had to put in 200 clips to make sure the mesh stayed nice and tight to the frame. I always used 24" actuators here in the Midwest. As I recall they weren't so hot on KU. Although the later versions were better.

This thing has those steel U & J hooks about every 2" apart all over the place! The mesh seems to be really tight and over lapped in the middle. I wouldn't use it for ku anyway, i got other dishes for that

I had a 12'mesh on a pole for awhile, it was also prob about 5' off the ground to the top of the pole. It was on level ground, but I found out it got really close to the ground if I moved it over to 137, that was the west limit for that setup here. I'd go with the 24" actuator, should have plenty of travel across the arc.

My 8' Unimesh has an 18" mover on it, and i go from about 40W over to 131W. I thought about just sticking with a heavy duty 24". Decisions, Decisions.......

 

[stogie5150]

This thing has those steel U & J hooks about every 2" apart all over the place! The mesh seems to be really tight and over lapped in the middle. I wouldn't use it for ku anyway, i got other dishes for that

My Para has mesh so big you can damn near jump through it and it does FINE on Ku. Don't let anyone tell you it cannot be done. The limiting factor on the Para is that danged buttonhook feed. Ku has to be very precise on feed placement, and over time the buttonhooks sag, I have been told. I have a factory quad leg setup on mine, and have no problems at all.

And Yes, the J-hooks for the mesh are a bear, but done correctly it holds the mesh VERY well.

The key with the Para, as with any dish, is attention to detail when aiming time comes around. Makes all the difference in the world. As I said before, I haven't messed with a polar mount Para, but make sure you get the declination set properly, the feed centered and at the proper distance from the dish, and it will serve you well. :up

 

[shultz]

My Para has mesh so big you can damn near jump through it and it does FINE on Ku. Don't let anyone tell you it cannot be done. The limiting factor on the Para is that danged buttonhook feed. Ku has to be very precise on feed placement, and over time the buttonhooks sag, I have been told. I have a factory quad leg setup on mine, and have no problems at all.

And Yes, the J-hooks for the mesh are a bear, but done correctly it holds the mesh VERY well.

The key with the Para, as with any dish, is attention to detail when aiming time comes around. Makes all the difference in the world. As I said before, I haven't messed with a polar mount Para, but make sure you get the declination set properly, the feed centered and at the proper distance from the dish, and it will serve you well. :up

I'm going to order a new feedhorn and actuator for it (as soon as i figure out what i want) and just play with the C band side of things for now since it's taking the place of the Unimesh and the ribbon cable is already there. Maybe down the road, i'll give KU a try. As far as the "buttonhook", i've never messed with one and i also read somewhere they do sag and need guide wires. I don't know how much of a sag, but this one seems pretty tight. I think i'm going to enjoy this little project

 

[Blindowl1234]

Hey guys I got the paraclipse on a pole finally. I may not hook it up til spring. I've got enough dishes already lol. Question is in the pic that is at the beginning post I see the Lnb hanging below on picture. Is that correct? My mount is what would be the 12 oclock position not the six oclock. Hope I don't have the stupid thing upside down. Thanks Blind

 

[shultz]

Hey guys I got the paraclipse on a pole finally. I may not hook it up til spring. I've got enough dishes already lol. Question is in the pic that is at the beginning post I see the Lnb hanging below on picture. Is that correct? My mount is what would be the 12 oclock position not the six oclock. Hope I don't have the stupid thing upside down. Thanks Blind

Blind, in those photo's, we just got the dish off the trailer and leaned it against the fence, so it wasn't straight up and down. The button hook (lnb) on this dish is actually pointing at the 9 o'clock position. That feedhorn is an old chapparral that is a one piece connected to the ring and no adjustment can be made. (i believe you make adjustments turning the button hook).I tried to get the button hook loose from the dish, but it was rusted and wouldn't budge. I took off that old feedhorn and picked up a DMX241 and put on it, pointed the "0" at 9 o'clock and WOW!! my signals on some tp's jumped up by at least 20. With the 8'ter i had, i could only get 70% on AMC3's rtv (my TS sat) with some pixeling, now their booming in at 89%, so right now i'm a pretty happy camper :up
Hope this helps

 

[Blindowl1234]

Shultz,
Thanks for the info. I'll take a picture of mine and post here tomorrow. The old Lnb is gone so I'm left with the buttonhook and the mount at the end that that has several holes in it. I'd say it looks like an upside down horse shoe I guess. I'm not sure if the "horse shoe" point up or down....or? Maybe that makes sense.
Thanks Blind

 

[Mauiguy]

Shultz,
Thanks for the info. I'll take a picture of mine and post here tomorrow. The old Lnb is gone so I'm left with the buttonhook and the mount at the end that that has several holes in it. I'd say it looks like an upside down horse shoe I guess. I'm not sure if the "horse shoe" point up or down....or? Maybe that makes sense.
Thanks Blind

The position of the button hook is not important. The key will be when you mount your Feedhorn. I think in the mounting plate on the button hook, there are three holes. You only need to be able to bolt up your Feed. If you are goung to use something like the corotor II then the scalar ring would be mounted and you would be able to rotate the feed throat to get your LNBs set properly.

Make sure the button hook is not sagging. The original Paraclypse feed cover was a heavy monster which could stress the aluminum tube of the feed pole.

Once you have mounted your feed, all you need to do is measure from several points at the edge of the dish to the edge of the feedhorn, and make sure the distances are even. Then check to make sure the scalar ring is equidistant from the center plate of the dish to ensure it is not "canted".

If everything is equal, then you should be fine.

 

[Blindowl1234]

Thanks guys. I took the Bsc421 off my 6foot dish to try on the Para and finally got a signal. I got one screw that lined up perfectly. I'll play around with it this weekend some more. The old accuator is there, although it's defunct. I'm having to manually move this sucker by loosening the screws and bracket holding the accuator....real ghetto, and heavy lol. Once I get it lined up on something I'll leave it for the winter I guess. Then next year look at motorizing it. By this time next year I'm sure I'll have more in this one dish than all my others combined lol. Thanks Blind

 

[stogie5150]

Thanks guys. I took the Bsc421 off my 6foot dish to try on the Para and finally got a signal. I got one screw that lined up perfectly. I'll play around with it this weekend some more. The old actuator is there, although it's defunct. I'm having to manually move this sucker by loosening the screws and bracket holding the actuator....real ghetto, and heavy lol. Once I get it lined up on something I'll leave it for the winter I guess. Then next year look at motorizing it. By this time next year I'm sure I'll have more in this one dish than all my others combined lol. Thanks Blind

You got the hardest thing DONE, Bro, don't stop now! Great work!:up