Before you take it down you need to mark each section. That way it can go back together the same way as it was taken apart. Some these type of dishes had the holes for combining the sections drilled at the site. So each section has to be match the sections that it mated before. I vaguely remember Comtech made(or had made for them) a dish that looked a lot like this about 15 or 20 yrs ago. If by chance it is one of those then it is really considered a 16ft dish. The measurement is from the inside edge of the aperture to inside edge.
I will check that out and see if the holes were field drilled. Did you notice the "scalloped" edge on the rim of the dish? I wondered if that may give a clue as to the manufacturer.
As in: Is it going to Rain?
That's what I learned this summer during a 12 car ride
Ah, I get it now. You need to spend some time down here in Hillbillistan, we'll teach you all the farming lingo...may even take you on a snipe hunt!
if you can weld and work with steel, and have the tools and no how, you may want to think about making a polar mount for it Phlatwound. you just need to think about over building it when selecting you're steel, like in a heavy gauge 3/8" to 3/4" material.
as far as a actuator to move it, wile you're in the fab process just move you're actuator bolt locations out farther and that will give you a greater push factor with less resistance. I have built several polar mounts threw out my years from scratch, and it is not take a rocket scientist to do it, but you need to understand how it will track the ark, as far as a elevation and declination adjustments, and their locations. you can even limit the dishes travel from a low elevation positions, this will lessen the amp draw on you're mover source, like having it start at 25 to 30-degrees and work up from their.
if you go this route you should give me a call, and can give you a lot of pointers on how and the different ways that I have done it. last winter I built a polar mount for a 15-ft Andrews 16-panel aluminum dish, that came from a cable company, and I had several hours in it some where around 90 hours of total time, and its pivot points rode on 1 1/4" grade-8 bolts on bake-lite bushings threw double backed 3/4" steel, along with a 8" I.D. pole cap.
Thanks for the thoughts and the offer, Captain, you would definitely be one I would like to consult with if I got this thing and wanted to go with a polar mount. I've seen your fab skills in the pics you have sent me, just incredible work. :up
With something that heavy, I wouldn't even consider a polar mount on a pole. But a tripod mount. One leg is the polar pivot. 1/2 hp DC motor via reduction to move. a rotary encoder to provide the pulses to the gbox. gbox controls relays between 1/2 hp motor and a suitable power supply for motor, and also disengages the position hold brake. (DC motor could be AC if internal wiring is accessible to reverse rotation) (Drooling just thinkin about havin a dish that size in the yard) And if the neighbors wonder why so big, tell 'em ya got connected to ET but was a bit scratchy on your smaller dish. So -----
I have a 10' solid that uses the "polar tripod" setup, another future project, thanks for the ideas. Still waiting for someone to tell me what "neighbors" are?
Everyone seems to over looking that you can reduce the drive problem by adding a counter balance. It's possible to use a drive that is less powerful by adding a weight a few feet behind the pivot point to off set the weight. I used a H2H mount many years ago on a Laux Beta 9 8 panel solid metal dish. The drive was for an 8 ft mesh dish that weighed at least half what the Laux did.
Thanks for the thoughts and pics, whatchel1. I have never been able to get my head around the concept of a counterweight, always seemed that what it would gain you in one direction, it would cost you in the other, I would have to play with one to understand it.
It will definitely give you some serious bragging rights, fixed or otherwise.
It would be a fun project either way, but I think tonydix has us all whooped with his 24 footer down in Central America.
I took 5 Andrews 10 footers down for local cable company in the late 90's for 400.00 each they kept them I removed and delivered them to the cable company from different locations rented crane for the morning went around lifted them off and hauled them back to them took about 5 hours then went back and cut off poles was done in one day crane cost 50.00 an hour back then.
Nice score there, tvro. I am looking at this as a project to make a few bucks on the removal, and if I can reuse the dish that would be great.
Thanks for those pics, Anole, that one of the tripod mount gave me some GREAT ideas for my 10' solid "Drake" dish.
I just have to ask.....At what point does the word "OVERKILL" come into play?
I'm not sure what the answer to that one is, sergei, but I'll let you know when I figure it out.