2 dishes one pole

[TRG]

Is there any reason why I cannot mount two dishes on one pole? I know I'll have to deal with the elevation pivot point bolt on the lower dish but other than that are there other issues I need to worry about?

 

[lumpkin666]

Nope, just make sure they don't hit each other, and make sure the weight doesn't pull the pole off-level. I've seen a couple pictures of multiple dishes on one pole before. I'll probably do that with a couple stationary dishes this summer.

 

[Mr Tony]

sure you can do that. I would make sure it is bolted down very well or in concrete. Last thing you need if roof mounted is the dishes tearing off the roof

 

[TRG]

Nope, just make sure they don't hit each other, and make sure the weight doesn't pull the pole off-level. I've seen a couple pictures of multiple dishes on one pole before. I'll probably do that with a couple stationary dishes this summer.

Thanks lumpkin. I have regretted putting my motorized up on the roof since day one. It’s a real PITA to get to for tweaks. Most of the stuff my family and I watch is on 87 and 123. I’m thinking about one dish for each on a pole (or two, haven’t decided) set in the back yard. That will take care of several things. One, I won’t have to get up on the roof for adjustments. Two, I can install dual LNBF’s and get both satellites in two different rooms without one receiver having to control a motor. And third, I can be watching a program on G10 and during the commercial pop over to AMC3 and look at the PBS feeds without having to swing the dish back and forth. I may set up a third dish on a motor as a feed hunter later on. It will go in the ground instead of up on the roof this time.

I’ll probably add 119 (circ) for my NASA fix on the 123 dish and might think about adding another linear for 129 for whitesprings.

 

[lumpkin666]

That had me thinking... I wonder if I could find a pole strong enough to hold a couple (few??) c-band dishes!? a little work on the existing mount would allow me to slide one down the pole and put another on top (if it were tall enough. I wonder if the large size would cause interference between dishes though? That would surely free up some space in my back yard .. or give me more room to add more BUDS

 

[TRG]

sure you can do that. I would make sure it is bolted down very well or in concrete. Last thing you need if roof mounted is the dishes tearing off the roof

They will be in concrete in my backyard. This up and down from the roof stuff is for the birds.

 

[gpat]

That had me thinking... I wonder if I could find a pole strong enough to hold a couple (few??) c-band dishes!? a little work on the existing mount would allow me to slide one down the pole and put another on top (if it were tall enough. I wonder if the large size would cause interference between dishes though? That would surely free up some space in my back yard .. or give me more room to add more BUDS

I would really worry about the flexing of pole in this situation.
I have an old 8ft that used a 4 inch pipe mount and the newer one I replaced it with was a 3 inch.
So if yours is a 3 inch I would surely worry about the cantilever effect
of it.
I would say at least 50% of length below ground in concrete and fill the pipe(sch 40 or better 80 ) with concrete also.
Another thing to consider is that most mounts sit on top of the pole and its square cut so it sits level.
If you blow out the cap so it can be slid down on pole the only thing holding it up is the leveling setscrews.
Thats way too much strain on those,I would put a thru bolt into the pole to help with support.
You could stiften up the pole on backside with some additional supports
also anchored in the ground in concrete,similar to a free standing mount.

 

[Tron]

Another obstacle to multiple BUDs on one pole is the fact that, since they are prime focus dishes, they will be facing higher and consequently the pole would probably be in the way of the lower dish.

 

[Van]

When I did install work in Minnesota I saw a custom made satellite tree. The guy took cast iron pipe for gas and made a tree out of it using fourways and elbows to make it possible for him to have 5 dishes on a single pole. This guy had 4 dishes on it and was either brave or stupid, he had it mounted to the chimney.

 

[Mr Tony]

what size dishes were they Van?

 

[gpat]

I would think that would have been steel pipe,cast iron isnt threaded.

 

[Inno]

That's kinda what I'm doing here, the dish on top is a 1.2m Star Choice and the bottom is a 76cm Star Choice. The 1.2m is at G-10R with an additional LNB for Whitesprings and the 76cm is looking at AMC3 for PBS etc.
I took a mount originally designed for a 6' C-band dish and had a pipe welded to the top of it (I think there are some pictures in my gallery here) SatelliteGuys Photo Gallery - 4' extension improvements! - Powered by PhotoPost
I would think that the higher you go the more unstable it would get. I don't think I'd attempt it with motorised units not only because of instability but the extra weight a motor adds......if one dish were way off to one side (especially C-band) it would likely throw the other dish way off course. If they were both fixed mounts and you had sufficient bracing I don't see why that wouldn't work. It would likely cost a few bucks for all the pipe, bracing and concrete but if it's done right you could probably go as high as you wanted..........although picturing 2 C-Band dishes stacked makes my knees shake when I think about fine tuning the one on top

 

[Van]

Yes it was steel, I tend to grasp for the right words when Im getting tired.

Iceberg it was three E and what Im asuming was either a D dish or a smaller FTA dish but Im pulling this from memories that are 5 years old but it's a memory specific to the town because it had lost a large grain elevator due to dust explosion in the summer of 02. Im pretty sure it was Belgrade or Paynesville as it had a rail line running through it and along the state road to town.