6 foot dish install

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Whats that covering your LNB? Looks like a jar of some sort to protect the LNB +connectors from the elements! Good Idea!!

It's a plastic jar from Wally World. It came with 1000 assorted cable ties. I cut the threads off and used 3 L brackets to bolt it to three unused threaded holes on the scaler.
Notched it out for the existing bolts and coax.
 

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Brent, mine is the same way. I also noticed my bolts loosening where I forgot to put the lock washers so I am going back to do that with every bolt. I am going to try what Hindu did but probably not until spring because it is nice just long enough here to make final adjustments and thats it. i never moved my actuator back far enough on the mount to get my furthest west sat so i am doing that today and burying the cables. with that all said i will prob only get half done before my fatigue sets in then im done for the day. I'll just deal with the little quirks because if Robby never had this price I wouldn't even be enjoying any c band for a long time.
 
The LNBF is going to get very hot in the plastic jar and then it will start frequency drifting and then you wonder why the channels are not coming in.
 
The LNBF is going to get very hot in the plastic jar and then it will start frequency drifting and then you wonder why the channels are not coming in.

Sounds logical, but how does the jar differ from a $49.95 feedhorn cover? Is it because it's clear? Or is it sealed tighter? You'd think a black feedhorn cover to be hotter than a clear jar. But I was wondering why hardly anyone sells covers for LNBs on C-Band dishes? They don't need them anymore? Yes the whole subject raises more questions in my mind about the cover thing.
 
The LNBF is going to get very hot in the plastic jar and then it will start frequency drifting and then you wonder why the channels are not coming in.

Maybe. Won't know till I try. My previous C-band dish that I used from about 1982 to 1998 had a cover on it. I thought about painting it
gray but decided to wait till spring and see how it does. May help drift over the winter. I did not care for the connections pointing
upwards and a plastic bag was ugly. To each his own. :)
 
Have you guys had to bend the lnb arms to get center focus of your lnb? mine is off so i needed to put a washer (like a shim) on one side of the lnb to center it. i didnt want to try to bend the lnb arms because i thought they might snap. if you needed to adjust to get center focal point please let me know of some ideas. the washer / shim isn't setting tight and is throwing off my signals when the dish moves. thanks guys for any ideas.
 
Have you guys had to bend the lnb arms to get center focus of your lnb? mine is off so i needed to put a washer (like a shim) on one side of the lnb to center it. i didnt want to try to bend the lnb arms because i thought they might snap. if you needed to adjust to get center focal point please let me know of some ideas. the washer / shim isn't setting tight and is throwing off my signals when the dish moves. thanks guys for any ideas.
That's exactly what they all had to do to get the LNB centered. Carefully bend the LNB arm you should be fine.
 
thanks Babadem, thats what i thought i might need to do but was afraid to without asking . two of them are pushing the mount to the right i guess the two might need the angle bent down a little where it connects to the lnb holder to pull it to the left.
 
Screwed Up

Decided to buy a Gbox to use with my Pansat 2700a. Set my dish up facing south. With my actuator arm fully retracted from that starting position and my elevation set at 56 degrees I used my gbox to move my dish west which it did until the actuator arm was about 9" out and the dish facing west when the dish tipped over. So now the dish is facing west actuator arm out 9" and dish tipped over. PLEASE HELP
Rod
 
Sounds like you "Flopped the Dish" ?

To prevent overdrive at the top of the arc, set the actuator
limits (in the receiver) before performing any tuning. If you
happen to overdrive it at the top of the arc - to the short side
(and the dish flops), do not panic; just have someone lift the
dish by the lip while you drive it back using the receiver controls
and then be sure to check the setting of the limits better
.

.
 
Brent, Doug was able to get the dish unjammed by loosening the clamp that holds the actuator and then rotating the dish back east. I then retracted the actuator arm in and did exactly as Brent said to do in POST # 140. The problem is once i attempt to move the dish west again it does move west but the dish is now looking at the horizon instead of UP. Remember i am in central Florida and my dish is 13 ft off the ground. If i move the dish anymore west before it reaches south it will be facing down and probably jam again. Will try to get some pictures to you soon........
 
1. Set your elevation to your latitude, like an HH motor.
2. Once your actuator is on the dish, turn the whole assembly east . I suppose ideally, the actuator would be 1/2 extended at the true south point. That way you'd have an equal arc to the east and west. I only approximated it, and mine has turned out fine. I just made sure that at the east end I was beyond the LOS of any birds. Then , use the GBOX to extend the actuator to your approximate south, and you should be fine for true south tuning. [edit] check out the BUD MANUAL in the C-band stickies. I'd read it through, and use the charts for your angles. [/edit]
:)

I wish we had a pic of your install. Perhaps the actuator clamp is too far to the rear, near the motor. Mine is clamped about 6 inches from the rod end of the actuator. ?
:)
 

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Once you setup with the instructions from post #140, and your actuator is half extended, THAT is the point where you set your elevation and declination angles with the whole assembly pointed at true south. Since I don't have much LOS on the east side of my arc, my installation has the actuator about 6" extended at true south , rather than 12" . If you have good LOS in both directions, you want true south to be at the midpoint of the actuator travel.
:)
 
I feel your pain! When i first set up my dish i did the same as you except it was around 20 west.I didnt have my actuator clamped down tight enough :eek: what a scare it gave me.Since then i have tightend the clamp nice and tight and have my set point set for just under 30w.
 
Probably should have this as a Separate Post?......

Well....here's the way I'm going. Don't know if it's the "Proper Way",but here goes:

Picked up a 2 3/8"( O.D.) Galv. Terminal Post ( Fence)
Burying 4 feet of it and will have 40 inches exposed. Filling the inside of the post with concrete as well.

Now the fun part....

I picked up 2 2 " PVC Couplings
Remove the Ridge in the center of the couplings along with some of the material so that it would slide over pipe easily. Then I had to Grind Flats of the outside diameter to clear the Lock Down Bolt Thread inserts inside.
Located the holes onto the PVC Couplings where the Lock Down Bolts would be and drilled them out.

It takes a while, Dremmel Tool and Sander comes in handy.

Now how do you put a 2" pvp coupling on to a 2 3/8" pipe just wondering
 
I thought the same thing but you have to remember that the 2 inch coupling joins two inch pipe together so it measures bigger than 2 inches lol
 
Arms are located in the second row of bolts holes from the rim . Where DougRuss has his located. I definitely used extra washers, and went out and bought a 4" 7/16th bolt for attaching the actuator to the dish. Had to get longer to get a "straight push" from the actuator. Started working with the actuator and Gbox today. Set my east-west limits. Turned my dish on the pole to the east past my LOS, and then extended to actuator to my true south bird, 87W. Trying to set my elevation and delination angles ( not easy, I'd say), to get more than 2 birds. So far I can get 87W and 91W , but haven't gotten anything else.
:)
@ the highlighted:
Using the attached picture from Dougruss's can you point out where you placed your inclinometer to set both the elevation and declination on your Dish?
 

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