6ft Channel Master dish questions

[SatinKzo]

I went to take a look at a dish today that a guy is wanting to get rid of. Here's the details and I am hoping to hear what you guys think of it.

Channel Master
Fiberglass
4 sections
Didn't get a pic, but the dish other than being dirty looks in good shape. Things I figure I would have to replace are the lnbf and the actuator. All mounting hardware looks in good shape and would look new with just a little love and a grinder.

Is this a good dish? (no such thing as a bad free dish I know). Also, what is the typical depth for a 6ft dish mounting pole to be sunk to? It's in a concrete base obviously and the current owner wants to remove that if possible and I'd like to help him know what hes looking at for removal.

 

[Skyscanner]

Channel Master makes good stuff, all things being equal, it ought to be a good one, but I don't know about how fine the mesh is that's inside the glass and gel coat. If the mesh is too large, it won't give satisfactory KU performance. I would count on that pole being 3' in the ground. I usually dig them up with the concrete, haul them home, then set the pole with the concrete ball attached if I can. Sometimes an installer got carried away and set the pole with a huge ball of concrete. I carry a 10 pound sledge for those occasions, putting the broken pieces back down the hole. So, bottom line, this would make you a terrible dish: Where did you say it was? Heh, heh, heh.

 

[SatinKzo]

Well, KU performance is not my main concern (have 3 dishes for Ku now) and I have been looking for a dish to use for C-band. If I get anything bigger than 6 foot, it'll be put in storage until we move to where we have more land.

Other than it being dirty which should clean up pretty easily, it looks pretty good. All sections line up, no noticeable defects at all. Guy just emailed me too, said he has a couple of the "boxes" that were connected to it that I can have also. Whoo!

I've just never dealt with a fiberglass dish, so are there any other things I should be looking for concerning this type of dish?

 

[Anole]

I didn't know Channel Master made a 6' four-section fiberglass dish.
There are pictures of an 8' model in McGuyver's photo gallery.
You can look up the thread where he talked about refurbishing that dish, and maybe get some tips.
His was in pretty bad shape, and he fully restored it.

In my signature, there's a link about getting my Birdview dish.
I dug out the pole, knocked off the cement and hauled it home.
That was in the morning.
That afternoon, I took out the other dish in the sig, and I sure wasn't in any mood to dig out that concrete!
Once in a lifetime was enough!
However, if you have no other source of a proper pole, by all means do get it.

 

[SatinKzo]

Unless I grossly mis-judged the size (boy I would feel dumb, but then elated that it's an 8 footer instead). It wasn't directly at ground level, but just estimating by arm span, the sections appear to be a little over 4 1/2 feet around the perimeter, making it close to 19feet in total circumference.

It's got the channel master logo/plate in the center and looks very similar to the photo's mcguyver has, just the back side is slightly different, but the mount looks the same.

 

[whatchel1]

I don't think they made one

Unless I grossly mis-judged the size (boy I would feel dumb, but then elated that it's an 8 footer instead). It wasn't directly at ground level, but just estimating by arm span, the sections appear to be a little over 4 1/2 feet around the perimeter, making it close to 19feet in total circumference.

It's got the channel master logo/plate in the center and looks very similar to the photo's mcguyver has, just the back side is slightly different, but the mount looks the same.

I don't think that they made a sectional fiberglass version smaller than 8 ft in prime focus. The mesh in them is good enough for both C & Ku. They used an aluminum window screen type mesh inside so it should be fine. Now they make off set dishes down to 18".

 

[SatinKzo]

It's a prime focus, it looks just like mcguyver's except the lines on the back. I'll know more once I get a chance to go back and start taking it apart. Either way, I either eyed it wrong and it's an 8 footer or it's some odd 6 foot model. I did a quick trip to the guys house after work and didn't have my phone nor any tools etc with me. Either way, it's a primefocus channel master in 4 sections after I take it apart.

 

[ACRadio]

Here's what a 6 footer looks like. The mesh in these is fine... same mesh they used in their offset dishes...

 

[whatchel1]

Guess I just never ran into any of the 6 fts. But then I wouldn't have installed one for it was really not what was needed back in the old C-band only days.

 

[SatinKzo]

AC, that is exactly what it looks like, right down the lnbf housing.

 

[ACRadio]

Guess I just never ran into any of the 6 fts. But then I wouldn't have installed one for it was really not what was needed back in the old C-band only days.

That dish came from the C band only days. There were lots of systems sold as Galaxy 5, or G5 systems, as when G5 was launched it was the most powerful satellite in the sky. This was before 2 degree spacing, and when it was installed I noted that it didn't handle close spacing very well so it was relegated to mainly AOR use.

 

[whatchel1]

G5

That dish came from the C band only days. There were lots of systems sold as Galaxy 5, or G5 systems, as when G5 was launched it was the most powerful satellite in the sky. This was before 2 degree spacing, and when it was installed I noted that it didn't handle close spacing very well so it was relegated to mainly AOR use.

Yeah I remember G5 only systems never put one in though. Most ppl just didn't go for having only 24 chs. Smallest I dealt with was 7.5. I did have a portable 5 ft az el dish but really didn't do much w/ it. Just really a toy that I wound up having.

 

[Mr Tony]

Heck I use to sell G5 systems for Radio Shack back in the day

5 foot dish and receiver