8 foot dish hunting

[Chewie]

Hello Gents
I am looking on replacing my 6 foot dish with a 8 foot, I found 2 dishes in my neighborhood, one is made by echostar, pictures 102,105,106 are from this dish.
Pic. 106 shows the only damage on this dish, it looks clean and very sturdy.
I was not able to find information on this dish in the internet, I look all over this forum and the pictures by tucan-man and was not able to find any look alike.
the other dish on pictures 107 and 108, I was not able to to see the inside of the dish, need to ID this dish
they both have chaparral feeds with co-rotors on them.
Owner of the echostar dish is asking for 150.00 dollars.
I am looking for some info on these dishes, if any of you has any information that would like to share, please let me know.
Thanks in advance.
Regards.
Chewie.

 

[primestar31]

107 and 108 looks very much like a Winegard dish. If so, I'd snatch that one in a heartbeat! Great dishes!

 

[phlatwound]

Both look like they might be pretty good dishes...but maybe if you looked a little more you might find a nice 10 footer.

 

[FaT Air]

Maybe make a counter offer of 50 bucks. That's about the scrap value if the owner were to take it down and -- well, you know. Then get the other for nothin' but the labor to take it down. Put one or the other up. The other is a spare. and spare parts. And Yeah, keep an eye out for a 10. The season to plant a dish is too soon to end (depending on location).

 

[Chewie]

Thanks Gents
Well, the 10 ft would be very good, my wife thinks the 6 ft is already to big, but I will work on it.
I just noticed the mount on pic 105, the echostar dish, I don't see a pivot on it, I wonder if is just a stand along dish, what is the purpose of the actuator.
any ideas guys.
please let me know.
Thanks Chewie

 

[Anole]

Opinion:
- no dish without a working H-H is worth $150
- ... unless it includes a working 922 4Dtv receiver you can sell
- beautiful pictures, but back-lit black stuff is hard to see
- maybe you could take a few pix of the side the sun is illuminating?
- I paid a guy $100 once, but he worked like a dog helping us dig up the concrete
- if you get the one with the long pole, just cut it @ ground level, and bury 3-4' @ home

Personally, I'd keep looking.
But I live in a LARGE suburban area with lots to choose from.


iPhone 4

 

[gabshere]

1st dish might be a 10ft'er its pole is on and extension (disassemble) it has a dual feed feedhorn ( meant to receive H & V C-band only)
mesh should be easy to repair , for some reason the elevation adjustment bolt has been taken off / loose on this one close up of the picture allows one to see it can pivot to track the arc. as for price it really depends on your area , yeah a person can get some money to scrap them but i don't think i'ld pay a lot at least in my area.

second dish looks exactly like my 7 1/2 ft unimesh dish

to compare the two dishes, notice on the first dish has extra ring about 2ft from the outer edge this usually signifies a 10 ft dish, a 7 1/2 ft'er usually doesn't have a support ring. a 12 ft'er usually has 2 rings ( of course there are exceptions) but this is the general rule i use to compare mesh dish sizes.

 

[Chewie]

Hello Gents
Thanks for your comments, I took more pictures today, it looks like the dish is a h-h dish, it has a label on it, this is the information:
Satellite antennas
located in Richland, WI
lnb made by Laser.
it has a HTS actuator.
Just wondering if any of the members here have a sat dish with similar polar mount and how good they perform.
the dish is 8 foot.
any comments would be appreciated.
Regards.
Chewie

 

[johann12]

My first dish was a K-Tronic 7 1/2 foot dish with the same polar mount and all the webbing on the dish is square tubing and welded.
Polar mount and dish is very sturdy.

The K-Tronic dish was free, but it did not come with an pole.
I bought a 3 inch EMT conduit from an electrical supplier for $40 and I filled it with concrete when I set the post. The 3 inch EMT will fit perfect for the polar mount.
Last weekend I set up a 10 foot channel master, but the polar mount and the dish is not build as sturdy as the K-Tronic.
With the 10 foot dish I get more channels than with the 7 1/2.

 

[johann12]

My first dish was a K-Tronic 7 1/2 foot dish with the same polar mount and all the webbing on the dish is square tubing and welded.
Polar mount and dish is very sturdy.
View attachment 80599
The K-Tronic dish was free, but it did not come with an pole.
I bought a 3 inch EMT conduit from an electrical supplier for $40 and I filled it with concrete when I set the post. The 3 inch EMT will fit perfect for the polar mount.
Last weekend I set up a 10 foot channel master, but the polar mount and the dish is not build as sturdy as the K-Tronic.
With the 10 foot dish I get more channels than with the 7 1/2.

 

[Chewie]

Thanks johann12, nice picture, the polar mount looks very identical to the dish on my pictures, I have my WSI 6 foot dish on a pole about 2.5 inch OD, I think is the same material as yours.
I am going to try shimming the pole on 6 foot to fit this new dish, i hope is not to heavy for the pole.
The lady selling this dish also wants me to take the pole and the dish.
well, I still have to bargain and try to get this dish cheaper, she wants 150.00 for everything.
On your dish, did you ever had any problems moving it H TO H?
Thanks again
Regards.
Chewie

 

[Anole]

Clarification:
All dishes you have posted are equipped with linear actuators.
None have H-H (horizon to horizon) motors.
Actuators are more common by maybe 500 to 1.
Thats not necessarily bad; just don't over-pay for garden variety.



iPhone 4

 

[johann12]

Thanks johann12, nice picture, the polar mount looks very identical to the dish on my pictures, I have my WSI 6 foot dish on a pole about 2.5 inch OD, I think is the same material as yours.
I am going to try shimming the pole on 6 foot to fit this new dish, i hope is not to heavy for the pole.
The lady selling this dish also wants me to take the pole and the dish.
well, I still have to bargain and try to get this dish cheaper, she wants 150.00 for everything.
On your dish, did you ever had any problems moving it H TO H?
Thanks again
Regards.
Chewie

What I measured the polar mount has an I.D of 3 1/2 inch, so it will take about 3 1/2 inch or little smaller O.D pole.
Since the polar mount is build very good, it is heavy. I never actually weight the polar mount but estimate a weight of about 70 LBs or better.
My dish itself has an estimated weight of about 70 Lbs.
So the total weight of polar mount and dish is about 140 Lbs.
A 2 1/2 pole may be to small to carry the weight without flexing the pole. A flexing or a moving pole must be avoided at all cost for maximizing satellite performance.
You may fill your 2 1/2 pole with concrete and that may help somewhat.
That is why I chose to fill my 3 inch (ID) EMT conduit with concrete; A EMT is a thin-wall conduit, but with concrete I could make sure that it does not flex or bend.
My pole is 3 foot in the ground with 8 80 Lbs bags of readymix concrete.
Also I did not know what kind and size of dishes I would have in the future, so I wanted to make sure that I build everything strong enough from the ground up.

As far as I know this is not a HH drive, other members here may be able to give you more info on that.

My actuator on my 7 1/2 dish is a super track II about 1'' in diameter and 18 inch long and it never had any problems to move the dish and it landed on the exact programmed spot every time.
I took the LNB/rotator off that came with the dish, I replaced it with an LNBF since most receivers on the market can not control the rotator.

If you are able to take and use the pole, take it and plant it. It would be stronger than your 2 1/2 inch.

I hope this helps

 

[primestar31]

You can buy 3 fence stakes such as this: http://www.lowes.com/pd_92070-46379...L=?Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo=

Also get some heavy guy-wire, some guy wire clamps, and 3 turnbuckles. What you do is drive the stakes with the top angled away from the sat pole into the ground with a sledge-hammer. Go almost all the way down if possible. You do this equi-distant around the pole with the 3 stakes, but make sure they are laid out as to not interfere when the dish moves East to West! . Then, wrap guy wire around the top of the pole, just below the mount if needed. Then install the turnbuckles in the middle of each wire. Run them to each fence stake, and pull them tightly with the turnbuckles run at least half-way out. After you do this with 3 wires, tighten each turnbuckle in turn equally, until they are tight, and the pole is leveled and stablized all around. The guy wire should be tight like a guitar string!

It's better than nothing, (works pretty good actually) and you can try the larger dish with the present pole, and decide later if you'd rather install a larger sized pole.

 

[Chewie]

Thanks Gents for your input.
johann12 - the pole on my dish is about 4 mm wall-thickness, the hole on the ground is about 4.5 to 5 ft deep, 2 square feet dia. I put in 10 - 90lbs bags of quikrete mix, I think I over did it for a 6 ft dish.
I will cut the pole on the 8 ft dish and bring it home.
Out here in California we don't have big backyards to dig holes all over the place.
now I have to start planing how I am going to bring this dish down.
primestar31 - it sounds like a very good idea, driving the stakes will be a pain, i have clay soil and it is very hard to dig into it but i am sure it can be done.
Anole - thanks for your input.
Best regards.
Chewie

 

[Anole]

When I was young & stupid , I hand-dug an 8' hole for a 40' telephone pole.
Yes, no kidding.
Took me a while ... Several weeks, if I recall.
But I softened the ground by periodically wetting the hole with the hose.

The other trick for a small hole like a sat dish, is to attach a hose to a length of pipe,
turn on the water, and push straight down (try to keep it plumb).
That's how you put a pipe under an existing sidewalk.
A little messy, and you need to give a few days to dry out, but a LOT less effort!

Let us know what you come up with.



iPhone 4

 

[Lone Cloud]

Yes, sounds like your footing is deep enough to hold this dish.

When I lucked onto my Birdview dish, I cut it off near the ground with a circular saw with one of those black, metal cutting blades. Took two minutes or less. My first dish had a 3 1/2 inch pole and the BV has a six incher. I ended up just putting the BV pole over the other one, holding it firmly plumb ( with bolts) and then filling in the space between the poles with concrete.

Where are you in Cal?

 

[Chewie]

thanks long Cloud, it sounds like a very good idea.
I am in SoCal.
Regards.
Chewie.

 

[Chewie]

Hello Gents
I have another question regarding a 7.5 ft dish and 8.0 ft dish, is there a difference on the reception or just about the same.
Please let me know.
thanks in advance.
Regards.
Chewie

 

[FaT Air]

All else equal, - The beam width narrows ever so slightly from a 7.5 to an 8. Would think there would be some slight improvement in adjacent satellite interference rejection. Don't think it would be easily noticeable.
Think the greatest performance difference, gain and adjacent interference rejection, that may be seen may depend on the accuracy of the dish surface conforming to the parabolic shape. So the 7.5 may actually be the better performer. (I'm certain a 7 ft commercial dish would easily outperform a consumer 8ft dish)
in the end, I don't think you'll notice much, if any, difference between the two, all else equal.