A solid Birdview Dish is in my near future!

[Anole]

are you up late or early ?

Just about to go to bed and saw your latest post.
I figured you'd be pumpin' adrenalin about those Birdies, but didn't know you'd start 24 hours ahead!
The perf is a pretty dish.
Hope it all works out well.
But . . . don't come home without a portfolio full of pictures! - :up

 

[linuxman]

Up Early!!!

I plan to take plenty of pictures.

The adrenalin started last Monday when the weather forecast showed good for Nashville!!

 

[gabshere]

rope & tree limb will probably be best bet , use caution around the fence it might have aged and be weak in places, don't want to damage it too. plus it looks like a fallen tree in that area so its kinda grown up for off road travel

 

[linuxman]

rope & tree limb will probably be best bet , use caution around the fence it might have aged and be weak in places, don't want to damage it too. plus it looks like a fallen tree in that area so its kinda grown up for off road travel

Hey George.

I agree, the rope and tree/trees/limbs will probably be the best.

You are right, the fence doesn't look all that sturdy, and I did see the fallen tree, but behind the fence is the best bet even if we have to move the tree.

Once the dish is down and on the ground, the rest will be easy. The mount can be grabbed anywhere above the cap and it will be fine and the lift will easily be above the cap.

The dish looks to be in good shape, so it will be worth the effort.

 

[rv1pop]

can you lift and control the dish while still on the mount? I took down my 10 foot winegard that way, then finished the disassemble on the ground. If you have enough lifting power and a couple of guys with hand lines ??? You know who and what you have, so it is just a thought.. BTW, I hope to get my 10 footer up and running this summer.

 

[linuxman]

We're back

I got home last night about 11:00 PM, and was back outside bolting on the plastic cover for the gears on the mount at 11:30 after looking at the forecast for this morning, but that is getting ahead of the story.

We had a great trip down to Nashville and arrived at the solid dish house about 11:00 AM. As I said, the owner had most of the work already done for us, just a matter of removing everything. All the bolts were either taken out already, or loose except the big main one in the top of the cap.

We took the dish down and carried it to the driveway, and unbolted the mount, took it off, and carried it to the driveway. Cut off the pole just above the ground, then cut sections down to the concrete and beat it down into the hole with a hammer.

We started construction of the frame to be used to secure the dish for hauling back home. I wanted a totally independent frame from the dish to allow for just the slightest freedom of movement for the dish, but could be cranked down with straps to secure it. That way, no pressure on the dish itself to keep from warping it, yet secure enough to travel at 70 Mph.

About half way through construction, the owner's wife and daughter had grilled hamburgers and hot dogs for us and they invited us to eat lunch. What a great and wonderful family. I don't think I have ever met such gracious hosts. They had a fully cooked meal with baked beans and Southern Style sweetened Iced Tea all laid out, so of course we had to take time out to eat. :

We finished the frame, and got all loaded up. Thanked our hosts, and yes Anole, I tried to give him some money to take his wife out to dinner, but he wouldn't accept it. He simply said he wanted the dish to go to someone who would take care of it.

Thank you once again Lonnie for the dish and your hospitality. :

During last week, I had called to ask Lonnie if he could get in touch with his old Birdview dealer to just see if he had any old parts laying around he might want to get rid of and to find out what he wanted for them. The dealer had two new, or nearly new motors, an LNB, and a modern feed-horn cover that he gave to Lonnie for me to have absolutely free.

The one motor looks like it has never been mounted, and is a 110:1 gear ratio motor. The other is just like what is on the mount, and what I have currently on my dish, 37:1 gear ratio.

We left there about 2:00 PM, and with such heavy traffic on a bright sunny 75 degree Sunday afternoon, it was almost 3:00 PM before we got to the second dish.

We pulled up, and got the owner to come out and show us around. Took stock of the situation and the remaining time we had and made a decision to pass on the second dish. Perhaps we could have done it without damaging the dish and no one getting hurt, but we were a man short because one of our crew got sick on Saturday and couldn't go along so we decided it was better to leave it as is, and let someone else have it.

The dish is there, and you can contact either djkurious, or myself and we will give you the information to contact the owner, who does want it taken down. He really wanted us to stay and take it, but we told him we just weren't professional enough nor did we have the proper equipment to do the job without accident or injury. Anole is correct in his earlier statement, you really do need a lift of some kind for a dish that high.

I am sorry djkurious for the extra trouble you went to for us, but perhaps someone else will read this who is within a short distance and they will get the dish. It is in great shape and has not been damaged, and the owner is willing to let it go free, so someone, please take this opportunity and run with it.

I am extremely happy and more than satisfied that we got what we originally planned the trip for, and am thoroughly convinced that what Lonnie gave me was more than worth the trip all by itself.

Here are all the pics, including me, Lonnie, and one of my crew. I am the old fat man.









The last picture is of the dish on my front porch.

The frame was designed to be independent of the trailer, and can be used again and again on any trailer. I just took off the straps, and slid the frame and dish out the back, and pulled it onto my porch.

When I dropped off my two crew members last night, they wanted to know when we were going to do it again, and where were we going? I told them I think next time, maybe Oklahoma. So OSU, if you can line up a Birdview down there, we just might come down.

 

[Anole]

awestruck

I don't know where to start!
What a fabulous adventure - :up
Sounds like your hosts had a good a day of it as you did!

That picture of the mount on the grass was the first time I've seen all the parts in context, so now I can see how it all works.
There on the end is the green position-feedback pot!
Isn't it amazing the little bolts holding the worm gear bracket take the entire stress of the mechanism? -
Considering how high up the dish sets over the pole, maybe there isn't all that much stress to go around.

Didn't seem you had any trouble with the 37:1 motor, so I cannot help but wonder what a 110:1 will do for ya?
. . . other than be slow, of course.

Great job. And nobody got hurt.
Who knows?
Maybe if you guys come up with a work-around, you could still go back and get the perforated dish. (?)

 

[linuxman]

I don't know where to start!
What a fabulous adventure - :up
Sounds like your hosts had a good a day of it as you did!

That picture of the mount on the grass was the first time I've seen all the parts in context, so now I can see how it all works.
There on the end is the green position-feedback pot!
Isn't it amazing the little bolts holding the worm gear bracket take the entire stress of the mechanism? -
Considering how high up the dish sets over the pole, maybe there isn't all that much stress to go around.

Didn't seem you had any trouble with the 37:1 motor, so I cannot help but wonder what a 110:1 will do for ya?
. . . other than be slow, of course.

Great job. And nobody got hurt.
Who knows?
Maybe if you guys come up with a work-around, you could still go back and get the perforated dish. (?)

Hey Anole,

It was a lot of fun and a great adventure.

I too wonder about the 110:1 motor and how many pulses that would create just using the stock 24 magnet. Who knows?

I doubt if we want to go back to Nashville so soon. Need to travel a different road to change the scenery. It was 359 miles to this dish, and I just checked Tulsa, and it is 417 miles. Maybe just go to Chanute KS, that's 346 from here, and where the company was originally located.

I don't think there is much stress on the motor. The dish is almost perfectly balanced. I figured that out when tuning the elevation. It doesn't have an elevation screw. You take the bolts loose on the side, and move it up and down. When I loosened the side bolts, I expected the dish to tilt up or down very fast, but it didn't. Just sat there until I moved it and then just a nudge moved it a little.

 

[Anole]

Geez, I guess me being willing to go 50 miles for the Prodelin makes me a piker by comparison!

And as for the gear ratio, remember where the magnet wheel is located.
The pulse count will be the same. Seems a shame.

So, are you going to refurbish it where it sits?
Maybe some rust removal and spray painting ? (now that you're so experienced)
I can see a few pounds of molybdenum disulfide grease in your future.
And that should keep it lubed for the rest of your life! - :up

 

[linuxman]

And as for the gear ratio, remember where the magnet wheel is located.
The pulse count will be the same. Seems a shame.

Yes, I think you are right. The count will be the same, but where it comes to a halt might be more precise. I don't know and sometimes get confused by all this technical stuff.

So, are you going to refurbish it where it sits?

I am going to clean the dish thoroughly where it sits. Won't repaint the dish. There isn't any rust on it.

I will remove the rust and re-paint sections of the mount and will grease everything up good where it sits and put on what ever device you or my neighbor can come up with to count pulses.

When it goes on the roof, it will be set for the near future.

I am going to put the solid where the perfed now sits and allow the Twinhan PCI tuner to control it.

I am going to move the perfed to where the Unimesh now sits, and let the Pansat control it, but will switch out the ADL patented Co-Rotor for a Geosat Pro C/Ku LNBF there too. The voltage controlled LNBFs are the future in FTA, but you need a proven C/Ku dish and have it finely tuned to use them and expect excellent SQ.

Will move the ADL/Co-Rotor to the Pinnacle for the time being to improve the family signal, until I can replace that dish with a Birdview too.

My goal is to have at least 3 Birdviews in the near future, and the other two replaced with-in a year or so.

Then I can move the ADL/Co-Rotor to my 4DTV dish where it will still be used by a servo motor receiver.

Ambitious? Yes, but do-able.

 

[gabshere]

We all like a great story

Cut off the pole just above the ground, then cut sections down to the concrete and beat it down into the hole with a hammer.

what are your plans for the pole since you didn't dig it all up . i figured you would make a pin mount for it. the pole is about 4 ft section.... is it light/thin all the way . didn't know if you had 6 inch stock or was going to sleeve it..

reason i ask is i'm going to have to try something when i recover the two birdviews i have lined up and don't know about the poles yet
thanks

 

[gabshere]

and great feedhorn cover its probably the best find of the day , i have seen the flat white ones and all but thats my first black rounded

 

[linuxman]

what are your plans for the pole since you didn't dig it all up . i figured you would make a pin mount for it. the pole is about 4 ft section.... is it light/thin all the way . didn't know if you had 6 inch stock or was going to sleeve it..

I recovered the pole. It had 56 inches above where I cut it which is plenty for my roof.

It is essential to recover the part that the cap goes onto. That is where the big bolt comes down into from the top of the cap. The short cap requires that bolt to be in place. It screws into a plate inside the pole.

You can weld to the existing 6" pipe for a longer extension down into the ground. The owner moved this dish to where he is presently living and did the same as I did. Cut it off at the top of the ground and had a welder weld a new section at the bottom for putting into the new hole. It worked great for him all these years.

So when you get yours George, you can cut it off and weld new to it at the bottom, or dig it up. The choice is really easy to make.

Edit: Yes, the feed-horn cover was a pleasant surprise to me too. Looks good, and slips right onto the scaler ring as is.

 

[voomvoom]

Thanks for the story Fred, and the pictures. Glad you had a good time and got another Birdview to boot...! Looking at the picture of the Von Weise Motor, prompted me to look at the one I got from Skyvision a while back. The difference on the label is:
Model = V03554AH33
SERIAL = L-85
RPM = 1650
RATIO = 70:1

 

[Anole]

. . . and put on what ever device you or my neighbor can come up with to count pulses.

If you want to cut fabrication to a minimum, that optical encoder in your other thread, does sound attractive.
Gonna have to thank old Bryan Lynch for finding that $30 solution!

Second choice would be one of the magnetic discs at around $11.
Choosing the right strength would be a small challenge.
Then, you could either go with a reed, or maybe I could whip you up a Hall sensor.

Either way, Optical or Hall, you'd probably want to add a one-transistor buffer.
If anything went wrong, it'd blow up instead of the good stuff.
And knowing you, I wouldn't expect to blow anything up.

 

[linuxman]

Thanks for the story Fred, and the pictures. Glad you had a good time and got another Birdview to boot...! Looking at the picture of the Von Weise Motor, prompted me to look at the one I got from Skyvision a while back. The difference on the label is:
Model = V03554AH33
SERIAL = L-85
RPM = 1650
RATIO = 70:1

Thanks Al!

Doesn't seem to be much difference except the RPMs and the gear. Hmmm! Interesting!

As far as the device Anole, I am going to give the optical a shot and see what happens. I'll let the neighbor know about the extra transistor buffer. I wouldn't want to blow anything up. :neener

I think it will be pretty straight forward and pretty easy using a good epoxy to hold something onto the end of the shaft.

 

[linuxman]

It snowed about 2 inches today, but was starting to melt this afternoon so I went out and removed the top bars of the frame on the Birdview and started scrubbing. I scrubbed for two hours, and it still isn't clean yet.

If you look at the front view in the picture above, the surface had a lot of little spots that looked like the paint was peeling up, but wasn't. The spots looked like a fungus of some kind. It looked like a tree that had lichen growing on it. The dark streaks on the right turned the lather green when I started scrubbing on it.

I was out of Krud Kutter, so I mixed up some Dawn, Palmolive, Pine-Sol, and bleach and started scrubbing with my soft bristle brush. Man that stuff is hard to get off. I have most of the spots off and the now dark green streaks have dwindled in size and are beginning to fade, but there is still another hour of scrubbing to do. The dish is looking pretty good but need more work. I don't think power washing it would help much. This stuff looks like it was born in the paint.

Any ideas on something to help me get this stuff off?

 

[thomas34461usa]

Birdview dish

You guys won't believe this.

A very nice guy emailed me from just outside Nashville this morning.

This is what he said in his email:

After a couple of emails later and a phone call, it is mine.

I have a couple of months to make arrangements with friends, borrow a trailer, find a nice warm day, and I am off to Nashville to retrieve this wonderful one-owner dish and accessories.

The guy was super nice on the phone, and I am thrilled!!

Here are the pictures he sent taken just this morning:

View attachment 21521 View attachment 21522 View attachment 21523

View attachment 21524 View attachment 21525

According the the maps, it is only about a 5.5 hour drive from here, so I can make that in one day if we leave early.

WooHoo!!!

Hi Fred,
That sure is a nice dish that you have a real find! Glad to hear that you got it and the trip was so good for you. I can tell from the photo's that the weather was good too. You must have short winters where you are at?

I'm trying to find a birdview dish too. Like a 12' footer if I can find one. Been on the satellite hunt looking, on e-bay and I'm goinng to place an ad in the paper. Can you think of any where else besides E-Bay?

Thanks,
Tom

 

[voomvoom]

Tom, there was one (Birdview) on "Craigslist" in Jacksonville about a year ago. The guy wanted it moved and was telling people not to bother if they didn't have the heavy equipment to remove it. I doubt he got many callers? Maybe it's still there?

 

[voomvoom]

Doesn't seem to be much difference except the RPMs and the gear. Hmmm! Interesting!

Fred, there is also another label on mine:
HAWKINS SUPPLY CO.
1317 O'Farrell Rd.
ATLANTA, TEXAS 75551
1-800-622-0533

Maybe they are still in business?
Also looking at/in the "MH-100 Reed Kit" package that came with my motor, there is a sticker on the back of the Installation Instructions, that says:
CAUTION: CAUTION: CAUTION:
This Kit Will Not Count
Accurately Installed On A
37 To 1 Ratio Motor!