Adventures in Dish Hunting 2011??

[hops]

I'll be picking up this 8.5ft gem tomorrow for free from a friend and replanting it in my yard. Not having seen it first hand, I have no idea what the make/model is, or any other specs. I was told that the actuator hasn't been moved in about 10 years, so I'm guessing I'll be in the market for one. I'd like to put a Chaparral Dual Feed feedhorn and a couple Norsat 8115s on it. This is my first large prime focus dish; hopefully I'm not biting off more than I can chew.

 

[coinmaster32]

Nice dish. VERY oddball mount, probably something sold in the early 80s.

 

[sergei]

I was told that the actuator hasn't been moved in about 10 years, so I'm guessing I'll be in the market for one.

I wouldn't buy any new actuator until you tested the old one as I've gotten dishes with ones that were older than yours and there're still working today.

 

[hops]

I wouldn't buy any new actuator until you tested the old one as I've gotten dishes with ones that were older than yours and there're still working today.

Will do. I've got an old General Instrument 350i analog C/Ku receiver that I can hook up to it to test.

 

[hops]

I wouldn't buy any new actuator until you tested the old one as I've gotten dishes with ones that were older than yours and there're still working today.

I removed the actuator (which turned out to be a Von Weise!), hooked it up directly to my GI 350i, and it seems to function fine to my untrained eye -- it can move the arm in and out on command. Luckily only a small portion of the arm had been left exposed to the elements.

For some reason the attached image might appear upside down, my apologies.

 

[coinmaster32]

Good deal. Repaint that and it will look like new. I tried painting the inner shaft on one, and moving it in scraped the paint right off! However I brushed it on, might not do it with spray paint (not as thick).

 

[hops]

I'll be picking up this 8.5ft gem tomorrow for free from a friend and replanting it in my yard. Not having seen it first hand, I have no idea what the make/model is, or any other specs. I was told that the actuator hasn't been moved in about 10 years, so I'm guessing I'll be in the market for one. I'd like to put a Chaparral Dual Feed feedhorn and a couple Norsat 8115s on it. This is my first large prime focus dish; hopefully I'm not biting off more than I can chew.

Of course the removal of this dish has turned into a two-evening project. It is in fact spun aluminum and is surprisingly light for its size. The feedhorn is a Chaparral corotor with a Drake LNB, and the actuator turned out to be a Von Weise. Someone must have paid a pretty penny over 20 years ago for this beast. One small snag appeared however; the dish is warped. If you look at the first image of the dish in a previous post, facing the dish head on, you'll see that the rim is slightly flattened around 4 to 5 o'clock. There is no sign of something having collided with the dish there -- perhaps it was due to wind? The image attached to this post shows the dish from the side and illustrates how much that flattened edge is out of whack with the rest of the dish. I will do a string test tomorrow. Given how nice everything else is I'd feel guilty leaving the dish behind...would it be possible to work this warp out of the dish, or should I not worry about it?

The 3.5in OD galvanized steel pole is still in good shape but required a tractor to remove. I'm going back tomorrow to hopefully knock off some of the concrete and bring it home along with the dish.

 

[hops]

Good deal. Repaint that and it will look like new. I tried painting the inner shaft on one, and moving it in scraped the paint right off! However I brushed it on, might not do it with spray paint (not as thick).

I will definitely knock the rust off and try to at least paint the outer shaft. The pole mount is far worse in the rust department but totally solid. I was pretty surprised at how all but two of the nuts came off the bolts without much effort.

 

[coinmaster32]

Some of the spun dishes are made very thin. If one end of it is laying on the ground, it could make it appear warped. That's because the mount underneath of it is pushing up on the dish.

 

[coinmaster32]

You know, that dish reminds me of one I used to have. The aluminum was so thin, it would flex if you picked it up by one end. The visible lines in the aluminum remind me of it too. It still made for a good dish. I am almost 100% sure your dish was made by the same company that made mine.
The mount looks a lot like it too. I'm guessing your mount was of an earlier version. The one I had was beefier.
A lot of early 80s dishes were made without any kind of ID on them, so it makes it hard to ID them. I did find a dish that mount looks similar, so it might be the maker of it.

 

[sergei]

Today I went to town and removed the dish from the roof which turned out better than I could have ask for as it was using a roof mount and I was able to get everything including the blocks.

 

[RT-Cat]

Today I went to town and removed the dish from the roof which turned out better than I could have ask for as it was using a roof mount and I was able to get everything including the blocks.

Nice catch with that dish.
Been driving around looking for what is left in my area. Been surprised recently. Found two 8 foot fiberglass, one maybe in use, the other with a really rusted mover, not so. Only problem no one was home at these place. Last one was smaller and had parts missing. Not much there. With it getting so cold here, not the best time to go drag home big dishes. Burrrrrrrrrrr.

 

[wallyhts]

I got lucky this year also.

Got a 10 foot fiber glass. (Needs work) Also got a 7.5 foot mesh which works like a champ.

I love free satellite stuff.

 

[royrose]

I have a complete working C Band system with 10 foot fiberglass dish, 4dtv, integra HD tuner, and coship blind search tuner. I don't use it anymore. I would like to pass it on to someone who would make use of it. I am in the Colorado Springs area. If you know of anyone who would want it or have other ideas about how to find someone, let me know by reply in this thread or PM.

 

[Dishman Dan]

I spotted a 12 pointer - I mean 12 footer about 35 miles from my home! It is at a radio station and is mounted at least 15 feet off the ground! I am not sure if I can bag this one this hunting season or the next! BUDs most common in my area are 7.5 and 10 footers so the 12 footer is a rare species here!

There is a closed TV studio nearby and it has a big heard of dishes of all shapes and sizes and colors! The facility is slated to be torn down next summer and the TV station is taking a few of the dishes. I am in contact with one of the satellite dish installers there and hopefully I can save some of that group!

The 2012 season looks like it could fill my yard up quite well! I still have about 6 BUDs and 4 Primestars that I have not gotten home yet from the 2010 - 2011 season!!!

 

[Lone Cloud]

Great if you could grab one of those from the TV station. Probably a commercial dish, built to tolerances superior to consumer dishes. There is a big market for used commercial tv stuff, but if you can grab it, especially with the components, it might take you a little longer to get it running, but I think you will be able to bring in the Mars rovers direct to your tv

 

[Dishman Dan]

I brought home a Primestar elliptical dish today and put it in the warehouse for now. This is the larger size and it is the nicest Primestar in my hoard so far. This one has the dual coax feedhorn, lnbf cover is there, the lens on the lnbf is nice, came with a junction box and the pole too! Even the decal is intact! I am getting good at this because I had the whole thing removed in under 20 minutes and the owners did not know I was there! I did call before I went there and they are a elderly couple and said they would be home. When I knocked on the door the TV was so loud they could not hear me. I called when I got back to the barn and they said they never heard or saw a thing! I did not even have my camo and face mask on either! :

 

[Dishman Dan]

I spotted a 12 pointer - I mean 12 footer about 35 miles from my home! It is at a radio station and is mounted at least 15 feet off the ground! I am not sure if I can bag this one this hunting season or the next! BUDs most common in my area are 7.5 and 10 footers so the 12 footer is a rare species here!

I talked to the radio station owner today and he confirmed that she is a 12 footer!!! There is no actuator on it but other wise it looked great! Well I never got my hands on a 12 footer yet but my name is on one now! The station is moving soon and they need only one dish and it looks like the 12 footer might be left out of the move! I am supposed to call back next month!! Stay tuned!!! :

 

[phlatwound]

Winegard/AJAK

I was down at a small rural school near Table Rock Lake last week doing an A/V install and spied a Winegard on an AJAK H-H mount peeking over a roof on one of their buildings.

A short conversation with the Supt. and Tech Director, and a $50 donation to their Technology Fund later and I had me a dish to harvest.

Went down this morning to get it and things went very well, all the bolts cooperated, and nobody fell off the roof.

This is a 10' perf, w/buttonhook, not sure of the exact model (Pinnacle?), but I am VERY impressed with the quality of construction on this dish. It is a very "deep" dish and is far and away better built than your typical Perfect 10/SAMI...and a notch or 2 above a UniMesh even, must have cost a fortune back in the day. It has a nice Corotor with a CalAmp C and Drake Ku LNB.

Honestly I just wanted the AJAK mount to put my 12' Unimesh on, but I think I have a Winegard polar mount that can be adapted to this reflector by welding some tabs on it, and I'm trying to talk my buddy Terry into putting it up in his back yard. WAF is his only sticking point at this time.

A few pics, cloudy but beautiful day, tis a privilege to live in the Ozarks.

 

[RT-Cat]

I was down at a small rural school near Table Rock Lake last week doing an A/V install and spied a Winegard on an AJAK H-H mount peeking over a roof on one of their buildings.

Nice find phlatwound. Do you have one of those home built lifts or do you have some other "trick" to get a unit like that one down?