BUD Idea

[Das Hammer]

OK, this probably isn't my most brilliant idea ever, but after reading that massive thread about C band with a 1.2 meter offset dish I've been thinking more and more about putting one together. Then I got to thinking about a 10 footer that I've got in four pieces in the shed. Took it down for an old lady last year in town.

With some engineering and fabrication, could a guy make a "microbud" using say 1/4 or 1/2 of a real bud? My horrible attempt at a picture is attached. What I'd be trying to do is make a C band FTA setup with my spare actuator. However, I'd probably be limited to a stationary setup for a while.

 

[Mr Tony]

OK, this probably isn't my most brilliant idea ever

1/2 the ideas here may not be the most brilliant...but if it works, what the hey

You can try but the issue is MicroBud is offset dish whereas the legit BUD's are prime focus. (which means the signal hits the center of the dish not bounce off at an angle)

Can you get stuff with a piece missing? Heck yeah. I had an old 10 footer that I could get analog with a piece missing but digital was tough (it was mesh).

I dont know about 2 pieces missing just due to how the dish is made

 

[Das Hammer]

You can try but the issue is MicroBud is offset dish whereas the legit BUD's are prime focus. (which means the signal hits the center of the dish not bounce off at an angle)

Yeah, prime focus would probably not work as-is. That's why I was thinking about moving things around to create an offset configuration. The 1/4 chunk is still parabolic in shape after all.

Maybe I can make a prime focus wedge dish by centering the feed over the new midpoint of the arc....It would be free to experiment, so why not?

 

[123tim]

Yeah, prime focus would probably not work as-is. That's why I was thinking about moving things around to create an offset configuration. The 1/4 chunk is still parabolic in shape after all.

It would be free to experiment, so why not?

Exactly!

I'd be interested in hearing how you make out.