Channel Master dish

[flyznest]

I followed an ad on Craigs list for a 36" dish for $40... When I got there it ended up being this heavy duty fiberglass dish with the brand Channel Master on it. It measures up to be 1 meter in its longest dimension. It has this big heavy duty dual LNB bracket and 2 lnb's... The whole LNB bracket roataes. This thing is so cool that I had to have it... but I already know that I may not be able to use it. Just looking at it I know already that it won't work as is with my 2100 motor.

First, the obvious, Is Channel Master a reputable brand? do they still exist?

next... The manual for my motor says it can handle a 1.2 meter dish... but this thing is beeeefy... is there any chance that my motor can actually handle it?

next, the elevation bracket on the back is built for a pole top mount... my mount is a motor so it wont work right... Is there a place to get a replacement bracet? or is it possible to just turn the bracket upside down or something?

Next... even if I modify the existing bracket, the pole mount is for a pole way larger than the one on my 2100 motor... does anyone make shaft adapters? is there a way to make one from PVC or anything?

Finally... I really only need one lnb.. is there a replacement single LNB bracket available?

 

[Larobpra]

I've had a 90cm ChannelMaster on an SG2100 motor for over a year now. The only issue I had was it was real sluggish in the winter when the temps were below freezing. There are some pictures in a 6/2/09 thread titled "Motorized Primestar question", see post #4. (tried to link but it wouldn't work). It shows how I modified the mount to work with the motor. Not sure about a dual lnb setup, mine came with a single. Post a picture!

 

[Anole]

1m Primestar with dual LNBs?

Channel Master became Andrew.
Back in the day, CM was the prime supplier for all the Primestar dishes.
So, yes, you have a very ice dish.
Stogie once posted a picture of one with an original Dual LNB, as I recall.
You should whip us up some photos so we can compare.

Some have turned the mount upside down, but I think the brighter way would be to make up your own mount-replacement, to attach the motor.
And, I might suggest the DG380 as a motor, not a 2100... but you'll find crazies who've done the latter and posted! -

 

[turbosat]

You can most likely make it work by removing the stock mount and making your own like I did. Mine's a .90M channel master but it works great, I have a DG380 motor but I'm pretty sure the dish itself without all that heavy metal mount wouldn't be too heavy for your motor.
If I can find the picture of my rigging, I'll post it for you as an example. There's many ways to adapt the CM to a motor. Look at the back of your dish for a stamped set of numbers-it'll tell you exactly the model dish it is.

 

[stogie5150]

Here's how I did mine.

SatelliteGuys.US - View Single Post - True signal angle on an offset dish????


Check this thread out too... (Thx to Anole for finding it)

http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/23072-primestar-dish-sg2100.html

Post some pics so we can see what ya got!

 

[flyznest]

As you requested, Here are come pics....

the 2 LNB's are:
NJR2144FX (the square one)
NJR2112F (round one with dual f connectors)

I saw another thread on here that says the NJR2144FX is a single polarity so I am just going to assume that they are both single polarity and are setup together to have dual polarity.

those are not 40mm LNB's. They are about 1". However, the bracket that holds both LNB's is just a replacement for a cap to a standard 40mm LNB mount.. I tried to get a closeup to explain.

I'm thinking that maybe all I have to do is pop that off and throw on a 40mm universal LNB and the cap off the lnb bracket from my old dish... sound close?

I have seen the mounting brackets in the threads you sent links to... I have a few old Dish 'j mounts'... maybe I can cannibalize one of them for the bracket.... I guess this will just take a little careful planning... In any event that thing on the back has got to go.

I can take more pics if anyone is interested

 

[flyznest]

oh wow... hahaha... I just now noticed in my pic that the one LNB has dual outputs.. one for H and one for V... i can't believe I didn't notice it until now.

 

[Anole]

I followed an ad on Craigs list for a 36" dish for $40...
It measures up to be 1 meter in its longest dimension.

From your wording, I take it that you measure the dish as 1m tall.
Now measure the width. 36"?
Look on the back for mold markings. Probably says 0.90x... or something like that.
I think you have a .9m dish.

...It has this big heavy duty dual LNB bracket and 2 lnb's... The whole LNB bracket roataes.

Looks to me like there is a sub-assembly that comes off.
You should be able to mount the neck of one of those feedhorns directly to the black plastic which has the three support arm screws.
Note that your LNB would then be lower by 2" from where they are now.
Put the dish on a plumb pole, set the elevation on the mount, and verify a near-TS satellite is at the proper elevation.
I wonder if the lower LNB support arm is shortened on your dish, to offset the fact that your LNBs are mounted too high???

next, the elevation bracket on the back is built for a pole top mount... is it possible to just turn the bracket upside down or something?

Yes, people have posted pix like that.
Try it, but I still suggest you make your own bracketry, similar to what Stogie posted above.

Next... is for a pole way larger than the one on my 2100 motor... is there a way to make one from PVC or anything?

Yes, you'll see posts like that in the thread Stogie gave above.
Split the PVC down one side, to allow it to expand / contract to fit.

Finally... I really only need one lnb.. is there a replacement single LNB bracket available?

I think you have all you need.
Also, Linuxman used a grounding clamp to hold an LNB in place once.
I'm sure you can do as well. - :up
Scroll through the thread, looking at pictures for ideas:
- simple bracket
- grounding clamp on next page.

One other tidbit... I think many LNBFs are 40mm neck.
But most are around 25mm (one inch) if you take off their plastic housing.
Consider that, if you want to mount a 3rd party LNBf on your dish.

 

[Larobpra]

The lnb's - either one - will fit into the bracket where the 3 arms come together. It is grooved to accept the 2 ridges on the lnb above the skew markings. You will probably have to use a pipe clamp or strap as Anole suggested to hold the lnb in place. You can use the dual output lnb with a 3x4 multiswitch and it should work great for you. Or you can get one that will bolt on to the feedhorn - look for a c120 flange type.

 

[flyznest]

From your wording, I take it that you measure the dish as 1m tall.
Now measure the width. 36"?
Look on the back for mold markings. Probably says 0.90x... or something like that.
I think you have a .9m dish.

stamp on the back has the "PART NUM 3040642-02. MOLD NUM 1.0M-02".. I could be wrong but I'm thinkin that 1.0M means 1 meter.

Looks to me like there is a sub-assembly that comes off.
You should be able to mount the neck of one of those feedhorns directly to the black plastic which has the three support arm screws.
Note that your LNB would then be lower by 2" from where they are now.
Put the dish on a plumb pole, set the elevation on the mount, and verify a near-TS satellite is at the proper elevation.
I wonder if the lower LNB support arm is shortened on your dish, to offset the fact that your LNBs are mounted too high???

I' dont have a post here so this test will have to wait a day or so until I can go to my buddies machine shop and fabricate a light weight support bracket... But I agree that perhaps the legs are an odd size..

Where is prime focus in relation to these long feed horns? is it at the face of the feed or is it back inside the actual LNB? That info would give me a better idea as to how the lower lnb should mount.

 

[eurosport]

Dual LNB bracket...

That dual bracket unbolts from the single LNB holder below it. If you want to part with that bracket, and/or those old LNBs, I'll buy them from you.

 

[Anole]

congrats:

Okay, 1.0 meter it is! Now we know for sure.

See who'll measure his lower LNB support arm on another 1.0m Primestar.
Compare to yours.
May be the same, may be different.
That'll answer the other main question.

All the rest seems to be good news! - :up

 

[flyznest]

I'm not willing to give up on that bracket quite yet. I am not convinced that I will never need a dual LNB setup and that is a very nice bracket. I took it off today to discover that its all cast brass.... anodized black. It can be adjusted for either a 1.2 or 1.0 meter dish. Fantastic quality.

As far as the LNBs go, what would be the advantage of using them over a standard or universal LNB? Are they more sensitive? Do they have a lower noise figure?

I also took off the dish mounting bracket. As you all said, That thing is very heavy. Its difficult to understand how heavy it is without actually holding it. Most of it is made from welded 1/8" steel plate. Subtracting the weight of that and the dual lnb bracket, this dish is really not that heavy and I am confident my SG2100 can handle it.

 

[Larobpra]

As far as the LNBs go, what would be the advantage of using them over a standard or universal LNB? Are they more sensitive? Do they have a lower noise figure?

They are made for that dish and would be best suited to it.

 

[Anole]

The dual output one would be most suitable for your use.
Just center-mount it, connect on a 2x4 or bigger multiswitch, and go to town.

The single polarity LNB is what some of those commercial dishes come with, depending on application.
Not too useful for general FTA.
I'm collecting a few to use on a special project, so if you don't find a use for it, keep me in mind.

The LNBs on your dish probably have a 0.7 noise figure, but they're commercial quality and stable, so quite useful.
The feedhorn is matched to the dish, so you should certainly use it.

 

[osu1991]

My 1m primestar is sitting on the back porch along with it's little brother the 84e waiting for me to find time to plant new poles for them and their big brother the 7.5ft unimesh. If I don't get called in tomorrow I will measure the lower arm on the 1m

 

[flyznest]

what a great forum... Before I even had a chance to post a thread lookin for measurements... someone offered to measure for me.... way cool.

Now I just gotta figure out a jack screw for the motor mount and I might get this thing done.

 

[osu1991]

From tip to tip the lower arm of my 1m primestar is 24.5 inches.

 

[flyznest]

Thanx OSU!!!

mine measures up to be 23"... discrepancy. So I messed around a little and noticed that the dish and lnb bracket both have guides that hold the poles to a reasonable tolerance. Any change to any one pole would mean that all the poles and lnb holder would have to change... maybe even the dish. from reading on the web I have seen 2 different mold numbers for 1m dishes. 1.0M-01, and 1.0M-02. There might even be more... I wonder if the different 1m molds have different focal lengths and/or offset angles... therefor different arm lengths.

Hate to bother you again OSU, but could I get you to tell me what mold# yours is? It should be stamped on the back.

 

[osu1991]

It is a 1.0m-02 Primestar/ Channelmaster. I have not used this one yet. I hope it performs as well as my 84e. The 84e is just a signal gobbling monster.

I need to patch a small piece in the lower corner of it. I pulled this one out of a trash dumpster last summer on the way to our lake house. I also got my 84e primestar out of the trash. It had no trespassing sprayed on it when I got it from in front of a dumpster at an abandoned house down the street from our lake place. I just need to find time to put them back up before football season.

It was only 95 out today with a heat index of 107. Looking at 99 to 100 for temps the rest of this week. So heat index will be pushing 110. Humidity is terrible right now.

I think I am going to motorize the 84e. So I will be following your exploits closely and also looking at some older threads for those that have already done it. I need to plan this out as I also need to put my BUD up too. I have spent 7 months remodeling this house from a total gut out, so I have kinda been slacking off this past month or so.