After seeing the impressive results of dish projects by other Satguys (the Primestar fans in particular), I was inspired to undertake one of my own. Thanks for all the great ideas.
Here's how it all came together ...
I made a few calls to satellite system installers in the area to let them know I was interested in picking up a few used dishes. One happened to have a few dishes in the back of his van, which were destined for the dumpster behind his shop at the end of the day.
I met him at his next service call and came home with a .9 meter and .75 meter fiberglass Channel Master with Norsat LNBs - a little rust, a lot of grime, some UV damage to the fiberglass on the backside, but worth putting some time and money into.
I chose to focus on the .9 meter. The Norsat LNB was removed from its feedhorn and replaced with a QPF-031. The rotted O-ring sealing the feedhorn cover was replaced with a new one sold as a Delta faucet replacement part.
The Channel Master mount is impressive, but all wrong for a motorized FTA setup. My latitude is such that I did not need much elevation adjustment. This made it easy to keep things simple. The existing mount was replaced with a piece of 1 inch pressure treated plywood. If the fisherman's scale I used is to be trusted, this shaved about 14 lbs. off the total weight of the dish.
After a few coats of paint it was all mated to a SG2100.
If I was doing it all over I would have mounted the dish higher with respect to the motor. This would put the output bearing of the gearbox closer to the dish's center of gravity. But as far as I can tell the SG2100 isn't having any problems handling the load. If any problems crop up I'll replace the SG2100 with an HH90.
Before and after pics attached:
Here's how it all came together ...
I made a few calls to satellite system installers in the area to let them know I was interested in picking up a few used dishes. One happened to have a few dishes in the back of his van, which were destined for the dumpster behind his shop at the end of the day.
I met him at his next service call and came home with a .9 meter and .75 meter fiberglass Channel Master with Norsat LNBs - a little rust, a lot of grime, some UV damage to the fiberglass on the backside, but worth putting some time and money into.
I chose to focus on the .9 meter. The Norsat LNB was removed from its feedhorn and replaced with a QPF-031. The rotted O-ring sealing the feedhorn cover was replaced with a new one sold as a Delta faucet replacement part.
The Channel Master mount is impressive, but all wrong for a motorized FTA setup. My latitude is such that I did not need much elevation adjustment. This made it easy to keep things simple. The existing mount was replaced with a piece of 1 inch pressure treated plywood. If the fisherman's scale I used is to be trusted, this shaved about 14 lbs. off the total weight of the dish.
After a few coats of paint it was all mated to a SG2100.
If I was doing it all over I would have mounted the dish higher with respect to the motor. This would put the output bearing of the gearbox closer to the dish's center of gravity. But as far as I can tell the SG2100 isn't having any problems handling the load. If any problems crop up I'll replace the SG2100 with an HH90.
Before and after pics attached: