Come On C-Band ... Got Myself A BUD!

[KJ6EO]

Gentlemen ... I've got news! I got myself a BUD ... Come On C-Band! This wasn't the BUD that I was previously looking at. This is a different one a little further down the street (image attached). It appears to
be in good shape (a little weather worn), but the FLNB and actuator are intact. I'm not sure if it's an 8' or a
10'. It was 110 degrees today when I took the picture so I wasn't going to climb all the way up the hill to
look at it. The hill is steep so it's gonna be some work to disassemble it and get it down!

I've never taken a BUD apart, so would someone be kind enough to give me some tips on the best way to do
it? Before I put it back up I'd like to do any maintenance on it that it needs. Like cleaning and painting the
panels, hardware, etc. It might be wise to go ahead and replace the FLNB and Actuator too! After the current heatwave cools off by the middle of next week, I'll climb to the top of the hill and take some more detailed pictures. I paid $140 for it. Seeing that it was complete with FLNB and Acutuator, no dings, and appears to be in good shape, I thought it was a fair deal. The guy said the previous owner of the house left
it there. He also said some scrap dealers had recently stopped by and offered him $140 for it. Anyway, it's
mine now.

So any comments you might have would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Magic Static]

That is a Winegard Pinnacle. You can find the owner's manual in the downloads. Very strong dish. The sections interlock together. It's all aluminum. The F/D ratio is .28 Very deep dish. May require extra attention to LNBF placement. Because it's a deep dish it has a short buttonhook Hopefully the actuator works good. Good score! Check link in my signature for info on my refurbishing the Pinnacle

 

[kodaz]

been hunting a winegard myself for a while now, good find!!!!

 

[primestar31]

Hopefully those scrap dealers won't come back and take it before you do, now that you paid for it already...

Congrats on the great dish though!

 

[Babadem]

Great find! I hope the seller gave you a receipt for the purchase before the seller decides to resell it to someone with deeper pockets as Primestar31 pointed out.

 

[waylew]

Remove the bolt from the "coarse elevation" hole and you can tilt the dish down so it's easier to work on.If you have help, you can remove the 8 bolts that hold the reflector to the mount and you and friends can carry the dish down the hill.If you can't reach all the bolts,disconnect the actuator and you can flop the dish from side to side.Once the dish is off you can pull the mount off the pole.
If you don't have help and are going to take it down by yourself;
remove coarse elev bolt so you can tilt down,remove actuator(you'll need a 2x4 or something to hold the dish up while you do this by yourself).You can now flop the dish side to side so you can reach all the bolts.
Remove the button hook,you can now start unbolting and removing panels.As stated above the panels interlock so getting the first one out might be a pain,after that not so bad.This will be a bit of a juggling act and you don't want to do this if it's windy.Once you have the dish off you'll probably want to take the square frame off the pivots(it's heavy) and then take the rest of the mount off the pole (it's heavier).
I put my Pinnacle up by myself,more or less piece by piece.First put the base of the mount on the pole,then the elevation yoke and then the square frame.I made the 8 panels into 4 and then started hanging them,getting the last panel hooked in to the first was a little tricky.
Did I mention juggling ? But it can be done,I know,I did it!

 

[KJ6EO]

Thanks for your replies. Early next week as soon as it cools down a little bit I'll climb all the way to the top of the hill and take some more detailed pictures for all of
you! Just a few minutes ago I was out in my back yard imagining several different mount locations for the dish (dreaming). This dish is going to be a real pain to get
down from the top of the hill. The path up/down is very steep. I can only imagine what they went through to get it up there. I've got tower climbing gear so it will
come in handy for this job. I hate to ask a potentially dumb question, but I can't seem to find the downloads area. More news soon! Your help is always appreciated!

 

[waylew]

http://www.satelliteguys.us/downloads.php?do=file&id=8

 

[primestar31]

If your "hill" is really that steep, here's a suggestion: Unbolt the dish reflector WHOLE. Tie a LONG rope to a convenient rib on it, and put the reflector on the ground like a snow-saucer that kids use. Then, if the dish will slide by itself, either start lowering/sliding it down to the bottom of the hill. Or, if it doesn't easily slide by itself, have one person grab a side and start slide/pulling it down the hill, while a guy at the top slowly feeds out the rope to help keep it from taking off out of control.

If you are concerned this might damage it a bit, wire it on top of a old piece of handy plywood or formica or cardboard or something like that as a skid-plate, to help act as a sled.

If you are concerned with being the guy holding the rope at top, and being pulled off the hill to your doom, tie your body to the mount pole with a different piece of rope beforehand!

 

[KJ6EO]

Thanks for all the suggestions. The hill is very steep. It's difficult to get up/down without falling even empty handed. I think I'm going to have no other alternative but to take the panels out one at a time. They've been interlocked for so long, they might be difficult to get apart. Thanks for the great suggestion of removing the elevation screw and actuator to gain more access to the panels. The good thing is that the previous owner of the dish said he'd be glad to help me take it down. Early next week I'll make a trip down the street to take some more detailed pictures. While I'm there, I'll have a serious think about what would be the best and safest way to get the dish down the hill without taking risks.

 

[Anole]

Can you go UP the hill instead of down?
(can you approach the dish from above, instead of from below?)

I hate to see anyone fully disassemble a dish for transport.
Especially on uneven ground, as you have.

I kinda favor taking the dish off the mount.
It'll be very light, but just large.
Disassemble to half or quarter if you must, but no more.
If you leave it whole, the LNB and feed support can be left on.

The idea above of using a large piece of cardboard under dish is brilliant.
Attach with tie wraps. Wrap rope around pole about three times.
If you have two people, one could go down with the package, maybe tied to the rope.
But one person could EASILY lower the full/half/quarter dish, or mount down the slope while standing at the pole!

Just don't come back with a hard luck story how you fell and broke a leg , or worse: the dish!

While you are up there taking pictures, check the head sizes of the bolts so you know what size wrenches to bring.
Take a can of PB Blaster (yes, buy it special). Follow instructions; spray & bang all bolts.
When you go back for the removal, repeat the proceedure.

Take a breaker bar and feel free to twist the heads off stubborn bolts if necessary. :up
Southern California weather is super mild, but you're bound to have a few rusted bolts.
(never know what it came with; suggest you replace with stainless steel)

Normally, I would reccommend taking a SawZall and a hand grinder equipped with a cut-off wheel.
But getting power to that dish might be a challenge.

 

[SatelliteAV]

Can a boom truck reach from above or below and pluck it off the pole in one piece to place on your truck or trailer? Seems like it might be the best $200 you could spend on the project. No risk of damage and you will be driving away in 1/2 hour!

 

[madmadworld]

hard to advise without seeing it. but a 4' x 8' sheet of wafer/plywood would make a good slider if that is a option. looking forward to the pic's.
good luck

 

[KJ6EO]

If your "hill" is really that steep, here's a suggestion: Unbolt the dish reflector WHOLE. Tie a LONG rope to a convenient rib on it, and put the reflector on the ground like a snow-saucer that kids use. Then, if the dish will slide by itself, either start lowering/sliding it down to the bottom of the hill. Or, if it doesn't easily slide by itself, have one person grab a side and start slide/pulling it down the hill, while a guy at the top slowly feeds out the rope to help keep it from taking off out of control.

If you are concerned this might damage it a bit, wire it on top of a old piece of handy plywood or formica or cardboard or something like that as a skid-plate, to help act as a sled.

If you are concerned with being the guy holding the rope at top, and being pulled off the hill to your doom, tie your body to the mount pole with a different piece of rope beforehand!

The piece of plywood is an excellent idea! There is dead grass all the way up the hill and the reflector should slide quite easily. A rope above and a rope below would work out just fine. Getting the reflector down in one piece would definitely be the way to go! Just how heavy is the reflector? I'm a tower monkey so I have climbing gear. I'll put on my harness and tie myself off to the pole. Another hazard will be Rattle Snakes. I'll be doing this in the cool of the evening so I'll have to keep my eyes open. I'll be taking a full set of pictures after it cools off this afternoon. I'll upload them tonight or tomorrow morning.

 

[phlatwound]

...Just how heavy is the reflector?...

The reflector/feed support/feed is probably around 50-70 pounds...and the mount/actuator is about the same.

i would separate the reflector (in one piece) from the mount and slide one down at a time...with a 3rd trip for the pole if you can get it.

 

[Anole]

I recommended the cardboard because it could easily be curved.
Especially important on the leading edge.
Even thin plywood will want to remain flat, that edge catching as you go down.
A box from a large TV, refrigerator, stove, furniture, or washing machine would be perfect.
No problem if you use several pieces.

With any luck, your sled need take only a few trips down the hill, so moisture or wear is no problem. :up


Edit: if you do go with plywood, there is one thing you could do.
Lower your your sled with one corner leading, not a straight edge.
.

 

[waylew]

If you can find an old "flying saucer" snow sled,that would probably be all you need.And it's already "dish"shaped.

 

[Gray Hair]

How about an inner tube, truck, tractor, or tubing (just floating on water, used for pulling behind boats, snow sliding)? Grass is defiantly a lubrication. I believe you could even fasten the dish or parts to it, tube should form a support if the right size as well. The ropes or load binder strap (to hold satellite dish or other parts to tube) would recess into tube and not catch the ground. Its a thought, not tried in practice.

 

[KJ6EO]

Somehow I can't find out how to get to the "downloads" area. Could someone tell me how to navigate there, or send me a link to the manual for the Winegard Pinnacle?

 

[brex2001]

Somehow I can't find out how to get to the "downloads" area. Could someone tell me how to navigate there, or send me a link to the manual for the Winegard Pinnacle?

http://www.satelliteguys.us/downloads.php?do=cat&id=2&page=12