Dish Feaver

[Karl Q]

So, I didn't heed the warnings about this stuff being addictive, and now I find myself taking a closer look at dishes around town that I never gave a second thought to before now. I don't even really want a big C band dish, I mean come on! They are big, ugly and a pain! But I can't help but feel inadequate and wonder what I may be missing with my sub 1 meter Ku dish.

So here is one that I have been looking at for years on the way to work. (see photos below) It's outside a hotel and on closer inspection looks HUGE. (Go big or go home, right? ) Are there hotels still pulling in TV on C-band dishes? This is a major metro area, so that would surprise me, but then again I would not think to completely rule it out. It does not look completely derelict, and being along a major thoroughfare I would bet people have asked about it before. Maybe I will drive through their parking lot one day and get a closer look.

 

[osu1991]

Looks like a nice Birdview.

 

[pacificrim]

Wow, that's quite a dish. Does it move or is it fixed on a single sat?

 

[Martyn]

It's outside a hotel and on closer inspection looks HUGE. (Go big or go home, right? ) Are there hotels still pulling in TV on C-band dishes?

That's big. I doubt it's being used for TV. There aren't really any services up there for hotels that spring to mind.

That pole it's on might be an indication of the size and weight of the thing. So getting it down and transported and back up again might be quite a job, but if you accomplish all that you'll have quite the starter dish.

One thing you might run into is the hotel insisting you have insurance or such, should anything go wrong. They won't want to get sued. On the other hand, the manager might just say "sure" and let you take it away. It's probably not a one-man job though.

 

[Arion]

Now that is a dish! Might need a crane and a flatbed trailer though. Looks one piece and very heavy.

 

[Karl Q]

Actually, yes that is much bigger than I thought because that isn't the dish I was seeing. Though it is just down the road. This is the dish:

 

[Karl Q]

A bit more manageable I would say. I may still get a closer look at that other one.

This one is located at a Motel 6 and has a bent LNB suspension assembly.

 

[KE4EST]

Yes, that one will be much more manageable. If you get this dish or one like it, be sure to mark the panels if you take it apart. So that the same panels go back together like they were.

 

[wvman]

Actually, yes that is much bigger than I thought because that isn't the dish I was seeing. Though it is just down the road. This is the dish:

If you measure across the face of the first dish you pictured, it appears to be as wide as 2 parking places in the lot. If you knew how wide the spaces are, it would give you some idea how big the dish is. The pole looks monstrous in proportion to the dish, which make me wonder if there isn't some sort of encasement around the pole.

Judging from the angle of the dish, it look as if it was looking at the old Galaxy 5 satellite location, which had HBO, Cinemax and several other popular cable channels. Wish you had a rear shot of that dish to see exactly how it's mounted to the pole and see if it's a polar mount. This hobby is addictive for sure. After selling dishes for 30 years, I got hooked on FTA, and like you, I find myself looking for dishes everywhere I go. I guess there's worse things I could get into.

 

[armadillo_115]

In the third photo of the most recent posted: Looks like a second dish behind it.

 

[Karl Q]

I stopped by the dish sites on the way home from work tonight to get a closer look. The first images are of the 2nd smaller one, that I had originally been seeing. It looks OLD and quite battered. The LNB support arms are very bent up, and there was a good sized dent in the top of the dish. Wasn't too visible from the front, but was at the back however, which I didn't get a good image of. Looks usable, but I imagine getting it apart would be a nightmare given it might have endured perhaps 40 Minnesota winters. I assume the dish panels are removable like flower pedals? Looks like some very rusty bolts holding everything together, that or rivets. which might be preferable if they have to be drilled out anyway.

 

[Phalaenopsis]

Hmm..... Judging on its size it’ll be a lot of work to take it down. Also, all the bolts and screws are corroded and fuzzed together. I would wait until spring.

 

[Karl Q]

Here is the original dish I posted about in the first posting. It's certainly big... Too big really. It does, at least appear to be sectional, but the added height would complicate the removal process. It is in pretty good shape though. Almost looks like it could still be in use as I surmised earlier, but I would have no idea for what. There was also a smaller rectangular dish next to it with a buc and lnb, maybe for some point of sale service?

 

[Karl Q]

Hmm..... Judging on its size it’ll be a lot of work to take it down. Also, all the bolts and screws are corroded and fuzzed together. I would wait until spring.

Oh god. I wouldn't even think of tackling that for another 5 months. It's currently -4 Fahrenheit! (-20 c)

 

[Phalaenopsis]

Yah, Michigan winters are the same to

 

[wvman]

Here is the original dish I posted about in the first posting. It's certainly big... Too big really. It does, at least appear to be sectional, but the added height would complicate the removal process. It is in pretty good shape though. Almost looks like it could still be in use as I surmised earlier, but I would have no idea for what. There was also a smaller rectangular dish next to it with a buc and lnb, maybe for some point of sale service?

The second dish looks like it could be quite a chore to take down. It looks like a well made dish, but it might prove costly to move it. The smaller rectangular dish definitely looks like a data setup used for point of sale and data usage. I had to re-align several dishes like those when we a satellite went down several years ago that had pagers, car dealerships and stores on it. May want to locate some alternate choices.

I would think there should be some wire mesh dishes or nice fiberglass dishes out in the suburbs or country still available. Fiberglass dishes here are a dime a dozen. Wire mesh, not so many. Thanks for the photos. Happy hunting! Have a Happy New Year!

 

[beavs2112]

Too big really.

Size definitely matters when it come to FTA dishes. The bigger the better. As has been mentioned before sometimes a boomtruck rental can be had fairly cheaply and usually comes with insurance. The one dish with a bent arm is a Patriot model and the other one is a Prodelin (they go by General Dynamics Mission Systems now)
I would go for the Prodelin myself NOW. Don't wait cause they are usually gone by the time we get around to harvesting them. If we had a nickel for every time we've heard "that old dish used to be there but now its gone".
Note both seem to be fixed AZ/EL types that point to only one satellite at a time. gonna take a lot of work to get it motorized.
You're right that other small dish is a point of sale unit. there was a thread around some where that another member picked one up ..... ya knew I'd seen it somewhere here:
Identify This Dish; New Addition to the Bunch

 

[wvman]

Size definitely matters when it come to FTA dishes. The bigger the better. As has been mentioned before sometimes a boomtruck rental can be had fairly cheaply and usually comes with insurance. The one dish with a bent arm is a Patriot model and the other one is a Prodelin (they go by General Dynamics Mission Systems now)
I would go for the Prodelin myself NOW. Don't wait cause they are usually gone by the time we get around to harvesting them. If we had a nickel for every time we've heard "that old dish used to be there but now its gone".
Note both seem to be fixed AZ/EL types that point to only one satellite at a time. gonna take a lot of work to get it motorized.
You're right that other small dish is a point of sale unit. there was a thread around some where that another member picked one up ..... ya knew I'd seen it somewhere here:
Identify This Dish; New Addition to the Bunch

It would definitely take some engineering to fabricate a mount for a Prodelin. All of the ones around here have 8 spider like arms with a "T" at the end of the arm to attach the mount to the dish, but those are already a polar mount. Not sure what you'll get into with that one, but it's worth a try.