Dish Mounting - Northern Minnesota

[tvdxer]

I have had my dish (an 80cm Fortec) on a "temporary" mount for the last year and a half - just a piece of wood on my deck. The wood has since gotten wet, rotted, is very, very far from plumb - it's never been plumb enough for me to put my positioner (a STAB HH-120 - has sat around for 2 years now) on it anyway. For a long time, I have wanted to put the dish (actually a 1m dish to make up for coax losses) on a pole in a part of my yard with a very clear view of the southern sky, but there's the fact that the frost depth here is about FIVE FEET deep. We have a manual post-hole digger, but I'm not sure how useful it would be in makig a five-foot hole.

So what do you guys think is the easiest, most reasonable method to mount the dish? It might be possible to make a new mount on the deck, but that would mean nothing west of 110* or so and no possible upgrade to C-band. Would a tripod be better? Or do you think digging a hole would be reasonable? I'm kind of in a rush here - the ground will probably be frozen in two weeks or so.

 

[Hermitman]

Here in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, we have the same type of situation. But frost depth doesn't directly mean frost heave that would effect your antenna pole. Frost depth is figured on a clear, open area with a certain kind of soil without any kind of insulating material. The Minnesota Road Commissions have several charts, reports and studies about frost depth on the internet if you're interested. I have antenna dishes installed 3 foot down with 7 or 8 bags of cement and never had a frost heave problem. That's probably because of the 2-3 feet of snow covering the ground throughout the winter insulates and keeps the ground from freezing deep. So if your area gets a fair amount of snow and you want a permanent antenna installation, I'd go for the pole in the ground. Good luck and have fun.

 

[PSB]

Its nearly 70º here in MN. today! I think it will be more than a week or two before we have to worry too much about the frost line (I Hope )

I dig my holes 3' deep here in the metro area and I have NEVER had one move on me.

 

[iafirebuff]

This will be my first FTA winter, but I have a 6' - 2 3/8" fence post down 23" in hard clay soil with 2 bags of cement, and the post is filled with cement for my Primestar. My 80cm with motor is on a 8' - 2 3/8" fence post, filled with cement, that is 42" deep, with 4 bags of cement from 36" to about 1 or 2" from the top then dirt. Will see how they hold up. Oh, the deep hole post has a lare muffler clamp about 1/2 way up into the cement.

 

[tvdxer]

Its nearly 70º here in MN. today! I think it will be more than a week or two before we have to worry too much about the frost line (I Hope )

I dig my holes 3' deep here in the metro area and I have NEVER had one move on me.

I hope this doesn't sound too stupid, but how do you dig them, personally? Do you use a post-hole digger?

 

[PSB]

I hope this doesn't sound too stupid, but how do you dig them, personally? Do you use a post-hole digger?

Yep, I will soon be putting it away for the winter (The next 6 months)

 

[tvdxer]

Thanks for the help so far! It looks like I will be doing a pole mount...SOON!

Now another question...is quick-set concrete OK for a pole supporting a 1m dish? C-band install guides never recommend using, yet the DirecTV install guide does.

 

[Mr Tony]

quik set concrete should be fine. We did that at our lake house (Lake Mille Lacs) and on occasion I put a 30" dish on it for FTA...pole doesnt budge