Getting my first dish!

[kzinbastet]

Hi ,I'm very new to this having just found out anythind about FTA on Saturday!My husband and I live off grid in Vermont and this seemed a good alternative to spending lot on Channels we won't watch.I'm picking up my dish on Saturday and bidding on a coolsat 6000 so I may have both on sunday!(not counting time for shipping).The Dish is a channel master mesh so let me know what you think.I'm adding pics.Thanks

 

[Mr Tony]

sweet

 

[tvropro]

Great actuator, my Thompson Saginaw 24" is still going strong after 19 years. The Channel Master looks good

 

[Anole]

You might take off the LNB cover ( the small trash can in your last picture above) and give us some pictures inside.
Be careful of any wasps, or other resident bugs.

Look also directly into the open end of the feed horn (as viewed from the dish), and let us see which model/brand you have (and any more critters).
There may be a two or three inch removable cover.
Let's see inside.

We'll be able to tell you if it'll do Ku, too.

Are you getting any old Analog or 4DTV receiver with the dish?
Perhaps a 920 or 922 4DTV receiver?
Reason I ask, is any of the above will move the motor to swing the dish.
Lacking one of those, we might recommend a thing called a Vbox or a Gbox to do the job.
Also, the feedhorn most likely has a little blue servo to change skew and switch between horizontal and vertical transponders.
An analog or 4DTV receiver would be able to control that servo, too.

There is a new product coming from Sadoun in about a month which combines the Gbox and Servo control, but we haven't seen the first unit yet.

Another solution would be to replace the feedhorn (all the hardware in that LNB cover above) with one that's voltage controlled for Vertical/Horizontal switching.
Your Coolsat will handle that task just fine.
However, it's way too early to be making any such suggestions into recommendations.
Let's see what you've got. What you want. And what you can get, hardware wise.

 

[kzinbastet]

The person said he installed the dish in 92 and stopped using it in 98,it was installed for him and all the connections look to still be good. the boot on the motor is still intact.Should I try the old feed horn or just get a new one? Thanks

 

[kzinbastet]

To: Anole
I did not get any receivers with the dish and shall take bug killer with me tomorrow,thanks for the heads up about wasps! I'll also have more pics of the fee horn.

 

[voomvoom]

Welcome to the world of FTA and the C-Band Discussion section kzinbastet. That feedhorn should do, so try it to start with. Once you get the cover off and some pictures, we'll know what kind it is. Without an analog receiver, you'll need some kind of dish mover to operate the Saginaw. Now-A-Days, we FTA'ers find a cheap analog receiver or get something like a V-Box to use with a DVB receiver. Good Luck on your dismantlement and moving of the dish...!

 

[gabshere]

first let me you to the group
great bunch of folks here , we all love c-band and try a lot of different things to save our dishes. some have only one dish others have several dishes.

most likely the feedhorn will work
take a compass and write down the degree the dish is pointing at.

if you need the pole, get it. dig slightly on one side and you can probably push it over with a truck bumper. knock the concrete loose. ( if your in a northern state a little more work might be involved)

if you can back your truck under the dish , you should be able to set it in the truck
the dish probably isn't too heavy usually they are just big and bulky ( but you have to remember that most of it is made out of lightweight aluminum.

good luck and post back if you have questions

 

[Anole]

clarification

Just to clarify...

You disconnect the motor from the back of the dish,
... take the dish off the mount,
... then you probably take the mount off the pole, (need side view pictures to advise)
... then you dig the pole out of the ground,
... and bring home the three pieces.

edit: the regulars promote PB Blaster for rusted hardware.
Maybe apply a day ahead, and more when you go to remove old hardware.
Don't be shocked if you break a few bolts taking it apart.
Some folks pick up $50 worth of stainless hardware to put old dishes back together. (your call)

If more info is needed, we can educate ya.
Or, if you've already studied the procedure, then no offense intended.

 

[kzinbastet]

I will have to take it down to even smaller parts as it has to come home on top of my Volvo wagon!If it looks as funny as I think it will I'll take pics and post them!I sprayed it yesterday with liquid wrench as Pb makes me passout for some reason.the nuts on it are stainless so that should help.My husband is going ti work on the concrete with a stone axe and sledge.I should have the pics of the feed horn tonight and will post them with the tale of the dismantle!Thanks again for the great welcome and support!!!!!!

 

[sergei]

Do you know anyone with a pickup truck because you could haul it in the bed without taking it apart, just remove dish from mount to make it lighter to handle and then use some c-clamps attached to the side of the dish to secure it down. Just leave the polein the ground and save your back and check with a well drilling company for a old section of pipe, the last pipe I got cost me 12 dollars for 12 feet of 4 1/2 schedule 40.

 

[1captain]

Hi Kzin, Thats a great find an that CM is their last model before they shut their plant down where all mess dishes where made. you can tell by the reflector is drilled to take a 32 inch back fram, bolts are missing where the larger back fram bolts just about 5 inches out from from the back fram mounts are now. an it has the larger diamter legs. now if it has a Channel Master feed you need to keep the scaller ring an use it for any type of feed that you will put in it, the reason why is the dishes legs (that bolt to the scaler ring) will have 8 bolts that holds the scaler to them, not like a chapperal scaler ring it will only have 4-bolts, that was 1 of CM ways to make that dish more riged. but all in all thats dish is in good shape, an I can go on an on about CM an their dishes, cause have worked with just about every model they have made since 1981, an have nothing bad to say about them at all, they have built a very fine product.

Now when you start to set that dish up you will find that the gain on that CM is far better than any other mess dish out their, the only dish that is equal to their gain was a Sami, now the Orbitron was close to it but the CM perform better on signal, now years ago when I worked with these dishes I used a IF sniffer to peak them in, an with that you could always tell what dish manufactor was better for signal. also that dish will play Ku-band great, I got 2 CM-10 footers here an both have Ku on them.

Good Luck an what a great find, you be very happy when you get it set up.

 

[Radioguy41]

That dish is virtually identical in design to my 7.5' KTI, even to the scalar mount, the way the LNB cover fastens, and the molding of the LNB cover itself. The big difference is the polar mount design. My dish has been performing great for more than 15 years. When I moved to a new house 5 years ago I brought the dish along, sitting up on edge, in the bed of a box trailer but a pickup bed would work just as well. Keep in mind that it acts as a large sail when being transported so strap it in good and take your time. Put on the 4 way flashers and try to keep your speed under 25-30mph.

 

[kzinbastet]

Rain

No dish today due to rain!We'll try Sunday.I do have a question ,will it matter if the dish is fairly close to the house?Also should I repaint the reflector that is very rusty?I lost the first coolsat I was bidding on,I'm bidding on #2.If you guys have any recommendations feel free to let me know.Thanks

 

[phlatwound]

No dish today due to rain!We'll try Sunday.I do have a question ,will it matter if the dish is fairly close to the house?Also should I repaint the reflector that is very rusty?I lost the first coolsat I was bidding on,I'm bidding on #2.If you guys have any recommendations feel free to let me know.Thanks

Are you talking about the rust that is on the plate at the center of the dish? It's up to you, it would look better, probably won't measurably affect performance if you don't though. That dish (mesh and arms)should be mostly made of aluminum, you might paint any or all of it but the aluminum parts shouldn't be "rusted".

You can put the dish fairly close to your house as long as it has free movement and you can point it to where it "sees" the satellites. You will need a clear line-of-sight (LOS) to the south, southeast and southwest to see the full arc (Clarke Belt).


Lots of good info here that will be helpful when you put it up at your place:

C-band Satellite Installation

and here:

Footprints by Dish Size - Adjusting the Polar Mount for Prime Focus Antenna - C/Ku-Band Satellite Systems - Tuning, Tracking, Azimuth, Elevation, Declination Angles, F/D Ratio, Focal Distance, Inclinometer, LNB/Feedhorn Assembly, Actuator Assembly, C

 

[sergei]

No dish today due to rain!We'll try Sunday.I do have a question ,will it matter if the dish is fairly close to the house?Also should I repaint the reflector that is very rusty?I lost the first coolsat I was bidding on,I'm bidding on #2.If you guys have any recommendations feel free to let me know.Thanks

Just watch out for clones models on Ebay...some of the other member can info you about what to check for and you can also check out the Coolsat web page. Buying a clone is like putting money down a rat hole.... Check this site...or search for Coolsat clones.
from Coolsat site: Many counterfeit products are sold on Ebay, and our Coolsat products are no exception. In order to protect our dealers and consumers from this prevalent problem, all buyers who decide to purchase on Ebay, should purchase from an approved Coolsat dealer listed below.

http://www.coolsatusa.com/bbs.php?table=board_0&query=view&uid=1

 

[kzinbastet]

Coolsat 6000

i just won the coolsat 6000 on ebay for 33.50 total.The seller stated it was nota clone so I'll check as soon as i get it and if it's a clone I'll return it So more news when i get the dish home!!!!Thanks

 

[voomvoom]

Congratulations..!
chances are the dish you are getting has the old standard type single polarity lnb's
so, now you need an analog receiver to change polarity and move the dish...
Or, you need a V-Box type positioner to move the dish and some voltage controlled lnbf's that the Coolsat will be able to control polarity with...

 

[Sadoun]

Hi ,I'm very new to this having just found out anything about FTA on Saturday

Congratulations and welcome. Good luck with the new dish.

 

[Anole]

anxously waiting for pix

Should have brought this up earlier, but there are a few Pansat receivers which are able to control the skew/polarity servo motor on your feedhorn.
Double check, but I think the models are: 3500sd (most recent and nicest), 2700 (but not 2800?), and the oldest 2500.
I suspect you could get one of the above for under $50, so let's discuss that as an option here in your thread.

Since you haven't spent much on the Coolsat, it's still a viable option.
Besides, spare parts, swapping with friends, and all such manner are common...


Here is a web site that will acquaint you with about everything you need to know to install and service a BUD.
Geo Orbit looks old and clunky, but it's got all the descriptions and pictures in one place.
Do give it a once-over, and consider it a handy reference in the future.

Of course, if you don't mess up the fixed adjustments on the mount, there will be very little for you to re-align when you install.
Especially since the dish is within a few miles of its new home. - :up