You do know: we all want to see some pictures , don't you?
We LOVE pictures
We LOVE pictures
Got a bigger dish
- Thread starter armadillo_115
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Nice find. I found a channel master also this week. Instead of button hook. Its got the 3 spars. Suppose to go take it down sunday. Pictures the guy sent. Still looks in good shape.
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I posted some pics of the mount and actuator on the Titanium contest link. I got my eye on that C/KU lnb. 
http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/thr...ium-satellite-pll-lnbf-conical-scalar.357138/
Nothing else to show yet.
http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/thr...ium-satellite-pll-lnbf-conical-scalar.357138/
Nothing else to show yet.
Couple more questions on the Channel Master 10" :
I understand about installing 4 wires to stabilize/align the buttonhook. But I wonder how much the lnb support arms help to stabilize the rim of the dish? Will i have potential signal loss due to the dish dancing in the wind?
Also,which do y'all recommend: 1) Mounting ring on the pole first,then attach the dish afterwards.
2) Mounting ring on dish first,then set everything onto the pole.
I did option One with the 7.5 dish and it was hard to line up the brackets without gouging the mesh.The 10' dish has twice as many brackets to line up.Ouch.
Option Two will be a heavier lift and might(?) warp the dish when we pick it up.
I got the 4 sections bolted together in the neighbor's driveway...nothing but mud and lingering snow at my yard.Loaded it on the truck to haul it where I wanted it...and couldn't get up my muddy driveway.Finally slid into the (shallow) ditch and called it a day.
Ah the joys of winter weather.
BTW, a 10 footer looks really big on the back of a Mazda B2300.lol
Thanks all!
I understand about installing 4 wires to stabilize/align the buttonhook. But I wonder how much the lnb support arms help to stabilize the rim of the dish? Will i have potential signal loss due to the dish dancing in the wind?
Also,which do y'all recommend: 1) Mounting ring on the pole first,then attach the dish afterwards.
2) Mounting ring on dish first,then set everything onto the pole.
I did option One with the 7.5 dish and it was hard to line up the brackets without gouging the mesh.The 10' dish has twice as many brackets to line up.Ouch.
Option Two will be a heavier lift and might(?) warp the dish when we pick it up.
I got the 4 sections bolted together in the neighbor's driveway...nothing but mud and lingering snow at my yard.Loaded it on the truck to haul it where I wanted it...and couldn't get up my muddy driveway.Finally slid into the (shallow) ditch and called it a day.
Ah the joys of winter weather.
BTW, a 10 footer looks really big on the back of a Mazda B2300.lol
Thanks all!
Lift the dish with, or without, the polar mount? Depends on how many hands you have available.
I've done the 'without' by myself. Placed the polar mount on the pole without the actuator. (ount all the way over) rolled the dish up to it and wiggled it about to get one bolt placed, then pivoted it on that bolt to get another. Home free. But has to have the nuts welded in place.
Shouldn't warp anything if lifted with polar mount attached to dish tho---just don't try bouncing it.
Two lifting and another guiding the mount onto pole. That is, with ~5ft of pole above ground.
I've done the 'without' by myself. Placed the polar mount on the pole without the actuator. (ount all the way over) rolled the dish up to it and wiggled it about to get one bolt placed, then pivoted it on that bolt to get another. Home free. But has to have the nuts welded in place.
Shouldn't warp anything if lifted with polar mount attached to dish tho---just don't try bouncing it.
Two lifting and another guiding the mount onto pole. That is, with ~5ft of pole above ground.
It took an acetylene torch but we finally got the buttonhook unstuck and it's now adjustable.I bolted the bottom half of the 'hook onto the dish and it really tightened up the dish.If the weather holds and I have a couple helpers on Sunday,I hope to get it mounted.Maybe even partially on the arc. 
It alive! Dish is on the pole.I removed the 7.5 dish and mounted the 10 footer by myself since I had no help.I followed Fat Airs advice and rolled the dish over to the pole and polar mount..Only difference was that my pole is too high.So I put my big wheelbarrow in front of the pole and set the dish on top of it...got it high enough to insert the first bolt and the rest was gravy.Dish has mud all over it from spinning the truck wheels and rolling it in the mud.The rain ought to be good for something.lol.
The alignment will be done as weather permits.Wasn't enough time today.I guestimated the zenith and locked down the mount accordingly.I also had to guess where to set the skew while the dish was turned all the way west since I couldn't reach the lnb while at zenith...ladder was too unstable in all the mud.Never even checked the inclination/declination.Everything must not be too out of whack,I programmed in Sats from 78W to 116W.Seem to have about all the channels I had before,but at a lesser SQ.I can live happily with it as is for a few days.
Even where SQ isn't quite as high as before...The picture looks more vibrant.That puzzles me.
String test = One string of six was < 3/16th" higher than the rest with the polar mount unattached.The buttonhook measured 3/8th" off center in 1 direction. I mounted dish so gravity would pull it in the right direction.I will double check the measurements now that it is in the air.I pre-fastened eyebolts and can easily add four stabilizing wires later.
That's about it for now.I'm a tired puppy...later gators!
The alignment will be done as weather permits.Wasn't enough time today.I guestimated the zenith and locked down the mount accordingly.I also had to guess where to set the skew while the dish was turned all the way west since I couldn't reach the lnb while at zenith...ladder was too unstable in all the mud.Never even checked the inclination/declination.Everything must not be too out of whack,I programmed in Sats from 78W to 116W.Seem to have about all the channels I had before,but at a lesser SQ.I can live happily with it as is for a few days.
Even where SQ isn't quite as high as before...The picture looks more vibrant.That puzzles me.
String test = One string of six was < 3/16th" higher than the rest with the polar mount unattached.The buttonhook measured 3/8th" off center in 1 direction. I mounted dish so gravity would pull it in the right direction.I will double check the measurements now that it is in the air.I pre-fastened eyebolts and can easily add four stabilizing wires later.
That's about it for now.I'm a tired puppy...later gators!
I got down to the dish this morning.Adjusted the true south better and reset the actuator bracket to travel more to the west.Elevation is spot on,but declination is still sketchy.Will need to place a board on front of dish to get an accurate dec reading since there is no good place on the back side.Dish pointed more or less toward 90W-95W in pics.Ugly places on dish are mud,not missing paint.It's now pouring down rain...grrrrrr.Six foot table and ladder give size reference. Wheel barrow is what I set the dish on to get enough height to bolt up.Still plenty of height for a future 12 footer.
First pic shows the muddy driveway and what I've been dealing with.
Second pic: Red arrow shows two small puncture holes I made while mounting the dish.Ring bracket poked through.Ooops! Flattened them out and will stitch them up later.Green arrow shows shortness of original declination bolt...the nut does not even thread all the way! I meant to put a longer bolt in before mounting but I forget in my haste to beat the monsoon.lol.It's a wonder the dish didn't flop over years ago.I'll fix that when I have some help to hold the dish.
Remainder of pics show different angles of view.BTW....How do ya like my hi-tech junction box made from a heavy duty plastic bag and electrical tape?
Stitching repair of the original 6" tear doesn't show in the photos.It's approx.at the 2 o'clock position on the frontal pic.It's now time to recalibrate the Sat positions and watch some tv.
First pic shows the muddy driveway and what I've been dealing with.
Second pic: Red arrow shows two small puncture holes I made while mounting the dish.Ring bracket poked through.Ooops! Flattened them out and will stitch them up later.Green arrow shows shortness of original declination bolt...the nut does not even thread all the way! I meant to put a longer bolt in before mounting but I forget in my haste to beat the monsoon.lol.It's a wonder the dish didn't flop over years ago.I'll fix that when I have some help to hold the dish.
Remainder of pics show different angles of view.BTW....How do ya like my hi-tech junction box made from a heavy duty plastic bag and electrical tape?
Stitching repair of the original 6" tear doesn't show in the photos.It's approx.at the 2 o'clock position on the frontal pic.It's now time to recalibrate the Sat positions and watch some tv.
If I wasn't so lazy...I'd have washed it first.
Does anyone happen to know the published Focal Length for a 10 foot Channel Master Mesh? I have not found the model number. It's 122" in diameter with a depth of 19.75". I calculate 47.101256" for FL.
Even if I fudge the numbers a bit... My buttonhook is at BEST one inch too long when completely retracted.(FWIW,the buttonhook was fully retracted when I got it as well) Longer bolts and spacers to drop the scaler down is the planned fix for that if needed .
Also one for the pros: Measurements to center the scaler vary less than 3/4" ...so it is less than 3/8" off center in any direction.How significant a loss will that cause on a 10 footer?
I ask this in advance because I plan to save playing with the FL and centering the buttonhook until last...and would like to know how close I can get before futzing with them.Thanks in advance!
Even if I fudge the numbers a bit... My buttonhook is at BEST one inch too long when completely retracted.(FWIW,the buttonhook was fully retracted when I got it as well) Longer bolts and spacers to drop the scaler down is the planned fix for that if needed .
Also one for the pros: Measurements to center the scaler vary less than 3/4" ...so it is less than 3/8" off center in any direction.How significant a loss will that cause on a 10 footer?
I ask this in advance because I plan to save playing with the FL and centering the buttonhook until last...and would like to know how close I can get before futzing with them.Thanks in advance!
If up to me I'd see how it works as is. Gotta start somewhere, right? I'd write down some Q numbers with the original set up, for something to compare. Then later, if questioning performance, put the spacers in for your FL. High FEC transponders would, I think, show the greatest change. (wouldn't it be nice to have some kind of remote, electric, F/L adjuster?) (maybe I should do this again, didn't have S2 signals when I did it)
3/8 inch is well under 1/2 wave at 4Ghz so think that would be minimal.
One wants to make sure it's position is constant when moved E to W. Not flopping from one position to another. That can really mess with tuning it up.
Think more importantly is if it's aimed to one side or another and not the center of the dish. YMMV and I'm sure some will disagree but this is what I'd do.
3/8 inch is well under 1/2 wave at 4Ghz so think that would be minimal.
One wants to make sure it's position is constant when moved E to W. Not flopping from one position to another. That can really mess with tuning it up.
Think more importantly is if it's aimed to one side or another and not the center of the dish. YMMV and I'm sure some will disagree but this is what I'd do.
I google-ated a bit and did find this: "Having the focal point of by as little as one half of one inch can cause a fifty percent loss in signal strength!"
That seems a bit exaggerated to me.I'd think the larger the dish the less significant a 1/2 error would matter.
But anyway...I'm waiting for dry weather to peak the dish and go from there.It's too big a PITA to lug the receiver, vbox, 20" tv monitor, cables, dropcords, etc out there in the mud.Maybe that's why they sell Satellite Meters?
That seems a bit exaggerated to me.I'd think the larger the dish the less significant a 1/2 error would matter.
But anyway...I'm waiting for dry weather to peak the dish and go from there.It's too big a PITA to lug the receiver, vbox, 20" tv monitor, cables, dropcords, etc out there in the mud.Maybe that's why they sell Satellite Meters?
I went out between showers and bent the buttonhook in the direction it needs to go.(more or less) Huge improvement receiving most sats. It will require cables to perfect...but I'm feeling much better about the eventual outcome.
55W already has more channels than the old dish ever got.Should be awesome when it's peaked out.lol.
It will require cables to perfect...but I'm feeling much better about the eventual outcome.55W already has more channels than the old dish ever got.Should be awesome when it's peaked out.lol.
Too windy to do much today,but I put temporary turn buckles on the buttonhook using paracord today to see if it will give some improvement.Signals mostly dropped so I tried lifting/lowering the dish a bit.Wound up raising the elevation slightly and BAM! Lots of signals @ 85% except for the far West side which drops to about 72%.
Still have not peaked the dish and see little point in trying until I get a new actuator.I dumped the dish trying to go east of 55W the other day and stripped the old actuator out worse than ever. It now has 5 or 6 inches of play east of Zenith.Have to creep up on each bird to hit the sweet spot.lmao
One thing that is curious...even on the channels with SQ of 85% : It is slow to lock them in.Receiver meter might sit at zero for 10 seconds before jumping to 85%.Maybe the skew is still off...or because the Focal Distance is too long ,IDK. Time to order a new actuator.
Still have not peaked the dish and see little point in trying until I get a new actuator.I dumped the dish trying to go east of 55W the other day and stripped the old actuator out worse than ever.
It now has 5 or 6 inches of play east of Zenith.Have to creep up on each bird to hit the sweet spot.lmaoOne thing that is curious...even on the channels with SQ of 85% : It is slow to lock them in.Receiver meter might sit at zero for 10 seconds before jumping to 85%.Maybe the skew is still off...or because the Focal Distance is too long ,IDK. Time to order a new actuator.
armadillo, nice work in the mud. After I read the first post, I had to read it all, haha. I was going to tell you I still have one of those "super sensor" things in my pile of parts, but since you stripped out the tube you won't need it. I couldn't remember what it went with, I've had it in the parts drawer so long, so it came out of a Venture. Those used to be ok motors. Don't fret the signal displays much, with the sat receivers they are iffy anyway. If you're getting 85% on most of the digital signals you should be very happy!
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