There is a C-Band dish about a block from my house. Looks to be a 6-8 ft mesh and its been up since I was in elementary school, I'm 36 now It.s mounted on pole that is leaning. Looks in good shape no dings and the black paint I didn't see any chips. I want to go ask about getting/buying the dish but don't know how to approach. Should I just go knock on the front door? I should add that I believe the owner passed away at the end of July, I believe this based on a google search on the address which brought me to voter records that had name, age, and address and the second link was for an obit for the same name, age, and from the same area.
How ask about a disused dish?
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Introduce yourself and tell them why you are interested in the dish, nothing technical, just a bit about Free To Air and the interesting channels you receive with your hobby. Then ask if they are interested in getting rid of the dish. Don't mention buying it at first as many people will be glad to just give it to you if you are willing to do the work of removing it. Hopefully at this point you have a free dish however if they want paid for it, offer them a lower figure, say $20 and work up to what you are actually willing to pay. Of course your offer will be based on the condition of the dish. Some people may scoff at the lower figure because they 'paid a thousand' when it was originally installed. If you feel they won't budge or they just feel hesitant ask if it is ok to leave your contact info in case they change their mind. Then politely thank them for their time. In many cases you will get a call back. If not, you did your best and can move on. Good Luck!
DON'T tell them "there's all sorts of FREE stuff to watch up there" or you'll probably only get them to ask you if you can get it running for them, and/or they'll think it's worth a lot of money.
Agreed, by interesting in my post above I mean mention shows about foreign culture and news. Don't point out how many great English channels you can get.
I worked up the courage and I walked over there. I believe my thought of the owner passing away seems to be true. There is a padlock on the front gate, no lights on, and from the street looks like the house is empty not even curtains. I guess I will have to just keep checking and hope I catch someone when they are there or until the house comes down.
Look up the local tax record for the owner, it might even be online in your area (as it is in mine). Contact them and ask them. I've done this, nothing strange about it.
Go bold, or go home I say. "Squeaky wheel gets the grease".
It's funny I just did that and confirmed the name I had as the owner no phone number. From that I searched the other names in the obit with the address and I believe I found a brother and number should I call it?
Go for it, and sound them out. Give them your name, and immediately explain why you called in a way to enlist their help in getting the dish.
Don't give them any idea that it's very valuable in any way, so keep it toned down, and be willing to at least appear to walk away if they won't deal with you.
Oh, and do NOT say anything about tracking them down through an Obit.
NO I wasn't going to say that lol, that might be creepy. No I left a message saying I was looking for the owner of the home on chicago st and this number came up in google and i was calling about because I was interested in the satellite dish and left my name and number
Call the local scrap yard and get the current price in your area and be ready to quote it when you talk to them. Some people thing scrap is worth more than it is. Been there before. The disk is still sitting after 10 + years.
As a side note it kind of freaked me out how easy it is to find someone using just a previous address.
Sorry, I can't agree with this suggestion. Do NOT talk FIRST about a price. Not even a hint. Let THEM mention price first, IF they do so. Just guide the discussion into you removing it for free, thus helping them dispose of an eye-sore that might affect them trying to sell the property.
That's a bit what I did when I got my dish... I have a foreign accent, and I mentioned only foreign channels, and then people automatically assume that I want channels "from home"Agreed, by interesting in my post above I mean mention shows about foreign culture and news. Don't point out how many great English channels you can get.
I called, and I left a note in the mailbox since I couldn't reach the front door because the yard gates were padlocked. I hope to hear back either way, because as much fun I am having with my slimline mod I know I am missing things.
Keep in mind also that for Cband signals an 8 footer is about the bare MINIMUM size and a 12 footer is preferred. I consider 6 footers as scrap metal except for the polar mounts on some of them that may have some value later on.
Just fyi I think it is actually illegal for anyone but a postal employee or the homeowner to put anything in a mailbox. In the past I've had some luck with putting a post-it type note on the front door; when possible I tried sliding part of it under the weather stripping or into a crack in the door frame so the wind couldn't as easily blow it away. In one case, where it was apparent that the house was being remodeled prior to sale and that there was a good chance the dish would wind up in the dumpster, I left a note a second time, and started it with "Just in case the wind blew my first note away, I am interested in your big satellite dish if you don't plan to use it..." and I think I got a call within a couple hours of leaving the second note. In another case there was a house that was quite obviously not lived in, I left a note on the front door and another on the garage door and something like a month later I got a call.
I've never paid more than $20 for a dish, and I only paid that much for the one because the guy sincerely believed that he should be able to sell his old receiver and the dish for much more. I asked him when he'd bought the receiver and it was many years ago, so I said, "I hate to be the one to break it to you but do you remember when regular TV converted from analog to digital a few years ago? Well, that happened on satellite too, so unless you have a digital receiver with a HDMI port on the back there's not much chance anyone will want it, because it's pretty much obsolete now." He thought about that for a moment and I guess he decided he was about to pass up the chance to get someone to remove that big eyesore in his front yard, but he just could bring himself to give it away. So I offered him ten bucks just to cover the value of the metal, and he countered with $20, and I thought that was fair. But most of the dishes I've obtained have been by talking to people or leaving notes, and when I've left a note on at least a couple occasions I've had a female call back who only wants to know how soon I can come and get that big ugly dish out of her yard, and you can tell she's overjoyed that someone would actually haul it away for free. So you never know.
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That depends in part on how well made the dish is. A 12 footer would be nice, but I have never seen one (except at a TV station) in my area. And also, while a 6 footer may not be the best choice for a C-band dish, they make a real fine Ku band dish; the only trick is finding a way to mount the Ku-band LNB. I have a mix of 10 and 7.5 foot dishes and while there are at least three satellites where only a 10 footer will do, there are a few others where all the desirable signals seem to come in just fine with a 7.5 footer. Also don't forget there are other variables at play, too, such as condition of the cable and reliability of the LNB, and the quality of the receiver or tuner card. Even temperature can have an effect; I've seen LNB's lose several percentage points in signal strength as the temperature dips down to (or below) zero.
Check out these prime focus clamps used for mounting smaller feedhorn diameters.
Ku BAND SATELLITE LNB STAR BRACKET/MOUNT/HOLDER for C BAND PRIME FOCUS DISH FTA | eBay
Unless frequency drift was beyond the automatic Frequency Tuning capability of the receiver (usually between +/- 3 to 5MHz range) a LNB performance should increase in cooler temperatures. More typical for the heat of the summer to decrease the LNB performance and also the attenuation of signals as they pass through the ionosphere and even by particulates such as smoke in the atmosphere.
Ku BAND SATELLITE LNB STAR BRACKET/MOUNT/HOLDER for C BAND PRIME FOCUS DISH FTA | eBay
Unless frequency drift was beyond the automatic Frequency Tuning capability of the receiver (usually between +/- 3 to 5MHz range) a LNB performance should increase in cooler temperatures. More typical for the heat of the summer to decrease the LNB performance and also the attenuation of signals as they pass through the ionosphere and even by particulates such as smoke in the atmosphere.
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