How low can I go?

[WyrTwister]

Do not know if this photo shows it very well , but I used a Hilti brand drill and ten Hilti 3/8" drop in anchors to bolt down the steel plate to the patio concrete . Then cut pieces of all thead for some of the anchors ( accidently drilled some holes too deep for the bolts i had ) , bolts for others .

Piece of cake . Holes took about 5 minutes to deill , including blowing the concrete dust out of the holes , with an air compressor .

Rent or borrow a profesional quality hammer drill .

The pole has 3 " legs " , mounted on 5/8" allthread w/ nuts and washers . This allows you to level the pole .

Best of luck ,
Wyr

Yeah, I know the feedhorn cover is crooked but I just set it on there for the pic.

Now I need to investigate the logistics of cutting down the old pole. I want to cut it off flush so the sawzall isn't going to do the trick this time.

I'm going to see if I have enough air hose to get my cut-off wheel out to the dish. If not, I'll have to bring the compressor out back.

I noticed that I'm probably going to have to extend both the coax and the skew servo wiring. The actuator should be ok. This might workout good though. Maybe I can put a box out at the pole and put all the splitters out there for the DVB tie-in. This would let me have my SG2100 in action and still be able to split in the C/Ku from the BUD.

1st pic is the new dish all together.
2nd is the old setup pointed at G5.
3rd is the slab I'm going to attach the new mount to. The RG-6 on the ground is where the SG2100 was connected.

Shawn

 

[Shawn95GT]

Oh cool - I can see it now. For some reason I thought it was free standing.

Shawn

 

[raydio]

Shawn how deep are the anchors?

 

[Shawn95GT]

Shawn how deep are the anchors?

I drilled 6" in and hammered the anchors as far in as they'd go. In the one pic you can see an anchor in front of the plate. That one I messed the threads up hammering 'em in.

To answer your question - not as far as I'd like. 3-4 inches tops.

I'm confident that it isn't going anywhere but it isn't anchored as deep as I would really like it to be. If it does come loose I'll figure a way to dig up that concrete (that'll be a chore!) and I'll figure an elaborite way to either hang j-bolts from the base plate into the concrete as I pour, or figure a way to support the bolts / allthread from below and pour the concrete over the top of it.

This setup is about 90% what I'd concider perfect .

Attached is the daytime pic. It matches better than the other pics showed. It isn't quite 'low key', but it definately helps it blend.

 

[WyrTwister]

I drilled 6" in and hammered the anchors as far in as they'd go. In the one pic you can see an anchor in front of the plate. That one I messed the threads up hammering 'em in.

To answer your question - not as far as I'd like. 3-4 inches tops.

I'm confident that it isn't going anywhere but it isn't anchored as deep as I would really like it to be. If it does come loose I'll figure a way to dig up that concrete (that'll be a chore!) and I'll figure an elaborite way to either hang j-bolts from the base plate into the concrete as I pour, or figure a way to support the bolts / allthread from below and pour the concrete over the top of it.

This setup is about 90% what I'd concider perfect .

Attached is the daytime pic. It matches better than the other pics showed. It isn't quite 'low key', but it definately helps it blend.

Parking lot pole lites use bolts that are in the concrete pour . The bolts have a 90 degree crook on the end of the bolt , embeaded in the concrete , usually four .

If you used " good " anchors & the holes are drilled at the correct diameter , you only have to drill the bole deep enough for the anchor to be flush with the surface of the concrete .

I would be more concerned about the strength of the concrete , than the strength of the anchor .

Best of luck ,
wyr

 

[Shawn95GT]

Yeah, the concrete was definately a concern as it is just redi-mix.

I was impressed with the anchors 'hold' even before I locked 'em in. These are the ones I used (pic at the bottom):

http://netinfo.ladbs.org/rreports.n...56b9c0078da28/$FILE/25326-er2350-2p-02-99.pdf

Shawn

 

[WyrTwister]

Yeah, the concrete was definately a concern as it is just redi-mix.

I was impressed with the anchors 'hold' even before I locked 'em in. These are the ones I used (pic at the bottom):

http://netinfo.ladbs.org/rreports.n...56b9c0078da28/$FILE/25326-er2350-2p-02-99.pdf

Shawn

This is the anchor we use , or the equalevent in a different brand , like Metalics , etc. .

The end with the cuts goes into the hole . Inside is a wedge . You use a set tool ( punch ) and a respectable hammer to knock the wedge down into the anchor as far as it will go . This expands the 4 parts of the bottom end of the anchor VERY tightly against the inside of the hole .

If I have to use ready mix ( from the sack concrete mix ) , I have found it is much stronger and harder , if you add one shovel of Portland Cement per sack of ready mix .

I guess my concrete was formed with 2 x 4 's , so it is most likely 3 - 4 " thick ? That is the reason for the 24" x 30" steel plate and 10 anchors , to spread out the load .

Wyr

PS The dirty dark secret is some of the anchors did not end up matching the holes in the plate . Had to " enhance " the holes in the plate . :-(

 

[Shawn95GT]

Progress...

I dialed in the elevation / declination then extended the actuator West until the dish elevation was correct for G1 on the angle finder. I tuned to channel 5 and was greeted with VC lock on CNN. After a quick poking around Lyngsat, I figured out that I was on G14. I swung the dish West (the whole mount) some more and nothing. Tried channel 7 and got CNN. Close! I swung West once agian and there was Classic Arts on TP5.

I still don't even have the positioner wired in - lol. My skew is at 0 and 90, so I'm gonna fix that. I'm going to gun for +45 / -45ish.

G1-3 is showing 100 / 62 and I've got my guide .

For just doing this quick and dirty I'm happy. I can tune all my Starz channels on G1 now! I'll fine tun it when I can get a video signal out to the dish. I have a real long piece of RG6 around here for just such an purpose.

This is gonna rock once it's all dialed in

PS - I had the same problem with the holes in the plate Jeff .