I have a chance to get this dish. Looks like about a 10 footer. Does anyone know who made it? I have never seen a mover quite like this one. Do you all think it would be worth saving? Thanks
Is this dish worth saving?
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Looks good to me. H-H mount too. If you're looking for a 10 footer, why not?
The only issue you may have is the button hook may have sagged. That's fixable with home made struts or wire to support it in the proper position.
The only issue you may have is the button hook may have sagged. That's fixable with home made struts or wire to support it in the proper position.
I wonder who made it? I have never seen a mount/mover exactly like that. I am going in the morning to get it. It will be a complete restoration project. I have got to get a little sandblaster to remove all of the old paint and rust, then prime and paint. Thought it would be a good project.
The mesh on it is thick and rigid, seems pretty heavy duty. I don't really know if it will do Ku or not, I don't think that a pencil will go through it. I have heard if a pencil will go through the mesh it won't do Ku.
Looks mighty flat though, not sure what kind of reception you are going to have it with, it might be an 10 foot that performs like a 8 foot.
one lizards opinion
Yea, I gotta agree... don't think that's 10'.
I didn't get out my ruler, so this is only a WAG: 8 foot, maybe?
And again, yes, that's an awfully flat dish.
I might be tempted to go through the calculations of focal length and dish-depth, and see if it looks anywhere close to correct.
For a dish that flat, I expect the focal length to be quite long.
Maybe it's fine, and it's just an optical illusion.
On my laptop screen, I can't clearly see the motor pictures - too strong a shadow.
I'll disagree about the sand blasting, and suggest a wire wheel and a wire cup in a drill or grinder.
Going for bare metal over all is overkill.
Just get off whatever flakes off easily.
But regardless, shoot the remaining (solid) rusty areas with rust-bonding primer (couple of coats), then whatever the heck you like for a finish/top coat.
Bare metal will need that even more urgently!
I used Rust Destroyer available at Home Depot for the primer.
And I am fond of Hammerite paint for the color coat.
Both are discussed in this post, along with links to the products and other thoughts.
After a couple of years, it's holding up well, but my weather is exceedingly mild.
Yea, I gotta agree... don't think that's 10'.
I didn't get out my ruler, so this is only a WAG: 8 foot, maybe?
And again, yes, that's an awfully flat dish.
I might be tempted to go through the calculations of focal length and dish-depth, and see if it looks anywhere close to correct.
For a dish that flat, I expect the focal length to be quite long.
Maybe it's fine, and it's just an optical illusion.
On my laptop screen, I can't clearly see the motor pictures - too strong a shadow.
I'll disagree about the sand blasting, and suggest a wire wheel and a wire cup in a drill or grinder.
Going for bare metal over all is overkill.
Just get off whatever flakes off easily.
But regardless, shoot the remaining (solid) rusty areas with rust-bonding primer (couple of coats), then whatever the heck you like for a finish/top coat.
Bare metal will need that even more urgently!
I used Rust Destroyer available at Home Depot for the primer.
And I am fond of Hammerite paint for the color coat.
Both are discussed in this post, along with links to the products and other thoughts.
After a couple of years, it's holding up well, but my weather is exceedingly mild.
I guess I will need to take the motor apart and go in and clean it up and service it. The worm drive is caked up with dried out grease. This will be a winter months restoration project. I am not in a big hurry to get it back up., I need to get it cleaned up good and painted, and back as much to original as I can. I will probably have to add some guy wires to the buttonhook to ensure that the feed stays centered. The guy that has this dish was about to give it to someone to take and sell for scrap. So, I guess it is a good thing I asked him if I could get it when I did, or it would be gone for ever. Since there are no American made consumer grade dish antennas being manufactured any more, I figured if I wanted an extra I had better get it while I had the chance. You see fewer and fewer of them every day.
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Well, this one is not worth trying to do very much to salvage it. I got it down off the mount, and when I got it loaded, I noticed that it had gotten bent on the edges. Anyway, to make a long story short, I think that these were not the best made dishes. They do not have a frame. The mesh just bolts together, and there is no frame on the edges supporting the dish, so if it hits anything, and I do mean any little thing, it bends on the edges. It has a lot of rust too, so I think this one is too far gone. I guess I will eventually take it off for scrap metal. I tried though.
You may be correct in that the dish may not be worth saving, but a couple of thoughts:
1.) That dish is perforated metal, not mesh. They (perf dishes) are typically made of a heavier gauge metal than your common mesh dish fabric.
2.) If just the flat part of the outer rim is bent it may not be a problem, the parabolic shape may still be very functional. A multiple-point string test will give you a real good idea if it is salvageable.
Also, if possible, please post a pic of the back of that dish, where it connects to the mount. I think I have one that is very similar, if not almost identical. It's just an 8 footer though.
1.) That dish is perforated metal, not mesh. They (perf dishes) are typically made of a heavier gauge metal than your common mesh dish fabric.
2.) If just the flat part of the outer rim is bent it may not be a problem, the parabolic shape may still be very functional. A multiple-point string test will give you a real good idea if it is salvageable.
Also, if possible, please post a pic of the back of that dish, where it connects to the mount. I think I have one that is very similar, if not almost identical. It's just an 8 footer though.
Ok, thank you for the tip. I would post a picture of the back of it if I could, but I can't get it back up to where I could post a picture of it since it is laying face up.
Yes, more pictures please. Let's not get in a hurry.
I would like to reconsider the dish itself.
But even if it's gone, the motor/mount might be good to run a different dish.
Light to medium rust on the dish is not terminal .
See my paint 'n restoration comments above.
That'll stop deterioration of the metal.
Even if there are holes in it, they may not matter, or could be patched.
If the dish frame is still reasonably sound structurally, it might be a keeper.
But, to write off the motor without serious reconsideration would be the biggest mistake.
Pendragon posted a while back, about getting a rusted-up H-H AJAK.
After soaking it in (oil?) for a few days, was able to get it back to operational status.
Even if you don't want to do anything so aggressive, at least offer it to someone who's interested in restoring it.
H-H motors are just too uncommon to not go to considerable lengths to save one.
Maybe DK_Sat or his friend with identical dishes, or Phlatwound.
I have several H-H of my own, and know how hard they are to find.
I would like to reconsider the dish itself.
But even if it's gone, the motor/mount might be good to run a different dish.
Light to medium rust on the dish is not terminal .
See my paint 'n restoration comments above.
That'll stop deterioration of the metal.
Even if there are holes in it, they may not matter, or could be patched.
If the dish frame is still reasonably sound structurally, it might be a keeper.
But, to write off the motor without serious reconsideration would be the biggest mistake.
Pendragon posted a while back, about getting a rusted-up H-H AJAK.
After soaking it in (oil?) for a few days, was able to get it back to operational status.
Even if you don't want to do anything so aggressive, at least offer it to someone who's interested in restoring it.
H-H motors are just too uncommon to not go to considerable lengths to save one.
Maybe DK_Sat or his friend with identical dishes, or Phlatwound.
I have several H-H of my own, and know how hard they are to find.
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Here are the only pics I have handy of my possibly similar dish.
Does yours have that 6-sided "box" on the back of the dish to mate it with the mount?
As you can see, mine does have a metal rim around the edges, I wonder if yours did in the past?
Mine came with the buttonhook, but no mount parts at all.
Does yours have that 6-sided "box" on the back of the dish to mate it with the mount?
As you can see, mine does have a metal rim around the edges, I wonder if yours did in the past?
Mine came with the buttonhook, but no mount parts at all.
Attachments
No, this one does not have a "box" for the mount. The motor is built on to the mount. I looks just like this Radio Shack model in this video. The motor on it says that it was made by Janiel Corporation Model RP180. I am not going to trash it just yet. I went down and took a look at where it got bent on the ends, they came back out just fine without messing up the parabolic shape.
Yea, that's real perf (round holes punched in a big sheet of metal).
- higher metal-to-hole ratio, so stronger and more Ku-likely.
Not expanded mesh (slots stabbed into the metal, then the sheet is stretched to make diamond-shaped holes).
- little metal relative to open air.
My perf is both aluminum (so it's a dull gray and totally rust-free), ...
And thick enough to hold the parabolic shape without ribs.
Also, one piece - it was spun to shape on a mandrel.
Hard to tell from the pix, but from over here it looks like the rust on the actual dish surface is quite modest.
Inspect it closely and give us your opinion.
Just don't ruin the shape by brushing away what's loose.
On the mount, I see a lot of areas which look pretty good.
They'd need little more than a little roughing up with a scotchbrite pad, followed by some paint.
Can't see it all, so maybe there are worse areas.
The big rusty cover on the motor (?) or reed switch (?), might be more cosmetic than troublesome.
Again, you are there, so you'll have to assess.
If you can get some better pictures of the mount/motor assembly, that'll help.
Try shooting from multiple angles, in the shade, on a sunny day.
And don't have any bright areas in the background of the shot.
OR, if you shoot it in the sun, remember it's black, so to get a proper exposure, don't have too bright a backdrop.
Simple backgrounds are best, too. No clutter.
I'm beginning to get a good feeling for this project. - :up
- higher metal-to-hole ratio, so stronger and more Ku-likely.
Not expanded mesh (slots stabbed into the metal, then the sheet is stretched to make diamond-shaped holes).
- little metal relative to open air.
My perf is both aluminum (so it's a dull gray and totally rust-free), ...
And thick enough to hold the parabolic shape without ribs.
Also, one piece - it was spun to shape on a mandrel.
Hard to tell from the pix, but from over here it looks like the rust on the actual dish surface is quite modest.
Inspect it closely and give us your opinion.
Just don't ruin the shape by brushing away what's loose.
On the mount, I see a lot of areas which look pretty good.
They'd need little more than a little roughing up with a scotchbrite pad, followed by some paint.
Can't see it all, so maybe there are worse areas.
The big rusty cover on the motor (?) or reed switch (?), might be more cosmetic than troublesome.
Again, you are there, so you'll have to assess.
If you can get some better pictures of the mount/motor assembly, that'll help.
Try shooting from multiple angles, in the shade, on a sunny day.
And don't have any bright areas in the background of the shot.
OR, if you shoot it in the sun, remember it's black, so to get a proper exposure, don't have too bright a backdrop.
Simple backgrounds are best, too. No clutter.
I'm beginning to get a good feeling for this project. - :up
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