Journal of my two satellite dishes going up, beginning to the end

[thomas34461usa]

Birdview Garbage

I'm sure the mount is worth getting, when I have more time, or I should say, when I'm in more of a mood, I will go and talk to the guy at the motel. I don't think I would pay what he wants or what you said you offered him? But you never know with me, I'm always subject to do not so bright things....

Hi AL,
well when I first heard about it and you said it looked like it got rear ended by a truck and I called the guy and asked him if it was damaged and he said, "I'm looking at it now and it looks fine!" and he wanted to know how much I was going to buy it for! I told him that I live in Florida and you're up in Macon GA, I have no idea as to what condition its in and that he must have some idea as to what he's willing to sell it for! He say's $500.00. I told him maybe $400.00 but I will need some pictures of it. Oh his camera is broke! Imagine that and he runs a big motel where he would need to have on him a camera in case of an accident! I don't trust the guy! From that moment a Big Red Flag went off and I decided to let it go. I'm so glad now after seeing the pictures you took Al. The dish is history, and not worth any money from me to give to him. He would have to pay somebody besides me to take it off of his property.

A Big Thank You Al for taking the time to take the pitures of it. If anything it gave me affirmations that I was correct in thinking to chuck it!

Tom

 

[thomas34461usa]

Update 4/24/2008

Hello everyone,
Here’s an update on my progress of putting up the dishes. Last week I found this satellite dish and took some pictures of it and presented them on the thread called “Adventures in Dish Hunting 2008”. I was later able to talk to the owner which resulted in me getting the Jeniel Dish last weekend. Everything looked pretty good on it with the exception of a few minor fix up’s. Some of the black paint is coming off the dish and the mount has a lot of surface rust. But not as bad as the mount for the Unimesh dish which I had to replace a couple of brackets. This time it was just cleaning up the rust by taking it in to get sand blasted. After I get it back I will paint it. I couldn’t get the use of the “Dish Crane” because the guy lent it out and didn’t have it at the time. Hopefully I will have it soon. It will be hard to get the dishes up those tall poles without it! Oh, I was also wondering… I have seen the new dish spelled Janeil and Jeneil, Which one is the correct spelling anybody?


Jeniel Dish 1

Thanks,
Tom

 

[rv1pop]

All my paperwork spelled it with an "A". The only thing I have left is one brochure. It got stuck in the bottom of a file cabinet!
POP

 

[thomas34461usa]

spelled it with an "A".

All my paperwork spelled it with an "A". The only thing I have left is one brochure. It got stuck in the bottom of a file cabinet!
POP

Hey RV1POP,
Thanks it official now, it's a Janeil Dish. If you ever do find any information in your file cabinet please let me know.
Thanks,
Tom

 

[thomas34461usa]

Pictures of the feedhorn's and the LNB’s

Hello everyone,
Here are some pictures of the feedhorn's and the LNB’s next to each other. Both look like they are C/Band only. The Unimesh Dish and the Janeil Dish both have on them Chaparral II LNB’s.

Wondering which type of LNB’s to get that will have the C/Band, KU/Band and Circular C. Although I don’t know what Circular C is, I was told to get that??

Also need to know what brand of Receivers both Analog and Digital work best with the C/KU-Band and Circular C?

Unimesh Feedhorn

Janeil Feedhorn

Thanks,
Tom

 

[chefwan]

About that birdview at the motel. if that guy told me it wasnt hurt and i got down there and it was hurt after i paid him that money i'd have to beat the daylights out of him, people come to our country and try to do us wrong? what is the damn problem? he told you nothing is wrong im looking at it right here.i'd be highly pissed and i'd call him back and tell him he's a liar just to do it :

 

[voomvoom]

Tom, both of those feedhorns are C only. They are old, but I'm sure they will be fine.

 

[truckracer]

feedhorns don't really wear out. Just be sure they are clean inside. No bugs or nests.
don't touch the probes with your fingers or anything oily.

 

[thomas34461usa]

C/Band Only

Tom, both of those feedhorns are C only. They are old, but I'm sure they will be fine.

Thanks AL. Yes I found out from Chefwan that they were C/Band only. At first I thought they might be also KU/Band was because I noticed two wires going into the feedhorn cover. Once I took it off I knew it was a C/Band only. Yes I'm sure that the Unimesh and the Janeil will be fine running as a C/Band only. My thoughts are as long as the both of the dishes are down...why not put on C/KU-Band on the both of them before putting them both up then I can get the best of both worlds. C and KU. Still need to know what Circular C is?

feedhorns don't really wear out. Just be sure they are clean inside. No bugs or nests.
don't touch the probes with your fingers or anything oily.

Thanks Truckracer. I didn't have such a problem with the Unimesh with Bug or nest. The Janeil had some Wasp nest and they were pretty mad about it being taken away. Thats over now. Not a big problem. I'm a little concerned about the wire going to the Janeil feedhorn. When you look at it it has a glob of goob and I don't know if its some kind of glue just to hold it in place as a temporary fix? I'm thinking of getting a Chaparral Corotor II +Wideband Feedhorn. If I get the Feedhorn are the LNB's already on them and are they sold together?

Thanks,
Tom

 

[linuxman]

Still need to know what Circular C is?

Circular C-Band is only used on 1 or 2 satellites that are viewable from the US, and they are on the far Eastern side of the arc. Most actuator driven dishes can't get over far enough to view them.

They are the same frequencies that we use, but are simply broadcast with circular polarity instead of vertical and horizontal. You need a piece of dialectric (sp) plastic in the feed-horn to straighten them out. The plastic degrades the ordinary signal enough that most of us don't go that route. Especially not for only one or two satellites.

 

[truckracer]

my corotor II is great. It works flawless and brings in strong signals on both c and ku.
I should have bought one of these before instead of wasting time and money on that BSC-621. That thing is just not a great unit. At least it didn't perform like the corotor II.

I have been thinking of someday doing a dual C and dual KU feedhorn with four seperate lnb's connected to a powered multi-switch.

 

[thomas34461usa]

Janeil Mount - Before and After Photo's

Hello Everyone,
Here’s my work in progress with the Janeil Dish. Just got it back from being Sand Blasted. I put on a fresh coat of paint or two and is ready to be put on the dish. I will be working on the dish too to remove loose paint. Repaint that and put on some new feedhorns to both dishes and some LNB’s for the feedhorns as well. Getting closer now to the day I put both dishes up.
I have some “Before and After” shots of the mount. It was looking pretty rough. It looks pretty good now.

Then there are the photo's of it has it came back from the Sand Blaster.

And the last two are with a fresh coat of paint.


Thanks,
Tom

 

[voomvoom]

Now it looks like a new one...!!!!

 

[thomas34461usa]

Now to upgrade the feedhorns and the LNB's

Now it looks like a new one...!!!!

Thanks Al, it still has some pits in in because of it rusting on me, but with the rust being removed and painted its good to go for a few more years. Now whats next is to upgrade and get Chaparral Corotor Bulleyes Feedhorns and Norsat LNB's.
Thanks,
Tom

 

[thomas34461usa]

up-grading my feedhorns

Hello everyone,
I was thinking of up-grading my feedhorns for both dishes and was wondering if anybody had any experience with the Chaparral Bullseye Feedhorns? Or maybe I should go with the Chaparral Corotor II Plus Feedhorns?

Bullseye II
Description
The Chaparral Bullseye II feedhorn is used in satellite systems equipped for reception of C-Band (3.7-4.2 GHz) and Ku-Band (11.7-12.75 GHz) satellite signals and is compatible with all LNBs designed for these frequencies. Simultaneous reception of both signal polarities is available for multiple receivers using a single dish. The adjustable scalar ring provides optimum reception and interference rejection with a wide variety of dishes.


Corotor II Plus
Description
The Corotor II Plus and Corotor II Plus Wideband are designed for systems which require reception of both C and Ku-Band signals. The Corotor II Plus is primarily for reception of satellites in the United States while the Corotor II Plus Wideband is used throughout Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Both feedhorns feature Chaparral's patented probe for C-Band, reception and a unique low-loss dipole antenna for Ku-Band reception. The dipole is virtually invisible to the C-Band probe, resulting in superior C-Band performance while improving Ku-Band illumination. Both the probe and the dipole are controlled by a Chaparral servo motor, providing infinite skew adjustments and quick selection of horizontal and vertical poles.

Thanks,
Tom

 

[chefwan]

Tom, that mount looks great!! it looked real bad before but you've gotten it looking brand new great job once again your going to have a nice setup soon!


now for the feedhorns ...from looking at the lnb's on those feedhorns the first one looks to be a gardener lnb. the 2nd looks to be a mantronic i believe thats what its called i had one on my paraclipse before i changed the lnb out. it's a real old one. but might still work. its worth a try?

 

[thomas34461usa]

Tom, that mount looks great!! it looked real bad before but you've gotten it looking brand new great job once again your going to have a nice setup soon!


now for the feedhorns ...from looking at the lnb's on those feedhorns the first one looks to be a gardener lnb. the 2nd looks to be a mantronic i believe thats what its called i had one on my paraclipse before i changed the lnb out. it's a real old one. but might still work. its worth a try?

Thanks Steve, It should do ok now. I hated looking at it all rusty and all. Wanted it to look the best that it could! Should last for a few years or more.


The LNB on the Janeil is a Norsat. Just thinking of going both C/KU-Band.

Tom

 

[linuxman]

Now whats next is to upgrade and get Chaparral Corotor Bulleyes Feedhorns

I have sent an email to Chaparral tech support this morning asking for the differences.

This is what I sent:

If you would be so kind to explain to me briefly the differences between

a Co-Rotor, Co-Rotor II, and Co-Rotor II plus.

I think I know what a Co-Rotor II plus Wideband is. (for Circular C-Band, primarily outside the US)

There has been a lot of discussion about this subject on our forum satelliteguys.us,
but I wanted to hear it from the source.

I assume the original Co-Rotor was the model that had the patent dispute about the Ku probe?
And the Co-Rotor II replaced it?

I would bet real money the only difference between the Co-Rotor II and the Co-Rotor II plus is some small design difference only done because a patent was about to expire, but doesn't affect it's signal reception any differently.

We should know soon, I usually hear back from them in about 24 hours.

was wondering if anybody had any experience with the Chaparral Bullseye Feedhorns?

I have a Chaparral Bullseye II on the way, and will have experience with it within a week.

The difference between the Chaparral Bullseye and Bullseye II is that the Bullseye is only dual lnbs on C-Band. A servo motor controls the single Ku lnb.

A Bullseye II has dual C-Band and Dual Ku Band LNBs.

Edit: BTW, the mount looks very nice!

 

[linuxman]

Here is the response I got back from Mr. Fishman at Chaparral:

Here are the original email questions again.

If you would be so kind to explain to me briefly the differences between

a Co-Rotor, Co-Rotor II, and Co-Rotor II plus.

I think I know what a Co-Rotor II plus Wideband is. (for Circular C-Band, primarily outside the US)

There has been a lot of discussion about this subject on our forum satelliteguys.us,
but I wanted to hear it from the source.

I assume the original Co-Rotor was the model that had the patent dispute about the Ku probe?
And the Co-Rotor II replaced it?

And his response:

There are two differences between the Corotor II Plus and the Corotor II Wideband.

The Wideband has a dielectric plate (white) so it can receive C-Band circular polarized signals as well as C-Band linear signals. In addition, the C-Band signal range is increased to receive 3.4--4.2Ghz signal vs 3.7--4.2Ghz for the II Plus.

The Ku reception is still linear, but the Ku antenna is slightly smaller and can receive 10.95--12.75Ghz vs 11.7--12.7Ghz signals.

If you use the II Wideband, its mounting position on the dish is different if you want to receive both linear and circular signals. Normally the II Wideband is aligned with the polar axis of the dish vs the II Plus which is mounted approximate 40 degrees offset from the polar axis.

You are correct about the Corotor vs the II Plus.

Hope this helps.
Duke Fishman
Chaparral Communications

I interpret the Co-Rotor II and the Co-Rotor II Plus as being the same animal. That model replaced the original Co-Rotor with the patent dispute. I own one of those and would love to have some more.

The Co-Rotor II plus Wideband is the different animal and is mainly used outside the US.

Hope that helps everyone understand the differences.

EDIT: Attention Dfergie or Iceberg! This last post probably should be put into the C-Band FAQs above.

 

[thomas34461usa]

Chaparral tech support - Thanks

I have sent an email to Chaparral tech support this morning asking for the differences.

This is what I sent:


I would bet real money the only difference between the Co-Rotor II and the Co-Rotor II plus is some small design difference only done because a patent was about to expire, but doesn't affect it's signal reception any differently.

We should know soon, I usually hear back from them in about 24 hours.

I have a Chaparral Bullseye II on the way, and will have experience with it within a week.

The difference between the Chaparral Bullseye and Bullseye II is that the Bullseye is only dual lnbs on C-Band. A servo motor controls the single Ku lnb.

A Bullseye II has dual C-Band and Dual Ku Band LNBs.

Edit: BTW, the mount looks very nice!

Thanks Fred,
That was real good of you to contack tech support at Chaparral. I just want it to be the very best and not end up getting some cheapo parts that I'm not going to be satisfied with. I've had a lot of support here in advise from all of you who made their post here and I Thank You Very Much.

It seems to me like it is taking forever to get these dishes up and running! I just want to take the time and do it right the first time around because I'm learning. However at the same time till I actually get a signal and have them running it like is this for real or what! I can't wait till the day that it's done!

Thanks for your comment in regards to the mount. Also got a call from a person who saw my ad on Craig's List about getting rid of their Big Dishes. Going to be taking a look at one tomorrow. Wouldn't it be nice if it was a Birdview! : We'll see. I'll post the pictures on your thread Fred. :up

Thanks,
Tom