Moved my Primestar

[B.J.]

I'm sure that I've mentioned that I have a Primestar aimed at AMC21 for PBS, and a few days ago replaced the Extreme LNBF with my old Invacom QPH-031. Well I got encouraged when I started getting the S2 signal on the sat, but got discouraged after the wind knocked me out of alignment, and a tree grew up partially blocking the sat. This dish was mounted on a PVC pipe screwed into a log.
So I decided to plant this dish permanently, in a spot that had a better view of AMC-21. I took a bunch of pictures of the process, which are at
NewPrimestarSetup
since the jpgs are pretty big (I should have compressed more I guess).

Yesterday, I used my Sears digital level to scope out a new site. I dug the hole, and mounted a metal pipe in concrete.
Today, I went to put the primestar on the new pipe.
!%#@^@&*# Darn pipe was too small for the Primestar mount. I knew it was a bit smaller than the PVC, but I thought the mount had enough range to tighten down more. It didn't.

Then I got the bright idea of taking a section of the PVC, and cutting a 1/8th inch slot along the edge, allowing me to expand it, and slip it over the metal pipe. I did this, and it looked good, except now it was too big. !^@%#%#
Fooey. Then I cut the section of PVC into thirds, and put two of the sections in the mount. Still too big. :-(

Finally, I just put in one of the 1/3rd sections, and that fit, and took up enough space so that I could tighten down the mount over the pole.

Once installed, aimed it at AMC21, and I now have a fairly stable signal, even on the DVB-S2 transponder. I still have a bit of tweaking to do though.

I tried finding the sat using my laptop/wireless net back to my Twinhan card. Didn't work very well. Despite moving the dish very slow, I was going past the signal, and missing it. Finally, my wife came out and said that the picture had been popping in and out on the TV inside, so I told her to yell when it popped in again. Finally found it, and refined the aim a bit with the wireless network back to the Twinhan.

It was a miserable day to work on a sat dish. Sunny and 75 deg...... I know, sounds pretty nice... but if you have ever seen the bug scene from African Queen, you'll get the idea. The blackflies and mosquitos were terrible. I was wearing a bug hat, but the bugs make my shirt look like someone had sprinkled pepper on it. I was just COVERED with blackflies and mosquitos, and my hands weren't protected, so I got bit up a bit. Anyway, I got the dish moved.

 

[glater]

BJ, glad it finally came together. Pictures were great. Nice dish farm!!!

 

[Mr Tony]

very nice pics BJ!

All those trees could be a bugger

 

[Cadsulfide]

Good adaptation!, you gotta like someone who can make lemonaide.

 

[B.J.]

very nice pics BJ!

All those trees could be a bugger

The trees have been a constant struggle. I had been keeping up with it by cutting trees and tree limbs, so that I could point under some limbs and over other trees, but it's almost out of control now. Only reason I got the view of AMC21 is that I had to cut down a BIG beech last year. At least keeping the view of the sats is keeping me well supplied with firewood.

 

[FTABman0]

Great pictures BJ!

For the first time here I am having trouble getting a couple satellites due to tree growth! It looks quiet and peaceful out there where you are! Those are some nice looking C-Band dishes out there!

I would be getting that 6' C-band dish on that tree trunk aimed at something!

Did great with the PVC on the Primestar! Loved that dude! Works! :up

Thanks for the great pictures; we all love to see the other guy’s setups!


K E V I N

 

[B.J.]

....
It looks quiet and peaceful out there where you are!

Except when a flight of F-15s fly over at 200', 500kts.

Those are some nice looking C-Band dishes out there!

Both are in pretty bad shape. The big one from banging snow and ice off in the winter. The 6' from having stored it in an orientation where the ribs filled with water and froze and expanded a bit, so i't warped a bit. Both are OK on C-band, but don't work very well anymore on Ku.

I would be getting that 6' C-band dish on that tree trunk aimed at something!

I originally put it there to pick up AMC3 Ku for PBS and IA6/G26 for NFL preseason. However it didn't work very well on Ku, so I never used it much, and now neither of those sats are of interest to me anymore. It did work OK on C-band, but it couldn't see anything that my 10' couldn't see, so it wasn't worth the extra coax and my 4x1 switch is full. When I WAS using it briefly, I was driving the actuator with a battery powered hand drill. I recently found out that the Ku probe in the feedhorn was bent quite a bit, so polarity may have been part of the problem on KU. I may give it another try, perhaps with a Ku lnbf. If it can pick up Ku, there is one other sat it is in a good position to see that the other dishes can't see.

Did great with the PVC on the Primestar! ...

That worked out OK, but for a while I was kicking myself for not measuring better first. I probably could have found some other better solution, but I was in a hurry, because I had lost AMC21 on the other dishes since the leaves came out.

It's amazing though, that the Bud can look through some of the little holes between branches to get reception. Usually, I can get AMC11 even in the summer, through one of the little holes, and was getting a fairly good signal a week ago, but I just went there looking for the Weather channel, and I can't get anything on it now, so I guess that hole filled in with leaves. It's always exciting in the fall, when satellites come back into view.