need help sourcing parts

[mmewrench]

Some have taken to fabricating their own parts in a pinch. Hopefully they'll can find something you can use.

I figured this was going to be a custom rebuild job. ... just need to keep costs commensurate. ... so far I'm in for two bills for the polar rmount & actuator (tek2000) and still need. ..
ground mounting pole
Cement
Lnb
Lnb supports
Misc nuts bolts

For 2 bills or less, you can probably find a used 10' with matching parts . In my area they are dwindling but I can still locate at least 5 that are not used. For the mounting pole you can probably pick one up at a scrap yard depending on how high you need to mount it.

I would think twice about using tek2000 for parts. A complete matched assembly from them might be ok, but I wouldn't use their polar mount (said to be weak) on a heavy American made dish.

 

[talkdty]

YEP !!!!! I will have to agree on all points even with the quality forewarnings, I was still quite surprised........ the parts appear to be poor knock-offs of poor knock-offs..... but I suppose I was "warned" in an indirect way. I firmly believe that I won't buy here again - I think I over paid despite the included shipping from Canada.

luckily, the 3 panel Sami 7.5 is extremely lightweight........I will add some strategic bracing here and there on the backing ring and elevation bracketry..... Overall, I'm not tooo terribly upset, these things (i.e. hobbys) help to keep us mentally and mechanically sharp.

 

[talkdty]

photos of modifications to the quality Tek2000 parts. from a 4 bracket " knock-off " mount to 3 mounts for the SAMI

 

[talkdty]

I think once I get it up on a pole, I'll add a piece of metal to make the ring's actuator tie-rod tab into a reinforced stirrup. I really hope their complete kits fit better together as a matching set because I'm sure they sent some production rejects....the ring is oblong, bracketry extremely thin & off-square, poor weld quality. the good thing is I didn't have to start completely from scratch.

 

[beavs2112]

I'm sure they sent some production rejects....the ring is oblong, bracketry extremely thin & off-square, poor weld quality.

They're made in China. What did you expect?

 

[talkdty]

not sure what I was expecting, but I was hoping at least for individual components assembled in a jig, what welder [anywhere] do you know would let something so far off angle to leave his/her bench ? maybe a cold, starving, and fume-dizzy 8year old I guess..... disregard the cocked mounting shackles(?) the ring didn't even lay flat , thats why I assume they sent me something scheduled to be reworked or from the training pile - since I didn't order a complete dish kit. ....... another lesson learned so its all good......loveWeldPak 3200HD - top 10 lifetime best purchase in the "don't need it, but want it anyway" category)

to the other buyers, did your Tek2000 complete kit go together without problem(s) ???

 

[fred555]

They are great little welders, Ive got the Weldpack 140HD.

You could find a fabricator or supplier that would sell a 1'' to 2'' section of ~.25wt steel pipe of diameter of 18'' to 24'', depending on your needs. That way you would start off with a round ring, then build off of that if the ring you have is not that great. Just a thought as you mentioned you did not want to start from scratch and this would almost be like starting from scratch.

http://www.saginawpipe.com/steel_pipe_chart-3.htm

 

[talkdty]

wow, I never thought of that- darnit - that probably would have worked well and after my personal modifications - still come in under what I've spent already - thanks for the tip for the next reflector only salvage job. I probably could have gotten to where I am now for $40-$50 guessing. backing out the actuator($50-ish) and Can->US shipping($50-ish), I'm guessing my chinese polar ring, elev.bracket, and misc hardware is $100 - still REALLLLY can't complain too bad though......I'm really sharing more than I am complaining....

 

[talkdty]

photo from first test fit (prior to any mods)

 

[truckracer]

I made new feed support arms for one of mine out of 1/2" steel emt conduit flattened on the ends. Had the powder coated black at a local powder coat shop for 30.00. Works great

 

[talkdty]

thanks Truckracer, great idea mentioned earlier, I'll will take the advice, except I'll sustitute "powder coat" with "...large can of Rustoleum." This project is already bumping its $$$ ceiling. I have a '03 Suburban 2500 in need of suspension maintenance/upkeep...

couple of questions though, besides "as short as posible..." what is a "safe" C-Band run length for the RG6 coax & power leads for the actuator before signal loss/voltage drop becomes an issue ? I already have a spool of that orange outdoor stuff, but it does not have power leads. I only want to run one cable.

can anyone recommend an affordable reliable siamese cable brand/supplier ?

 

[beavs2112]

what is a "safe" C-Band run length for the RG6 coax.
power leads for the actuator before voltage drop becomes an issue.

If your run is over 150 feet definitely go rg11.

the "safe" length of actuator motor power leads depends on what gauge of wire it is. Actuator motor power wires should be at least 12-16AWG. The actuator reed sensor servo wires should be 18-22AWG with a shield to minimize satellite position count errors. I would STRONGLY recommend getting a shielded cable for the actuator reed sensor wires. people cheap out by using Ethernet wire ..... then they wonder why their actuator controller misses counts & misses the satellite position.

as for a supplier .... I'm in Canada so mine won't help you. But try & keep to a good north american made cable like Belden or CommScope or Times. Avoid the Chinese made crap. commscope 8136 is good cable.

 

[jmc98]

can anyone recommend an affordable reliable siamese cable brand/supplier ?

look for commscope 8136 @ www.gotcband.com or here http://www.ebay.com/itm/Commscope-8...Cable-100FT-/281212517224?hash=item4179927b68

 

[talkdty]

Yeah thats the stuff right there. .... pretty steep though per foot darn ...since I'm right at apprx 94' Lnb-to-diseq then another 30-40 to the receiver...I will have to give Consideration to that stuff over my existing stock guess you have to pay to play....next hobby in the rotation will have to be water-coloring or bird-watching

 

[jmc98]

Yeah thats the stuff right there. .... pretty steep though per foot darn ...since I'm right at apprx 94' Lnb-to-diseq then another 30-40 to the receiver...I will have to give Consideration to that stuff over my existing stock guess you have to pay to play....next hobby in the rotation will have to be water-coloring or bird-watching

Wallyhts on the forum is the owner of gotcband.com message him with what you need and see what he can do for you

 

[gabshere]

personally i would convert the 7.5 ft sami to a 4 pole using electrical conduit ( like Fat Air mentioned) probably the cheapest route . if needed i can get the length of my unimesh 7.5 length of poles should be close . i'm currently not close to my unimesh to get you a comparison on fd but should be able to get those numbers and pole lengths in 2 weeks . or maybe another member can post their unimesh pole lengths and fd for the 7.5 fter

 

[talkdty]

Wallyhts on the forum is the owner of gotcband.com message him with what you need and see what he can do for you

thanks,
message sent to GotCBand.com inviting him to the thread

 

[talkdty]

personally i would convert the 7.5 ft sami to a 4 pole using electrical conduit ( like Fat Air mentioned) probably the cheapest route . if needed i can get the length of my unimesh 7.5 length of poles should be close . i'm currently not close to my unimesh to get you a comparison on fd but should be able to get those numbers and pole lengths in 2 weeks . or maybe another member can post their unimesh pole lengths and fd for the 7.5 fter

being a three petal, three pole, I'm thinking that following the existing engineering would be easiest encorporating "enhancements" to the TEK2000 material along the way.....my Unimesh's 7.5 four-pole'r supports are apprx 47" I found some very light weight 48" alum. tubes at Tractor Supply for $8/ea. I'm kicking around the idea of some simple bracketry for the scalar ring end, and then something similar for the three holes around the reflector side, possibly with 2"-3" of slide & set [screw] adjustment...... I think I'll return the larger OD and heavier metal conduit back to HomeDepot.

any thoughts ?

 

[talkdty]

great idea on the conversion though - never thought of that...

 

[T4Runner]

being a three petal, three pole, I'm thinking that following the existing engineering would be easiest encorporating "enhancements" to the TEK2000 material along the way.....my Unimesh's 7.5 four-pole'r supports are apprx 47" I found some very light weight 48" alum. tubes at Tractor Supply for $8/ea. I'm kicking around the idea of some simple bracketry for the scalar ring end, and then something similar for the three holes around the reflector side, possibly with 2"-3" of slide & set [screw] adjustment...... I think I'll return the larger OD and heavier metal conduit back to HomeDepot.

any thoughts ?

This is 1/2" electrical conduit with the ends flattened with slots drilled to allow for adjustment of the scalar for F/D. I replaced all four struts as a couple were bent.

The 7.5ft mesh end looked like this.

I thought I spent $8-10 for a 8ft length and just cut it in half, but I'm not sure. Been a while.

Just an alternative.