need help to ID newest rescued dish

[alteng]

Well, here I am again, plugging an IV into my newest rescued dish. I've had an eye on it for some time, but today I found the owner and got the go-ahead to do an instant dish-ectomy. I wasted no time and dug right in...literally. Their system probably had problems from the start. We soon learned that the installers had simply poured a few shovels of concrete into the hole... and never added water or mixed. Most of the concrete was as weak and crumbly as shale, and it broke apart easily. The pole was far too loose to have held adjustment. It appears to be (under the plastic cover) a (spun ?) aluminum beast, measuring approx 63 inches if measured straight across the top of the rain/snow cover (does that make it a 6 footer ? ). Tapping on the back of the dish it looks/sounds like aluminum. It's NOT a mesh dish - it's solid. I just got it home and haven't managed to remove the tight rain/snow cover yet, to see what LNB is underneath. The cover had faded lettering that said Cable Plus, if that means anything. I'll add more info later after I get it unloaded and "opened". Anybody have a tuna can (tin) opener I can borrow? I'm hoping to use this lil beast for some C-band - at least from stronger birds. I think 103W was on my agenda. Hope the close proximity to 2 other birds isn't a problem. At worst it should make a fine KU beastie. Anyone with ESP that can ID this beast from the scant facts above? The winner gets a virtual Kewpie doll, or 200,000 attaboys (or attagirls ?). Let the games begin........

 

[Cadsulfide]

It looks lika a giant pillbox hat! Can't wait to see what's under the hoodie

 

[gillham]

It looks like a dish off a microwave relay tower, but with a dark cover instead of the unusual white. What's the back of it look like? Any opening or connections?

 

[alteng]

Yup!

Very astute Cadsulphide! I had the same impression when I first saw it. Let's just hope it's a pill I can easily swallow! I need to get it unloaded before dark. Then, I need to try to peel back the pill-box cover which has become a bit inflexible with age, despite a drawstring. A few seams popped already, but I'm hoping to sew them back like a surgeon with a leathercraft needle. I hope that cover hasn't also become a microwave filter due to aging. At least I can operate w/o it.
BTW, last weekend I scored an older T/R data (as in internet access) system (Huges flavor). The receiver/tx may not be allowed in use due to model changes (??), but the eleiptical dish has a decent setup for adjustment/tweaking, and is quite sturdy. Not a bad deal for a tenner, methinks. Anyway, it's a good (maybe too good) start for spring. Murphy must be lurking around the corner! Doh!

 

[alteng]

Back side = unk at this time

Good question Gillham. I'm off in a few minutes to find a helper to get it off the truck w/o damage. I had another friend help load it 12 miles away. I can't see much at this time, but I'll report back later. I was afraid to spend any time checking it before removal, in case the donors changed their minds.... I've seen it happen before. One turned the dish into a bird bath before I could get back. One tore the whole thing down with a tractor - just to get the pole for a bumper - destroyed everything. Go figure... it was a NICE dish! So, this is a strike while the iron is hot kinda thing.... check it later. BTW, the price was right - zip, nada, rien. It was wired to their house, so it must have been used for some service at some time .... I suspect it was there when they bought the house. Maybe a stock trader who needed a very relaible connection? Dunno.

 

[FTABman0]

It looks lika a giant pillbox hat! Can't wait to see what's under the hoodie

Got a chuckle on that Cadsulfide!


Pictures of the well hidden beauty! The suspense is a killin’ me! I would venture to bet it looks brand new under there! Get some pictures of it!

B~Man

 

[Cadsulfide]

BTW, last weekend I scored an older T/R data (as in internet access) system (Huges flavor). The receiver/tx may not be allowed in use due to model changes (??), but the eleiptical dish has a decent setup for adjustment/tweaking, and is quite sturdy. Not a bad deal for a tenner, methinks. Anyway, it's good (maybe too good) start for spring. Murphy must be lurking around the corner! Doh!

Those hughes/directway dishes make good Ku dishes, easy to setup, good deal for a tenspot. Search the posts to see the tricks it can do.......

 

[alteng]

Ta da!

OK B~Man...... play some music and I shall strip yon dish.
Just got the pics a few minutes ago. Looks like an old Chaperel 30d LNB (needs upgrade), but the rest looks pretty good aside from a lil crud on the lower end, due to leaks....or maybe dirty electrons?
The dish and side cover are both Aluminum, and I can't see any dents or dings. Looks like a keeper, methinks.
Now... someone can come along and burst the bubble.......

PS thanks for the heads-up on the Directway dish Cadsulphide ... I'll check it out.

 

[phlatwound]

I still have to pick this one up at my sister's house, I see some similarities.

1captain thought this one of mine looked like a Paraclipse Hydro.

Lak7 thought it looked like some sort of composting setup. ;-)

 

[alteng]

The new K-Tells Micro Mulcher ?

Yours looks more impressive than mine phlatwound. Makes me think "microwave mulcher" in it's present state. Microwaves aren't just for baked potatoes anymore! Someone recently found a way to direct microwaves at salt water to invoke hydrogen. Maybe you can do it using mulch!
But seriously (and that's not easy), yours looks good to me. In fact, I think it was one of your earlier posts that got me fired-up for an aluminum dish. I missed the first one I saw, so this time I went to warp speed.... before someone made a birdbath out of it....again. Doh!

 

[phlatwound]

I bet mine is the same setup as yours, appreciate your pics, was wondering what was under that big "bucket".

I have a SL1P - GEOSATpro SINGLE STANDARD KU PRIME FOCUS LNBF that I may try to rig onto mine, not sure if it is a good F/D match though.

 

[Anole]

SL1P:

I should have gotten one of those in my recent shipment, just to have on hand for such a situation!
The specs say the SL1P should match the dish just fine.

Love the standard mounts on the back side of both dishes.
Almost didn't see them. Black on black is kind of hard to photograph clearly.

Really looking forward to some test reports on both!

 

[phlatwound]

I noticed Brian has dropped the price on the SL1P to $10 retail on the website, I think I gave $5 for mine in that last blowout sale he had though.

 

[FTABman0]

OK B~Man...... play some music and I shall strip yon dish.
Just got the pics a few minutes ago. Looks like an old Chaperel 30d LNB (needs upgrade), but the rest looks pretty good aside from a lil crud on the lower end, due to leaks....or maybe dirty electrons?
The dish and side cover are both Aluminum, and I can't see any dents or dings. Looks like a keeper, methinks.
Now... someone can come along and burst the bubble.......

PS thanks for the heads-up on the Directway dish Cadsulphide ... I'll check it out.

That is something else! What a great way to hid one let's say from the HOA!!

That is one fine dish find! Is it an 6 footer? I searched the Internet for the Cable Plus thing and found no information no it.

Switch out the LNB and you will be golden!! :up

A Keeper Indeed!!

Heck no, nobody will bust your bubble not one bit! Should make you a great little BUD! Thanks for the pictures dude! Another Great Find! Keep us informed as you go when you have it BIS; we will be waiting for more pictures!




B~Man

 

[alteng]

sounds good

Thanks for the KU LNBF info Phlatwound and Anole. If I go KU with it that may be the way to go - what a price! I'm considering a dual KU/C setup. If you have any ideas on doing that with this kinda dish I'm all ears. Well, B~man I think that it would be considered a six footer, assuming you measure along the parabolic curve. It's a bit less straight across the rim. Glad to hear that I didn't miss something in my rush to obtain it. Still, I'd gladly pay 1000x what I paid ( 1000 x 0 = 0 ;O). Luckily no zoning, inspections, or HOA here in this rural village, and I have a couple of acres. I'll post pics when I get time to do the install. Right now I'm facing 2 garden tractors that both decided to lose the PTO clutch at the same time (spring of course), a new, big-ish veggie garden I'm planting, a Victorian home rebuild, an addition being built (also single-handed), and several dozen other (tough) projects to keep me busy when I don't have anything to do (which is almost never). But, I will post pics and info when I squeeze it in. I just have to go with the flow on such projects or face bigger problems on the overall plan/s. No rest for the wicked.....sigh. And, I ain't 20 any more. Heck, I'd even settle for Jack Benny's eternal "39"! If you remember Jack Benny you're showing your age. I was told that last week because I bought a used (spare) "Dark Side of the Moon" CD and the DVD/s of Grumpy Old Men for my collection. Doh!

 

[turbosat]

alteng we can begrudge you buying a backup copy of Dark Side of the Moon ! According to the wikipedia :
Although it held the #1 spot in the USA for only a week, it remained in the Billboard 200 for 741 weeks.
I doubt even elvis topped that, hehe.

 

[phlatwound]

alteng, I'd say you have all kinds of options if you want to go C/Ku with that dish.

Looks like you could go with a Chaparral-style CoRotor (similar to the C-band only setup that is already on there), or you could go with one of the voltage switched LNBFs (like the Satellite AV - Free to Air Satellite Equipment Distributors - Fortec Star, GEOSATpro, Glorystar - SatelliteAV, LLC. ).

If you can, please measure straight across the center of the dish, from edge to edge, I'm going to guess it's about 60", thanks.

 

[gabshere]

I should have gotten one of those in my recent shipment, just to have on hand for such a situation! The specs say the SL1P should match the dish just fine.

if i'ld known you wanted one i could have put it in the box

 

[alteng]

DSOTM and udder facts

Thanks for the break turbosat. I find DSOTM to be good shop music from time to time. For example, it's soothing right AFTER you accidentally touch the 25 kilovolt anode lead and light up like a Christmas tree. Did you know that people can glow in the dark ?
Phlatwound, the dish is approx 63" across the centerline - measuring in a straight line. I've seen the usual dual band LNB stuff advertised, but I was hoping for any tips gained through the proverbial School of Hard Knocks. LOL ! I expect that some versions are better than others because of factors that are unforeseen at the time of purchase. I thought I read somewhere that some people have found that a dual band setup sometimes compromises the performance of both KU and C (slightly?) - have you noticed that? It seems logical.

 

[phlatwound]

Ok, thanks for the measurement, wasn't sure if you had reached in and measured the dish, or just measured the sides of the "enclosure", it looks like it tapers "out", and is actually bigger than the dish.

I have no experience with the C/Ku voltage-controlled LNBFs, but there is a lot of documentation on this forum from people that have put them through the wringer.

The 3 common ones that I am aware of are the BSC-621 (some reports of problems with this one, others have done well with it), the GeoSat CK-1 (several good reports), and the new DMX741 (initial reports are promising, jury is still out).