need motor info - just got P* 1 M dish

[rv1pop]

I have seen this dish on a trash pile for several months and finally stopped by to ask about it. Lady said scrap yard would not take it since it was fiberglass, and it was too big for curbside pickup so it was to go to transfer station. I could have it if I wanted it!:clap:up

I went into the trunk of the car immediately.:up:up:up:up:up

It is a 1M primestar dish, complete with 3 arms, an H/V conn. LNB and yellow jacket nests! This will be my KU band motorized dish. SO -- Is there a good post mount motor that will handle this dish AND 100 mph winds? I will mount it as close to the ground as possible to limit the wind problem but our "calm" condition is up to 20mph. Windy is 20 to 40 mph and stronger runs from 40 to 65. There are now over 200 commercial windmills within 15 miles, so it is windy.

I have read the forums and have not found enough information. I sent a message to Sadoun but got no answer. Thanks, in advance, to all for you thoughts

 

[Anole]

...and free yellow jackets, too?

Hey, good to see you back on line!

Wow, a big round 1m Primestar?
That would certainly be my #1 choice, followed closely by a 6' molded.

I found some threads dated a couple of years ago, dealing with dishes like that.
As for your heavy wind, I'm not so sure.
Someone posted some pix of one right at ground level with an 18" jack moving it around.
Hope you can use one of the more traditional H-H motors.

Here are my saved links to get you started:
DirtyShame pix of motorized Primestar mount:
http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/23072-primestar-dish-sg2100-6.html#post433312
http://www.satelliteguys.us/433312-post52.html

You might look through that entire thread for a multitude of good ideas.
Discuss your thoughts, and I'm sure you'll get feedback from the many users who've built similar hookups.

 

[turbosat]

I think my 1m Primestar on c-band polar mount/pole would stand up to strong winds, but I don't know about 70=100mph , don't want to find out either!
Orig owner must've had that one close to the ground, yellow jacket wasps normally build underground.
Give Sadoun a chance to pipe in on this, I'm sure he has some ideas. Or Mike Kohl, I know he's put in dishes in some
tough locations.

 

[stogie5150]

I use two P* 1M dishes on Sg2100-type motors, and I would NOT count on them holding up in 70 MPH gusts, no way.

I would get a setup like Turbosat describes, use a c-band polar mount and an actuator. It will be more of a pain to setup for sure, But done properly, I don't think I would bring one of those in during a Hurricane.

 

[bloomdog]

I have a CM 1.2 meter--> http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/103148-fingers-crossed-my-cm-1-2-m.html.
But.....70 mph winds? Damn!! I don't know what could take that load.

 

[tvropro]

Nice Find love the Primestars. The polar mount on my 12 foot dish held up to 90 mph winds 18 feet above the ground so I would trust a polar mount.

 

[rv1pop]

I thank you for the encouragement so far. I have been reading these posts and will continue. One question though, I have not yet mastered the search funtion, so, turbosat, where are pictures and/or descriptions of the polar mount? I am not made of money, but I do not have all the tools to fabricate much either.
The polar mount for my winegard is way too big for this dish, and I don't know if I could duplicate it smaller. It also appears that the pivot points for a polar mount might be dificult to calculate.

I figure I will have to drill down 8 to 10 feet in the ground to get a stable foundation, so I may have to make a long reinforced foundation block to hold up the dishes I am imagining. From looking at the pictures, can two or more fixed 36" - 39" be stacked on the same pole? I am trying to picture in my mind how to do it as my mindset right now is to put the dish mount on top of the post.

Umm, too many questions -- But is there a good way to mount satellite dishes to a tower? There must be as microwave dishes are done that way. I am going to have to put up some sort of 50' tower for a windmill. Would I get interferance from the turning blade? Or from vibration? That would make the foundation idea a little less extra expense as that requires at least 3 @ 15' holes (14" square) anyway.

 

[rv1pop]

Thanks Anole,
Yes, it is the beautiful 'round' 1 M primestar dish! The mount is still on the back of the dish, I guess he did not want to take the time to remove it, which is surprising since he is a scraper (or to be PC, a demolition contractor). His wife indicated he has scraped other metal dishes, so when he gets back in town next week I will visit him and see if I can buy the dishes he gets rather than him having to haul them to the scrap yard. His son said he retired, but who knows.

I will take some pictures of my LOS and see if I can figure out how to post them for all to see.

The wind and the water from rain and melting snow took it's toll on the shed I have my dishes on now. Dropped the south side about 2 inches and twisted the roof of the lean-to/breezeway so my alignments are way off = I had lock on 95 on my G25 (97)(Primestar 75) dish. That dish had not moved in its mount.. YIKES! AMC4 (101) (GeoSat Pro) was looking at 83 or 86 OUCH. The feed arm is bent out of position so it is not reaiming properly. It had really moved.

Thank you and all others for helping me get this show on the road!

 

[Sadoun]

RV1pop

You got yourself a nice dish. We are getting a new solid motor ( Sadoun PowerTech DG380) in a couple of weeks. I would recommend this new motor for your needs. This new model will be the best and strongest HH Motor in its class.

 

[turbosat]

Here you go RV1pop, I found the thread for my primestar-on-polarmount-project.
http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/100414-new-project-primestar-polar-mount.html

If you'll read thru the entire thing, you can see what I did, the parts I used, and hopefully from the pictures-how it all finally fit together. It's still working, and hasn't needed any adjustment since whatever the date is on that entire thread. If you can find a used polar mount for a 7-10' cband dish, and get a flat piece of steel or aluminum cut to bolt to the top surface of it, you can fabricate with simple tools like I did. I have no torch or welder, I sawed what had to be cut with a hacksaw, and twisted or chiselled off what I couldn't finish cutting thru lol. Lots of work, but it was worth the effort.

 

[rv1pop]

Here you go RV1pop, I found the thread for my primestar-on-polarmount-project.
http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/100414-new-project-primestar-polar-mount.html

If you'll read thru the entire thing, you can see what I did, the parts I used, and hopefully from the pictures-how it all finally fit together. It's still working, and hasn't needed any adjustment since whatever the date is on that entire thread. If you can find a used polar mount for a 7-10' cband dish, and get a flat piece of steel or aluminum cut to bolt to the top surface of it, you can fabricate with simple tools like I did. I have no torch or welder, I sawed what had to be cut with a hacksaw, and twisted or chiselled off what I couldn't finish cutting thru lol. Lots of work, but it was worth the effort.

WOW! Thanks for the link and information. I will see what mounts I can find. With those pictures and information I may be able to build one even if I cannot find a used mount. Hmmm. That gives me great hope. I was thinking the size of the dish dictated the angle and placement of the actuator, but now, logically, I can see it is the size of the mount that matters. A hinged plate with "J" bolts to fasten the dish to ... Hmmm. My fabrication skills are not that great, but I may be able to make a drawing that the local weld shop could follow and build. Zane would love something else he could build and sell!

 

[turbosat]

Yep if you could just find an old dish somebody has trashed, like one of those 6' or 7'5 dishes, the mount is plenty big enough for this project, For me, the idea was just to find a discarded c-band polar mount that had enough potential to bolt a flat plate of steel to. Having that thrown-out Directv dish/mount given to me was a big help too, since the "skew"plate part of it was what made this job really easy.

 

[rv1pop]

RV1pop

You got yourself a nice dish. We are getting a new solid motor ( Sadoun PowerTech DG380) in a couple of weeks. I would recommend this new motor for your needs. This new model will be the best and strongest HH Motor in its class.

Thank you, Sadoun, Do you have any specs. for it yet? How does it compare to the one in your blowout sale? And in that vane, is the one in your sale big enough to handle a P* 75E in heavy winds? I can drill a couple holes through the dish's mount into the arm and put in self tapping srcews so I could remove the dish before an expected major storm or in the winter while we are gone then put it back up without having to do too much re-aiming... Thanks again.

 

[rv1pop]

Yep if you could just find an old dish somebody has trashed, like one of those 6' or 7'5 dishes, the mount is plenty big enough for this project, For me, the idea was just to find a discarded c-band polar mount that had enough potential to bolt a flat plate of steel to. Having that thrown-out Directv dish/mount given to me was a big help too, since the "skew"plate part of it was what made this job really easy.

What part am I looking at that is the skew plate? If I had one in my hands, I probably would see it, but I do not recognize the term. Do most/all E* or D* mounts have that? Unfortunately, around here, so far, most people do not want to get rid of even the pizza dishes.
Thanks again.

 

[Sadoun]

Thank you, Sadoun, Do you have any specs. for it yet? How does it compare to the one in your blowout sale? And in that vane, is the one in your sale big enough to handle a P* 75E in heavy winds? .

The SM3D22 should work fine with the P* 75E with a small mount bracket modification.

Comparison: SM3D22 __DG380
Rotation: ___+/- 50 __+/- 80
Shaft Size: 1 5/8" . . . . . 2"
Gears Inside: Metal . . . .Metal
Dish Wt. Cap.: 27lbs 37lbs

Picture attached is for the DG280 (the DG380 will look the same, but has more features such as: All metal Gear Construction including Motor Mounts inside, Automatic Slack Adjustment, Bigger dish support)

 

[turbosat]

It's the part in one of the pics that is sitting on the flat steel mounted on the polar mount, I put it there to show how it was almost a perfect match to hold a primestar dish(without the primestar orig mount). Its the part the AT9 DTV Dish bolted to, and by loosening one or two bolts, would twist dish around to adjust skew. Its very thick metal, for a pizza dish, I cut a small piece of steel to match the bolt holes on the Primestar dish, then ran the bolts thru the holes in the dtv part. Then I was able to skew the entire dish on my new mount. All you really need is to be able to put it on zero skew at the due south satellite for your location=the mount takes care of the skew as you move it across the arc.

 

[rv1pop]

Turbosat, I think I see what you are saying... But let me try to explain what I see. With the assembled mount and dish on the pole, I would put a level accross the top mounting bolts and rotate the dish by the skew plate until the level reads level. Is this correct? If so, I think I am getting the idea, finally.

 

[turbosat]

EAsier way would be just to aim at your true south bird, get the specs for what the elevation should be for your latitude-for an offset dish, then hold your inclinometer right in the center of the dish-adjust until you are at that elevation. Loosen the screws on the "skew" part of the mount and put it on zero. Theoretically, you should be getting both polarities then. But you have to remember-the elevation on the polar axis bar of the c-band mount has to be what is right for your location(for a primefocus dish.Confused yet?) With the offset dishes looking 22degrees lower than a prime focus dish, you'll have to compensate for that by adjusting that steel plate up or down (if the skew plate thing from the dishnetwork or directv dish wont adjust elevation enough. In my case, it wasn't , so I stuck in some bolts and washers until I got it tracking accurately. It's a trick!
PM me if you get started and hit a snag.

Short version of that is, with the equip I used, I could adjust elevation 2 ways. With the polar axis bar on the c-band mount...and with that directv AT9 mount/skew thing. The DTV thing allowed me 2 adjustments-elevation, and skew. It was almost made to order for this project. If it hadnt been for the help I received here-I would never have done it because I stink at math and angles,etc..

 

[rv1pop]

Thanks to all, and special thanks turbosat for doing all the hard stuff and documenting so we do not have do it again. It looks like I should be able to make it work. Now to gather parts... After I repair the damage from yesterday's wind. Seven hours of wind between 33 and 46 MPH. My GEOSat Pro square feed tube bent from the wind. The LNBS were bouncing about 4 inches. But this time the elevation did not change! I did get AMC4 back with 60Q but G25 max is only 28Q Nurtz! Going to move the farm off the roof and build a Foundation wall 24 inches deep 18 inches wide the end posts (at least) going down in 10 inch holes and least 6 feet deeper. Taking time and effort to do this will put 6 or so ~2inch poles on 4 foot centers in the middle section. The deep posts will be 4 inch pipes on the ends.
Otherwise, this proposed mount or my 10 foot Winegard Mesh will not stand.

 

[Tron]

The square tube bent? Did you have the model with the reinforcing side struts? SatelliteAV is now offering side support struts for this model, and the 3ABN version has side struts as well. Perhaps you can contact SatelliteAV to get a replacement feed support and have them include the side struts as well. This will not only give your feed support arm more... support, but will keep it in the correct position with the dish, and allow you to use a heavier LNBF (such as the Invacom Quad).