OTHER New to fta have a few questions

[breynold76]

First,pipe is measured by the inside diameter,not the outside.
Second,bullet levels are notoriously inaccurate,especially cheap ones,get yourself a decent level,at least 2',with a magnet to hold it to the pipe,it will make your life easier.
Third,to "plumb" the pole attach the level to the side of the pipe and adjust the pipe til the bubble is centered.Rotate the level 90 degrees around the pipe and check/adjust again,rinse and repeat til both planes are plumb.
To check the truth of the level,rotate the level 180 degrees,if the bubbles still agree with each other,you're good to go.

I took the pole back to menards. The would not give me a refund so I exchanged it for another one that was the correct size. I got the level with the magnet as suggested. when I check the pole for level it is same as before. Either level on the side or on the top but not both ways. I don't know if menards poles are not strait or I just don't know what I am doing. Maybe I should hire a pro to get the pole level.

 

[breynold76]

I took the pole back to menards. The would not give me a refund so I exchanged it for another one that was the correct size. I got the level with the magnet as suggested. when I check the pole for level it is same as before. Either level on the side or on the top but not both ways. I don't know if menards poles are not strait or I just don't know what I am doing. Maybe I should hire a pro to get the pole level.

 

[FTA4PA]

I took the pole back to menards. The would not give me a refund so I exchanged it for another one that was the correct size. I got the level with the magnet as suggested. when I check the pole for level it is same as before. Either level on the side or on the top but not both ways. I don't know if menards poles are not strait or I just don't know what I am doing. Maybe I should hire a pro to get the pole level.

As waylew said, what you need to worry about is being sure that the pole is level on the sides. Is this the angle locator/level you purchased?

https://www.menards.com/main/tools-...68-c-9149.htm?tid=-8727158617441586227&ipos=3

I use one like that and they are great for getting your pole plumb. Hold the left side (with the channel) against the pole. Adjust for level (0°). Move 1/4 turn around the side of the pole and check for level. Continue moving around the pole, checking and adjusting until it is 0° all the way around. At this point the pole is plumb. You will need to secure the pole in some manner to keep it from shifting when you pour cement and be sure to check again after pouring to make sure it has not shifted.

 

[harshness]

I'd be looking at the accuracy of your bullet level. Try measuring a door jam or something known to be relatively plumb with one side and then the other. If you get different readings from side to side, borrow or buy a level that doesn't give you different readings depending on how you hold it.

 

[FTA4PA]

Here is thread I started about a year and a half back showing some upgrades I did to our FTA setup. You can see how I used turnbuckles to plumb/secure one of the poles before pouring cement.
Dish farm upgrades / FTA projects on hold

 

[zack]

I took the pole back to menards. The would not give me a refund so I exchanged it for another one that was the correct size. I got the level with the magnet as suggested. when I check the pole for level it is same as before. Either level on the side or on the top but not both ways. I don't know if menards poles are not strait or I just don't know what I am doing. Maybe I should hire a pro to get the pole level.

What you do NOT know is if the pipe has a perfect 90 degree cut at the end! You need to use the level on the sides of the pipe, like others have told you!

 

[waylew]

I took the pole back to menards. The would not give me a refund so I exchanged it for another one that was the correct size. I got the level with the magnet as suggested. when I check the pole for level it is same as before. Either level on the side or on the top but not both ways. I don't know if menards poles are not strait or I just don't know what I am doing. Maybe I should hire a pro to get the pole level.

Don't worry about the top,ignore it.You only have to make sure that wherever you stick the level on the side of the pole it's plumb.The mount registers off the side of the pipe,not the top.

 

[a33]

You only have to make sure that wherever you stick the level on the side of the pole it's plumb.

And most importantly: the east and west side of the pole have to be plump.
North and south of the pole aren't that important....

greetz,
A33

 

[harshness]

North and south of the pole aren't that important....

All directions are important. You have to limit your variables to azimuth or you may need to adjust for multiple variables at each location. It isn't a big deal with a fixed dish but with a moving dish, you don't want to add elevation and skew to the juggling act or have to split the difference between the ends of the arc and the middle come motor time.

 

[KE4EST]

And most importantly: the east and west side of the pole have to be plump.
North and south of the pole aren't that important....

greetz,
A33

I have to disagree with this statement. Fixed dish maybe...
But if the OP ever wanted to use a motor he would be in a mess. It would just never work properly.

 

[breynold76]

This is the only magnetic level that I could find.
I went to Home Depot and bought the correct post with the numbers that were given on here.

I think I might want to do this in a bucket of cement because I'm probably going to need to move the dish at some point.

I will read the other thread posted on here and see if it will help. I have not had a chance to get back out there and do anything with this yet.

 

[breynold76]

Here is thread I started about a year and a half back showing some upgrades I did to our FTA setup. You can see how I used turnbuckles to plumb/secure one of the poles before pouring cement.
Dish farm upgrades / FTA projects on hold

it looks like the idea of those turnbuckles would work really well to get the post level. How would this work in a bucket.

 

[FTA4PA]

it looks like the idea of those turnbuckles would work really well to get the post level. How would this work in a bucket.

I've never tried setting a pole in a bucket, only in a hole in the ground with the stakes that hold the turnbuckle wires driven into the ground at three positions more or less equally spaced around the pole. Are you not wanting to permanently set the pole in the ground? If not, I supposed one might accomplish this by partially burying the bucket in the ground to keep it from shifting and then driving the stakes around it? You would also need to find a way to keep the pole from shifting in the bottom of the bucket. It might work but definitely not as easy or well as a permanently set pole.

 

[harshness]

I think I might want to do this in a bucket of cement because I'm probably going to need to move the dish at some point.

Buckets were fine for 18" dishes on sheltered patios and balconies, but they probably don't work so well with the larger sails that are exposed to the full force of the weather.

The wind loading on a 1 meter dish at 50mph is about 55 pounds. Compound that with the lever arm the length of the pole and you have some pretty serious power trying to knock your bucket of concrete over. One five gallon bucket of concrete weighs around 96 pounds (assuming you puddle the pole in so it is filled). I'm guessing that a 20mph wind will easily have its way with such a setup. Even if they aren't obviously damaged, dishes that fall to the ground are forever suspect of being warped.

A non-penetrating mount or a carefully anchored tripod may suffice, but again, most of those were designed with much smaller dishes in mind and the ones that are sturdy enough will set you back many, many clams.

If you put some taper in the hole, you may be able to yard the pole and concrete out of the ground and plant it in a somewhat larger hole later.

 

[Titanium]

I have successfully used a concrete filled 30 gallon landscaping planter with a motorized 90cm at my home for the past 5 years. Would take a few guys and a dolly to move it, but it is "portable" and has yet to move on its own.

Five gallon bucket footprint is definitely not adequate for a 90cm. Even if it is guyed, the lightest wind will bump it out of alignment. Maybe pour in the ground and keep the top of a sleeve post below grade. Drop your post into the sleeve post and drill a few bolts through. When you move, remove the bolts, lift out your post, kick some dirt over the top of the sleeve post and you're out of there!

 

[bpalone]

I haven't used a bucket, but have seen/heard of it being done. If you go that route, will have to level every time you move it, as it will only be level where you set it to pour the concrete. In a non motorized set up, wouldn't be that big of an issue. But, if using a motor, could become a real hair puller. If you have high winds, might end up with a dish blown over.

You know your circumstances, we don't. There are many ways to mount a dish, not all of them good. But, they work for the party that installed them. The image below is of my Ku band set up and as you can see, it isn't what most folks would call a normal installation. The pipe the J Pole is attached to was left over from a Starband installation from several years ago and is not level. The J Pole was part of the GeoSatPro 90cm kit and is slotted so that you can get the vertical portion level. The chain and turnbuckle added to help support the weight. J Pole is held onto the pipe with bolts and parts from muffler clamps..

Now, it is sheltered from most of the high winds I get, but not all of them. It has not been touched for little over a year now and still tracks the arc (at least time I went anywhere with it, which has been a while). Then it was to correct some issues I hadn't caught when messing with it earlier. Point being, that you can get creative if you need too.

If you decide to use a J Pole, you can buy one or if you watch around you can probably find one from one of the pizza dish folks old installations that someone has taken down. They can be modded to imitate the GeoSatPro J Pole. Here is a link to a thread here with pictures of how I did it to one for a portable set up: Dish 500 Conversion with Text & Pictures

 

[freeisforme]

im no expert. would a digital level be better? 2 for 1 deal. angle finder and level. easy to read. may be more precise?

 

[a33]

I have to disagree with this statement. Fixed dish maybe...
But if the OP ever wanted to use a motor he would be in a mess. It would just never work properly.

All directions are important. You have to limit your variables to azimuth or you may need to adjust for multiple variables at each location. It isn't a big deal with a fixed dish but with a moving dish, you don't want to add elevation and skew to the juggling act or have to split the difference between the ends of the arc and the middle come motor time.

Re-reading this topic, I see now that I thought that TS was already putting up a motor-setup. Sorry!
For a fixed dish, and for changeing the satellite it is aimed at regularly, a non-plumb pole is indeed quite a nuisance.

So what I wrote about non-plumb in the north/south direction is not meant to apply to a fixed dish, but to apply only to a motorized dish. Sorry if I caused confusion.


But I don't understand why you both suppose a non-plumb pole in north/south direction should be more of a nuisance for motorized setup, than for fixed setup.
As I understand it, when the north/south of the pole is not plumb, while the east/west is plumb, the only 'problem' that arises is that the scale for mount/motor elevation is off.

Once you set the mount/motor elevation correctly, so that the mount's/motor's rotating axis is again parallel to the polar axis (not mentioning the adjusted motor elevation, for even better following the Clarke Belt, for argument's sake), all other things are 'normal' again.

So, a non-plumb pole solely in the north/south direction is a very overcomeable matter in a motor-setup, I would say. It would affect only one variable, not multiple variables.


greetz,
A33

 

[breynold76]

The new pole is 90 all the way around. Got the concrete set in the ground. I assume it needs a few days to cure before the dish is put on. I guess the pole from menards was not strait.

I have been searching on how to skew the lnb. Must the skew be exact before you install dish or can it be adjusted once signal is found.

 

[FTA4PA]

The new pole is 90 all the way around. Got the concrete set in the ground. I assume it needs a few days to cure before the dish is put on. I guess the pole from menards was not strait.

I have been searching on how to skew the lnb. Must the skew be exact before you install dish or can it be adjusted once signal is found.

Great to hear! Yes let it cure a bit before placing the dish on the pole. If you are using a motor it will skew the lnb for you so set it to 0 skew. If you are trying it stationary then adjust the skew as close as possible to what is suggested on dishpointer.com - you can fine tune it from there once you get a signal.