New To FTA

Status
Please reply by conversation.

RFPickle

SatelliteGuys Family
Original poster
Jun 5, 2016
61
82
Waco, Ga.
Hello all,

I've found a 12' fiberglass Dish that I'm going to get (free of charge) and relocate it to my home. I've been looking into getting a BUD for a several months and found this one. It looks to be in decent shape and it's motorized. It has 3 cables that go to the head unit. 2 look to be coaxial and 1 control wiring. I should be demoing it next weekend to relocate. Looking forward to the wealth of information here to help me get it installed and into operation. Thanks in advance for any suggestions and or comments.

104_4183.jpg
104_4184.jpg
 
:welcome to SatelliteGuys RFPickle!!!
That looks like a fun project. Yes for sure, any questions just ask 'em. :)
 
You have a fast learning curve, but people here love to help.

Hit up Titanium for parts. Fair price and amazing support.

Brian do these warp like other fiberglass? They have to weigh a ton.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Titanium
With the support structure and the molded ribs, it is unlikely that it has warped. Commercial dishes are built to last and will take a few people to break it down and reassemble. A hoist or boom make it much easier to lift and place these heavy and ackward panels.

Most warped reflectors are either aluminum type that get ice/snow loads hit by a tree/tractor/horse rubbing post, etc. or a fiberglass reflectors that were cast over a parabolic mold. These fiberglass lay-ups had no internal ribs and only supported by the mount.
 
[Prodelin 3,8m dish, very impressive, it's' a professional dish, don't' be afraid, it performs well ever!!!
I have an old 3m Prodelin, to be installed,
Anyone has that dish?
model 1305, but first 90' s years
Anyone have tested it in ku band ?
I read it performes like a 1,8m , i guess not so bad, isn't' it?
Many thanks
 
You have a fast learning curve, but people here love to help.

Hit up Titanium for parts. Fair price and amazing support.

Brian do these warp like other fiberglass? They have to weigh a ton.
string the dish, run a string from top to bottom tie then run a string from left to right the string has to be with 1/16 of each other, run the left to right one in the front and back of the vertical string then you will know for sure, i have seen metal dishes not put together correctly, and be off a lot, boy does that mess it up
 
Thanks all.

The dish seems to be 100% fiberglass so maybe it will not be to tough to handle by myself while disassembling it. I'll Number all parts to make sure it's reassembled back the way it was as suggested. I'll start off with some penetration oil on the nuts & bolts and let it soak for awhile before taking it apart. Once I get it home I'll clean the dish and paint the parts that need it. Any thoughts on treating the face side of the dish? Possibly sealing it with some fiberglass resin? Or is this needed?
 
  • Like
Reactions: hank123
That's a fine dish.

I would recommend trying to find some help (human or mechanical) to assist in the removal, I bet that reflector alone weighs 2 or 3 hundred pounds, maybe more.

If you can pull out one petal at a time it may not be too bad but still would be nice to have some help.

Don't wanna get hurt...or even worse, damage the dish! ;)

Good luck and take lots of pics.
 
  • Like
Reactions: k.r. and hank123
First turn the dish so its a like a turtle on its back, then unbolt one part at a time, or get three strong friends to help you, or expect to get hurt, real bad and fully expect the feed cover is full of bees, live ones even in winter time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: hank123
Agree 100% with GaryD to remove the dish from the post to disassemble/reassemble. You don't want to be on a ladder trying to handle these panels by yourself. It is a monster dish and not like a light aluminum consumer type dish that we often work single handed on. The assembled weight will be around 550-600lbs. I STRONGLY recommend a boom truck to bring it down to a safe working height.

One could tilt the mount back to aim the dish straight up, lock the mount Elevation and Azimuth in place and work off of a scaffolding, but that will take a lot of rigging and still might present some safety issues. We used to assemble these with 3-4 man crews and a boom truck.
 
  • Like
Reactions: hank123
Thanks for the responses. Safety first. I have access to lifting equipment if needed.

I'm researching on the rest of the set-up needed to complete the system once I have the dish installed. I'm looking for a straight forward easy to operate C & Ku set up.

For the controller I'm liking the ASC1 DiSEq 1.2 positioner & Polarity Controller to move the dish. Not sure if the motor works so I might need a suggestion on one.

Any thoughts on the Combo C / KU-band LNBF (with Polarity Skew Control Motor if possible) and a receiver (perhaps the Manhattan RC-1978 HD FTS Satellite Receiver)?
 
Check what the dish already has for feedhorn, it is likely matched to the dish and changing it might not improve performance. Since you noted two feedlines and a control cable, it might be a Corotor dual band feedhorn with C and Ku LNBs attached. For this you would require something to switch the antenna polarity and fine-tune such as the ASC-1. I have one here and they work fine. Another possibility is it has a bullseye type feedhorn with two LNBs, or 4LNBs if it is dual band. These feed horns are very good for FTA, especially if the LNBs come with it!
That's a top-notch dish, you are making many of us (me included) jealous! :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: hank123
From the looks of the photos I doubt that it's a bullseye. Looks like to coax drops with the polarity lines.
The asc1 is great. I run the daylights out of mine.

If your going to only run 1 tv then a Corotor dual band feedhorn will be fine. If you want to run more then 1 tv then you need to look at getting a bullseye or a dual feed lnbf.

Manhattan RC-1978 looks ok and it is a licensed product, the specs are like most receivers out there that can be had for $40 or less.
 
I'll be taking it down tomorrow. I'll post some pictures of the feedhorn and any information on it to see what it is.

Thanks!
 
  • Like
Reactions: hank123
It took only 3hrs. to break it down by myself and now I officially have a BUD.
Here are some pictures of the feeder horn. Any ideas on it? I see it has a polarity motor and 1 of the 2 pick ups is for C band. I can't read the 2nd label. Maybe it a Ku pick up?


104_4255.jpg
104_4259.jpg
104_4256.jpg
104_4258.jpg
104_4261.jpg
 
Status
Please reply by conversation.
***

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 1, Members: 0, Guests: 1)

Who Read This Thread (Total Members: 1)