No more Andrew (channel master) polar mounts any more for 1.2m

[rd100]

I am a satellite engineer and live in the united kingdom I asked Andrew channel master why they stoped makeing the polar mounts for the 1.8m & why they have now stoped makeing them now for the 1.2m


Here is the email i had back from andrew corp.

Dear Sir,

From a consumer point of view it is hard to understand why products are discontinued.
The Satcom product line evolves over the years as we see the trends change.
We have decided to drop the polar mount option as the sales to not warrant the manufacturing of this unique item.
We have tried over the years to eliminate the welding from our manufacturing process. This is one of the few items in our line that still requires welding.
Due to low sales volume and the push to eliminate welding from our Smithfield North Carolina manufacturing site, we have decided to drop this from our product line.

It has been my understanding that there are a few aftermarket companies that manufacture polar mounts that fit our reflectors. These are popular in the UK, and you may inquire about such product offerings from an outside source.

Regards,
Dwayne Pilkington
Andrew Corporation
Product Analyst
VSAT/DTH

 

[PhilipPeake]

When I moved to the US I bought my Channel Master 1.2m dish with its motorized polar mount with me.

I have found that CM (even before the Andrew aquisition) just were not interested in the consumer market. A few years ago, I had an accident with the dish, and thought the easiest way out, rather than try repairing, would be to buy a replacement dish. I tried to find a distributor - no luck in the US. So i called CM directly. Basically, they said get lost. They were selling the 1.2m dish in the US, but as a commercial/military item and had a list price of ~$5,000 on it. I asked if it was the same item as sold into the consumer market in Europe -- the answer was a bunch of weasle words, but essentially, yes.

I assume it didn't sell well at those prices, because you *can* get the dish in the US now -- if you try REALLY hard, at a much more realistic price (~$250). Of course, no polar mount -- at least not a motorized variety.

This is really sad, because the dishes are *excellent* - much better than the cheap stamped steel things generally available here.

The polar mounts are not complicated ... maybe there is a future business opportunity here for me

I am currently in the process of stripping my mount down to re-finish it. The original finish is peeling and its rusting -- but it is ~15 years old!

 

[Dishpointer]

I purchased my polar mount last year from Dow Electronics in Florida. It was $75 with shipping. Do a search for them and give them a call. You might just get lucky.

 

[dem0nlord]

Funny thing is the plain old az/el mount that comes with the 1.8 is welded. So much for that explanation.

 

[zazu]

Dow no longer has that mount,,i have been on a quest for one for a long time now, i bought a used 1.2m CM for 25$ due to that it had no mount, i also bought a used 1m CM for 20$ becuase that one had a wierd mount( in PICS, and the face fronts of the dishes are clean and nice compared to backs,which is due to way the dishes were stored before i bought them) but no arms,now, Andrews sent me on a wild goose chase calling places, but the only mount i found was just not what i wanted after seeing in pics the vendor sent me and shipping was more than the mount, so i took the extension plates off the 1m mount, now for the life of me i can not figure why the 1m has a larger mounting hole footprint than the 1.2m? and even with the plates off the holes did not line up so i tried to make my own plate,, well nothing was successful for a permanent solution.well recently my family recieved a gracious gift from Brian at SatAV( i will be writing about that soon)and took down my makeshift setup.but the new motorized system for a reason i will resolve is not pulling in AMC3 which i must have for PBS, so back up the 1.2m or even the 1m must go( i actually want to have both up at some point due hating equipment not being utilized). however in taking down the dish wanting to clean and paint since other system was there, i broke the junction clamp(lnb holer) and cheapo lnb.so i went on a net search for my needed plastic item, if i ordered one of a few places in the UK it would have cost me 60$US before shipping, but i located a place in FLA that had it for about 10$ with shipping bringing it to around 20$,now i just got off the phone with them because from reading this thread i previously had no urgency or funds to purchase,,but they sell the dish as well, and they are calling me back to see if they can get the mounts alone or if they have any in inventory, i have a fam member that lives close to this vendor and is due to drive up to me in NJ next week so i would be able to save shipping costs..
since this vendor is not a sponsor here( even though i believe no sponsors here sell these items)i will not name them due unclear forum rules,however i will post whatever they tell me when they call back,, i really dont want to waste money that i dont have trying to see if any other company's mounts work..
on the same note, it would be great if other members here in search of same items would post findings, always good to have options.
Hey PP i would love to see pics of your rig. and pics of anyone members here that have similar setup