Paraclipse 10 mesh
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Is it like the standard original Paraclipse with the 8 trusses and concentric rings, with hundreds of clips? If so the mesh is special material quite stiff the parabola is formed by shaping the mesh with clips. While a great dish for C band I doubt any of them would work well on Ku. Any sort of light mesh or screen would be a fail.
Thanks for the reply. I will be checking it out tomorrow. I'll post pics when I get some
Now I know Paraclipse later on had some Ku friendly dishes in that size, only the original classic Paraclipse dishes would be a problem. They did not envision the new band when they were conceived. It sounds like you are describing the original "expanded mesh" Paraclipse. Put a lot of them together have the scars to show for it.
I have no idea about this merchant on Ebay but it looks like you may be able to get a variety of mesh at different sizes if you contact him. Here's one page of expanded steel mesh.
Expanded Metal Sheet Diamond Pattern .035" x 24" x 24" - 1/4"-#20 Expanded Steel | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Expanded Metal Sheet Diamond Pattern .035" x 24" x 24" - 1/4"-#20 Expanded Steel at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
You should be able to order extruded or perforated aluminum sheets from any metal stock distributor or fabricator in a larger city. They will have it shipped to their shop for local delivery.
Remove the mesh from one one the panels that is in better condition and the shop should be able to use as a template. Couldn't imagine using manual scissor shears to cut out all of the panels. If you do it yourself, buy a battery or electric shears.
FYI... You will likely cuss like a drunken sailor whenever the name Paraclipse is heard, once you have clipped an entire 10' Paraclipse dish... LOL!!!
From my past experiences, the newer Paraclipse dishes were never very good performers on KU. They will last forever, stand up to the worst storms, good performance on C-band and looked beautiful!
Remove the mesh from one one the panels that is in better condition and the shop should be able to use as a template. Couldn't imagine using manual scissor shears to cut out all of the panels. If you do it yourself, buy a battery or electric shears.
FYI... You will likely cuss like a drunken sailor whenever the name Paraclipse is heard, once you have clipped an entire 10' Paraclipse dish... LOL!!!
From my past experiences, the newer Paraclipse dishes were never very good performers on KU. They will last forever, stand up to the worst storms, good performance on C-band and looked beautiful!
Have to strongly agree with Brian. While an indestructible framework, and very well performing on C-band, you will not get great results on Ku-band. Even if you could find an acceptable finer (smaller hole) Ku-band rated mesh, it is never going to work as well as a solid offset Ku-band dish. If you can find a 1.2 meter / 4 foot solid offset such as those formerly used for Star Choice prior to 2000, and a suitable offset Ku-band LNBF, it would yield more consistent results, and might be available in Canada from a private party.
Thanks for the great info Brian.
I checked it out and it is large hole mesh. It is also completely grown in all around it.
Quite a project for someone. I've restored 2 and I'm done for a while.
I'm likely going to pass on it.
My KTI S10 is kickass and only needs a new coat of paint and a new pole.
I'll post a picture of a dish stuck in trees a little later.
I checked it out and it is large hole mesh. It is also completely grown in all around it.
Quite a project for someone. I've restored 2 and I'm done for a while.
I'm likely going to pass on it.
My KTI S10 is kickass and only needs a new coat of paint and a new pole.
I'll post a picture of a dish stuck in trees a little later.
You should be able to order extruded or perforated aluminum sheets from any metal stock distributor or fabricator in a larger city. They will have it shipped to their shop for local delivery.
Remove the mesh from one one the panels that is in better condition and the shop should be able to use as a template. Couldn't imagine using manual scissor shears to cut out all of the panels. If you do it yourself, buy a battery or electric shears.
FYI... You will likely cuss like a drunken sailor whenever the name Paraclipse is heard, once you have clipped an entire 10' Paraclipse dish... LOL!!!
From my past experiences, the newer Paraclipse dishes were never very good performers on KU. They will last forever, stand up to the worst storms, good performance on C-band and looked beautiful!
Does anyone know where I can get the plastic piece that slides in the channel on the rib of a Paraclipse that holds the mesh down? Is there something I can substitute?
Oh no. The others have more damage and are falling apart since they are so brittle. I only added the picture to show what the piece looks like and the channel it slides in. I took the dish down from the original owner about 15 years ago and they were starting to crack apart then. They only got worse.
Looks like you could find some thin aluminum strap. Drills holes down the middle and secure with rivets or screws to the center of the rib. Insert the panels and take a plastic mallet and bend the edges down to crimp the mesh in place.
How much would aluminum strips on top affect signal?
But then again... Lots of mesh/perforated dishes used metal track to hold the panels in place. Probably more of an issue on Ku, I guess.
I'm just glad it ain't me having to work with all those stiff aluminum wires sticking out. Yikes!
Like 907tech commented, my Channel Master has aluminum channel to secure the mesh too. True, the surface is not as perfect as a spun aluminum dish but it still works well
In the 1980s I built a lot of 14 foot Golden Eagle antennas (made in Portland, OR area), and used lengths of 1-inch wide aluminum strip between mesh panels AFTER first installing mesh J clips for each panel. Found that predrilling appropriate holes about a foot apart on these strips, then using a sharp drill bit to complete a drilling through the square tube on the antenna (using strip as a template)...then installing 1/8 inch pop rivets to hold in place.
Much quicker than fighting with wire wrap between mesh panels, and plenty acceptable for C-band accuracy. The 12 foot Paraclipse should allow a similar installation after first removing the T-lock strips that are presently in place. This is very strong mechanical attaching method that will usually outlast any mesh, but as I said earlier, don't waste your time trying to pull Ku-band out of one of these antennas. Besides the mesh not being small enough you have the issue of not matching the parabolic curve across these wide panel surfaces. Orbitron got around it slightly by pre-forming their mesh, but it will be more trouble than it is worth with the antenna you are trying to use. Good luck!
Much quicker than fighting with wire wrap between mesh panels, and plenty acceptable for C-band accuracy. The 12 foot Paraclipse should allow a similar installation after first removing the T-lock strips that are presently in place. This is very strong mechanical attaching method that will usually outlast any mesh, but as I said earlier, don't waste your time trying to pull Ku-band out of one of these antennas. Besides the mesh not being small enough you have the issue of not matching the parabolic curve across these wide panel surfaces. Orbitron got around it slightly by pre-forming their mesh, but it will be more trouble than it is worth with the antenna you are trying to use. Good luck!
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