Resurecting an Orbitron C10

[Cosmo Blatz]

Hello!
First post.
This is a great forum. Helped me get up to speed on FTA.

Planning to wake up my old Orbitron C10 mesh dish. The dish is still in excellent condition due to the desert environment. Hoping the actuator will free up with a little PB Blaster. (The actuator may not even be locked, as I haven't attempted to move it yet.) I'm going to use a 24 volt battery to see how the JGS actuator reacts. Don't want to blow up the VBOX on the first move command!

The dish was working perfectly when parked 15-years ago. I figure the dish may have sagged just a bit, but az and declination should still be very close. I'll string the dish and do the measurements. I used GE Silicone sealer on all the mesh panels when I initially assembled the dish. The silicone has held up well so the dish is still very tight.

These are the components I plan to use for FTA reception:

FTA Receiver - AMIKO MINI HD SE
C-Band LNBF - Titanium C1W-PLL LNBF Wideband 3.4 - 4.2GHz
Ku LBF - TITANIUM SATELLITE PLL-1KS
Ku LNBF Mounting bracket - standard ebay BUD to Ku clamp adaptor
Positioner - VBOX7

(Will use the C-band LNBF to start and later try out the Ku LNBF (or should I do it the other way around and start with Ku?)

Any thoughts on alternate equipment suggestions would be welcomed.

 

[KE4EST]

Welcome to the forum Cosmo!!
Looking forward to following your progress.

 

[FaT Air]

Good Idea to test the actuator first. Use a 5 amp fuse inline so nothing get 'welded' or cause premature failure of the battery. (I use a 20v drill battery)
My only concern is the Ku LBF (TITANIUM SATELLITE PLL-1KS) as it will only 'use' a small portion of the bud. The F/D is way to high. Would work a lot better on a 90 cm to 1.2 meter offset dish which they are designed for. For a Ku LNBF for a BUD I'd consider the "Designed for Prime Focus Satellite Dishes". SL1P -
to satelliteguys and the hobby.

 

[(((Garyd)))]

Which JGS do you have there, was 3-4 models? I may have spare parts for free

 

[Cosmo Blatz]

ke4est - Thanks for the welcome. Will post pics of the C and Ku feeds when mounted

Fat Air - Thanks for the info! I had no idea there was a design difference between LNBF's for offset and prime focus dishes. Use a fuse? LoL! Fuses take all the excitement out of life.


Garyd - Thanks for the parts offer! Not sure of the model number of the JGS. The dish is in Nevada and I'm in Wisconsin this month. Will have to see what happens when power is applied to the actuator and take it from there. Bought this old C-band system package from Doug Dennert's Sky Store a loooong time ago.
Had a Uniden UST-9900 receiver that worked flawlessly for many years.

 

[turbosat]

I like that silicone idea for the dish, I'm thinking you sealed the seams between panels. Why did I never think of that one, lol.
Couple of days ago I was leaning up against my 8' Winegard dish to check the lnb, and pressed down on the dish edge just a bit. I suddenly had a flood right down the front of my pants, from all the recent rain that had collected inside those hollow ribs!

 

[waylew]

I like that silicone idea for the dish, I'm thinking you sealed the seams between panels. Why did I never think of that one, lol.
Couple of days ago I was leaning up against my 8' Winegard dish to check the lnb, and pressed down on the dish edge just a bit. I suddenly had a flood right down the front of my pants, from all the recent rain that had collected inside those hollow ribs!

That's my story and I'm sticken to it .

 

[primestar31]

I like that silicone idea for the dish, I'm thinking you sealed the seams between panels. Why did I never think of that one, lol.
Couple of days ago I was leaning up against my 8' Winegard dish to check the lnb, and pressed down on the dish edge just a bit. I suddenly had a flood right down the front of my pants, from all the recent rain that had collected inside those hollow ribs!

You ever wonder why that bottom rib on so many of these dishes looks "round" and is missing paint instead of looking normal?

That trapped water freezes in the winter, and stretches the metal. Drill some holes at the lowest rear/bottom point of that rib, so any water inside can run off.

 

[Cosmo Blatz]

...I'm thinking you sealed the seams between panels. Why did I never think of that one!

Wasn't my idea. An experienced local 'sat guy' gave me the tip. I only RTV'd the outer 2.5 feet of each rib channel before installing the zip strips or whatever Orbitron called those plastic mesh hold down strips. Wanted to keep the panels from blowing out (it worked). Also adds quite a bit to the structural integrity of the dish. I got lucky - if the dish isn't assembled "true" there's no going back to tweak later!

 

[Cosmo Blatz]

Update:

All equipment is on order. Revised my shopping list a bit. Final choices were:

Receiver - AMIKO MINI HD SE
C-Band LNBF - Titanium C1-PLL321S-2
Positioner - VBOX7 (3.5 Amp)
Ku LNBF - Geosatpro SL1PLL (Prime Focus)
Ku LNBF - Avenger PLL321S-2 (Offset type)

I also picked up a used 24" Von Weise actuator in good operating condition just in case the JGS is toast.
Can't wait to install the C-Band feed and the receiver next month! I have a pair of Ku dishes stashed under my trailer in Nevada. Hoping to get one of those operational also.