SAMI 10Ft Dish Opinion

Status
Please reply by conversation.
If you can get the SAMI for a good price (even better-free) go for it. I had a 7.5'-8' for may years (1994 to 2005) and it never gave me a minutes trouble. The mesh even withstood a torrential hailstorm that beat the shutters and window trim off of our house. The hail hit so hard it cut off lillies and banana trees we had in the yard. It did have some minor dings in the mesh which didn't appear to affect picture quality. My eleven year old also bragged recently how he used to sit in my SAMI (I was never aware of this before!)

I just wanted to say that if their 10's are built as solidly as their 8 foot, I would personally recommend it. Superior Antenna Manufacturing Inc. I believe they are built (or were) in Arkansas., USA.

Also, if you get the 10', put at least 1/3 of the pole in the ground, plumb it perfectly, and use plenty of concrete (several bags). Good luck.
 
That is something I have been wondering for some time as well. Glad to know thanks.
 
My first "Sami" dish was a KTI CKD-12 (sold by Sami) that I bought last August. The mesh and ribs did not survive the hailstorm in May of this year. Other than that, it works great. I get DVB-S2 with no problem.
 
I have both a 10ft for TV and 12ft for Noaaport and both perform very well. The 10ft is giving some of the most fun I have had in this hobby in the last 20+ years. (of course being on the ground and not the roof like the last few dishes help).

If you can find one, I don't think you will be disappointed !
 
Hi All,

What are your opinions of SAMI Dishes? Good or bad

Thanks for you opinions

10 Foot Antennas

Strange... that link above didn't show up when I read the message, but it shows up when I reply to the message.

I used to have a SAMI dish, back around 1990-1996. It was much better than the dish I had before (? brand?) or my current dish (Orbitron). It was light, easy to install, easy to work on, plus it has a fairly high F/D, which made it work better on Ku. My only complaint was the point where the actuator attached was so far out, and so close to the dish, that the actuator would jam against the dish if you tried to extend it very much past it's high point, and once you got past that point where the actuator hits the dish, you cannot retract the dish without help. So you have to be careful relative to where you set your limits. I'm not positive which model SAMI I had. They seem to have several models, and they look slightly different now, so maybe the actuator connection point is different.
I'm seriously considering getting rid of my Orbitron now, and if so, I'll probably go back to a SAMI
 
I just got a SAMI 10' dish and I am hoping to aim it at 139w for some audio reception. The elevation for my area is 12 degrees, but the adjusting bolt is too short to allow it to elevate less than around 20 to 30 degrees. Does that sound right for a SAMI dish? The bolt is an integral part of the mount with an eye welded onto the end of it where it attaches to the ring. I think I can extend the bolt by putting a nut 1/2 way on it and using another bolt. A rod coupler would be better but I don't know if I have one that big.

Another question is, if this dish is going to be fixed at 139 degrees, does this mean that the dish itself should be elevated 12 degrees or the mouting ring? I was going to leave the declination setting where it was from the previous owner but he had a dish mover on it, so I'm not sure if the dish or the mounting ring itself should be at 12 degrees? I'm thinking that the declination is only needed when a mover is used. If that's the case I might be able to get enough adjustment out of the declination setting to set the dish at 12 degrees.

I got the dish mover with the dish and it looks pretty good but I haven't tested it yet. I have to use it to secure the dish and I will probably wire it some day, but I'll figure that out when I decide to run enough wires for the motor. I got spoiled by starting with USALS and a small Ku dish. The big dish is a long way from the house so ribbon cable would be the most expensive component of the whole system for me.
 
If your dish is going to be fixed the only angle that matters is the face of the dish and of course the azimuth.

You are correct, declination is only a factor when you are moving the dish and attempting to track the arc.

You don't even need a plumb pole for a fixed dish.
 
If your dish is going to be fixed the only angle that matters is the face of the dish and of course the azimuth.

You are correct, declination is only a factor when you are moving the dish and attempting to track the arc.

You don't even need a plumb pole for a fixed dish.

OK. Thanks a lot. It's really hot today and I'm working slow but I might be able to try some aiming later today. I have to try to fix one little area of damage to the mesh then mount the 4 sections to the ring and attach the 4 arms for the scalar ring, etc.
 
OK. Thanks a lot. It's really hot today and I'm working slow but I might be able to try some aiming later today. I have to try to fix one little area of damage to the mesh then mount the 4 sections to the ring and attach the 4 arms for the scalar ring, etc.

38N 75W?

Atlantis? and it's HOT? and they have internet? ;)
 
This is a sub $10 from home depot. The dish is a 10 foot sami.
 

Attachments

  • photo.JPG
    photo.JPG
    563.7 KB · Views: 252
The biggest problem that I've had with my Sami is lack of pointing accuracy. I have to repeak on the sats almost every time. Anik F3 is the one that I have the most trouble with.
 
Status
Please reply by conversation.

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

Who Read This Thread (Total Members: 1)

Top