Tips and Suggestions for C-Band Dish Installation?

[caramel]

Hi everyone, I am new to C-Band satellites and have just acquired a 10ft dish and a 4in x 8.2ft steel pipe from the marketplace.

Does anyone have tips or suggestions for installing the post? Specifically, how deep should I dig the hole, and what are the best practices for using concrete? Fast Setting mix VS High Strength mix? Do I need to put gravel at the bottom of the hole? I’ve searched through various C-Band dish installation guides on YouTube, but none seem to cover post installation.

I assume I need to dig a hole measuring 12 inches in diameter and 3 feet deep, place the post inside, and then pour in concrete and water?

 

[JFOK]

caramel,

I’ve always placed my satellite poles on a tripod which would be of help if the ground shifted, resulting in a pole not perfectly plumb. Without a tripod you are at the mercy of your soil’s composition.
However, many enthusiasts just place their pole in the ground, with proper preparation, and are successful.
Never the less, I placed gravel at the bottom of each base I made, to aid in stability.
I just used regular strength cement and let it set up for several days depending on the temperature…always mild in my case.
The hole I dug was three feet deep and slightly widened at the bottom for stability.
Good luck and welcome to the satellite community.

John

 

[Brct203]

Hi everyone, I am new to C-Band satellites and have just acquired a 10ft dish and a 4in x 8.2ft steel pipe from the marketplace.

Does anyone have tips or suggestions for installing the post? Specifically, how deep should I dig the hole, and what are the best practices for using concrete? Fast Setting mix VS High Strength mix? Do I need to put gravel at the bottom of the hole? I’ve searched through various C-Band dish installation guides on YouTube, but none seem to cover post installation.

I assume I need to dig a hole measuring 12 inches in diameter and 3 feet deep, place the post inside, and then pour in concrete and water?

Congratulations on getting a dish!

The concrete depth and shape will depend largely on your location and soil type. You need to go below frost line. In my area that's 42 inches, so I dug to 48. It's always good to make the hole bell shaped (bottom wider than top). Now if the soil is very loose , sandy type, you probably need more surface, so the concrete might need to be shaped a bit like a mushroom, so that it has more surface to carry the dish. I used regular concrete mix from Home Depot, the kind you have to mix first and then pour.

whatever you decide for the concrete, it is supremely important that the pole be perfectly plumb. Brace it while pouring the concrete and keep it braced for a day after the pour.

 

[a33]

And, very important: take care that the pole cannot rotate in the cement!
By making a long bolt through it, or so.

Greetz,
A33

 

[ZetaMale]

I dug a 4 foot deep, 2 foot diameter, hole for my 12 footer and used a 4.5 inch diameter pole with a triangular base that has 3 holes and I used 3 foot threaded L bolts that attached to the base and went into the hole. The triangular base will allow for re-leveling of the pole and the L shaped bolts prevents twisting in the wind. . They say to put some gravel into the bottom of the hole for drainage but I'm not sure if that's necessary. I used concrete mixed with fiberglass which is just as strong as using rebar - I had the concrete delivered. It was probably overkill but it provided a stable installation. I never put the pole into the concrete. If you want to use a triangular base you can have one welded on to your pole.

 

[stecle]

Hi everyone, I am new to C-Band satellites and have just acquired a 10ft dish and a 4in x 8.2ft steel pipe from the marketplace.

Does anyone have tips or suggestions for installing the post? Specifically, how deep should I dig the hole, and what are the best practices for using concrete? Fast Setting mix VS High Strength mix? Do I need to put gravel at the bottom of the hole? I’ve searched through various C-Band dish installation guides on YouTube, but none seem to cover post installation.

I assume I need to dig a hole measuring 12 inches in diameter and 3 feet deep, place the post inside, and then pour in concrete and water?

New C-Band Installation

I am adding a another 10 foot dish to the farm so I thought I would take a few pictures of the installation. Hopefully this will be of some help to those installing a dish for the first time. When I first started installing dishes many years ago, I simply dug a hole, stuck in the pipe and poured...

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