My buddy gave me his at9 (5lnb dish). He had it mounted on a pole so he doesn't have the mast for it. I am going to have it mounted on my roof so I will need a mast for it. What would be the best way to go about getting a mast for it?Is there a specific one designed for this dish?.
What size mast for at9?
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masting
you will need a 2" mast for the 5lnb odu. 2" fence pipe works well, but for a roof mount you will need the 2" mast designed for the odu. also dont forget the struts for the mast as well, they are important. Look on ebay
you will need a 2" mast for the 5lnb odu. 2" fence pipe works well, but for a roof mount you will need the 2" mast designed for the odu. also dont forget the struts for the mast as well, they are important. Look on ebay
Don't forget if you use a fence pole that they are slightly under 2" and must be carefully tightened to prevent the dish swiveling in the wind. BTDT
A fence post does not make a good mast for a AT-9. It has been said that the struts were required for the roof/wall mast. That is true because you need a rock solid, stable mast. A fence post tube, does not provide a rock solid mast. In fact it moves with little force applied, plus it was also said that it was NOT 2".
Do your self a favor and get a ground pole from a local satellite dealer of either DTV, DISH or Wildblue. Wildblue is a satellite Internet system that also uses a 2" mast. Wholesale distributors stock a steel, heavy gauge 2" mast for use with satellite dishes. It is far more rigid than a fence post.
I have seen fence post bend and stay bent after a very strong wind. A fence post was not designed to provide a rigid platform for a AU-9 or AT-9 Ka/Ku antenna. When DTV fires up those Ka band satellites a lot of installers are going to discover the reality how stable a Ka/Ku post needs to be.
Do your self a favor and get a ground pole from a local satellite dealer of either DTV, DISH or Wildblue. Wildblue is a satellite Internet system that also uses a 2" mast. Wholesale distributors stock a steel, heavy gauge 2" mast for use with satellite dishes. It is far more rigid than a fence post.
I have seen fence post bend and stay bent after a very strong wind. A fence post was not designed to provide a rigid platform for a AU-9 or AT-9 Ka/Ku antenna. When DTV fires up those Ka band satellites a lot of installers are going to discover the reality how stable a Ka/Ku post needs to be.
This is true of the thinner fence posts. They are available in thicker sizes.
To answer the original question regarding where to get a mast, contact a local Wildblue or DirecTV dealer. They should have some extras they can sell you. I would guess they will charge $25 to $50.
They may be available in thicker sizes, but no one said that, and since no one has said "thicker" there is a good chance the person will get the thinner one. Unless you can state the exact wall thickness, you are not giving good advice. I still prefer the steel mast designed for use with a satellite dish. A fence post is made from softer steel than the mast you get from a distributor.
I don't get it. Almost all steel used in conduit, fence posts, pipe, and so on is regular Grade 1018 "mild" or low carbon steel. There is practically no difference, until you specifiy a "chrome molly" alloy like 4130 aircraft grade high carbon tubing.
No fence post is sch40, that is a pipe. Fence post is tubing. The way I tell my clients who wish to do their own post is, if you can thread it or buy it threaded, that is pipe. If you cannot thread it, that is tubing. Conduit can be made from tubing, or as in rigid condut, be threadable.
1-1/4" rigid condiut is the same as 1-1/4" water pipe. The only differance is you might pay less if you get is as rigid conduit. For some reason the same material sells for more when you want it for water.
2" rigid conduit has a 2-3/8" OD, perfect for HughesNet. Installers that use fence post for HughesNet should be fired. Hughes clearly states that only pipe should be used and yet installers still use the thinner, and cheaper fence post. The wost problem is that Hughes knows about this through QC's and yet do not make the installer return to correct the post. Either change the specs or enforce the installation rules.
--Sorry about the rant----
There is no rigid conduit or steel pipe that has a 2" OD. The ground mast sold by distributors is tubing that has a 2" OD and I know it is more rigid than fence post material. For my web site I plan to purchase all these varies pipes and tubing for a detailed test of rigidity, hardness and corrosion resistance. I will test for how much force is required to bend the mast 1/4" and how far a mast can bend and still return to its original spot.
It will take a few weeks to get this all together. I will post back when I am done. Should be interesting if nothing else.
1-1/4" rigid condiut is the same as 1-1/4" water pipe. The only differance is you might pay less if you get is as rigid conduit. For some reason the same material sells for more when you want it for water.
2" rigid conduit has a 2-3/8" OD, perfect for HughesNet. Installers that use fence post for HughesNet should be fired. Hughes clearly states that only pipe should be used and yet installers still use the thinner, and cheaper fence post. The wost problem is that Hughes knows about this through QC's and yet do not make the installer return to correct the post. Either change the specs or enforce the installation rules.
--Sorry about the rant----
There is no rigid conduit or steel pipe that has a 2" OD. The ground mast sold by distributors is tubing that has a 2" OD and I know it is more rigid than fence post material. For my web site I plan to purchase all these varies pipes and tubing for a detailed test of rigidity, hardness and corrosion resistance. I will test for how much force is required to bend the mast 1/4" and how far a mast can bend and still return to its original spot.
It will take a few weeks to get this all together. I will post back when I am done. Should be interesting if nothing else.
I have used Schedule 40 Galvinized fence post, works great.
I HIGHLY DOUBT that I could go to a local sat dealer and get a 16' post for my application.
I also suopported it at the side of the house, it is 4 foot above my roofline.
It is 1 7/8th so it is NOT 2", which is what they told me it was, but it was not.
The trick is to get the dish set up and you will see that the sat post has several holes in it, I took a drill bit and drilled holes into the pole and added screws to ensure that it would not be moving.
A few other things to think about :
If you are planting your pole, drill a hole in the buried end and place a bolt thru it, this will keep the pole from turning in the concrete. also cap the top of the pole with anything you can find, this will keep water out of it and it will last longer.
Jimbo
I bought 16' shcedule 40 from a fence post company, I would guess that it is a FENCE post.
Also there are different grades of fence post, you have the horizonal pipe that I would definatly NOT use and there is tre vertical fence post, that is hopefully what people are using, I would definatly make sure it's schedule 40 though.
Jimbo
Just because you purchased a sch40 steel pipe from a fence company, does not mean it is the same fence post material sold at local mega-hardware stores, as fence post.
It is a sch40 steel pipe, or the good stuff.
It is not possible to get a 16 foot 2" pipe from a satellite dealer or installer. An experienced installer will tell you that you need to use a larger pipe and reduce the pipe size at the top. A good installer knows where to get an adapter to reduce a 2" steel pipe (2-3/8 OD) to 2" OD. Wildblue, a KA-band satellite internet provider, recommends using a 2"steel pipe (2-3/8"OD) and installing these adapters.
If your brace your mast properly, you should have no trouble, but if you can gab the mast with one hand, shake the mast (with the dish on) and move the mast more than 1/8" in any direction, you will most likely experience some signal loss during medium wind storms on any KA transmission. Such signal loss may be tolerable, but it really depends on the wind loading your dish receives.
Remember, the wall/roof mounts for WildBlue, DTV HD Dishes, and Hughesnet use support struts. With these struts installed, those mast do not move. Not even a little. They are rock solid. The only movement you might find is the flex in the wall or roof framing members if you grab on with both hands and put your weight into it.
It is a sch40 steel pipe, or the good stuff.
It is not possible to get a 16 foot 2" pipe from a satellite dealer or installer. An experienced installer will tell you that you need to use a larger pipe and reduce the pipe size at the top. A good installer knows where to get an adapter to reduce a 2" steel pipe (2-3/8 OD) to 2" OD. Wildblue, a KA-band satellite internet provider, recommends using a 2"steel pipe (2-3/8"OD) and installing these adapters.
If your brace your mast properly, you should have no trouble, but if you can gab the mast with one hand, shake the mast (with the dish on) and move the mast more than 1/8" in any direction, you will most likely experience some signal loss during medium wind storms on any KA transmission. Such signal loss may be tolerable, but it really depends on the wind loading your dish receives.
Remember, the wall/roof mounts for WildBlue, DTV HD Dishes, and Hughesnet use support struts. With these struts installed, those mast do not move. Not even a little. They are rock solid. The only movement you might find is the flex in the wall or roof framing members if you grab on with both hands and put your weight into it.
My AT9 is on a 2" sched 40 post, 3' in the ground, 9' in the air. It moves about 1" if you shake it. It has NEVER lost signal due to the wind, and we have had several VERY windy days since I installed it.
Which channels do you watch that broadcast on those KA-band satellites?
If you watch your TV and move the mast back and forth an inch so the feed boom moves up and down, you will loose picture on all your satellites for a split second. If you move the mast so the dish moves east to west, you will usually not have a problem. Rocking the dish east to west, or more correctly perpendicular to the direction the dish is aimed, does not affect the elevation or azimuth settings all that much.
If your wind blows directly at the front of the dish or the back, that will cause more problems than if the winds blows towards the side of the dish. Not knowing the exact conditions someone faces, makes it hard to know for sure what will happen.
Another issue is rain fade. I have no experience with KA band rain fade, but I am going to assume that the higher KA band frequency will be more sensitive to rain fade. The satellites also broadcast at higher powers, so it could be a wash. It is safe to assume that some rain fade will come into play. If your dish is moving enough to cause your signal to drop 20-30 points and you add a little rain fade into that mix, you can lose signal with a little mast movement and a little rain fade. Separate, neither problems causes a major problem. Combined, they can make for a poor experience trying to watch the Sunday football game.
Since I have to answer to my customers WHY their picture is breaking up, I ALWAYS choose the safest option. I also recommend the safest option.
If you watch your TV and move the mast back and forth an inch so the feed boom moves up and down, you will loose picture on all your satellites for a split second. If you move the mast so the dish moves east to west, you will usually not have a problem. Rocking the dish east to west, or more correctly perpendicular to the direction the dish is aimed, does not affect the elevation or azimuth settings all that much.
If your wind blows directly at the front of the dish or the back, that will cause more problems than if the winds blows towards the side of the dish. Not knowing the exact conditions someone faces, makes it hard to know for sure what will happen.
Another issue is rain fade. I have no experience with KA band rain fade, but I am going to assume that the higher KA band frequency will be more sensitive to rain fade. The satellites also broadcast at higher powers, so it could be a wash. It is safe to assume that some rain fade will come into play. If your dish is moving enough to cause your signal to drop 20-30 points and you add a little rain fade into that mix, you can lose signal with a little mast movement and a little rain fade. Separate, neither problems causes a major problem. Combined, they can make for a poor experience trying to watch the Sunday football game.
Since I have to answer to my customers WHY their picture is breaking up, I ALWAYS choose the safest option. I also recommend the safest option.
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