Winegard Pinnacle 2013 Installation

[norman881]

I bought the system last fall form a guy in Northern Idaho for $75. He had to come to my area (Eastern Washington) so he delivered it to me.

I found a pole this summer and mounted in my back yard 2 weeks ago.(see photos)

I am now assembling the dish and have a dumb question before I proceed.

The person that sold me the system never used it. It came with a silver/canvas type cover for the dish.

Do I need this cover?

It is going to take me a few weeks on the weekends to finish this project. I promise to post pictures as I go. Right now the only guide that I have is a bar near my work place that has the same dish.

Thanks
Norman

 

[phlatwound]

You do not need the cover, though it might make a good snow deflector if that is an issue.

You should find several helpful Pinnacle install threads here on the forum if you do a search.

 

[mmewrench]

There is even a manual here: http://www.satelliteguys.us/downloads.php?do=file&id=8

 

[norman881]

There is even a manual here: http://www.satelliteguys.us/downloads.php?do=file&id=8

Thanks mmwrench, but he gave me a hard copy of the original 1984 manual when he delivered the dish.

 

[T4Runner]

Thanks mmwrench, but he gave me a hard copy of the original 1984 manual when he delivered the dish.

So you bought a brand new, never been used, hot off the shelf (29 yr old), never installed C band dish for $75! Do you at least have some guilt about the guy even delivered it? ;>)



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[norman881]

I should have explained more. The dish was on his property when he bought his retirement home. He took it down and his wife placed it on Craig's List. I gave him him $100 and he refused the extra money and gave me $25 back.

I have no guilt because I told him that it is going to a good home.

I just finished getting the 8 sections together today. I will post a picture soon.

 

[pdiddy]

Your going to enjoy this hobby,I got my first dish in 1985.I have three dishes and enjoy them daily.Take your time set it up right.Get a decent receiver,I've got a couple of Geo Sat Pro's and they work nice,and their only about $100 bucks,well worth it.Started with a cheap sky box receiver,but the quality is nothing like the micro Hd.Let's see more pictures as the project progresses.I just posted one with a moose ready to give my ku dish a tune up about 2 weeks ago.Good luck.

 

[norman881]

Thanks pdiddy! I have had a 1 meter dish and a DG380 for almost 5 years. I have tossed a few receivers over the years, but currently have an X2 and a Geosatpro HDVR1200. Here is the last photo that I took on Sunday. I plan on doing the reflector this weekend.

 

[norman881]

Update

The mount assembly and most of the reflector are done. My plan was to set it on the pole before it snows again and work on it during the good weekends. The top of my pole is 1 foot taller than me, (7'3") so I need to recruit some bodies or equipment to hoist my dish assembly over the pole.

I plan on having it aligned and fixed on 1 bird for the winter, then do the actuator wiring and a new PLL LNB next spring. My 1 meter Fortec will stay on the front of my home, so the Winegard in the back yard will be for C band only.

Any suggestions are always appreciated.

Norman

 

[FaT Air]

If at all possible, run the actuator cable NOW. Otherwise you may find winter to be exceptionally long, waiting for it to warm up and thaw the ground to bury it. BITD we did quite a few installs with snow on the ground. Laid out the cable pressing it into the snow and flagged it. (so as to not experience snow machine damage)
I say this because, I believe, you'll be wanting more once it's up and running but only on one satellite.

If you haven't done so yet - Set the declination offset on the mount before installing it on the pole. Use the 'modified' as shown on the second chart on page: http://www.geo-orbit.org/sizepgs/decchartp.html
You can also get the same info on a simplified page I published on the web: http://theho.web.fc2.com/BUD/1713/

 

[norman881]

I have burial grade RG6 coax, but I am going to run it through PVC along my fence above ground. Is there a reason that I should not do this?

 

[FaT Air]

PVC & sunlight: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=pvc+ultraviolet
BITD we laid out the ribbon cable just under the sod. Only one really 'problem install' was some river bank property. Would form large cracks on the surface of the yard during the winter and every couple of years a splice was needed.

 

[norman881]

Thanks again! I am glad that I can take my time and do it right with help from you all.

I forgot to address your other suggestion FaT Air. The dish was last used at 48.4 N. I'm at 47.8 N, so I only made 1.5 turns on the adjustment.

 

[norman881]

Update 2

My wife suggested that we sit the dish on a table. A friend came over with his 10 year old son. The boy guided the assembly from the ladder while we hoisted it up. We were able to place the assembly on the pole in less than 5 minutes.

Old Chapparal LNB install and alignment next.

I welcome any suggestions that you all offer.

Thanks!
Norman

 

[. Raine]

My wife suggested that we sit the dish on a table.

Good idea that your wife had. How much cement did you use for the pole? The cement pad in your picture doesn't look very big.

 

[norman881]

We used 11 bags of cement. The friend that helped me place the pole is a maintenance person for the county and installs poles and fencing on a regular basis. He had great details on the soil, frost line, and everything that we needed to place it correctly. I had planned on putting 4 feet in the ground. Due to the rock bed that Spokane County sits on, he advised me that 3.5 feet was plenty,

 

[. Raine]

Pictures can be deceiving, didn't look like that much!

 

[toucan-man]

Those sure are pretty dishes, aren't they ?

 

[norman881]

Pictures can be deceiving, didn't look like that much!

This is a 2005 picture of my front yard when it was dug up to connect us to the main sewer line. I had no idea the amount of rock under us until we drilled in the back yard. Plants grow great here due to all of the aeration from the bolders.

 

[. Raine]

Yeah, that looks real rocky.