A New Old Dish

[Lazarus]

Don't get too excited >>> I'm making Courgette Soup right now!

Got too many other jobs on the go so will get the dish project done in small stages.

 

[Lazarus]

Right, soup is simmering nicely awaiting blitzing and a decision on grated cheese.

So I've found a few minutes to go separate the motor/mount from the pole and achieved that without sacrificing any clamps/nuts.

The pole is excellent but, for some bizarre reason, there was a partly perished plug in the bottom of the pole and none at the top.

So when I prised it away, there is lots of yucky mud and other debris in there: Soon sorted with a good poke and a sluice out.

 

[Lazarus]

Just moved the 80cm to 53E (No reception, of course) to check that it's within the motor hardware limits I set years ago (It is) and to ascertain if there is enough clearance between dish edge and wall to accommodate the bigger dish (Which should cope with 53E nicely - I can get it on the Patio Mounted TD110). There's room to spare, fortunately.

So, all in all it looks as if the project will amount to little more than a demount from the motor stub, a remount and a reshuffle of switching.

 

[Lazarus]

Suitably rejuvenated by the soup (No cheese), I have just attended a planning meeting with myself and come to the conclusion it's best to put the new dish up in pieces.

ie Backplate assembly onto Motor Stub, then dish face re-attached to back plate, then re-attach LNB arm.

Accordingly, I've just dismantled it and recovered all the stray nuts from the soggy and rather long grass!

Will probably demount the 80cm in one piece as it isn't especially unwieldy. That said, I'll be dismantling it for storage, so maybe I'll change my mind on that idea.

 

[Lazarus]

80cm dish successfully demounted. No unpleasant bending.

The rear of the 80cm has much surface rust inside the lip, and virtually all the way round.

It's six or seven years old,

Should scrub up nicely with tincture of Kurust.


Off for a walk now.

 

[Captain Jack]

Pics?

 

[Lazarus]

Well I had decided against it, as it's turned out to be fairly mundane, but I'll indulge the madding crowd when I get back.

Everything is just a bag of bits right now, along with a motor and mount that looks decidedly naked!

Not sure whether I'll get the "new" up today as it's pretty breezy and other chores are suffering.

 

[wod]

I did the similar thing when I swapped the dish I had up for the larger one.

I think people here would have noticed the 1.2 up there it's massive.

I'm limited to about 45e as I wanted to keep the dish into the roof when it's on 42e which helps when it's windy.

 

[A nonymous]

I know the id part was quite far back in the thread but i have to concur with Martin about the dish. Its definitely a Global Orbit 1m dish. I've installed quite a few of them.

They are of the cheap and cheerful variety but they perform quite well considering. I used to get a few bits and pieces off 7w in 2007 if it was a clear night. It was before the more high powered birds were put up there.

Nano

 

[Lazarus]

Thanks, Nano.

Just got back from our walk, so when I've had my cup of tea, I'll go do some pics, including the component parts of the dish in question.

 

[Lazarus]

Herewith a few more pics:

First three are the dish I'm about to erect - arm/bracket; bracket; kurusted face

The other three are the removed 80cm Orbital, showing rusting; the virgin mounting position; the Patio Mounted and Sandbagged TD110 that I shall probably remove.

 

[A nonymous]

Thats definitely a Global Orbit dish

 

[sonnetpete]

the virgin mounting position

Could be a trifle precarious up there.....

 

[Lazarus]

Thats definitely a Global Orbit dish

Splendid. You and Martin for the Podium, methinks.

Couldn't detach the root of the LNB arm from the bracket, so I've mounted those two together.

Of course, the job that will stop play today is that the bits of electric string from Motor to one LNB output and from a DiSEqC switch to the other are, as always, six inches too short!

Will be using a Black Ultra Twin, BTW.

Just going to affix the dish face.

 

[Analoguesat]

My steel 1m Orbital is rusting around the edge just like yours Tivu

 

[Lazarus]

Well, they work and have years left in them!

Anyhow, I've got the dish face on and the arm secured. LNB fitted and even the bits of electric string fit for testing purposes.

Longest job was searching for the nut I dropped on the floor!

It's nearly dark, so no pic, but I'll do one tomorrow before I tidy up and align.

 

[Lazarus]

Well blow me, I've just come inside and turned on my Skybox F3 which I'd used to position the dish at 30W for easiest access and without any alignment whatsoever (Other than roughly setting the dish bracket before fixing the face) and I am now watching CNN on Hispasat with 90% SS and 76% SQ.

I'm getting good at this - who needs Meters!

 

[Lazarus]

Reuters 22W 90%/71%

 

[Lazarus]

Not got 7W set up on this box, so quickly added Sat and scanned one TP.

Nowt.

But, am now on 39E 90%/71%, so it's tracking nicely.

 

[Lazarus]

Right.

She tracks well from 39E to 45W, but I haven't got anything from 26E or 7W yet.

Tweaked Az using USALS and it's only 0.2 deg out, so tomorrow's job will be to tweak Elevation (I simply threw the dish up with a rough setting) and to trim the IBU.