Channel master 180 dish installation project

[dishdx]

Hi!
Last year i bought nice Channel master 180 dish (it is 200 x 185 cm). I don´t have any mast yet, so this year i want to make one. On the pictures you can see my planes. What do you thing about this setup? The telescopic part is there because i dont know exactly the height of the garden house and in future i will instal motoriset setup (so maybe onother diameter of top mast) - but now is there only fixed holder. The total height of the mast could be cca 3,5-4 m. It could be possible to make support holder from mast to the garden house. What do you thing about used diameters of tubes, about height etc..? Please look at pictures, and write me your opinion.
Thank you!

 

[Channel Hopper]

If you are going to create a telescopic system for a motorised system, you are better off with an El/Az type movement for tracking the satellites.
You can most likely rework the current dish backplate, mount clamping and elevation system by adding bearing surfaces, saving the cost of you fabricating a polarmount.

 

[dishdx]

Thank you Channel Hopper, i probably don´t understand. The mast is planed like telescopic, but final instalation will be fixed at final height. If i understand, your opinion is to rotate the inside tube? Thank you.

 

[RimaNTSS]

I think it is very good idea to go telescopic... so you can be flexible in adjusting the total length of the installation. But most importantly, if you decide to polar-mount antenna, you will have possibility to make pole plumb. I have something similar- lower part is ~147mm and main pipe - 100mm.
BTW, Channel Master 1.8m has size on the working area 1800x1950mm.

 

[dishdx]

Thank you RimaNTSS. Yes, it is something like on your picture. I need go higher, because of houses and fences. Now with 120 cm dish i can receive 31,5W - 75E, i hope that on the mast with CM 180 it will be 85 E and something more than 37 on West.

I see on your picture that you have more bolts (screw pipes) in concrete. I planned only 4 with 20-25 mm diameter (i dont know "M"size of so giant bolt:-). So i should make more. Do you have in concrete screw pipes? How long? I planned 4 x 1 meter x 20mm screw pipes.

Yes i want to make polar mount - there could be problem with lengths of motors (because of garden house - that´s why i need to go telescopic...)

 

[Channel Hopper]

Thank you Channel Hopper, i probably don´t understand. The mast is planed like telescopic, but final instalation will be fixed at final height. If i understand, your opinion is to rotate the inside tube? Thank you.

If you do use El/Az then you don't actually need to use cylindrical poles, and the possible tolerance issue with tightening one into the other once at the correct height.

On a king post with El/Az, the azimuth motor can be at ground level, with everything rotating on a heavy duty bearing. The mast can be box section steel, with a smaller box section for the upper part. The Elevation motor would be the replacement of the locking bar on the dish.

 

[RimaNTSS]

I see on your picture that you have more bolts (screw pipes) in concrete.

I took standard 20mm thick flange for 147mm pipe and welded them together. Anchor-bolts are about 100mm long and, I think they are M16 ish. For a base I dug ~50cm wide and ~135cm deep hole and filled it with concrete. It is almost 2 years passed and nothing moves. If you going to make bottom pipe longer than it could be good idea to connect it with couple of struts to the garden house (red lines).

 

[Terryl]

Well you're off to a good start.....Except for one thing, the hole in the ground.....It should have been dug square, (anything but round) this would prevent the dish from turning or tipping the base if the soil gets saturated and along comes a high wind, also it did not look big enough. The formula I use is two 36 kilo sacks of concrete for every 1 metre of dish diameter, and make sure it's enough to fill the hole, and any forms used to get the base above the top of the ground level (extra concrete never hurts).

Also wait at least 7 days before you put any type of load on the base (for a real heavy load would be 28 days).

And also make sure the mast is as vertical as you can get it; this will prevent tracking problems when you go to line up the dish with the Clarke belt.

 

[dishdx]

Hello! Thank you for inspirational posts. I will study them and write later! I'm busy now, i hope on the weeknd will it be better. Thank you for now!

 

[dishdx]

Terryl, nice post, do you have some photos of your instalation please? Public here or to PM? Thank you! I plan squere ground 1 x 1 x 1 m (maybe a little bit deeper than 1 m) + minimal 4 x 25mm Anchor bolts 1 meter long. I dont know concrete in kilos:-(

Well you're off to a good start.....Except for one thing, the hole in the ground.....It should have been dug square, (anything but round) this would prevent the dish from turning or tipping the base if the soil gets saturated and along comes a high wind, also it did not look big enough. The formula I use is two 36 kilo sacks of concrete for every 1 metre of dish diameter, and make sure it's enough to fill the hole, and any forms used to get the base above the top of the ground level (extra concrete never hurts).

Also wait at least 7 days before you put any type of load on the base (for a real heavy load would be 28 days).

And also make sure the mast is as vertical as you can get it; this will prevent tracking problems when you go to line up the dish with the Clarke belt.

 

[Trust]

1 x 1 x 1 is overdone , thats a weight approx. 2500 kg

 

[dishdx]

Ok Trust1, i probably saw this picture, but its not squere. More concrete i planned because in future could be here bigger dish :-) (what if.... :-)

 

[dishdx]

Hello! Please, how thick the wall of pole should be? I think that 5 mm should be ok?

 

[RimaNTSS]

5mm is enough.

 

[dishdx]

Hello! Spring is here and i have to something do:-) Which KU band LNB would be good for my CM180 with original feedhorn and where to buy? Im a little bit money limited, so it should by product with good value.

P.S. The dish photo is from Germany (FM/TV TX Chemnitz - Geyer). I have the same dish.

 

[archive10]

Hello! Spring is here and i have to something do:-) Which KU band LNB would be good for my CM180 with original feedhorn and where to buy? Im a little bit money limited, so it should by product with good value.

P.S. The dish photo is from Germany (FM/TV TX Chemnitz - Geyer). I have the same dish.

For best general Ku-band results on CM feedhorn use either Invacom (high price), or Inverto Black Pro (good, reasonable price).
If not using CM feedhorn, then an Inverto Black Ultra or an Maximum XO-11 gave me best performance when I tested some years ago.
But this requires you to have the "normal" feedarm with a 40mm clamp. From you photos it looks like you have an Rx/Tx dish version, which will probably not taken normal "universal" LNBs.

Re the pictured dishes - they looks like 1.2 meter Prodelins to me. I have same reflector but with different feed-arms. Yes, nice dish.

 

[dishdx]

Thank you ST1. Yes, i have the same arm as on the picture.

I found LNBs you write, but they has different number of holes, i have 6 holes on the feedhorn... Do i need some reduction? And why Norsat LNB are squere, how can i put this two thing together (circle flange to squere LNB??) :-)

For best general Ku-band results on CM feedhorn use either Invacom (high price), or Inverto Black Pro (good, reasonable price).
If not using CM feedhorn, then an Inverto Black Ultra or an Maximum XO-11 gave me best performance when I tested some years ago.
But this requires you to have the "normal" feedarm with a 40mm clamp. From you photos it looks like you have an Rx/Tx dish version, which will probably not taken normal "universal" LNBs.

Re the pictured dishes - they looks like 1.2 meter Prodelins to me. I have same reflector but with different feed-arms. Yes, nice dish.

 

[Channel Hopper]

Check the Prodelin receive only dish is 0.8 f/d, many will be 0.6 and so the feed will over illuminate, giving more noise into the signal.

 

[dishdx]

Check the Prodelin receive only dish is 0.8 f/d, many will be 0.6 and so the feed will over illuminate, giving more noise into the signal.

Sorry, i don´t understand:-( My CM180 dish or feedhorn are not good?

 

[dishdx]

Check the Prodelin receive only dish is 0.8 f/d, many will be 0.6 and so the feed will over illuminate, giving more noise into the signal.

Could you please explain what you mean with your post? Thank you, i probably dont understand correct. I have experiences only with 120cm dish on diseqc motor. So everything on big dishes is new for me. I read some articles, but details and practicaly help i have to search here:-)