Advice Needed Channel Master 180 small repair questions

[satkingno]

Hi!

I have finally got hold of a Channel Master 180 after searching for quite some time, so pretty happy about that It has the lightning on the surface, so I guess that means it is actually an Andrews, right?

There is however a couple of small things...

- A small piece of the edge has cracked and come loose. I know that this is purely a cosmetic problem, but still I want the dish to look nice and whole. I was planning to just use some regular fibre glass cloth and polyester to fix this. Then sand it and spray the edge (not touching the surface) with gray acrylic paint. Does that sound like a good plan? Anything I need to watch out for?

Also, it seems a little brittle on the back side, like fibre glass hairs coming loose. Not in large amounts, but enough to irritate the skin and eyes. Guess that's normal after 20 years outside...can I just put on a coat of polyester on the backside? Or should I leave it like it is?



Best Regards

S

 

[scopus]

I can't see any problem with what you want to do. Mine had a coat of grey acrylic this summer with no ill effects whatever to reception.

 

[Archived-1]

My dish was new it was bought for a job and never used, after rolling it around the garden for 18 months ive knocked it a few times and have a couple of chips on the edge of it, I will be using this. it goes off very quick use the hardener sparingly to give yourself time to spread it if you use the same product.

https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q=p40+filler

 

[satkingno]

Thanks both for the advice. That P40 filler looks like a better option than glass fiber and polyester, seems easy to get over here also.

 

[Archived-1]

I used to use it years ago when I worked on cars its good stuff, we used to call it jam lol you will see why

 

[archive10]

Hi!
I have finally got hold of a Channel Master 180 after searching for quite some time, so pretty happy about that It has the lightning on the surface, so I guess that means it is actually an Andrews, right?

Yes. Just like mine.
Why don't you post some pictures of the beauty?

There is however a couple of small things...

- A small piece of the edge has cracked and come loose. I know that this is purely a cosmetic problem, but still I want the dish to look nice and whole. I was planning to just use some regular fibre glass cloth and polyester to fix this. Then sand it and spray the edge (not touching the surface) with gray acrylic paint. Does that sound like a good plan? Anything I need to watch out for?

Overkill. The dish probably works just fine. I've had some very beaten CM's (edges cracked in several places), and they still work like a charm.
Even my CM180 has some damage to the ribbing in the back - makes no difference unless you install at mountain top and expect warranty to apply after 15 years. (Which it doesn't)
I understand the cosmetic thing - if it's just a dent or a chip it makes no difference what you do on the backside - your plan will work fine.
But will also make no difference to the performance or longevity of the dish.

Also, it seems a little brittle on the back side, like fibre glass hairs coming loose. Not in large amounts, but enough to irritate the skin and eyes. Guess that's normal after 20 years outside...can I just put on a coat of polyester on the backside? Or should I leave it like it is?

Just leave as is - several of my CM dishes are like that. I believe it's they way they are made, where the fibres are embedded in the polyester.
Nothing to be worried about - as long as you don't pull on the fibres.
But if you DO want to contain the fibres, it's free-choice: Paint it (car paint works well), or apply polyester or similar substance is probably fine (but overkill).

Best Regards

S

 

[satkingno]

Thanks for the advise st1. Good to hear that it's normal regarding the loosening fibres.

The dish is on its way on a car trailer from Stockholm to Oslo as we speak, but will post some pictures when the mounting starts. Need to source a pretty long 4 1/2" pole, and fabricate a ground and a wall mount for the pole too.

 

[archive10]

Thanks for the advise st1. Good to hear that it's normal regarding the loosening fibres.

The dish is on its way on a car trailer from Stockholm to Oslo as we speak, but will post some pictures when the mounting starts. Need to source a pretty long 4 1/2" pole, and fabricate a ground and a wall mount for the pole too.

Sounds good.
Easiest way to secure the dish firmly is to concrete the pole into the ground.
Make sure hole is about as deep as the length of pipe sticking above ground, or close as possible.
Alternative is to fabricate a kingpost, and concrete threaded bars into the ground, and attach kingpost to those.
Make adjusment possible, and removal a lot easier. Yoy may even upgrade to different size kingpost later.
If you don't like concreting stuff into the ground, you can use otherr means. See my CM180 installation elsewhere on this site for example.
If dish needs to go higher up to clear a roof or similar, you need to find more elaborate solutions, such as @martin-f or others have done.
Have fun!

 

[satkingno]

About the mounting st1...

I was planning to put the pole right on top of an existing concrete structure, to take the weight, and make a sturdy bracket to fix it onto the wall on my (wooden) house, about two metres above the bottom of the pole.
I would preferably do it as you say, concrete it to the ground, by far the easiest way if you ask me. But there is only one place in my garden that allows me to do that, and that would make the cable run an extra 30 metres or so.
I will use the dish for 28.2 fringe reception...wouldn't the extra cable run defeat the whole purpose of upgrading my 1.2 to a 1.8 CM dish? With the loss in the cable?

Regards

 

[archive10]

I will use the dish for 28.2 fringe reception...wouldn't the extra cable run defeat the whole purpose of upgrading my 1.2 to a 1.8 CM dish? With the loss in the cable?

Not really. Cable loss over 30m is nothing, 100+ meters - start being concerned.
Although relevant, the main thing is not absolute signal strength (we have gain circuits in the receivers to compensate for that), but rather the signal-to-noise, or (more correctly) carrier-to-noise ratio.
C/N is mainly determined by dish size and feedhorn/LNB design.
So a CM180 will give you much better C/N over a CM120, the longer cable run would just make the signal slightly weaker, but retain the quality (unless you use REALLY sh*tty cable).
If you choose good tri- or quad-shielded cable, you're fine with 30-40 meter runs.
Just remember either to get PE (PolyEthylene) shielded cable for outdoor use, or use a cable conduit.
(PE-shielding is best as it goes ALL the way to the LNB, the conduit normally doesn't)
And do use a high output-level LNB such as the Inverto Black Ultra - this promotes better reception on longer cable runs too.

As a reference: I have an installation with a CM100 in Copenhagen feeding a Humax Freesat box from an Inverto Red Classic LNB passing through at least a combiner, 100+ meter cable, two patchbays, and a splitter before feeding the STB.
The signal strength is really low, but because of the high-grade cabling used, the signal is really good at the receiver end. I get 28.2E (esp 2E) during most if not all of the day on that dish.
Your 180 should be just fine...

 

[satkingno]

Ok, I understand. So with a good quality RG6, or even RG11 coax, it should not make much difference...
I will sure contemplate fixing the dish to the ground instead then *going outside looking for a suitable spot*.

Thanks a lot st1! I saw your CM180 project thread, looks good. Really useful tips for my project. I'll take pictures an start my own thread I think

Regards