Channel Master 3.0m

[koansrc]

Channel Master (Andrews) fiberglass dish surface is rough but that is the way they are made..

hmmm, makes me think that some signal "must" be getting reflected all over the place. I mean only a % of the total surface is correctly angled at the lnb ( look at the attached closeup of the dish surface ). Surely it would benefit if it was smooth ... There must be a reasonable explanation for this ... but I wonder what it is ...

 

[iceman]

the reflecting surface on fiberglass dishes is a fine wire mesh embedded 2-3mm below the rough outer surface of the dish...so the roughness of the outer surface is not a problem.

 

[koansrc]

Is there or was there ever such a thing as a Channel Master 6012 ??? I found a silverish sticker on the back of one of the petals. Could it be a model number ?

 

[koansrc]

I enjoy photos of setups, so assuming others do too, here is the progress. Decided to go with the "assemble on a flat surface first and then attach to pole" approach. More manpower is needed but the dish should end up fairly balanced and not need much adjusting ( hopefully ). Also, looking at the size of this thing, I just hope 200kg of concrete in the bases will be enough ...

 

[CROSSBONES]

Excellent pics, and dish koansrc. Would love a dish of this size.

How deep is the center hole? As the three support leg holes didn't look that deep?

Please keep us updated with the progress.;)

 

[koansrc]

How deep is the center hole? As the three support leg holes didn't look that deep?

Don't get me any more concerned than what I already am ... ! They are aprox 50cm square. The center one is about 1m deep with a 2cm solid steel bar going another 50cm deeper into the ground. The center one actually held my 1.35 dish on another pole (which I cut).

It should be ok as it's in a fairly protected area, not too exposed, with trees all around and not many tornadoes here in Greece

 

[koansrc]

Well it's in place since this afternoon and it hasn't fallen over yet . Bit of a rush job due to bad weather but I have done my best to aim it and fiddled with the lnb and the feedhorn. And the results are : Absolutely no sign of 2d and that means no more channels than what I was already receiving with my 1.35 gregorian. Things I haven't done yet :

- checked the dish shape with string
- checked the focal distance
- covered the center hole formed by the 4 petals
- split the 50m cable run into 2 with a line amplifier in between
- waited for the weather to clear

The lnb by the way is an invacom double.

One thing I did notice and hadn't done before, is that with my cheapo sat meter I get different readings depending on the channel the box is tuned for. So for Channel 4 for example the needle is off the scale and for BBC2 (102) the needle is somewhere in the middle.

Tried setting the default transponder to various transponders mentioned as being the strongest, but a signal test would then give "not locked".

Ah well, I knew it wasn't going to be that easy ...

I'll post a couple of photos tomorrow. 2D tuning tips would be handy right about now ...

 

[koansrc]

Set the focal point to 122cm, skewed the lnb -5.5degrees, covered the center hole and checked for 2D life...... "There is a technical fault with this....." .... "No Satellite Signal is being received"

Boy is It a pain(!) tuning this monster. Setup the ladder, climb the ladder, adjust something, come down the ladder, move the ladder, check reception, setup the ladder, climb the ladder ....

Good for the ol skiing leg muscles I guess.

 

[iceman]

What equipment are you using for fine tuning the dish? It will be necessary to have a decent sat meter with BER.
First of all,maximise your signal by tuning the dish on an easy (non 2D) transponder...;)

 

[Turok]

,Hello my friends!

here,now my antenna pictures,that i pormize with a little bit delay!
for finetuning i will borrow,then in spring,the tv explorer signal meter of my coleague,otherwise i think,finding a satelilte ,with this antenna,is an "imposible" mission!
better,you use a cband lnb,lower freqencys and strong signals like on badr and yamal,are much easier to find,then in kuband!

now the pictures the 4 Panels,and the Dual Axis Mount,a little bit rusty,so i have to restaurate it,i dont knoiw is this mount orginal or modifeized from?

everything is very heavey so,i will need help,maybe iceman,go in viaction in austria,and can help me

its,very cold here,sunshine is gone,annd in 2 days,snow is coming..!


now again the massive ground foot questions,for 3 m antenna,
what is the best ?
windspeed etc,how can a maximize the stability?
in perfection?
please make pictures of your construction!,on ground!

 

[koansrc]

What equipment are you using for fine tuning the dish? It will be necessary to have a decent sat meter with BER.
First of all,maximise your signal by tuning the dish on an easy (non 2D) transponder...;)

Well, I've invested in a 12Euro Sat meter and a pair of walkie talkies. I use the walkies to tell ask my son inside the house "how's that ?"....

This is what the signal test screen looks like on this rainy night :

The signal strength is achieved via an inline amplifier ( but which is fairly close to the dish and not sort of half way between dish and box ).

 

[koansrc]

Hey Turok, in Greece we say "megia" meaning "with health" for anything new. Heavy it is. I had to ask 3 friends to help lift the assembled dish onto the base plate. Iceman suggested a different technique earlier which may be easier. As for the ground work, my advise would be don't underestimate it. If I had the chance again I would make one large slab of concrete and use 250kg of concrete and reinforce it with some steel. I measured I would need 1.5m x 1.5 m square and maybe 20cm thick(?) Or attach it onto something already there, like a veranda or a terrace. I'm sure there is a more scientific approach .. than just me guessing.

 

[koansrc]

The chap I bought this dish from ( Motorized Channel Master 3.34m measured diameter with a small 6012 sticker on it ) has found a 20 page, 10 year old manual he got with the dish!! I can't wait to have a look. Should be here within in a few days. Might answer some questions.

Turok, if you zoom in maybe you can compare the axis mount.

 

[iceman]

If i remember correctly the reflector surface diameter on my dish is about 310cm..

 

[Turok]

Hello Good Morning @ all!
great you have the manual of the antenna,can you scan it,and upload it in a pdf,would be great
i dont know,was this antenna,delivered in orginal,only with dual axis,or was there also a singel motor solution by cm ,in the past?
what is the diameter,of the pipe,on the backside?
maybe there are some difrents,and a bigger one is needed to get more stability?!

 

[koansrc]

Well it was pretty gusty yesterday. Some branches came down etc. It was the first test of the dish base, and I'm glad to say my signal level is the same today as it was yesterday ... still not what I'd like it to be, but unaffected otherwise.

Turok, when I get the manual I'll try to upload it. It will probably be the only one on the web ! Haven't measured the base pole yet, but I'll get round it.

 

[Turok]

okay,thx,for your time

is the f/d now of the antenna 31 ,or 32?
i must this know exactly,for installing the seavey feed on it!
what you see in technical spezificactions gain winning in c and kuband?
how many db?

 

[koansrc]

Turok ... what do you mean 31,32 ?

I "assume" the f/d is 0.40 based on the .pdf either you or iceman have uploaded. I have the focal distance at 121cm and that seems to give me the strongest signal, but I only have a simple sat meter to measure. So no actual db reading.

 

[koansrc]

Is there or was there ever such a thing as a Channel Master 6012 ??? I found a silverish sticker on the back of one of the petals. Could it be a model number ?

Found it ! It is the serial number of the dish (!) and it also identifies what the user manual calls "Petal #1". I wonder how many of these they made ?

 

[Turok]

HI!
there are to versions,of the antenna,you see number,on the surface,but i dont know the difrents,between first ,and 2.last antenna revision?