Just Sharing This Gibertini PM Install

[Llew]

Finally I get the Gibby attached to the polar mount I obtained with the dish ages ago - It's been on a modified SMW mount until now, but the 'official' PM extended too far forward and would have hung over neighbour's property - hence having to resite the mast further back.

Only testing at present. Seems to be tracking reasonably well, but neads a fine tune at the far ends of the arc.

A recent purchase of a scaffolding tower for some DIY jobs, so I'm using part of it for the dish install. A duckboard on the garage roof means I can sit down to do the PM adjustments at my leisure.

A 24V power supply unit intended for a TV I had is perfect for running the actuator on test.

 

[John]

Finally I get the Gibby attached to the polar mount I obtained with the dish ages ago - It's been on a modified SMW mount until now, but the 'official' PM extended too far forward and would have hung over neighbour's property - hence having to resite the mast further back.

Only testing at present. Seems to be tracking reasonably well, but neads a fine tune at the far ends of the arc.

A recent purchase of a scaffolding tower for some DIY jobs, so I'm using part of it for the dish install. A duckboard on the garage roof means I can sit down to do the PM adjustments at my leisure.

A 24V power supply unit intended for a TV I had is perfect for running the actuator on test.


View attachment 95144

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Nice one Llew, looking good. Can't beat having a good platform to work off ..... not sure about that cheap tacky meter though

 

[Llew]

Amazing what you can find in Poundland...

 

[Archive-8]

Nice install looking forward to some updates.

 

[Channel Hopper]

Is that pole bolted to the shed in the foreground ? It might blow away.

If you get a break in the weather you should check the reflector is straight before the scaffolding down. No need to string, just look at it edge on.

 

[Llew]

Is that pole bolted to the shed in the foreground ? It might blow away.

Not a chance. T&K's on the garage, pole deep in ground.

If you get a break in the weather you should check the reflector is straight before the scaffolding down. No need to string, just look at it edge on.

No perceivable distortion CH, always good reception before and no damage during this install.

 

[satelliteman]

Nice install, looks a solid rig.

 

[Ghostleader]

Awesome dish, lovely backdoor install.

Sent from my thl 2015A using Tapatalk

 

[archive10]

Only testing at present. Seems to be tracking reasonably well, but neads a fine tune at the far ends of the arc.

So... is there a verdict?
Does the Gibertini PM work better than then SMW?
Is there noticeable more/less play at the ends?
Is it easier / more difficult to set up?

 

[Llew]

So... is there a verdict?
Does the Gibertini PM work better than then SMW?
Is there noticeable more/less play at the ends?
Is it easier / more difficult to set up?

Coincidentally st1, today I've just finished replacing the Gibertini PM/Az-El with the SMW PM.

I found the Gibertini clumsy to set up accurately. Too many adjustments to be made to accurately set up - eight nuts/bolts to loosen and tighten to set elevation/declination. Never achieved a good enough tracking of the arc. May be too over-engineered for my install.

Going back to the SMW was a piece of cake. One nut for elevation, and a shim added to a dish bracket for declination. Result, good tracking, but should improve when I finalise tomorrow.

 

[archive10]

Excellent job!
I have been wondering about that Gibby on-a-PM... which was better...
I'm glad to hear the qualities of the SMW - and glad that I kept mine (even though it was threatened with the skip multiple times).
I think I will ditch the dish and keep the polar mount. It seems to be of value for tinkerers like us!

 

[Archive-8]

Coincidentally st1, today I've just finished replacing the Gibertini PM/Az-El with the SMW PM.

I found the Gibertini clumsy to set up accurately. Too many adjustments to be made to accurately set up - eight nuts/bolts to loosen and tighten to set elevation/declination. Never achieved a good enough tracking of the arc. May be too over-engineered for my install.

Going back to the SMW was a piece of cake. One nut for elevation, and a shim added to a dish bracket for declination. Result, good tracking, but should improve when I finalise tomorrow.


View attachment 97037

I can agree with @Llew over the Gibertini polar mount. It takes quite a bit to setup.

But when I had my Gibertini 1.25 on it, I found it really easy to setup. And always had good results.

On the 1.5 it took quite a bit of setting up, and since the winds and rain earlier this year, it's s been blown off.

But when I can get the roof done, I can move the dish to a spot I think should be good.

But this is just my observations.

 

[Llew]

But when I had my Gibertini 1.25 on it, I found it really easy to setup. And always had good results.

Fair enough Chris. Maybe I've been spoilt with my trusty SMW.

 

[Archive-8]

Fair enough Chris. Maybe I've been spoilt, with the SMW.being so simple to set up.

Not seen a smw polar mount for sale suitable for the 1.5.

 

[Llew]

Not seen a smw polar mount for sale suitable for the 1.5.

Mine was produced to be used for my OA-1050 dish, but it takes my Gibby 1.25 with no problems.

They made a different design for their OA-1200 dish, but I never found one in all the years I have looked.

Also a OA-1400 PM, which SMW optimistically gave its range as 57W to 80E with a 400mm actuator.

 

[archive10]

Not seen a smw polar mount for sale suitable for the 1.5.

Here's one... (albeit about 900 km from you, and 200 from me).

Parabol med reciever - dba.dk

It is the same as LLew's and mine.
Not sure if it works for the 150 though... but the 150 is 23 kg, only 3 kg more than the 125.
If kept in a sheltered location, it could work
Nevertheless,the larger SMW dishes (eg the 1200 or the 1400) had a different, more "traditional" PM made from square tubing rather than just steel-plates.
However, the Gibby PM looks the same for the 125 and 150, so presumably the loading is not that different...

I even have a near-by neighbor (probably 10 houses away) with the same SMW OA-1050 on a polar mount stuck to his chimney. I am almost certain it has not been used in quite a while (since the analog days). He has several other, more contemporary dishes mounted on the gable of his house.
But I will happily go and inquire if I can take the dish down, and send the PM to you!

 

[Archive-8]

That would be prefect, thanks. happy hunting.

 

[Llew]

Here's one... (albeit about 900 km from you, and 200 from me).

Parabol med reciever - dba.dk

It is the same as LLew's and mine.
Not sure if it works for the 150 though... but the 150 is 23 kg, only 3 kg more than the 125.
If kept in a sheltered location, it could work
Nevertheless,the larger SMW dishes (eg the 1200 or the 1400) had a different, more "traditional" PM made from square tubing rather than just steel-plates.
However, the Gibby PM looks the same for the 125 and 150, so presumably the loading is not that different...

I even have a near-by neighbor (probably 10 houses away) with the same SMW OA-1050 on a polar mount stuck to his chimney. I am almost certain it has not been used in quite a while (since the analog days). He has several other, more contemporary dishes mounted on the gable of his house.
But I will happily go and inquire if I can take the dish down, and send the PM to you!

Yes, that's how my mount was originally, a 12" actuator mounted transversely. Useless at the time, as it had an extremely limited arc range.

I obtained the Range Extender as shown in the Dish Accessories page to allow a larger actuator to be installed. This gave me an arc range of 60E to 60W with a 15" actuator on the OA1050 dish.

To fit the mount on the Gibby, I needed to change the outrigger tube round so that the longer section of the tube is clamped to the mount. This allowed the actuator more space to move the dish the full reach of the arc.

The photo shows the shims fitted to the bottom mount fixing - the OA1050 dish offset is 5° greater than the Gibby 1.25, so in effect I'm actually raising the dish to obtain the correct declination. (Shim thickness was 11mm, found by trial and error)










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