Advice Needed Need to replace my dish

[T_G]

I bought a few years ago a steel dish, it was never good quality and slightly warped to begin with, I think.
But it did the job more o less.
But after the latest storm the signal strength went down, I tried to see if it had moved but basically it is aligned as good as it can be but the signal is lower than it was a before the storm. I reckon the strong wind has warped it - it is quite exposed to wind as it is.

So I am looking on Ebay and Amazon for 120/125 dishes that weren't too expnsive, saw a few. What do you guys think about these? Any other ideas?

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Antenne-Prem...4521114?pt=TV_Sat_Zubehör&hash=item1c309a941a


http://www.ebay.de/itm/Antenne-Prem...Audio_Satellitenschüsseln&hash=item256a78fde4

http://www.amazon.de/Antenne-Premiu...954864&sr=1-1&keywords=satellitenschüssel+120

 

[wod]

Also try hm-sat.de see what prices they have for 1.2m

 

[T_G]

OK, I got my dish, a new LNB, 25 m of cable, a roof tile cover thingie and rubber sleeve for the mast. Yes, after 12 years of suffering with a wobbly one I am going to replace the thin shaft for a 60 mm diameter stainless steel tube I got made at work. So far so good.

I took out the dish, looks good. Taped a few strings to the dish to see if it is warped, also good.
Looked at the instructions - not so good. I thought I bought a 120cm dish, but the instructions say 110.
Measured the dish, this is what I got: From the "usable" area rim top to bottom it shows 114, from the outside rim it shows 119,5-ish.

I called up the shop, asking them how can I be sure I got the right dish, and they confirmed that if it is 119 cm from the outer edge then this is a 120 dish.

Is this correct, do you determine the dish size from the outer rim?

 

[T_G]

I have now fitted all the parts to the dish, taking care not to tighten any bolts until everything was in place, and then gradually tightening everything.
At the end of it I checked again the 3 strings I had attached earlier and they were still showing he dish to be true, so I am happy.
Because of the side supports the whole assembly has a very stif feel to it, unlike ma old one which was quite wobbly.

 

[Topper]

Looking good T_G, I have always thought usable area was a lot less than dish diameter especially with a fibreglass one as the reflector is embedded between the mats and the edges of the mat extend beyond the usable area for stability and strength. Steel solid or steel mesh still have areas that are unusable on the ends for the folds. It is just a cost thing and in reality I think you have a 110cm dish, but am sure it will perform ok

 

[T_G]

Here are some images. The real test will be when it is on the roof but I can't imagine it being worse than the old one I got on the roof.

I will have to find the best position for the LNB before installing it on the roof as it is very difficult to reach it there

 

[T_G]

Next question: I bought this replacement roof tile made of flexible aluminium. Can anyone tell me how to install it? It has on the backside some sort of sticky tape that will cure from the heat of the sun once it is on the roof, but I could not find any instructions for it.

Any ideas?

Cheers

 

[rolfw]

Should fit top edge under the upper tile and then stick side and bottom edges onto adjacent tiles. Is a whole tile missing, or have you cut one to allow mast access?

http://www.wrightsaerials.co.uk/articles/whatsat-through-the-roof.pdf

 

[T_G]

Brilliant!!! That looks just about what I have, now I understand how to fit it. I more or less figured that it should be like that, but it is always easier to see a working example.

Thanks Rolf - they don't call you Rooftop Renegade for nothing