Precision 1.5m dish - makeover

moonbase

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Here we go again, another Precision dish topic from me, this time it is a 1.5m dish.

I acquired this Precision 1.5m dish some time ago from a fellow satellite hobbyist. The dish was the subject of a previous install topic on this forum that included quite a few photos and a discussion of the install at that time, link pasted below.

1.5 Precision dish install - SatsUK


When I received the dish it had been painted, however, my personal preference was to restore the paintwork back to the original RAL 9010 Matt White colour used by Precision. There were also a few other small cosmetic jobs that possibly needed attention but nothing that affected the operational performance of the dish. This brief topic will cover my shamateur makeover of the dish, carried out to a work standard typical of a member of the Federation of Master Bodgers.

I have attached a few pictures of the dish below before I commenced the makeover.
 

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Channel Hopper

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That looks lovely.
 

moonbase

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That looks lovely.


Thank you, the previous owner will garner comfort from your compliment. They took good care of the dish and built a wooden crate free of charge to enclose it in to prevent any damage in transit to me.

As regards performance in receiving satellite signals, the dish performed to specification straight out of the crate. The makeover bodge job I did on the dish was to change the colour of the finish back to white, renew the mounting ring sealant and remove some siezed mounting studs.

On to the first job, the mounting ring studs, these were siezed in the three boss head mounting holes. This would not be an issue if the dish was mounted on the Precision Az/El mount that it arrived with. However, for mounting on a Precision polar mount they needed to be removed to free up the bolt holes for fixing the dish to the polar mount.

The studs would not come out with a simple twin nut approach using one as a lock nut so I gave them a bit of a blast with a cheapy blue cannister blow torch. My understanding was that the blue cannister type provides a relatively low heat flame which seemed ideal for the job. After a good few licks with the flame and some elbow grease all three studs were removed without any damage.

I have attached a few pictures below that show the Az/El mount and the stud removal job.
 

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  • 09 - Precision 1.5m Dish 02 (Ring Stud Removed).jpg
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  • 10 - Precision 1.5m Dish( Mount Stud Removal Kit).jpg
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moonbase

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The next job was to tidy up the outside edge of the rim. The paintwork was a bit fragmented and a bit of work on it was all that was needed to tidy it up. A rub down with some wet and dry paper followed by a spray with some etch primer gave it a more tidy appearance. While I was using the etch primer I gave the surface of the dish around the rivet heads a spray as well as few other small surface areas.

Pictures attached below.
 

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  • 14 - Dish Rim (Primed).jpg
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moonbase

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Continuing with the makeover of the Precision 1.5m dish:

The feed support arms were painted black and white but I preferred to have them a single colour. I found a small local family company that offered a powder coating service with quick turnaround. I took the feed support arms along, collected them the next day, bead blasted back to bare metal, etch primed and powder coated.

The next job on the adjenda was renewal of the sealant around the mounting ring. This was part perished in places so it was removed and resealed.

The final job to do on the dish was a repaint back to RAL 9010 White. The repaint was done using a small roller with Rust-Oleum Combi Colour paint. There are a few pictures attached below presenting the poweder coating of the feed support arms and the ring sealant renewal.
 

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  • 22 - Precision 1.5m Dish (Part Painted).jpg
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aceb

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I've been tempted to repaint my 1.8 but either I'll have to remove/paint over the Precision logo or paint round it and that'll look rubbish.
 

moonbase

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I've been tempted to repaint my 1.8 but either I'll have to remove/paint over the Precision logo or paint round it and that'll look rubbish.


@aceb

That reminds me, I have the Precision logos in a cardboard tube somewhere. I got them made up a couple of years ago and stored them for safe keeping but now cannot find them. I will have a hunt around for them, I owe you a free logo for the measurements etc.
 

moonbase

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Final post of the 1.5m dish makeover, the dish was repainted back to RAL9010 matt white on both sides. I have attached some pictures of the completed makeover below showing both Ku Band and C Band feed arrangements on the dish.

The dish including a Precision polar mount is offered for sale in the forum classifieds.
 

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  • 28 - Precision 1.5m Dish (Label).jpg
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