Satellite enthusiasts biggest gaffs

[thecaretaker]

We all make mistakes, it is part of the learning process with this great hobby of ours. Share your stories in this thread!

Mine.... Well, my biggest mistake is kind of funny. I ordered a nice Triax dish, which I had missed the courier and had to pick up from their depot. By the time I finished work, drove the 30 miles there and back to pick it up, it was too late to try to install it on the Friday night.

Intending to install it the following day, I decided to take all the bits out of the box and check they were all intact.

I noticed a few sticky marks on the dish, so got some car polish out and gently rubbed the area to remove the marks. So impressed with the shine the polish gave, I decided to give the entire dish the treatment (you've guessed what is coming haven't you)....

I even thought I may have prevented the steel dish from rusting in the salty sea air where I live..... Proud I was....

I struggled all day and just couldn't get any signal on the dish. I gave the dish to a mate to chuck in his work skip. Some hours later, I realised my gaff. I had used metallised car polish and completely destroyed the reflective properties of the dish.

Lesson 1:

Do not polish satellite dishes!

So come on folk, even the pro's out there, let us all hear about your mistakes and lessions you have learnt the hard way. It might help us all.

 

[Lazarus]

Can't think of any major boo-boos.

But I did, once upon a time, fall into the common trap of wondering why a fixed Dish on 28E was apparently giving me Channels from Hotbird ................

 

[Vipersan]

..Not sure if you can call this a gaff ...but I did sit vigilant for a full night ..in the hope of catching whoever was stuffing sweets/ wrappers .. paper, twigs, worms ..and all maner of crap into the open ku feed horn on my 1.8 mtre dish..
I honestly believed it was a practical joker m8 of mine ,who was a sky installer back in the analogue days so he'd know how to annoy me... ..taking the p1ss on his way home from the pub ..
He denied it and of course ..I never caught him ..
So put a camcorder outside and taped proceedings on and off for a few days ..
Turned out to be a pair pf bl@@dy magpies ...who insisted on feeding my lnb ..
..presumably they mistook it for a hungry chicks mouth..
c'est la vie
VS

 

[BombedOne]

My biggest error was, that I've believed to local installers, who said that 30W is not possible here...

About year ago, I give it a try - and I got it...

So sad, that I've missed TV CABO availability on it

 

[Vipersan]

Hi m8 ..
Just looking at your inventory :-
>My System: Covering 30W-105.5E range, two motors, C and Ku band. Various receivers/cards/cams/etc.<
Hispasat must be very low on the horizon at your location ..
What sized dish and how high up did you mount it ?
rgds

 

[Channel Hopper]

Accepted the 20 miles travel to a job requiring a 1.5m dish.

Bought the Irte, put the heavy parts in the boot and strapped the reflector to the car's roof-rack and duly put my foot down to get there early.

When I got there the dish was no longer a parabola, and not worth straightening.

 

[BombedOne]

My dish is located at 9 floor building. Elevation from sea level is 559 meters. You can see dish photo here:

_ttp://www.hangebi.com/dx/hispasat.jpg

it's 1.5m primefocus dish with inverto lnb.