Two old dishes

sonnetpete

sonnetpete

Grumpy Old Retired Moderator and quiz inquisitor..
My Satellite Setup
Laminas 1.2M fibre dish with an IBU, on a Clarke Tech USALS motor, covering 57E - 24.5W to an Octagon SX88. Displayed on a 20" Dyon LED TV.

Seperate 80 cm dish on 28E with a Humax Freesat for SWMBO.
Free Sat V8 meter. Sony Bravia 46" LCD, Sony BluRay and Home Cinema.
My Location
Normandy, France
Alan the Artisan arrived at 8 this am to start repointing the gable end wall. After he erected his scaffolding I got him to take down the two old dishes that were mounted at the apex of the wall.

The white one was for French analogue services from 5°W and the black mesh one, good old Astra at 19.2°E. I think they both look in a reasonable state and I was thinking of replacing the oval solid dish I use for Freesat with the white dish after I've cleaned it up a bit! Obviously, I'll replace the LNB. Good idea or not?

Alan 'en haut'..webp
 

Attachments

  • Old analogue dis&#104.webp
    Old analogue dis&#104.webp
    213.7 KB · Views: 57
Its always a good idea to reuse old dishes where possible :D
 
I agree with AS - shame to waste anything.

A hobby on a shoestring can be 99% as effective as one where the latest and best is de rigeur.
 
Thank you both, the ex French dish cleaned up nicely as you can see from the attached photo. Strangely it has an alternate position for the lnb closer to the dish focus. Perhaps they used the same arm for a different size dish?

Anyway, it will go up instead of the small oval one for Freesat, just as well to replace it with a larger dimension dish in case Astra do decide to mess about with spot beams!

View attachment 28947
 

Attachments

  • Cleaned up 60cm d&#.webp
    Cleaned up 60cm d&#.webp
    224.1 KB · Views: 49
That really has scrubbed up well. What did you use ...... Cif ?? Cillit Bang? A combination of Goat Poo and Brasso?

I do hope you are trying to compete with those of us with several (five in my case) operational dishes?!
 
Tivù said:
That really has scrubbed up well. What did you use ...... Cif ?? Cillt Bang? A combination of Goat Poo and Brasso?

I do hope you are trying to compete with those of us with several (five in my case)operational dishes?!
Click to expand...

No, not any of the above, merely rainwater from a dustbin and a little squeeze of Lidl's washing up liquid. Oh, and a scrubbing brush and some elbow grease. Will try out goat poo and Brasso on the copper central heating pipes, which should be interesting when they heat up! Wouldn't dream of using one of the other products you mentioned as I'm afraid of my Cillit exploding :-rofl2

I'll see about the dishes, watch this space.....................
 
I am all for reusing and recycling dishes. Why spend more when they work perfectly well?

I would have used a sponge to clean the dish face as a scrubbing brush can damage some of the modern weather resistant coatings, even paper kitchen roll will scratch them. If it is an old dish with the thick paint on it, it won't matter.

Why not have a look for an old big dish say around 1.5m on French ebay? With a bit of brushing with a wire brush and hammerite the stand will look like new. It would be a fun project.

As for the goat poo and brasso I bet it is the best window cleaner ever. :-rofl2
 
The dish was thankfully about 10 years old, and using a (soft) scrubbing brush seemed to do little damage to it's paintwork.

Sadly, Ebay is not available to me, at least not with Paypal, as they blocked my credit card as it's English and I have a French address. Apparently this sort of duality can't be comprehended by those who decide these things. I must be one of the few people who have the internet and don't buy from Fleabay!

Goat poo and brasso as a window cleaner, hmmm? It would make the dirty protest by the IRA look positively clean and keep visitors away unless they arrived upwind. It may be worth pursuing......
 
Ah, the benefits of the single market, eh?

Le compooter dit "non", innit ?!
 
Those old dishes are a bit heavier and are usually indestructible. If you drop it would dent the path not the dish. They don't make them like that anymore.

Very odd behavior from ebay. I would have thought they would want your money regardless. That puts paid to any idea of a mini industry in "Traditional Country Goats Poo Window Dressing" in traditional jam jars unless you can get a French credit card. And to the best of my knowledge it would be easier to open a German bank account. Even if you lived in England or in France!!!
 
Opening a French bank account is easy!!! Just provide a facture to prove where you live, your passport, driving licence, birth certificate, family tree going back at least four generations, and if you want a high interest account, a blood sample. It's easier if they take the blood now, rather than when you go overdrawn!!
 
Perhaps if you give them some photos of the goats and €10 they will give an account and a decent credit rating. :-rofl2
 
At the risk of this thread going completely OT, I think it's a minimum of 50 Euros to open an account. As to the goats? Well, the manager may be polite and not say, but he may wonder why I'm showing him photo's of my family
 
Nice job, that looks shiny new too me.
 
Tivù said:
I do hope you are trying to compete with those of us with several (five in my case) operational dishes?!
Click to expand...

Well, not operational but a happy family group which I hope will produce excellent offspring when the Triax comes into season
:-rofl2

View attachment 28952
 

Attachments

  • A happy little fa.webp
    A happy little fa.webp
    240.8 KB · Views: 31
Ah, yes, that's looking promising.

Is that chicken parabolic?
 
sonnetpete said:
Sadly, Ebay is not available to me, at least not with Paypal, as they blocked my credit card as it's English and I have a French address. Apparently this sort of duality can't be comprehended by those who decide these things. I must be one of the few people who have the internet and don't buy from Fleabay!
Click to expand...
That's exactly the problem some English friends of mine who live the other side of the village have. They have to send a cheque off for anything they buy and as for selling anything...

Ridiculously though, I have been able to buy on Ebay.fr and have stuff sent to our French address without a problem!

sonnetpete said:
Opening a French bank account is easy!!! Just provide a facture to prove where you live, your passport, driving licence, birth certificate, family tree going back at least four generations, and if you want a high interest account, a blood sample. It's easier if they take the blood now, rather than when you go overdrawn!!
Click to expand...
Gosh, I don't remember having that much trouble when I opened my French account 18 years ago. Mind you, the branch manager at the time was a car enthusiast and I used to bring him bits for his vehicles whenevr we came over.

It pays to have friends in high places!

Nowadays, we just have to prove who we are on a yearly basis with photocopies of the passports and English and French bills.
 
@ PaulR : Certainly the first three you need to open an account.....I may have exaggerated slightly about the others!

@ Tivù : Not parabolic, sometimes paralytic if she gets into the cider apple windfalls.
 
Most men divorce their old dishes and get a more up to date one.
 
Back
Top