What to do on a boring Saturday...

sonnetpete

Grumpy Old Retired Moderator and quiz inquisitor..
Joined
Dec 13, 2008
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Age
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Website
wordpress.com
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
So.....I had an old Technomate motor that had begun to show signs of play when I put my Laminas on it. So it was replaced with the Clarke Tech and I opened it up and managed to cure the excessive play. After being gifted an old 80cm dish and using it in my multi sat setup I found I had a spare dish and motor so managed to get it all working mounted on the same pole as the Laminas. I pressed my old Vantage 7100S into service (and remembered how rubbish the software is) and it all worked fine.

Then the other day I recalled having the old 19.2° analogue dish that was taken down when I had the wall repointed. Could I get this working on the motor?...It's not a design that lends itself to mounting on a motor stub. I looked through my 'workshop' (ok it's the old chicken shed) and eventually came up with a 40mm plastic plumbing T piece and a spare adjustable kitchen cabinet foot from IKEA. The T piece is a pretty tight interference fit in the hollow end of the motor stub and the shaft of the foot fitted nicely inside the T piece and gave me a chance to make elevation adjustments, using the old mesh dish clamps to tighten the elevation up.

I know it sounds and looks a huge lash up. Obviously it is but I get a lot of enjoyment from this hobby by achieving what looks impossible. It's too low down to be useful, though I can get good results from 5°W, 0.8°W and 28°E so far...My aim was to see how small you could go to get anything from 7°W....I'll be giving that a go tonight.....maybe after fitting a Black Ultra....

Old mesh dish.JPG Old analogue dish showing brackets.JPG T piece and IKEA foot.JPG Motor stub mount.JPG Mounted in the motor stub.JPG In the shadow.JPG
 

Lazarus

Retired Moderator
Joined
May 29, 2009
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My Satellite Setup
80cm Motorised.
Several small Dishes.
Much else.
My Location
North York Moors
Are you, perhaps, a distant relative of Vipersan?

Excellent work.
 

Vipersan

Emmett Browns Ghost
Joined
Jun 29, 2009
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Age
66
My Satellite Setup
IP9000HD +
TD110 Dish and TD88 Dish in Tandem
66°East to 60°West.
AZbox PrmHD + OpnbxS9HD + Skybox + DrHD F15
2x VboxII AZ-EL
2 m+ Alcoa PF + BSC421 C-Band lnbf...
+SS2/TwHnS2-3200 pci/TBS6925 pci
1.5 Fortec Star -Gbox - HtoH Ku/Ka/C
My Location
UK
I realise you must be flushed with success following your recent plumbing exploits ...but If you don't get good reception ...it's no good phoning dyno rod.
I'll pipe down now ...and let you enjoy your new toy ..
Time for a rest now Pete ...you probably feel a bit drained..

I'll get me' coat
 
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