12 ft mesh

Discussion of large prime focus satellite dishes used for C-Band signal reception.
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ivaniwi
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12 ft mesh

Post by ivaniwi » Sun Jun 03, 2018 10:07 pm

Hi there ,

In need of some help with a 12ft mesh dish never installed one only offset antennas ...my location is 70 Lat ...does that means it sits high up that I can cut the pole shorter ... I am looking to lock Echo 119 ..I red all instructions avialable ... on offset the dish sits pretty straight about 30 degrees

Thank you in advance for your input

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Re: 12 ft mesh

Post by fatso » Sun Jun 03, 2018 11:56 pm

Prime Focus dishes always 'look' higher than offset ones. In fact, some offsets appear to be looking into the ground, but that is really an illusion.

offsetdish.jpg
offsetdish.jpg (9.46 KiB) Viewed 12543 times


As for pole size, general rule of thumb is to use an above ground pole that is half the diameter of your dish. So in your case, you need 6ft of clearance above ground. If you plan to bury the pole in cement, you will need another 3ft buried underground. So get a pole that is 9ft long.

If you have a lot of snow in your area, you might want to add another half to one foot of additional ground clearance.
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Re: 12 ft mesh

Post by fatso » Sun Jun 03, 2018 11:59 pm

To lock 119 west will be difficult because there are no active c-band signals being transmitted from that bird. So best thing to do is lock 121 c-band which is next door and has lots of active c-band. Then move your dish 2 degrees east and you will hit 119 and the ku signals coming from dish.

C-band signals are much easier to lock than ku, especially with a dish as large as your 12-footer!
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Re: 12 ft mesh

Post by ivaniwi » Mon Jun 04, 2018 8:32 am

Thank you ... We do not have snow over here but windy .The part of pole clearance ...what I was wondering is if the dish sits so high up like 70 and will stay locked there I can make it smaller so wind will not hit is so much ... hence my question about if the lat is 70 with calulator will give you that 70 something degree is there where is suppose to aim Thank You

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Re: 12 ft mesh

Post by dishcrank » Mon Jun 04, 2018 11:31 pm

ivaniwi wrote:
Mon Jun 04, 2018 8:32 am
Thank you ... We do not have snow over here but windy
It sounds like you are near the equator??? The further south you are, the higher your dish will point. So yes, you can use a shorter pole. How short? I really don't know. If you are not planning to track the entire satellite arc, then you don't need 6'. You can either chance it and install a 4' pole, or start with a 6' pole, install your dish and lock your satellite. Then you will have a good idea about the minimum pole size needed and you can cut it down to size, but you'd have to remove the dish and re-install it.

To reduce wind resistance, I would install the antenna behind/beside a structure like a building/house/tree if possible. If no structure is available, you might consider digging out a pill box several feet deep and mounting the dish partly underground. This will reduce the wind force by at least 50%. If this is a fixed mount aimed at a single satellite, a better idea might be to tie down the dish panels with guy wires. Unless it take a direct hit from a tornado, it will be okay.

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Re: 12 ft mesh

Post by ivaniwi » Tue Jun 05, 2018 7:11 am

dishcrank wrote:
Mon Jun 04, 2018 11:31 pm
ivaniwi wrote:
Mon Jun 04, 2018 8:32 am
Thank you ... We do not have snow over here but windy
It sounds like you are near the equator??? The further south you are, the higher your dish will point. So yes, you can use a shorter pole. How short? I really don't know.


Yes Down in Aruba... and is gonna be mounted on top of a building the shorter the pole the better ...now on the dish calculator is says ...70 something lat.. meaning 70 degrees right? that makes it sit very high ...just was wondering if I am correct..I am gonna install it and look for signal ..

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Re: 12 ft mesh

Post by fatso » Wed Jun 06, 2018 12:36 am

Aruba = 12.5 deg N Latitude and 70 deg W Longitude

Use this table for your settings:

https://www.tvrosat.com/resources.html

Elevation = 12.8 degrees
Declination = 1.9 degrees

Your dish will be pointed almost straight up with an elevation angle of 12.8 degrees and a tiny declination of 1.9 degrees for a total of 14.7 degrees. To steer the dish to 119 w from 70 w will require about a 50 degree tilt from the top of the arc. Your pole should be at least 4.5-ft tall. I would go with 5-ft to be safe.

I was in Aruba a few years ago...pristine beaches all around and lots of Iguanas. Sunny and hot every day...the perfect place to retire!
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Re: 12 ft mesh

Post by ivaniwi » Wed Jun 06, 2018 10:40 pm

fatso wrote:
Wed Jun 06, 2018 12:36 am
Aruba = 12.5 deg N Latitude and 70 deg W Longitude

Use this table for your settings:

https://www.tvrosat.com/resources.html

Elevation = 12.8 degrees
Declination = 1.9 degrees

Your dish will be pointed almost straight up with an elevation angle of 12.8 degrees and a tiny declination of 1.9 degrees for a total of 14.7 degrees. To steer the dish to 119 w from 70 w will require about a 50 degree tilt from the top of the arc. Your pole should be at least 4.5-ft tall. I would go with 5-ft to be safe.

I was in Aruba a few years ago...pristine beaches all around and lots of Iguanas. Sunny and hot every day...the perfect place to retire!

Thank You sir..... Glad you like it .. hope you visit back one day ..and have couple beers here at the beach

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