7 1/2' Unimesh (93"??)

[trommy]

(I assume this is a 7 1/2' dish.)I bought 3_8'_4x4's which I am going to fasten to my shed,horizontally,(8" lag bolts) about a foot below each other.
The upper one will be bolted to the plate at the top of the wall while the other 2 will be secured to the wall studs.About 3' of each 4x4 will protrude in front of the shed and will be slightly slanted to shed water.I am taking a bit of a chance that the wall will take the wind load.I have 2 lawn tractors and an ATV with snowplow in the shed for 'balast'.I finished my siding last week so when I get this dish up,I will be siding it,and my large shed afterward.(Yea,I live in the boonies!:yes:)Point is,has anyone done anything similar.I've seen pictures of similar on masonary but my shed(10x15) is wood construction(16" centers).Any advice is appreciated.Thanks
PS:I cut the pipe off at the ground so it's too short to mount in ground,just over 8'.Plus my son's future in-laws have a larger dish at their cottage they don't want and I have another 10 footer that needs some work.:thumbsup:

[Costactc]

Good news. Are you planning to motorise it? Another member here has a 7.5' mesh dish as well (easily confused). Your plan sounds solid depending on your area of the boonies where you live and the wind. Personally, I would dig a 4.5' hole and slap the dish on a pole.
With a 7.5' dish and a ku/c band lnbf you'll be pulling in almost all tp except for the real tough c band ones which require a 10' at least.

[trommy]

Yes to the motor,a Super Jack II He,if it works.It looks good.The DMX 741 seems to be the best bet.I could get the 2 dish poles welded together to make a 17-18' pole but winter's coming(our heat wave is ending as we speak) and this is the quickest way to go.I want to side my 2 largest sheds before it gets too cold and hopefully, get a larger dish up before winter.63w is my true south sat,From there east is unobstructed,so....,and I'm further east than you.I hope to be able to pull in some sats in the Eastern arc (?) when I get a bigger dish setup.Thanks for the encouraging words.

[trommy]

I'm not far from the NB border,near the Northumberland Strait(warmest salt water north of The Carolinas)so we do get huricanes here or their remainants.Those same tall trees offer quite a bit of protection from the wind that usually comes from that direction.I have back problems so I can't dig deep holes(I'll be 60 in Dec).I can't do anything physical without pain meds which take a toll on my organs but I get very bored if I'm inactive("Catch 22").Enough said.Thanks again

[Costactc]

I think you'll be fine with your setup. Dmx 741 lnbf is great for both c and ku band. If your in NB, you might be able to get down to about 4 or 5w. I'm in Cornwall and my arc is from 11w-125w.

[trommy]

I'm in NS,about 20mi east of Amherst/NB border but in a low lying area hence,no ota.

[Costactc]

Good luck trommy, keep us posted.

[catthepatch]

Sounds like you need a local kid to dig you a hole! Just grab a local punk and give hi an ultamatum! He'll be loyal as long as you let him and his friends watch TV at your place!!!

[Costactc]

Depending on where you are, I usually dig 4.5' for the frost line. The usual tool that I use is a post digger and a steel rod to loosen up the earth.

[D-troit]

Would be interested in one of these 7 1/2 ft. mess dishes sounds like a nice project. Could somebody please give me a name or manufacturer where one could be purchased. All Ive been able to find are the solid dishes or 10footers. Thanks for any info. Hope this is not considered a hi jack my apologies if it is.

[Costactc]

Check your pm.:thumbsup:

[trommy]

Would be interested in one of these 7 1/2 ft. mess dishes sounds like a nice project. Could somebody please give me a name or manufacturer where one could be purchased. All Ive been able to find are the solid dishes or 10footers. Thanks for any info. Hope this is not considered a hi jack my apologies if it is.

Mine is a "Unimesh" dish.Hope this helps.

[trommy]

Depending on where you are, I usually dig 4.5' for the frost line. The usual tool that I use is a post digger and a steel rod to loosen up the earth.

Diging my own hole is out.I have back problems and not in the best of shape;getting too old!
I have the 4x4's on the shed and decided to buy one more for a vertical post.The vertical post can be made plum in one axis(front to back) and then the steel post can be mounted to that and made plum from side to side.I still have to fabricate a crane to attach to the post to raise the dish with.

[Terryl]

The easiest way to raise that dish is with a "Gin pole" you can get a kit here
http://www.w9iix.com/ii00008.htm or look it over and build your own.

It mounts to your mast and you crank the dish up and bolt it in place.

I would mount several sections of uni-strut to those 4x4's with some lag bolts or through bolts, then use several 4" rigid uni-strut conduit clamps to hold everything down to the uni-strut, I had one mounted this way for may years, you have to sure the mast is not going to come loose or your in trouble.

A drawing and parts list can be done if you need it.

Here is a link to what uni-strut is,
http://www.unistrut.org/Browse/cat_pg.php?P=S00_Channel

[trommy]

Thanks Terry.That's slightly more sophicated than what I plan to make.I was just going to use a piece of pipe with 2 short pieces of pipe welded to it as upper and lower spacers,then weld 2 double (over-size)nuts to to each side of each spacer.Then use threaded rod to make 2 u-bolts.On top would be a pulley made of an old sheve from a snowblower.If I can't raise it by hand with this,then I'll add a bottom pulley and use my 4 wheeler or truck.God willing!

[Terryl]

I'd use inch and a half to 2" ridged conduit as a mast, it can lift a bunch, I wouldn’t trust water pipe it's too soft, a pulley offset at the top and one at the bottom works good, a wench from an old boat trailer or a borrowed one works to wench it up, use at least 1/2" nylon rope this will stretch 4 times its length before it breaks.

Anything you use or build I would test it out first; you wouldn’t want the dish to crash to the ground.

[Terryl]

You also need to remeber that your spacers need to keep the lifting mast (gin pole) far enough away from the dish mast to swing it in and mount it with out too much of a problem.

Also if you have never done it before get someone to help you as it can get to be a bit of a job, also dont do it on a windy day, it could get tricky.

[trommy]

Thanks alot Terry.You reinforced the 'fear factor' in me.I definately won't do it on a windy day.I have a piece of conduit about 1 1/2"-2" that I plan to use.I didn't think of it untill just now,but the winch on my 4 wheeler should be ideal for the job which wil make a lower pulley necessary.I was thinking of making the top seperate from the main pipe so that I could swivel the dish over top the pole.I think this will be necessary,using a piece the next size larger to slip over the main piece or would there be enough slack in the rope to swing it over the pipe???Thanks again Terry.

[trommy]

I spent most of today and yesterday burning those big trees.Too thick for the wood stove not having a wood splitter nor the time.I did mount the 4x4 upright and painted it with a thick ruberized commercial paint just as it got dark.Tomorrow I will attempt to drill 3 holes through the 1/4" thick pole and attach it to the 4x4.

[trommy]

No big deal but here is the pole on my shed.Thanks to everyone in the PC Lab.I used a rope to raise the pipe in place by twisting a piece of wood through the rope like a propeler, a little bit at a time.I used several pieces of rope as safety straps while doing so.I painted the pipe with the same commercial rubberized paint that I used on the 4x4's.I will paint over it,weather permitting.

6101
6102

6103
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[trommy]

I mounted the pole and put rope through it then made a loop in the rope.I placed a tuba in the loop and jumped up and down on it and it did not budge (I marked the post with a pencil).After lunch I will attempt to mount the dish as long as the wind doesn't pick up.I think I can 'walk' the dish over the clamp.First thing after lunch.:thumbsup:
4 hr later:It's nearly 6PM and still too windy.It won't be going on the pole today.