dish movers for antennas > 20 foot diameter

[ZetaMale]

There must some dish movers for large antennas but I must not be using the right keywords for web searches.

 

[Magic Static]

Large antennas are built to either be stationary or movable. If movable, that system is built in with the manufacture of the dish. And they are very expensive to say the least. There are no add-on dish movers for big dishes like that.

 

[Cham]

Large uplink/downlink antennas that are movable usually use a motorized az/el configuration. Software runs the motors and positioning data. Often they are controlled automatically or via a control room many miles away.

The picture is a rather large example, but you can see clearly see where the azimuth and elevation components of the mount are operating. Smaller dishes work in the same way, just with smaller components. When less than 15' or so then linear actuators are used to control az/el, or position on an equatorial/polar mount unless you are lucky enough to have one of the rare H-H mounts... There is a 30' dish at the local telesat uplink center, will try and remember to take a picture next time I am by.

 

[ZetaMale]

Well, I was trying to determine if it would be feasible to install such a 30 foot dish on my wife's property in central america. A solid dish would end up being a rain collector unless it came with drain holes. The other problem would be how much land it would require so that it wouldn't bang into the neighbors or our house. The size of the concrete pad may even be problematic. And, of course, the cost!

 

[Magic Static]

Well, I was trying to determine if it would be feasible to install such a 30 foot dish on my wife's property in central america. A solid dish would end up being a rain collector unless it came with drain holes. The other problem would be how much land it would require so that it wouldn't bang into the neighbors or our house. The size of the concrete pad may even be problematic. And, of course, the cost!

To give you an idea of the scope of a project like that look at this thread about the recovery and installation of an Andrews 4.6M (15').
http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/threads/andrews-4-6m.319758/

 

[Jason S]

There were photos and more to Tonydix thread about a 24' mesh bud with polar mount in Panama.

Posts with text are still available, such as: http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/thr...istory-of-my-24-foot-bud.206633/#post-2144225 , http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/threads/installing-the-button-hook-and-lnb-onto-dish.182432/ and
http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/threads/need-help-identifying-this-monster.166209/#post-1722027

In one thread, a poster suggested it might be a Hero brand dish.

Photo links don't seem to work anymore, I guess since Picasaweb support stopped?

Edit: this thread from Greg Mueller has a photo of a 20-foot dish described as similar to the one in tonydix posts: http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/posts/1647439/

 

[wvman]

There must some dish movers for large antennas but I must not be using the right keywords for web searches.

There's a 20 foot fiberglass dish on top of a hill not far from where I live that was abandoned by the cable company years ago. It's pointed at the old Galaxy 5 satellite location, and the property owner would love to get rid of it, but no one is interested in moving it. It sits on an azimuth/elevation mount, and only about 1/5 of the antenna is removable. The rest is one piece, which makes it difficult to handle, much less transport. That beast would have to weigh a ton, not including the mount. If anyone's interested, I'll put you onto it.

 

[ZetaMale]

There were photos and more to Tonydix thread about a 24' mesh bud with polar mount in Panama.

I remember that post. As I recall, he didn't have an appropriate dish mover for that antenna back then. Besides, there have been other people that said that I would need at least a 30 foot dish in for a Central America to pick up enough signal from the sats that are aimed at North America.