Antique Prodelin (10 ft) project

[pitussat]

Agree with that! Bigger dish is always much more fun!

Hi!Have you tested any similar antenna in KU?
Because f/d 0.3 I think a particular feed, isn't it?

 

[RimaNTSS]

Have you tested any similar antenna in KU?

Not really. The smallest f/d I've experienced is 0.36. But you are right, every dish has to have proper feed used on it, only then maximum possible performance can be achieved.

 

[nelson_b]

Hard to believe that its over 4 years since i dismantled and stored this dish away.
Anyway as iv not been able to get out much - or travel far this spring because of Covid lock-down restrictions etc - so i put some time into restoring and re installing this monster again ... on a movable platform this time so i can move it to different parts of the yard to get a look at satellites previously not seen by this dish. After tinkering with a few C band l.n.b,s that i have here - it seems that the Zinwell is favorite (for linear transmissions ,at least) by quite a margin. I used Paksat at 38E for initial fine tuning, as it has many different transponder strengths. A few pics enclosed here taken a month or so ago ... Not very good at documenting my projects - much prefer to be out there tinkering. :-)

 

[John]

Hard to believe that its over 4 years since i dismantled and stored this dish away.
Anyway as iv not been able to get out much - or travel far this spring because of Covid lock-down restrictions etc - so i put some time into restoring and re installing this monster again ... on a movable platform this time so i can move it to different parts of the yard to get a look at satellites previously not seen by this dish. After tinkering with a few C band l.n.b,s that i have here - it seems that the Zinwell is favorite (for linear transmissions ,at least) by quite a margin. I used Paksat at 38E for initial fine tuning, as it has many different transponder strengths. A few pics enclosed here taken a month or so ago ... Not very good at documenting my projects - much prefer to be out there tinkering. :-)

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Superb Nelson

 

[gsteigwiler]

That is a thing of beauty !!

 

[nelson_b]

Superb Nelson

Cheers John -
The very strong winds the other weekend caused the reflector to go slightly out of shape . i,v got it back again for now ,but it needs some additional back support arranging , i think.
I,v moved it across the yard now to look through a gap between buildings to see how it will perform on Intelsat 17 @ 66 East.

 

[scopus]

Hard to believe that its over 4 years since i dismantled and stored this dish away.
Anyway as iv not been able to get out much - or travel far this spring because of Covid lock-down restrictions etc - so i put some time into restoring and re installing this monster again ... on a movable platform this time so i can move it to different parts of the yard to get a look at satellites previously not seen by this dish. After tinkering with a few C band l.n.b,s that i have here - it seems that the Zinwell is favorite (for linear transmissions ,at least) by quite a margin. I used Paksat at 38E for initial fine tuning, as it has many different transponder strengths. A few pics enclosed here taken a month or so ago ... Not very good at documenting my projects - much prefer to be out there tinkering. :-)

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Wow, commencing drooling!
That is some channel count off Paksat!

 

[moonbase]

That is some channel count off Paksat!

Yes, a huge count. the most I got with the 2.0m Precision was 11 different frequencies and quite a few of them were borderline. Well done Nelson.

 

[Sleepingwiththefish]

Nice!

 

[Channel Hopper]

Nicely modified, my favourite feed support system for a prime focus dish.

 

[nelson_b]

Yes, a huge count. the most I got with the 2.0m Precision was 11 different frequencies and quite a few of them were borderline. Well done Nelson.

Yes - well pleased with the blind scan channel count from such an old , and imperfect dish ... its been quite roughly treated over the years, and had many fiberglass repairs - some done well some not so well. :-( ...

I got a couple more low symbol rate transponders by manual addition - but there are at least 10 more transponders well below lock that this dish will never get - l.o.l.

I was surprised that the Zinwell l.n.b gave the best results ... its always been the BSC 421 or the ancient Gardiner block l.n.b, that have been the top performers on other large dishes that iv played with here. or maybe i just missed getting all the adjustments right - i will compare them again at some point.

 

[Channel Hopper]

Yes - well pleased with the blind scan channel count from such an old , and imperfect dish ... its been quite roughly treated over the years, and had many fiberglass repairs - some done well some not so well. :-( ...

I got a couple more low symbol rate transponders by manual addition - but there are at least 10 more transponders well below lock that this dish will never get - l.o.l.

Hint - Christine.....