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How to mount a satellite dish


Dr Bob

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Ok Peeps. I consider myself a muppet at many things, one of them being searching the internet.

I am trying to fit a satellite dish to my nb and looking for a permanent way to fix it in place. Now, the first place I looked at was travelsat and the Vu cube stuff. Unfortunately we have Sky Q which uses a wideband LNB and that is not compatible with Martyn's (travelsat) or Vu Cubes offerings. I spoke with Martyn and he said Sky Q needed a bigger dish. I have therefore purchased a zone 1 sky dish and sky q lnb and temporarily lashed it up using a CB mag mount and a tripod/camera head. It works great. Good signal etc. What I now need is a fitting that will replace the tripod/camera head and sit between the mag mount and the dish. I am sure there are loads of options on the web but can I find them????

The fitting has to

- be stable in high wind (last night it unscrewed slightly and rotated)

- able to easily rotate to get the right bearing to the satellite and then be locked in place

- able to easily rotate up/down to get the right elevation to the satellite and then be locked in place

One thing the tripod/camera head does is that it also has a quick release plate so I can take the dish off the roof, however as this head screws onto the mag mount, it will always be likely to unscrew.

The fitting then has to fit to the mag mount - a 3/8th male thread poking out vertically - but  unsure of the pitch of that thread - its the one that fits big tripod heads. It then has to have a fitting out the top that will fit to the dish (a vertical pole would do).

I've tried the usual places like Screwfix. I'll post a pic of the temporary lash up once the rain stops.

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4 minutes ago, Machpoint005 said:

If you mount it horizontally, concave side up, you can keep fruit in it.

Or fit it the other way just in front of the doors and it could make a useful rain hood. 

Getting back to your question I’d stick with the mag mount and camera mount but use loctite on the thread. 

Edited by WotEver
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Thankyou Mach and Tony for your very useful suggestions. £20 for a fruit bowl is a bit OTT and as its full of holes - it ain't going to be much use in the rain.

Now, loctite on the thread IS a good idea. Not thought of that ...Duh. However, it is only a temporary solution as I really dont want to use the tripod head for this as they cost over £100, its likely to get nicked if left on the roof.......and I do use it from time to time for the camera! The quick release is a very useful feature which I dont think I will find elsewhere.

Here is a pic, hot off the press of the current set up, so I am trying to find something replacing the bit between the mag mount and the dish mount. The duck has totally failed to find anything suitable.

duck dish-1051.jpg

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1 hour ago, Glynn said:

How about mount it to a cast iron parasol base ?.

isetta-heavy-duty-outdoor-patio-cast-iron-free-standing-base-umbrella-stand.jpg

It's too big Glynn. Looking for something similar size to current set up.

17 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

I don't know about these new fangled Stalagmite dishes, but couldn't you just hollow out the duck and hide the expensive mount within?

It might fit but he'd have a hole in his head! Tree monkey would not be best pleased.

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15 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Cheap tripod from Ebay/boot sale/council tip shop?

Even cheap ones have quick release heads these days. 

I'd probably be better using the current setup as the tripod head is designed for heavier weights but where do I find an alternative? Travelsat use a swivel head but it would take quite a bit of modification and I would sooner buy one direct. Just run out of ideas on what to type into a search engine to find it. Someone on here may have done this already. Rusty, your good at searching the internet for interesting ditties?

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9 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

It might fit but he'd have a hole in his head! Tree monkey would not be best pleased.

I have added a pic to show you what it could look like.Obviously you could try a protype. But I reckon it would sell to other boaters.

Dr Bobs Quackalite dish mount (patent pending). Optional extra in-built security camera.

2 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

Rusty, your good at searching the internet for interesting ditties?

I reckon what you have looks good,although don't know how long the 3/8 stud will last.How about ebay for a cheap second hand duplicate?

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6 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

I have added a pic to show you what it could look like.Obviously you could try a protype. But I reckon it would sell to other boaters.

Dr Bobs Quackalite dish mount (patent pending). Optional extra in-built security camera.

I reckon what you have looks good,although don't know how long the 3/8 stud will last.How about ebay for a cheap second hand duplicate?

Yes, bit worried about the 3/8th stud....which is the only support for the tripod head....another reason for looking for a non camera thingy.

i do like the term, quackerlite dish.:)

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I would have thought ‘oyster’ would have had a self seeking dish which was suitable but perhaps you don’t want a permanent installation even though they fold flat.  I just thought of them as they seem to be on the ball and would have a product for Sky Q

I bet a question to VANBITZ would bring the answers you want.  They are of the Moho world but are known for the their alarm and satellite system installations amongst other things.  I know they are highly regards.

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1 hour ago, rusty69 said:

Perhaps something like this could be b̶o̶d̶g̶e̶d̶ modified to suit.Still pretty flimsy though.

prd{8805DB96-2CCF-4917-AB5B-44C48F3CF86B}.jpg

That took a while to arrive! Thanks for looking. That is similar to what I'm using but looks less strong.

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23 minutes ago, Dartagnan said:

I would have thought ‘oyster’ would have had a self seeking dish which was suitable but perhaps you don’t want a permanent installation even though they fold flat.  I just thought of them as they seem to be on the ball and would have a product for Sky Q

I bet a question to VANBITZ would bring the answers you want.  They are of the Moho world but are known for the their alarm and satellite system installations amongst other things.  I know they are highly regards.

Thanks for that. Following the vanbits lead, I got to the max view site

https://www.maxview.co.uk/mobile-satellite-systems/portable/Precision-Waterways-Satellite-System

this has a system for a boat but looks a bit expensive and not sure if you could fit a wideband lnb. Interesting though.

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4 hours ago, Dr Bob said:

The fitting has to

- be stable in high wind (last night it unscrewed slightly and rotated)

- able to easily rotate to get the right bearing to the satellite and then be locked in place

- able to easily rotate up/down to get the right elevation to the satellite and then be locked in place

This looks like a Lovell-y way to mount a dish.

jodrell-bank-718x522.jpg.8eb40889ebd8c0e86ecf5e1ccde6ce45.jpg

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8 hours ago, rusty69 said:

Ducks don't have knobs, but you could cut a hole in the DA (although you may get some funny looks when operating it)

Well mine doesn't but he is made of high density polyethylene. If they haven't got knobs, how do they ..... .............. turn?

Despite the lack of knobs, surely someone on here can help me. This isn't going to be another one of these wait untill someone clever comes along is it'? God we'll be all night!

Edited by Dr Bob
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No experience of sky Q but just wondering why you’d want it on a boat? Its point seems to be easy multi-room, and 4K (which is only pointful on a large telly). Also, I’m struggling to corroborate your comment about needing a bigger dish.

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