CASPER
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how to use a old primestar dish for true fta
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A C&P agout the Primestar dish...by bluesman from another site and thought it would be useful here. sorry but there was no photos at the other site
how to use a old primestar dish for true fta
Primestar DSS conversion
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Finally got it done, works so great, you can't miss any dbs bird.
I've included the step by step, some detals & photos for anyone who might wanna do this.
Took about 10 minutes to convert & required no fabrication, just what I had laying around.
1. Remove the grey lnb cover by loosening the two screws. (photo)
2. Unbolted the linear Ku lnb and set aside. (Save this, it can be used for lots of sats & you need it to check your new lnb alignment.) See pic primestarkulnb.jpg
3. Grab any old DTV or even an aftermarket circular lnb. You will notice a half circle groove where the old lnb was on the dish arm. Fit the DTV lnb in this groove. (see pic.) The groove is smaller than the shaft on the DTV LNB. Don't worry about it, it will line up when you secure it.
4. With the 2 DTV lnbs I tried I found that if you put the lnb in the groove & push it back until the cone just hits the mount then you will have positioned it for prime focus. Compare your lnb with the primestar one you pulled off to make sure the feedhorn is in the same position.
5. Rotate the lnb to the left or right so that the coax connectors clear the bottom of the LNB arm. If you don't do this you can't attach the cables!
6. Strap the lnb down. I used a big pipeclamp that I had laying around, it is very secure. You can secure the lnb with zip ties, duct tape, bungee cord, whatever just as long as it sits in the groove and doesn't move. DONT OVERTIGHTEN, YOU'LL BREAK THE LNB.
7. Throw your dish up on something & enjoy. When aiming for 61.5, 82, 91, 110, or 119 you could be deaf, dumb, & blind and easially hit them. Just remember when you mount the primestar it is a very heavy large dish & picks up the wind like a sail. SECURE IT WELL! As you can see from my pics I not only buried the pole in the ground, I used steel cable at 3 points like a radio/tv tower to make sure it doesnt blow over.
RESULTS: I did this in a hurry to get bev91 which I just couldn't lock in with a 18 or 20 inch dish. The 2 others I've done for friends on 20" dishes get peak quality in the mid 60's and signal in the low 70's. Just doing a 2 minute aim job with the primestar I'm in the mid 80's for S & Q. If I took another 10 minutes to aim better I'm sure 100+ would be no problem.
This dish has tons of potental. A guy could mount 5 or 6 lnb's on it with the factory lnb to get all sorts of birds. Mine was just a quickie/proof of concept deal. You could also use just about any big oval (DTV, DN, a big POS oval off an old gas station, ect) and get this to work. Most of the big ovals I've seen for POS use mount the Ku LNB almost exactly like the Primestar, so these instructions will work. The only important factor is getting the new LNB in the right spot for prime focus.
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A C&P agout the Primestar dish...by bluesman from another site and thought it would be useful here. sorry but there was no photos at the other site
how to use a old primestar dish for true fta
Primestar DSS conversion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally got it done, works so great, you can't miss any dbs bird.
I've included the step by step, some detals & photos for anyone who might wanna do this.
Took about 10 minutes to convert & required no fabrication, just what I had laying around.
1. Remove the grey lnb cover by loosening the two screws. (photo)
2. Unbolted the linear Ku lnb and set aside. (Save this, it can be used for lots of sats & you need it to check your new lnb alignment.) See pic primestarkulnb.jpg
3. Grab any old DTV or even an aftermarket circular lnb. You will notice a half circle groove where the old lnb was on the dish arm. Fit the DTV lnb in this groove. (see pic.) The groove is smaller than the shaft on the DTV LNB. Don't worry about it, it will line up when you secure it.
4. With the 2 DTV lnbs I tried I found that if you put the lnb in the groove & push it back until the cone just hits the mount then you will have positioned it for prime focus. Compare your lnb with the primestar one you pulled off to make sure the feedhorn is in the same position.
5. Rotate the lnb to the left or right so that the coax connectors clear the bottom of the LNB arm. If you don't do this you can't attach the cables!
6. Strap the lnb down. I used a big pipeclamp that I had laying around, it is very secure. You can secure the lnb with zip ties, duct tape, bungee cord, whatever just as long as it sits in the groove and doesn't move. DONT OVERTIGHTEN, YOU'LL BREAK THE LNB.
7. Throw your dish up on something & enjoy. When aiming for 61.5, 82, 91, 110, or 119 you could be deaf, dumb, & blind and easially hit them. Just remember when you mount the primestar it is a very heavy large dish & picks up the wind like a sail. SECURE IT WELL! As you can see from my pics I not only buried the pole in the ground, I used steel cable at 3 points like a radio/tv tower to make sure it doesnt blow over.
RESULTS: I did this in a hurry to get bev91 which I just couldn't lock in with a 18 or 20 inch dish. The 2 others I've done for friends on 20" dishes get peak quality in the mid 60's and signal in the low 70's. Just doing a 2 minute aim job with the primestar I'm in the mid 80's for S & Q. If I took another 10 minutes to aim better I'm sure 100+ would be no problem.
This dish has tons of potental. A guy could mount 5 or 6 lnb's on it with the factory lnb to get all sorts of birds. Mine was just a quickie/proof of concept deal. You could also use just about any big oval (DTV, DN, a big POS oval off an old gas station, ect) and get this to work. Most of the big ovals I've seen for POS use mount the Ku LNB almost exactly like the Primestar, so these instructions will work. The only important factor is getting the new LNB in the right spot for prime focus.