# Sat Antenna Stand



## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)

Saw this at my neighbor's rig. Although, I have a kingdome, I still carry an antenna for those times when I can't get around the trees. This looks like a much better solution than the sand in the bucket trick. Rain or snow would be a problem, tho. I never thought of mounting it upside down. He said it works great and the elevation ticks don't change.


----------



## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

Pretty cool









Don


----------



## Northern Wind (Nov 21, 2006)

Watched a guy spend 6 hours in the rain this fall setting up (unsuccessfully) a portable dish. It looked like a very expensive stand and with all the right options or not?
He basically went ballistic and I could feel his blood pressure rise from the next site over. All I could think was this is camping? who needs the hassle, just to watch some old summer repeats on TV or see how depressing the world was today. Not me, a box of good books, maybe a few of my favorite movies and good friends, THAT"S CAMPING!

Have fun and be safe!
Steve


----------



## old_tidefan (Nov 23, 2005)

This type of thing may be an answer for us. I have a stand for ours but it is kinda cumbersome. I am going to find a good solution before summer


----------



## huntr70 (Jul 8, 2005)

It looks very interesting but,

my tripod will fold up tight and slides right into the front pass thru.

That thing is 22 inches wide by 24 inches long by about 13 inches high.....where the heck do you stick that??


----------



## Rubrhammer (Nov 27, 2006)

I've seen threads on them on another site, I would think that it would be very stable but unless you can break it down it could be hard to store.
Bob


----------



## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

huntr70 said:


> where the heck do you stick that??


hmmm


----------



## Katrina (Dec 16, 2004)

Never tried one myself, but you can put the PVC together without glue so that it just pulls apart for storage.

Might just have to try this.


----------



## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Only satellites I deal with while camping are the one that going zooming by in the night sky. I have TV at home...don't need it while camping. IMHO.


----------



## Sluggo54 (Jun 15, 2005)

Rubrhammer said:


> I've seen threads on them on another site, I would think that it would be very stable but unless you can break it down it could be hard to store.
> Bob


I've seen several of these. They seem to be glued in just enough joints to make it difficult to get back together incorrectly.

More common in my sights have been just the regular house mount stand, fastened to some sort of heavy base which is close to the ground. I use a 2' tripod that works fine - either weight it or use a ground screw.

Sluggo


----------



## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Very clever solution, vdub!








Does your neighbor weight it down at all? Sandbags?

Happy Trails,
Doug


----------



## NJMikeC (Mar 29, 2006)

Vdub,

Guy looks like he is on to something but right now the dish is upside down and looks unstable if he put it right side up. He may be able to read some satellites but usually you have to see down to about 30 degrees.

Mike C


----------



## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

Northern Wind said:


> Only satellites I deal with while camping are the one that going zooming by in the night sky. I have TV at home...don't need it while camping. IMHO.


Gotta put my vote with N/W & O/C!

(I know....who cares?







)


----------



## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

Not a bad idea - Low profile

Thor


----------



## Oliver 550 (Jan 4, 2005)

I do not camp with a satellite but I would love to just to be able to check weather when it gets really bad. I do not know how many times I have called someone to ask location of storms and such because I did not have any local channels to tune in. A camper is not the place I want to be when a Tornado or Straight line winds are approaching.


----------



## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)

> Gotta put my vote with N/W & O/C!


If we were camping, that might be the case, however, we are on the road about 8 months of the year and our Outback is essentially our home during that time. So, it's a little bit different situation. Having tv is invaluable when you want to know what the weather is like on the route to your next destination. Pulling your rig through snow or even rain is not particularly pleasant. This will be even more important as we start moving back north later this spring. Also, there are times when the weather at your destination isn't very good. It's pretty nice to be able to watch some tv when it's pouring rain outside or the temps aren't quite as high as you would like. We have IR headsets on our tv so that if one of us wants to read or sleep, we can do that without disturbing the other. It works well for us.



> Guy looks like he is on to something but right now the dish is upside down and looks unstable if he put it right side up.


The way the antenna is positioned in the picture is the way it is when receiving the signal. In fact, it was in operation when I took the pictures. Since it is laying almost flat, it's pretty stable and more resistant to wind. Of course, this position wouldn't work well on a house since the dish would collect leaves, dirt, snow, and rain water, but in a mobile situation, it's not a bad idea.

Many people view the antenna as being the "dish" part, but it's not. The "dish" is nothing more than a reflector. The reflector is curved in order to direct and concentrate the signal on to the antenna, which is in the small plastic dome on the end of the feedhorn. The antenna is very small -- only a quarter inch or so long (depending on the frequency). You can tilt the dish in any direction you want (even on it's side) and if properly oriented, you will get a signal.

If I build one of these, I'll probably leave several joints unglued and drill some holes so I can pin the joints. That way, I can lay it flat when traveling (actually, why does it need to be on legs in the first place?). Another thing I'd do is permenantly mount a level and compass on the stand as that would make alignment very easy. I haven't looked at my antenna since I put it in the pickup box last Sept, but I'd like to see if there is a way to fold the feedhorn down. Doing that would save a lot of space.


----------



## huntr70 (Jul 8, 2005)

vdub said:


> I'd like to see if there is a way to fold the feedhorn down. Doing that would save a lot of space.


I think mine is just pop riveted onto the bracket. You could probably drill them out and replace with either nut and screw, or somesort of pull pin to collapse it.

Now that I mention it, I might have to do that to mine!!!

Steve


----------



## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)

Suspect you would have to make sure it all stays pretty precise. I'm not sure how small the focal point is. But would be cool if it could collapse.


----------



## rmeyer (Sep 28, 2006)

This is where I found this stand.

http://www.bbrv.dreamstation.com/sat.html

Satelllite Mount


----------



## lafpd04 (Jan 4, 2007)

The key question is how does he get a signal with the satellite down like that. You should have it at just the right axis to get a signal. THIS configuration makes no sense to me.


----------



## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

vdub said:


> > Gotta put my vote with N/W & O/C!
> 
> 
> If we were camping, that might be the case, however, we are on the road about 8 months of the year and our Outback is essentially our home during that time. So, it's a little bit different situation.


Of course it is...I agree...and if I was as fortunate as you and able to be on the road as much, I, too, would have a TV in my TT!


----------



## huntr70 (Jul 8, 2005)

Fourwinds said:


> The key question is how does he get a signal with the satellite down like that. You should have it at just the right axis to get a signal. THIS configuration makes no sense to me.


This is a quote from one of the above websites.....

"*Update: 03/29/06 Setting up Dish 500 with the mount. This formula was provided by a user nerdofparadise. 
Because the Dish is moved through 90 degrees. Elevation is taken from 90. 
Because Dish is flipped through 180 degrees. Skew is taken from 180.

Example. for ZIP Code 93426

Normal Dish upside down 
Azmuith 154 = Remains at 154 
Elevation 48 = (90 - 48) = 42 
Skew 82 = (180 - 82) = 98 "

Steve


----------



## Rubrhammer (Nov 27, 2006)

dustin,
I read about this elsewhere and it does appear to work. The dish itself has to be focused at the sat. to reflect the signal to the antenna. being upside down makes it look further out of position than it really is. Steve's post helps explain it.
Bob


----------



## Camping Fan (Dec 18, 2005)

Oliver 550 said:


> I do not camp with a satellite but I would love to just to be able to check weather when it gets really bad. I do not know how many times I have called someone to ask location of storms and such because I did not have any local channels to tune in. A camper is not the place I want to be when a Tornado or Straight line winds are approaching.


A good way to keep track of the weather is with a NOAA weather radio. I have one similar to this one from Oregon Scientific. You can program it with the S.A.M.E. codes for the counties surrounding your location. Then you can get the local forecast at the touch of a button, and you can set the radio to automatically come on when a weather warning is issued for your area. Believe me, when that warning comes on, it *WILL* wake you up from a dead sleep!


----------

