So there's this dish...

mounted to my house and left behind by a previous owner. It's one of the small ones, DTV I think. Doe's anyone know of anything ham useful that could be done with it?

 

Bird bath

Dan

 

The 18 to 24 inch satellite dishes are designed for reception from High power satellite transmitters 10 - 13 GHz.

Amateur Radio operators have many allocations above 1 GHz.
When OSCAR 40 (AO-40) was operational,
these dishes were a very popular conversion for 2.3 GHz reception (telemetry beacon, linear transponder).

VHF/UHF amateur radio experimenters adopt these for 10 GHz and 24 GHz usage.
European Radio Amateurs are more enthusiastic about these frequencies.

Paul Wade, W1GHZ : 10 GHz and Above enthusiasts web page.
http://www.w1ghz.org/10g/10g_home.htm

Paul also wrote articles on how to convert the LNB (Low Noise Block downconverter) for amateur usage.
http://www.w1ghz.org/10g/10g_home.htm

What is a LNB ??
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-noise_block_downconverter

 

I used one to extend my WiFi in the house to the barn. I ripped out the LNB and replaced it with a antenna element. Then ran some RG-6 to the computer. It worked pretty well but I have now replaced it with a small yagi.

The previous owner for my current house left behind a large 10-12' dish. I had no use for it so I gave it to a neighbor to use as a fish pond.

 

remove the lnb and coat the surface with mylar - solar soldering iron. wear welding goggles though

 

Ah yes... fun with a camera tripod with a direct tv dish mounted on top.

Wifi dish to link wifi from the shack PC to the wireless router in the house. (about 150' away)

 

I put a little microfone at the focal point and used a battry powered amp and eaprhones to listen to everything around the neighborhood. birds, kids, traffic , dogs brking a mile away. Very directional.

 

Robert Suding, W0LMD was very active a decade ago at Central States VHF/UHF, and AMSAT conferences
in the usage of "Big Ugly Dishes" (BUD) and surplus 18" - 24" satellite dishes (Primestar, DISH, DirecTV).
http://www.bowkera.com/w0lmd.htm

He had a dedicated web page (ultimatecharger.com) for the DIY Builder (AMSAT, EME, meteor scatter, radio astronomy, etc.)...
that web page was taken down a few years ago --

Paul Wade, W1GHZ analyzed the DIY feed ("L" and "S" band) for these dishes.
http://www.w1ghz.org/antbook/conf/W0LMD_patch_feed.pdf

 

Here is what is possible -- Use the Internet Wayback Machine !!!

Various amateur radio stations using dishes for EME, satellite, or weak signal VHF/UHF/Microwaves
https://web.archive.org/web/20060618203458/http://www.ultimatecharger.com/Dishes_stations.html

Robert Suding, W0LMD -- Dishes he has built or converted for other radio amateurs.
https://web.archive.org/web/20070203085800/http://www.ultimatecharger.com/Dishes_my.html

Dish Rotators
http://web.archive.org/web/20070827094458/http://www.ultimatecharger.com/Dish_Rotators.html

First Photo
30" x 20" DirectPC dish on big gear and mini tracker arm mount

Second Photo
24" (60 cm) Direct TV dish with 5 1/2 turn Helix feed into AIDC 3731 downconverter on Bowling Ball mount,
made for AO-40 mobile operation.

 

Thanks for the links! I saw some good ideas at some of those links. I'm working on getting a 10 foot TVRO dish setup for EME on 1296. I'm still working on some construction items (brackets, plates, etc) but should be playing with az-el control in the basement for the winter project if all goes to plan.

I know some folks have played on the higher ghz ranges with the smaller dishes. My neighbor just took one off his house.. I should see if he still has it.. could be fun to mess around with.