Author Topic: "Lunar Lander Convertible"  (Read 4093 times)

Edward Buker

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"Lunar Lander Convertible"
« on: December 13, 2010, 03:45:19 PM »
This project may not be for everyone but I thought that I would pass along my upgrade for the old Datron 3000.

We have Dish Network and wanted to use our home 722 DVR Receiver. The other consideration was that, if at all possible, I wanted to be able to move the dish from the roof to the ground and place it in a "line of site" location if our campsite did not have a satellite view. After looking at all the possibilities I ended up choosing a Wineguard Carryout due to its size and weight (13.5lbs). It can use Eastern Arc or Western Arc satellites on Dish network and is HD capable. It can also be used for Direct TV but is not HD capable for Direct. There are dip switches inside to easily set up the satellite configuration. On Dish you can have two receivers, but one will be the master that chooses the satellite based on the channel selected. The second receiver will have access to all the channels on that satellite. Not perfect, but a reasonable compromise for dish size and weight considerations.

 I probably would not move the dish from the roof for a night or two at a campsite but certainly for an extended stay it would be worth a few minutes of my time. The assembly on the roof weighs a little over 20 pounds and I have a shoulder strap arrangement to carry it down the ladder. The base that you use on the ground allows the dome and reel to rotate to wind and unwind the cable. It is all built out of aluminum and the dome reel base adds no height to the original Carryout. The ground base has folding legs and does not require much storage space. I also built in a tilt sensor and alarm system just in case. The cables follow the ladder frame to the base. The cable is attached with velcro straps coming down, tie wraps at the bottom, and then the cable enters the coach in the rear closet where the receiver resides.

It has been a time consuming project but I enjoy tinkering and casting out some shop profanity when my stupidity at times exceeds my skills. If any of you want to venture into this type project I can offer up information as to how this "Lunar Lander" was built for a lot less than the NASA version.

The installation is new and I still have interior cabling among other things to do. My roof photo makes the unit look larger than it really is, it is just 15.5 inches high for the roof configuration. It will be spring before I have any real road use experience to share. Hope to see photos of other folks projects on the BAC forum, I know we are a creative bunch.
later Ed.
« Last Edit: December 13, 2010, 04:06:15 PM by 910 »