Posted: 7/4/2026 2:01:08 PM EDT
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Many years ago I got this large folding satellite dish that stores in a couple of shipping cases. I now have the room to try to use it but am trying to figure out the easiest way to make use of it. The instruction manual is a series of polaroid photos photocopied showing different assembly stages but it looks like I'm missing this large metal ring that goes behind the dish. From the crude manual it appears the ring might provide additional bending pressure to the fiberglass spokes. Also, the spokes are bent into place by ultra fine wires that go around the center pole in the front but aren't very visible in the pictures. I'm trying to come up with some ideas to automate the unfolding process. Some sort of linear actuator that would move the rear ring back to place where it can be locked would be idea. It's just an incredible amount of pressure though once it's nearing the point of bending to a parabola. I can't pull it back to the lock position by myself at all. Attached File Attached File Attached File Attached File Attached File |
"My battery is low and it's getting dark."
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Originally Posted By lorazepam: My first thought is a gear drive similar to a garage door opener with prox switches at each end. Oh yea, good idea. I'm going to have to sit and draw out some ideas I think. I need something with some really high torque. Here are some other pics. I'm missing some key mount components to attach it to the huge tripod. Attached File Attached File |
"My battery is low and it's getting dark."
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"My battery is low and it's getting dark."
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Apparently it was designed by Robert Luly who died in 2008. https://www.freepatentsonline.com/4608571.html Obituary Attached File |
"My battery is low and it's getting dark."
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Originally Posted By lorazepam: My first thought is a gear drive similar to a garage door opener with prox switches at each end. Thinking about this...  
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"My battery is low and it's getting dark."
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The actuator you posted will probably work. I used this one to operate my snow plow blade. It's slow but it will actually lift my RZR off the ground by the plow mount if I go all the way down. 
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Originally Posted By SnowMule: https://promotionice.com/548035-large_default/umbrella-patti.jpg Pretty much. |
"My battery is low and it's getting dark."
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Originally Posted By lorazepam: Looks like the issue now is how to mount it The actuators are supposed to arrive tomorrow. They have 6" travel range which looks to be enough if they are strong enough. Thinking I need some sort of large flange thrust bearing type plate to mount it to for rotation. Maybe I could drive it around with a large stepper motor and belt setup. If all goes well enough then maybe another long actuator for tilt angle with counter balance. |
"My battery is low and it's getting dark."
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Originally Posted By aa777888-2: Most linear actuators are not terribly powerful. A small hydraulic cylinder might be a better bet. Or perhaps you can add a spring or two to preload the assembly so the linear actuator can more easily move it. That could work. I'm not terribly optimistic about them but was hoping one on each side might be enough. |
"My battery is low and it's getting dark."
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Originally Posted By aa777888-2: Most linear actuators are not terribly powerful. A small hydraulic cylinder might be a better bet. Or perhaps you can add a spring or two to preload the assembly so the linear actuator can more easily move it. "Most". The actuator I linked to can move a literal ton. It'll break the dish before it won't move it. When I was testing it before mounting it on my plow it turned the (undersized) bolts I was using into spaghetti. |
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Originally Posted By seek2: "Most". The actuator I linked to can move a literal ton. It'll break the dish before it won't move it. When I was testing it before mounting it on my plow it turned the (undersized) bolts I was using into spaghetti. Yeah, I was thinking of this. Your actuator is truly dangerous with the force it produces! But, good to know that such things exist at a reasonable price for the next hair brained idea I have... 
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Originally Posted By seek2: "Most". The actuator I linked to can move a literal ton. It'll break the dish before it won't move it. When I was testing it before mounting it on my plow it turned the (undersized) bolts I was using into spaghetti. Originally Posted By seek2: Originally Posted By aa777888-2: Most linear actuators are not terribly powerful. A small hydraulic cylinder might be a better bet. Or perhaps you can add a spring or two to preload the assembly so the linear actuator can more easily move it. "Most". The actuator I linked to can move a literal ton. It'll break the dish before it won't move it. When I was testing it before mounting it on my plow it turned the (undersized) bolts I was using into spaghetti. That thing is a beast. |
"My battery is low and it's getting dark."
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YouTube made me make it a short since it's under a minute so I hope it shows up. Anyway, the first attempt bent the two steel mending bars like butter so I put two thick aluminum bars on top of them to counter the bending force. You can see in the video there is some backlash play in the system that ends up with it not fully closing. I'm trying to figure out where that is coming from but initially it looks like the entire clamp assembly moved on the tube. I need to bolt it to the existing yoke assembly to prevent linear shift.  Old Luly Dish |
"My battery is low and it's getting dark."
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Originally Posted By mancow: Around 5 feet or so. https://a.co/d/0hXtnHV9 |
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum."
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How much does it weigh? It seems adapting a mount for an Antrunner Pro Rotator would be awesome. 
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Originally Posted By 0100010: How much does it weigh? It seems adapting a mount for an Antrunner Pro Rotator would be awesome. https://img.tindie.com/images/resize/DM9_2SomMBuxeao1MD078LXLXpk=/p/full-fit-in/1782x1336/i/143933/products/2025-12-17T05:23:31.533Z-1..JPEG?1765921878 Probably about 25 lbs. I have completed tests on the fold and deploy mechanism and it works great. I created an azimuth and elevation mechanism as well. I still need to attach the elevation actuator but the azimuth is working really smoothly. It rotates about 2 to 2.5 degrees a second but can be controlled with PWM modulation via a controller. |
"My battery is low and it's getting dark."
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It's sitting on the stand from a stage musical instrument thing for testing but will eventually be mounted to a post in the ground with a rain cover over the motor and other parts. I'm using a Raspberry Pi with 7" touch screen as a controller. The software auto downloads sat lists with Kep elements. The user can tap which sat they want and it calculates the AZ/EL while displaying a graphic indicating sky position. The controller will talk to a Pi Pico via Ethernet or perhaps wifi (haven't decided) at the dish. It does the PWM control of the 3 RPM worm drive motor and linear actuator as well as the stow and deploy actuator via some 13 Amp motor controllers. I have a couple of Adafruit sensors for position feedback. One is a magnetic Azimuth sensor that will be placed over the center hub shaft end to tell where it is left and right. I have a tilt sensor that will ride on the boom above that tilt shaft. Both will either report to Picos locally or if distance allows report to one Pico via I2C. Attached File Attached File Attached File Attached File |
"My battery is low and it's getting dark."
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Originally Posted By TinLeg: I vote for high speed high power actuators, so the thing deploys like a beach umbrella in a hurricane and tracks like a methed out CWIS with a seething hatred of passenger jets.  I don't need DHS here. |
"My battery is low and it's getting dark."