NOTE: This project was never finish. A move interrupted and I wound up getting rid of the bulky parts. There is still a little bit of good info, but wanted to provide fair warning before you begin to read this.
I had a Dish Network dish that moved with me from Texas to Colorado. It turns out that the dish is not compatible with this area and they put in a new one. The installer did not want the old one and advised me to throw it away. So there I was; I could throw out a perfectly good parabolic dish or find a project to do with it. Being the pack rat I am, I opted to find a project. Google found me several good ideas, and I settled on a cubicle bi-quad antenna build that will then be fitted to the dish. I found several sources of information and am building mine based on bits and pieces of the following guides:
- http://www.skifactz.com/wifi/wifi_dish.htm
- https://www.engadget.com/2005/11/15/how-to-build-a-wifi-biquad-dish-antenna/
- http://martybugs.net/wireless/biquad/
- https://pe2er-nl.translate.goog/index.htm?_x_tr_sch=http&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp (Click the 9th pic down on the right menu)
I forgot to take some pictures of the dish before I started messing with it. Here is a pic I found of the exact dish I have just to give an idea of what I am starting with.
I disassembled the dish and went to work on the LNBF (low-noise block converter). I removed the arm from the dish and pulled the back cover off of the LNBF.
Once I cut the sealant, I was able to get inside the cover and found the circuitry for the LNBF under a metal plate. I removed two of the feed caps, circuitry, and the metal plate. Afterward I reinstalled the plate for use later.
I reassembled the arm and will come back to it once I have the antenna portion built. I decided that as part of the build I had to get rid of the ugly Dish Network logo. I used a gray hammered finish Rust-oleum brand spray paint. I gave it several coats, letting it dry per the instructions between each coat. It is in the garage on a 48 hour cure time. I want the paint hardened well before I start back work on the dish.
With the dish portion done for now, I turned my attention to the antenna portion of the build. I used regular copper wire found in household wiring to make the element. One of the sites I followed above recommended using two pairs of pliers, held perpendicular to each other to make the bends. I did one with their method and another a little differently. I think the two plier method made a nicer looking element as the bends were much sharper looking.
After forming the element, I moved on the the feed tube and reflector. The original credited designer of the cubicle biquad mentioned that if you are going to install this on a dish, the recommended size of the reflector is 110mm X 110mm. Most sites show 123mm X 123mm, but I went with the 110mm. I picked up some blank PCB in town and cut it to size. I then drilled a 1/2″ hole in the middle for the copper feed tube to go through. I feed the tube into the reflector and soldered it in place with a small propane torch.
After the soldering process, I took the assembly and cleaned off the flux. I then took some steel wool and polished everything up so it is nice and reflective.
I am now waiting on my cable assembly to arrive. I will be using LMR-195 with a RP-SMA male connector on one end for a direct connection to an access point that will be mounted to the back of the dish. The other end will be soldered directly to the antenna element. The plan is to eventually make the access point solar powered, but that will take a bit before I can afford the panel. Hopefully my cable will make it in early next week.
Update: I have the cable assembly and have installed it most of the way. I need a dremel to cut a notch in the copper tub. The rotary tool I have is rather cheap and not up to the job. Not that I look hard for a reason to get a new tool! Hopefully I can grab one soon and get this project finished!
Update 05/2011: I finally was able to grab a dremel tool cut the notch I needed. Hopefully I will get back on this project as the first of June rolls around.
UPADATE: Never got to finish this project. I had to thin out some stuff during one of my moves, and the dish and parts went. Maybe I will revisit this in the future.