fini Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 We're tidying-up my Mom's place to put it on the market, and a major item to deal with is the huge parabolic satellite antenna in her backyard. It was installed about 25 years ago, and hasn't been used in, probably, 10-15 years. Short of disassembling it and recycling the metal, does anyone have any creative ideas? So far, my brother and I have come up with: 1.) Replace the receiver with a meat rack, aim it at the sun, and cook chickens and such. 2.) Turn it upside-down, on 4 posts, cover it with canvas, and have a groovy cabana. 3.) Use it as the framework in the ceiling (in the house) for a 12-foot dome. The existing mesh material would work perfectly as a base for plaster. 4.) Waterproof it, and use it as a giant birdbath, hoping to attract eagles, condors, and emus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.4knee Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 Weld a sheet metal finnsh over it and make the worlds largest Paella pan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sputnik Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 ---------------- On 7/17/2005 11:57:55 AM fini wrote: .............2.) Turn it upside-down, on 4 posts, cover it with canvas, and have a groovy cabana................ ---------------- I was thinking along those same lines a while back. Here is a link that I found with an example. It doesn't look half bad. satellite link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 Oh, I like that shade canopy one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanl Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 I could use a boat anchor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted July 17, 2005 Author Share Posted July 17, 2005 Cool link, sputnik! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 I personally had someone haul mine away. I wish I would of kept it hooked up I liked the free feeds. Anyways I like 2), and 3). My cousin may have took mine and did 2) on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 "If you ever had sex in a satellite dish....you might be a redneck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkrop Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 What about incorporating it into the new metal roof you were considering, like a giant umbrella? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 Umbrella and sun shade is good, if you have a big yard, seal it up and make a bird bath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 I like the inside the house idea. Covered with the right material should be great for acoustic treatment of a room. Perhaps with the dome side out, centered on the wall over your equipment rack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted July 17, 2005 Author Share Posted July 17, 2005 Heh, if I only had 12' tall walls! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endover Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 If you went out and bought about a jillion little mirrors and glued them on there, you could cook more than chicken. I'd bet you could get close to a thousand degrees at the tip of that thing and maybe even more! I've seen movie clips where someone had larger dishes and they just waved a 2x6 past the focal point and it instantly busted out in flames almost explosively! You could really get some satisfaction burning fireants in your back yard with that thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 You might try putting a speaker at the focal point of the dish and see what kind of sounds you can get out of it...I bet you could project music in a really narrow straight line with that thing. Just imagine parking at a mall and beaming sound effects of cars screeching and stuff like that at people as they're walking around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zealot125 Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 Haha, Ive have had that same quandy come and pass. What I decided to do was I bought 2 industrial strength magnetrons (the things that make things cook in the microwave) and mounted them at the focus of the dish, made sure they were aligned, and proceeded to fry birds at 40 paces with this thing turned on. Instant microwave gun! It soaked up TONS of power, some neighbors told me that they lost power for a bit. No joke, just try not to stand in front of it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 ---------------- On 7/17/2005 11:57:55 AM fini wrote: .............2.) Turn it upside-down, on 4 posts, cover it with canvas, and have a groovy cabana................ ---------------- His name was fini, he was a Klipschead With kooky puns and jokes and speakers everywhere He talked of tube amps, and vintage 'tables and taking dumb financial risks buying Blue Note labeled discs Across the internet, he bought so many cabinets He had his K's and Belles and Corns Who could ever ask for more? At the fini - fini cabana.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 fini, I don't think I've ever seen a 12 foot dish for home use. That is one big dish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 Jeez, Fini, I went through all that trouble to improvise a parody for you, and you don't even respond? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 Use it for SETI experiments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 Brilliant as all these ideas are - and you can add a giant wok to the list - it might be an idea to replace the lnb and try to get some stations out of the thing. I guess with a dish of that size you could pick up just about any satelitte in the known universe. There are a lot of channels up there - some are even non-pornagraphic (about 6 I think). Is there a motor on the dish to turn it? If so connecting it with a decent modern sat receiver should yield in excess of 2000 TV stations - you should even be able to get Greek TV on it (now there's an incentive). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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