cleaning concrete satellite dish

[vk2goh]

At the community radio station I volunteer at, we have a concrete satellite dish
which birds have used as their "toilet" for many years

Im thinking of cleaning it, however I have a number of concerns

1. The dish is on top of the roof

2. Im worried if I use any cleaning agent to remove the toilet "stains",
I might affect the strength of the receiving signal

3. Likewise, Im worried if I scrub too hard, I will create
the same problem as 2.

What would be the best way to approach this problem?

[mtv]

Concrete?

You sure about that?

Anything you do in front of the dish, standing, cleaning, etc, will interfere with received signals, so clean it when the station doesn't need to be receiving signals.

[typan]

concrete dish?? are you sure the bird doings isn’t the concrete what is the dish like under side metal or concrete?

[Seymour Butts]

A concrete dish - I would love to see that, can we get pics please.
I've seen dishes on concrete plinths but never a concrete dish
Cheers

[gordon_s1942]

Sounds like my off set 1.8 metre fibre glass dish which being all white with the honeycomb support on the back could give the impression its made of concrete but when you 'rap' it, its easy to check its not.
If it is fibreglass or on the remote chance it is concrete, I would guess it has a fine mesh or metal imbedded in the material because neither concrete or Fibreglass are noted for their reflectivity of any form of Radio signal.
The fact its on a roof will govern your access to the dish with any equipment but recently I saw a show where to avoid damage to badly rusted panels on a car, they had a pressure cleaner that I am sure they said used BAKING POWDER !!.
I have heard of crushed walnut shells used to remove paint from cars.
Also I guess like most your Community station has limited funds so what you have to spend will also dictate what method you use to clean the surface of the dish if you really think its necessary.

[tristen]

I am another who has never seen or heard of a concrete satellite dish. (...I can't see concrete being a very efficient reflector of microwave R.F. energy).

I'm also inclined to say it's a fibreglass dish.

Fibreglass tends to deteriorate with time due to exposure to the weather and the degrading effect of the sun's radiation, so any attempt to clean it could be detrimental.

I don't think that I would bother as any cleaning will have to be an ongoing process (because the birds will continue to use it).

[mtv]

Fibreglass tends to deteriorate with time due to exposure to the weather and the degrading effect of the sun's radiation, so any attempt to clean it could be detrimental.

I don't think that I would bother as any cleaning will have to be an ongoing process (because the birds will continue to use it).

If the dish is in that poor condition, the first hail storm, or even just strong winds could destroy it.

If it's in that bad shape.... replace it.

Dishes do require periodic cleaning, especially prime-focus dishes, which have a higher 'physical' elevation, which tends to accumulate crap... including the bird variety, leaves, dirt (which becomes mud) etc.

Water and a rag is usually all that is needed.

The build-up of bird droppings can become quite hard and may need to be broken away by hand.

Any deformation of the dish surface will reduce its effectiveness and signals will be reduced as a result, so for a radio station, keeping a dish clean should be part of the station's maintenance schedule.

Some UV-stabilised cable ties on LNB arms and on the top edge of dishes helps keep birds off them.

[tony54]

closest thing to a concrete satellite dish

[gordon_s1942]

The fibreglass dish I have is between a 1/4 and a 1/2 inch thick and is very rigid based on its design.
The sides of the dish walls are smooth as is most of the underside but the surface of the dish is lightly 'patterned', a bit like the dots you see now on signs with braille.
This was done during construction, not as a result of weather deterioration.

I was looking at those 'listening ears' and thought you'd have to use a Bull dozer to 'fine tune' it

[vk2goh]

ok guys here are the pics after much procrastination

[LeroyPatrol]

ok guys here are the pics after much procrastination

Your pictures aren't working. Use tinypic.com to upload them and post the forum links.

Leroy

[mtv]

The pics worked for me.

The dish could be steel, aluminium or fibreglass.... but it's definitely not concrete.

[LeroyPatrol]

I get invalid attachment contact your administrator

[tristen]

I get invalid attachment contact your administrator

So do I.

Tried with I.E. as well as Firefox - same result.

[pit5bul]

pics not working.. it might work for you because you a super moderator.. for the rest of us.. invalid attachment

[mtv]

Here are the pics.

[pit5bul]

fibreglass

[weirdo]

yep, like pit5bul said it's fibreglass and fairly chunky
just use the gerni to clean it and then either use a sealer coat or a proper paint like duraguard or durashield
if you're not game to use the gerni try some soapy water and a scrubbing brush

[apsattv]

It looks like mold and mildew just use any product designed for cleaning outdoor furniture etc. Spray it, leave it then wash it off.

something like wet n forget

[gordon_s1942]

Thats identical to one I have sitting up in the yard only the LNB is offset rather than centre feed and I dont have 'an hole in the middle' like that one does.
Regretably I dont have all the mounting fixtures, only the dish and rear bracket.
Other than being bloody big, its really quite light to manhandle, 2 can carry it quite easily.
If that was concrete however, theres no way in the world it would be sitting on a roof or mast like that one does.
Note the sides etc are quite smooth but mine has what looks like a cross hatch quilt pattern on the face of the dish and is rough to touch so that might make it a little harder to clean back but I would not use anything abrasive to remove the crud.