Any DIY dish mounts?

Used a piece of 2x8 for the base, with three 18" 2x2 legs. One leg bolted solid, the other two could pivot so they could "fold" up against the fixed leg for storage. Picture a square with three legs sticking out at 120 degrees apart. Added a vertical stove bolt in the end of each leg for leveling. Used this $2 rig for many years until receiving a dome antenna.

Have one like wxtoad and never had a problem with wind and I've boon docked in the desert wind.

I made this simple mount using PVC pipe. Comes apart for storage and takes up very little space. Amazingly quick and easy to set up. It's very stable on uneven ground and in high winds.

I've learned the hard way you need to make sure the wind won't flip the dish over. Can't always drive stakes into the ground so I bought a base for a patio umbrella but doesn't hold quite enough water to help much.

I wish there was something more elegant than using a 5 gallon pail or heavy concrete blocks. The idea of the inverted dish closer to the ground is a good idea.

Making a clamp that attaches to a picnic table is about the only other option I can think of. Except that sometimes CG picnic tables are old and rotten and/or wobbly.

I've used our modified $25 tripod for almost 10 years with no stability problems just using a half full 5 gallon pail for ballast. The photo below shows our setup right now that withstood up to 50 MPH wind gusts today in Virginia.

The surveyors tripod has pointed feet with a foot step which lets you push it an inch or two into the ground. I never had it blow over.

Remember the legs are long so the feet are feet apart. Very stable.

A bucket of water or a few plastic bottles of water would be plenty.

I used it with a Slimline.

I switched to DISH with an auto align Winegard Pathway.

Is a bucket of concrete stable enough in wind? The dish will be a DirectTV HD Slim Line. Wind has been my biggest concern with any design.

Tom_M wrote:
A friend of mine uses a setup like the following:

http://rvroadtrip.us/library/dishstand.php

I used to use one like this when I used Directv SD. Leveling wasn’t important for that dish.

When HD took over, I switched to a surveyors tripod and made a mount.

Rock solid, easy to level and light.

Yes, I made my own, which served very well for a number of years. Sadly, all the pictures have been deletedbut if you will PM me, I will tell you how to make one very cheaply. Also, I have seen ones made from Plastic pipe that are very compact, lightweight, and easy to travel and store. Most are made to use the dish inverted, laying on its back, which makes it very stable. Like said, PM me for instructions on how to make one very cheaply.

I use a roof mount tripod antenna and screw it to the ground with lag screws.