Really Rocket Science

 

 

I had cable TV for many years, then switched to Dish Network for a few. Along comes HDTV and I went back to cable just so I could get MSG-HD (Let’s Go Rangers!). Dolan says forget you (check the Cee Lo Green song for proper pronunciation), so I get a deal on DirecTV bundled with Verizon Phone+DSL. Waiting for FiOS-TV, thought that would be a good idea. That’s not happening in my neighborhood, and DirecTV’s signal attenuation (rain fade) was driving me nuts, so back to DISH I west. Brilliant move as they’re now splitting the U.S. up into and East & West scheme: east coast capacity is at 61.5 West, and the west coast is using 129 West et. al. Better look angle for me and the signal is super — no loss at all and plenty of HD content. Price is right, too.

So now what am I supposed to so with the old reflector? We’ve featured quite a few DIY projects that recycle or re-use old satellite antennas. From using an old Primestar reflector to improve WiFi, to the wireless Internet cantenna, to more physical structures such as this BUD gazebo and the ever-popular solar cooker. Not to mention one for the birds. 

 

 

With the Captain America movie set to release this summer (Hollywood’s run out of ideas again), it was inevitable somebody would get to taking an old dish and making it into a shield, via Instructables contributor seamster…

 I’m not really into comics and the like, but I had been wanting to make a Captain America shield for some time.

I originally tried using an old plastic sled, but it gave me all sorts of grief. The type of plastic would not take paint very well (not even Krylon Fusion for plastics), or any type of adhesive that I tried.

I eventually came across a used satellite dish, and with a little bit of modifying this turned out to the be best option for a Captain America shield. It will make a great gift for someone this year.

If you are interested in making one of these, you may have to do a bit of searching and asking to find a used satellite dish. I’ve seen them show up at thrift stores from time to time. Keep your eyes open, and you should be able to find one.

Great idea — and execution, too.

 

 

This entry was posted on Friday, February 4th, 2011 at 9:00 am and is filed under Front Page, NASA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.