Motor error....checking the jack ?

[consolglass]

Got a motor error from my echostar3000viap which is now my positioner..checked the motor cable for continuity...all 4 cores ok...took the cover off the rx bit dusty but all looks ok...have done no checks though(dont know how to ) was wondering if there are any checks you can do on a jack to establish whether its working ok ? had this jack since 1995 so canny old now...bought with the dish/polarmoount etc...had no problems until now....any help appreciated
cheers

[AM556]

Can't help on the actuator question but have you considered converting your dish (assuming it's a good one) to be used with a H-H motor?

[chorleycat]

hi - consolglass

connect the 2 motor leads directly to a car battery to check the jack -
it will only move slowly as it only getting 1/3 of its normal power ,
but it will tell you if the jack,s motor is dead or not --
it wont matter which way round the wires are connected to the battery, as reversing them just sends the jack the other way

if thats o.k. -- it may be the counter / sensor on the jack - thats failed - i,m certain that will also give "motor error " on an echostar

regards c.c.

[consolglass]

cheers guys ...will try the battery option tommorrow....the dish is a 1metre channel master...what are the benefits of a horizon to horizon ?

[AM556]

Benefits being you only need the CT100 (or similar) cable that carries the Diseqc signal (not much benefit as you already have the multi-cable laid. You can use a single receiver which controls the motor by either Diseqc 1.2 or USALS.

[ABA]

Benefits being you only need the CT100 (or similar) cable that carries the Diseqc signal (not much benefit as you already have the multi-cable laid. You can use a single receiver which controls the motor by either Diseqc 1.2 or USALS.


if you look he has the echostar3000viap
the echostar only works a motor that is 36 volts
and not any diseqc motor
the diseqc on the echostar only works a switching unit

[ian]

who in their right mind would switch from a proper actuator and polar mount to the upstart technology of diseqc running an H to H motor?
diseqc powering an H to H motor is entry level stuff and god is it slow.i can move my dish from 45e to 45w in 26 seconds using my actuator.i think my mates diseqc driven H to H motor gets from astra 19e to about thor 1w in that time,if he's lucky lol.

i would consider investing in the vboxII though mate,for the price of them you will never look back.these use the diseqc commands and convert them for use with proper actuators and polar mounts.ian.

[lordshoa]

I was going to say the same thing about the H2H but you could get a 1224 H2H which is far better than those flimsy little things they call h2h motors.
The thing about those Diesqc motors is dame slow only 12v instead of 36.

V-Box would be the way I would go as my echostar done the same thing as your did motor error and i looked in the end of the motor and the wires had over heated and the plastic had melted I have no idea why its setup correctly.

Anyhow what I done was got some instant gasket and put it between the wires to make sure they are well spread apart and will never fuse together again was a brand new motor as well.

I cut the wire in half, so now I only have to replace half at a time instead of the 40 meters and made a connector box on the wall.

Which ever way you look at it if you got a v36 motor and positioner may as well stick to that, or buy a new stb I only use my 3600 for moving the dish now.

[consolglass]

right guys sorry for the delay in getting back to you...have tried the actuator on a battery and it works no problem...so it looks like the problem lies with the echostar...need to replace some rusty bolts/nuts etc before i can try it again fully connected...will be in touch ...but if i have to say goodbye to the echostar and replace it with a v box...are they easy to install...i have "onscreen" menu`s with the echostar for fine tuning etc...looks like the v box does not have that luxury!!

[stars]

Hi...

Its easy to install, it does not have a OS display but with the manual and
the remote controll its quite easy to install.

I have been usinga a vbox II and a dreambox 7000 for a long time and
no problems...

The only problem I had was to get hold of a new actuator because the old one ahd jamed it selfe (I have repaired it now a ...spare motor).

The I have a actuator with optical sensor and these are rare and you must
have an extra 5V outlet on your Vbox.....

Well some history.....after all V box II is easy to install and use...

stars...

[chorleycat]

hi -- consolglass --

its not bound to be the echostar thats failed it may well be the sensor/ counter - inside the actuator cover thats failed , or one of its connections
on the terminal block

you could try cleaning up those connections if you havn,t already .---
a bad connection there that will give a "motor error " also .

is it possible for you to borrow or somehow test it on a known working actuator ? then you would know for sure if it was your reciever or not ---
regards c.c.

[seti]

If it is the reed switch (sensor/ counter) I used one from a alarm system door contact, been working Ok for years now..

[pilsner]

in the echostar motor settings make sure the limits are not the same value ie: east starts 1000 and west finish 1785 the last one is subject to size of dish.pilsner

[Satcat]

[QUOTE=ian;617561]who in their right mind would switch from a proper actuator and polar mount to the upstart technology of diseqc running an H to H motor?
diseqc powering an H to H motor is entry level stuff and god is it slow.i can move my dish from 45e to 45w in 26 seconds using my actuator.i think my mates diseqc driven H to H motor gets from astra 19e to about thor 1w in that time,if he's lucky lol.


Nothing wrong with diseqc motors!
Just timed mine 1W - 19E, 17secs. 45W - 28E, 51secs.
Not as fast as actuator but fast enough and more accurate.

[satwyn]

[QUOTE=ian;617561]who in their right mind would switch from a proper actuator and polar mount to the upstart technology of diseqc running an H to H motor?
diseqc powering an H to H motor is entry level stuff and god is it slow.i can move my dish from 45e to 45w in 26 seconds using my actuator.i think my mates diseqc driven H to H motor gets from astra 19e to about thor 1w in that time,if he's lucky lol.


Nothing wrong with diseqc motors!
Just timed mine 1W - 19E, 17secs. 45W - 28E, 51secs.
Not as fast as actuator but fast enough and more accurate. they do the job on small dishes more accurate well not here my 24 inch actuator arm on 1.8m dish is allways spot on after years of use

[Satcat]

[QUOTE=Satcat;619870

Nothing wrong with diseqc motors!
Just timed mine 1W - 19E, 17secs. 45W - 28E, 51secs.
Not as fast as actuator but fast enough and more accurate.[/QUOTE]

The above times were made moving the dish to a V polarity channel (13volts)
The same movements made in H polality (18volts) were faster, 12secs and 40secs.

[satwyn]

you're probably using the carl lewis version

[consolglass]

fraid I cant test it anywhere mate...everyone has moved onto diseqc!!!!!
ok guys....replaced the bolts etc...tested and no joy!! still getting motor error..so done a factory re-set on the echostar...went through the set up proceedure...set the east limit...no problem...went to set the west limit...got a motor error again...removed (one by one) and replaced the connections to the receiver..still the same until i removed and replaced the gnd(ground??) everthing worked fine...strange one !!

[chorleycat]

hi -- consolglass --

yes strange indeed ??

the main thing is its up and running again ----

old fashioned it may be -- but i like the old 36 volt --- reciever driven / actuator setups .

regards c.c.

[ian]

@satcat

i could never cope with those times,i would find i never bothered channel hopping(much like my mate hardly does)

in the times you posted to move your dish from 45W to 28.2E,even the faster times you posted,i can virtually move my dish from 45E to 45W and back again.you are also very limited on the size of dish you can have,i think 1.2m is the very biggest and even then you have to have the strongest H to H mount there is and thats even slower than the times you posted! lol

actuators are extremely accurate my friend,problems only start to occur after many,many years of use when the bearing inside the actuator starts to wear a little and gives a little bit of play on the actuator arm.but this costs a fiver and about half an hour to replace and only needs doing between every 5 to 10 years.

@consolglass,get yourself a v box mate and do away with the old echostar positioner,the sponsers sell them and they are quite cheap,about £40.honestly,you will never look back and will wonder why you waited so long.ian.

[consolglass]

@ ian have thought about the v box mate...but at the moment the echostar is up and running again no problems(i hope)...i need to spend a bit of time and money on my system...need to make the mount more "stable"...I`m going to make a dedicated concrete stand...at the moment its on concrete"pads"...which work ok but i do find from time to time that i need to tweak the dish for maximum signal...i use the signal meter on my DM800 for this....is a v box this user friendly ??? ie is the dish "tweakable" after installation
cheers