In this cold, can I satellite surf safely?

[Power Bank]

This cold weather, well you know what it can do to a brass monkey, I wonder is my motor dish safe if I do satellite hopping?

I have oiled (WD40) and greased (with LM grease) the moving parts last autumn. It is a Channel Master dish operated by Echostar 3600 with Internal Positioner.

Can the frost freeze the dish movement or does the electrical voltage supply to the motor keep it free for movement?

Power Bank :willy_nilly:

[paul01609]

My motor is about 4 years old and never had any problems with it

[Barney]

well it was -7 to -9 past few nights recently and lots snow and i had a big problem today with my 2meter prime focus dish i use 32" heavy actuator arm but it would not move at all ..

at the rear of actuator arm is black plastic case where sensor/motor wires are connected so i thought id best check it out as i was getting ERROR2 msg from v-box and manual suggested a sensor error was the faut i opened black plastic case of actuator and found a large lump of ice inside .. this unit should be sealed properly but unfortunatly not and there was a little screw which had gotten rusted so badly the head of it was perished for the sensor wire ,
i had a job removing this screw as it was so small and delicate and luckily for me i had an old broken actuator arm so i used a screw from it and replaced the broken screw and wire and then greased the unit well and then sealed up black plastic case and away dish went driving fine since , i did have to use WD and some anti-freeze on arm aswell just to allow it to run freely again ,
i havnt yet seen any Disecq motor fail because of freezing conditions im sure it would need to drop really low in temp to stop Disecq motor from moving but actuator arms are bit diffrent and dont like the ice and cold so much ive found but still very reliable nonetheless i wont bore you any further with my stories but i hope perhaps my story may help other members that may encounter same problem .
cheers ,

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Barney

[Power Bank]

I don't fancy climbing up to my dish in this cold, slippery, icy environment if the worst happens. Judging from your experience, I think while this cold snap is about, I will decide on the satellite I want in advance. I will then park my dish on that satellite during the day for night viewing.

Power Bank

[satwyn]

there are many locations outside uk with extreme climates and have working motorised sat systems with no problems so your viewing will continue ok

[beamobhoy]

Took a risk last night and whizzed my dish from 30w to 42e a couple of times to make sure it was functioning alright. No issues so far!!

[ManikM]

im not being funny, why is it riskly? in case it freezes?

STAB motors shouldnt have any issues should they?

[ian]

no problems here with my actuator.

it did freeze solid once back in 1993,but that was much colder than it is now so far.but it was nothing a bit of de icer couldnt solve.if anything its best to keep it moving because if its moving it cannot freeze.
Ian.

[beamobhoy]

im not being funny, why is it riskly? in case it freezes?

STAB motors shouldnt have any issues should they?

It's only risky if you're a newbie like me and never had a motorised dish in these conditions before! Wasn't sure what temperatures of -12 would do to my motor. Still running like a rolls! You live and learn and then don't worry the next time there's a big freeze!