Thread: i am having the reed count on the actuator changing from day to day.

i dug out the o-scope and looked at the signal from the actuator reed relay into the gbox and it looks good. it is getting boring having to reset the satellite position almost every day. and it don't necessarily go the same way? maybe 20 counts on the gbox 3000. will watch and see if the count goes the same way each time. maybe the magnet wheel is slipping in the motor or something like that? anyone have a problem like this? thanks, charlie

Is this the 36 inch actuator you are running with 18 guage sprinkler wire. If so that's a big arm, and will need heavier wire than 18 guage to run it properly. I f you have 6 strands running out to the actuator try twisting 2 strands together for each side for the power. That will leave you 2 wires for the reed. 36 inches is a long arm and it takes a lot of power to drive it.

i do have two idle wires. i will double up those 18ga wires. the info sheet recommended 16 ga. i didn't think that would affect the reed count though. maybe it makes it go slower and then miss some counts? charlie

If it's not losing pulses, could it be the actuator slipping in it's mounting?

today hooked up the other pair of wires. had to trudge through 6 inches of new snow to do it. and increased the arm length for the actuator to mount to, about three inches. discovered that the bracket holding the actuator arm was not very tight. fixed that. post in the ground has not set yet and moves a little bit. thats where i think my problem is. we haven't had any rain for a couple of months so my post is not set in tight. will try to pour 5 gallon bucket of water on the cement and dirt around the post and then when it freezes it shouldn't move till spring. if i can figure out how to post a picture i will do it... charlie

still working on the dish to get it to go back to the same spot day after day. i have determined that moving the dish slightly does not have much effect on the counts. however, going from 72w to 125w and then back will change the count. i have found out that tilting the actuator on the 'gymbals?' moves the dish east and west. there was a slight incline from the two points the actuator is mounted. took some of the tilt out and got a noticeable improvement in the count difference. hope for warmer weather to work on this problem. charlie

Chas, Well maybe we're having the same issue here. I've never solved it though! 24" arm with an 8 foot Fortec dish. If I tell the Gbox to go from 72W to 125W it will be off about 4-5 clicks every time on each bird I go to. I've checked everything and all the brackets are tight. I've been stumped on this one for a long time and just learned to live with it I guess...I thought of replacing the 24" arm with a 36" of better quality maybe....Blind

i have the 36" arm. about 50 degrees today so i am oiling the gymbols and moving them around. am going from 72w to 125w and not having to do more clicks. however, montana pbs is still giving me fits. i just adjusted for montana pbs and i lost amc9, 85w but still getting 72w ok. do you think the microhd could fix my problems? charlie

>> ~97.49W and 72W comes in OK, but lost 85W, also 125 is now OK. <<
Is 72 just OK, or is it at it's maximum?
I'd spend more time aligning the dish (maybe,until it's tracking a nat's A55 across the arc) before spending $ on a receiver. A different receiver cannot make up for tracking deficiencies at the dish. Also, Check declination by doing an azimuth adjustment on the east and west side. Compare the mounts position on the pole at each. If not =, declination is off. Best to do this at satellite locations equidistant from your center. Time spent on the dish pays off in the end.