Uniden UST300 Actuator Controllers

[PHRoberts]

So quick background. My dad was a one man band c-band dealer/installer in the mid to late 1980s in the upstate SC area. I spent many evenings doing homework sitting in a lawn chair in someone's yard while my dad dug a hole for a big pipe, or helping him and my mom put together a dish. On weekends we'd haul a trailer with a dish on it, set it up at a flea market with a TV, and hand out flyers to people trying to sell new systems. The earlier systems were Raydex 10ft dishes with ArcFinder Motor Drive controllers, and Drake Receivers. Later on they got more complicated with some Amplica(?) stuff, but I still remember going on service calls for the ArcFinders. Lightning would get in them and blow the tops of the chips off. My dad started installing them with trailer hitch harnesses in the wiring them so the customer could unplug them during storms if they were home.

Anyhow, I'm in the process of cleaning out my parent's old house and ran across a case of UST300 controllers. Looks like 5 new in the box, and 1 used one. I also found a new motor drive arm that he apparently purchased in 1999 but never installed. I'm guessing he was thinking about getting his old Raydex Dish back up and running, but never got around to it. Is any of this stuff relevant to the C Band world today?

 

[MikeI]

Yes. UST 300s can still move a dish when you program it and tell it what satellite you want after its originally progrsmmed. Actuator is what actually moves the dish when the UST tells where to move it too. If you are looking to sell the actuator thrn I might be interested if it's 24 inch

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[MikeI]

I f you are looking to sell a new UST 300 if it has the remote then I would be interested in that too.

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[PHRoberts]

I believe it's a 24" based on what's on the box. How would I measure it to be sure? Is it something I could test to be sure it works by hooking it up to one of the controllers? The UST's have the remotes. The one open box remote had batteries so corroded I could hardly get the cover off, but I think the other 5 didn't have batteries in them at all. I'd be happy to sell any of it. What do you think would be a fair price?

 

[MikeI]

If it says 24 inch on the box then it probably is since its new old stock. How about $200?. If you want to negotiate or go any further then I can IM you thru this forum. Thanks.

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[PHRoberts]

Here's a picture of the remote. It looks like I have 4 new ones, one new one that's marked "one button stuck on front panel" and the one that had been opened and used for something that had the really corroded batteries in the remote. It also looks like the controllers were bought in 1999 like the arm. I have no idea why he bought 5 of them.

 

[MikeI]

I sent you a message this morning. Did you get it?

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[PHRoberts]

I think I saw an old thread where people were looking for the owner's manual, so I scanned one in and made it in to a .pdf

Feel free to download this and share it as needed.

 

[PHRoberts]

I also got a chance to test these boxes with the motor drive arm that I have on hand, and made a video of it. I tested all 6 boxes, and 5 of them work great. One had a sticky button that I think I can fix, but I'll post up more about it after I try something tomorrow.

 

[PHRoberts]

So I think I fixed the sticky button unit. When I took the control board out, the button would work a few times, and then stick again. I noticed that if I left the screws that hold the control board to the cover a little loose, the button would continue to work with no problem. So I added some small o-rings between the board and the screw points in the cover. This gave it a little bit of extra space, and now the buttons work fine without sticking.

Since this one has been "messed with" I paired it with the remote that I found with badly corroded batteries in it. It works fine, and I got the corrosion out, but the springs don't look as shiny. It'll be the last one I sell.

 

[MikeI]

Have there been actual posts since June 24th on this topic? I keep getting updates but only see 10 posts. Not really a fan of this app.
BTW, motor works great. Alot quieter than the newer venture that is out now days.

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[Need2learn]

So quick background. My dad was a one man band c-band dealer/installer in the mid to late 1980s in the upstate SC area. I spent many evenings doing homework sitting in a lawn chair in someone's yard while my dad dug a hole for a big pipe, or helping him and my mom put together a dish. On weekends we'd haul a trailer with a dish on it, set it up at a flea market with a TV, and hand out flyers to people trying to sell new systems. The earlier systems were Raydex 10ft dishes with ArcFinder Motor Drive controllers, and Drake Receivers. Later on they got more complicated with some Amplica(?) stuff, but I still remember going on service calls for the ArcFinders. Lightning would get in them and blow the tops of the chips off. My dad started installing them with trailer hitch harnesses in the wiring them so the customer could unplug them during storms if they were home.

Anyhow, I'm in the process of cleaning out my parent's old house and ran across a case of UST300 controllers. Looks like 5 new in the box, and 1 used one. I also found a new motor drive arm that he apparently purchased in 1999 but never installed. I'm guessing he was thinking about getting his old Raydex Dish back up and running, but never got around to it. Is any of this stuff relevant to the C Band world today?

Hey I wouldn't mine having one of them you have any more of them?

 

[PHRoberts]

Hey I wouldn't mine having one of them you have any more of them.

They're all sold.

 

[MikeI]

Glad you were able to sale all of them. New old stock is the best

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[PHRoberts]

I sold a few of these on eBay, and one of the buyers says his dish runs the opposite direction of what the box is telling it to do (goes E when calling for W.) He says that his old box (part of an old receiver) works correctly. Would fixing this this be as simple as reversing a couple of wires? I read the instructions, and it looks like there's 24V +/-, a sense, and a ground wire. I suggested that he come to this forum for help, but I don't see anything from him here.

 

[primestar31]

I sold a few of these on eBay, and one of the buyers says his dish runs the opposite direction of what the box is telling it to do (goes E when calling for W.) He says that his old box (part of an old receiver) works correctly. Would fixing this this be as simple as reversing a couple of wires? I read the instructions, and it looks like there's 24V +/-, a sense, and a ground wire. I suggested that he come to this forum for help, but I don't see anything from him here.

All he has to do is REVERSE the + and - power wires going to the actuator motor. He can do that right on the back of the controller box. Shouldn't take more than a minute or two.

 

[PHRoberts]

That's what I thought might work, but I didn't want to advise that without asking here first.