new 1.2 meter dish and 12 footer

I ordered a XCruiser XH240 from TEK2000. I don't think I'll repair this Powermax motor. I suppose when you add labor to the replacement parts I might as well have bought a new one.
 
Well, maybe you have an old receiver or old motor lying about, with just the F-connector you need?

Or else: You only need one F-connector on the motor, because (usually) it is just a plain loop through between F-connectors. So when you split the cable before the motor, you're done also.

Or is more broken than just the F-connector, on your motor?

greetz,
A33
 
Well, maybe you have an old receiver or old motor lying about, with just the F-connector you need?

Or else: You only need one F-connector on the motor, because (usually) it is just a plain loop through between F-connectors. So when you split the cable before the motor, you're done also.

Or is more broken than just the F-connector, on your motor?

greetz,
A33
if u want u can send me the motor, i could use a spare, if u look at thre internet u will find the connector at mouser, digikey , showme the cables , in about 30 sec, all at reasonable prices.
 
Well, maybe you have an old receiver or old motor lying about, with just the F-connector you need?

Or else: You only need one F-connector on the motor, because (usually) it is just a plain loop through between F-connectors. So when you split the cable before the motor, you're done also.

Or is more broken than just the F-connector, on your motor?

greetz,
A33
I don't have any broken motors or broken receivers laying around. Anyway, underneath a screwed down plate was 2 springs. One is badly deformed and will have to be replaced. Not knowing the specifics of the spring I would have to guess as to what replacement would work. I don't know what the 2 springs do.
 
if u want u can send me the motor, i could use a spare, if u look at thre internet u will find the connector at mouser, digikey , showme the cables , in about 30 sec, all at reasonable prices.
Shipping usually costs more than the part.
 
I ordered a XCruiser XH240 from TEK2000. I don't think I'll repair this Powermax motor. I suppose when you add labor to the replacement parts I might as well have bought a new one.
I just got the XH240 today. If it's not too windy I'll put it and the dish up tomorrow.
 
I'm compelled to ask how the Harbor Tek motor compares with a real STAB motor. Which seems to be the defacto standard among this type of motor.
 
The Stab motors don't seem to be in stock anywhere. I would've preferred that, but who knows when they'll be in stock again.
 
I didn't get the 1.2 meter up yet. And now we have wind gusts up to 60 MPH. It sounds like we'll still have the wind gusts for a couple more days. I sure hope my loose tribander reflector element doesn't get ripped off.
 
I got the 1.2 meter up on the tower. If I got the initial settings right, I might brave the cold and snow flurries and do an alignment. I have the motor latitude set to 42 degrees (GPS says my latitude is 41.9) and I set my dish elevation to about 14.5 degrees. The dish offset angle is 27.3 degrees and the true south elevation should 41.9 degrees according to dishpointer.com HH120 data. I'm at 103.6 degrees longitude which makes 103 the nearest. If I calculated the dish elevation correctly it should be 41.9-27.3=14.6. Is that correct? Panning the dish with the osmio4k doesn't find anything so my true south may be off if my other initial settings are correct. I'm using USALS for this dish.

By the way, the new motor XH240 is fast and quiet. I had a small issue in that the motor tube is elliptical instead of round. I had to use oversized nuts for spacers in order to secure the dish to the tube.
 
If you are using USALS, and the rest of your settings are correct, set the receiver for a satellite that's the closest to your true South. Put it on a channel that you know is LIVE. Then, once the receiver moves the motor to where that sat should be, go out to the dish, loosen the bolts very slightly holding the motor to its pole, and turn it slightly either way until the signal comes in. Once it's locked as high as you can get it and you are SURE it's on the proper sat, carefully crank down the pole bolts in turn until tight. You should be good then for all other sats.
 
If you are using USALS, and the rest of your settings are correct, set the receiver for a satellite that's the closest to your true South. Put it on a channel that you know is LIVE. Then, once the receiver moves the motor to where that sat should be, go out to the dish, loosen the bolts very slightly holding the motor to its pole, and turn it slightly either way until the signal comes in. Once it's locked as high as you can get it and you are SURE it's on the proper sat, carefully crank down the pole bolts in turn until tight. You should be good then for all other sats.
I'm assuming that the NBC mux is still on 11760 and DW is on 12080 on 103W
 
I have the motor latitude set to 42 degrees (GPS says my latitude is 41.9) and I set my dish elevation to about 14.5 degrees. The dish offset angle is 27.3 degrees and the true south elevation should 41.9 degrees according to dishpointer.com HH120 data. I'm at 103.6 degrees longitude which makes 103 the nearest. If I calculated the dish elevation correctly it should be 41.9-27.3=14.6. Is that correct?

No that is not correct.
Clarke Belt elevation due south for lat=41.9 is elevation 41.6.
Even dishpointer says that, for true south/north.
So correcting that with the dish offset angle=27.3, you get dish face elevation = 41.6-27.3=14.3 degrees.

The 41.6 is also a result of (traditional angles) motor axis elevation 48.1 minus dish declination offset angle 6.5.

Or, even better, using the so-called modified motor angles (better following the arc): of modified axis elevation 47.4 minus modified dish declination offset angle 5.8.

Greetz,
A33
 
I had to use an inclinometer to get the 1.2 meter elevation angle set correctly. I still have to fine tune this. I've been using diseqc and was able to program in some sats (91W to 103W). It seems that it doesn't matter if it's an HH motor or an actuator, keeping the dish pointed accurately without having to re-peak is problematic. Anyway, I'm getting 8.5 to 15 dB with these initial settings.
 
I got the 1.2 meter aligned and using USALS. I got it covering 87W to 125W on Ku. I don't get strong signals on the horizon sats (7.8 dB) like I do at the top of the arc (15.3 dB). Here are the photos.
 

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I guess I need to work on the 1.2 meter some more. All my signal levels dropped off since yesterday. Running "Auto focus" got them back up but autofocus shows that the azimuth is off by -3 degrees. I don't know if it's an issue with the positioner or that I don't have the mast clamped down well enough. We have 30 MPH gusts right now.
 
I guess I need to work on the 1.2 meter some more. All my signal levels dropped off since yesterday. Running "Auto focus" got them back up but autofocus shows that the azimuth is off by -3 degrees. I don't know if it's an issue with the positioner or that I don't have the mast clamped down well enough. We have 30 MPH gusts right now.
I think I got the motor tightened down on the mast better and I think that the antenna is sufficiently tightened down on the motor pipe now. I certainly can't turn it by hand (if you know what I mean). But I'm still having issues where the 4 foot dish movement is intermittent. Sometimes it won't move but if I wait about 5 minutes it does move without my doing anything. Really strange. My current setup isn't conducive to recording any satellite programming. The osmio4k is connected to a 4 port switch and the C-band dish always moves. I doubt that it's a switch issue. It's bitter cold (14 degrees F) so I can't work on it today and the daytime high is going to be below freezing for a few days.