Can somebody tell me what gauge of wire I'm going to need to set up an actuator on a 6' dish? I've got all sorts that I'm sure is capable, but no point in having something done incorrectly.
Actuator wiring requirements
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16 gauge for the two motor wires, 22 gauge for the sensor wires was the standard with ribbon cable
Depends on who you ask. I am using 16 ga stranded on a run of less than 100 feet with no problems. I have been told that no smaller than 12 would work and I would have a fire in the ground and my dish would melt from the strain, the satellites would stop sending me signal, if I used smaller than 12ga. Mine works fine. 
Here lately I have seen a lot of talk about the seven conductor sprinkler wire, and it is 18 gauge, and I bought 100 feet of that to use on my Birdview, which isn't together just yet, so I cannot tell you how it works. But past reports point to good performance if the distances are kept reasonable.
If you have longer to go, bump up your size a couple to compensate for the long run.
Servo wire, OTOH, I am sure can be as small as 22ga. On all the dishes I have wrecked it was tiny, tiny.
I hope some of that helped.
Here lately I have seen a lot of talk about the seven conductor sprinkler wire, and it is 18 gauge, and I bought 100 feet of that to use on my Birdview, which isn't together just yet, so I cannot tell you how it works. But past reports point to good performance if the distances are kept reasonable.
If you have longer to go, bump up your size a couple to compensate for the long run.
Servo wire, OTOH, I am sure can be as small as 22ga. On all the dishes I have wrecked it was tiny, tiny.
I hope some of that helped.
I use 12ga. Plenum Speaker Wire to move the Dish, and the 5 Conductor Sprinkler wire for the Pulse / Servo.
I'm using the seven conductor sprinkler wire on three of my dishes and have had no problems with it, with the longest total run at around 195 ft. Now if you were continuously moving the dish then you might see a problem with heating up the cable for the actuator, but I would be skeptical, it's solid copper and not stranded wire. Just lay it out and see what happens, I've seen no problems with any of my 920's using it.
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16 gauge (12V outdoor lighting cable)
Got 5-100' packs at Lowes for $25 - on clearance - $5/pk
16ga is good for 10-12 amps... I doubt the actuators draw near that much... the 24V may come close, but I doubt the 36V will.
Got 5-100' packs at Lowes for $25 - on clearance - $5/pk
16ga is good for 10-12 amps... I doubt the actuators draw near that much... the 24V may come close, but I doubt the 36V will.
Wiring The Actuator:
The actuator line is comprised of four (sometimes five) stranded copper wires.
These actuator wires should be connected to the appropriate terminals on the back of the receiver (or a separate actuator controller).
The Two shielded motor sensor wires provide pulse, and ground. The vast majority of actuator motors do not require power to be hooked to the sensor. Look inside the actuator housing. If there are only two wires connected to the sensor, then hook up pulse and ground to their respective terminals. IF there are three wires connected to the sensor, and pulse and ground interchangeably to the other two sensor wires, then use 3 wires.
The two large stranded wires connect to the large wire terminals at the actuator motor and to the motor wire "M1" and "M2" terminals on the back of the receiver or actuator controller. Now try to move the dish to the east or west; if the dish moves in the direction opposite to the on intended, reverse the wires connected to the motor wire "M1" and "M2" terminals.
The actuator line is comprised of four (sometimes five) stranded copper wires.
- Two 12 or 14 gauge stranded wires are used to power the motor and
- Two color-coded 18 or 22 gauge shielded wires connect to the sensor.
These actuator wires should be connected to the appropriate terminals on the back of the receiver (or a separate actuator controller).
The Two shielded motor sensor wires provide pulse, and ground. The vast majority of actuator motors do not require power to be hooked to the sensor. Look inside the actuator housing. If there are only two wires connected to the sensor, then hook up pulse and ground to their respective terminals. IF there are three wires connected to the sensor, and pulse and ground interchangeably to the other two sensor wires, then use 3 wires.
The two large stranded wires connect to the large wire terminals at the actuator motor and to the motor wire "M1" and "M2" terminals on the back of the receiver or actuator controller. Now try to move the dish to the east or west; if the dish moves in the direction opposite to the on intended, reverse the wires connected to the motor wire "M1" and "M2" terminals.
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