Crank Actuator
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I left mine outside & it froze up... I've eyeballed jacks for trailers wondering if I could modify to work...
I tried several different brands of trailer jacks this year and they all have 1/4" more or less of slop. Somehow I don't think that is the best thing in a dish mover. My high school shop class could have made a jack with near zero backlash, why can't anyone else these days?
my parents first BUD came with a hand crank... no idea where you could get one now...
I have also thought about somehow modifying a trailer jack somehow..
I have also thought about somehow modifying a trailer jack somehow..
my parents first BUD came with a hand crank... no idea where you could get one now...
I have also thought about somehow modifying a trailer jack somehow..
Maybe in Canada they still sell real trailer jacks? If anyone has a brand name of a well made one, please advise.
i suspect if you have a bad actuator , you could take the motor off and use some threadall and make it manual crank.
I have a dish I only move on a rare occasion, and I didn't want the complexitly of a actuator. I had a trailer jack laying around that was well used. The 1/4" play wasn't a problem after I added a simple bungee cord to hold the play to the west. Works fine.
That works... 
... was thinking & wondering if those jacks for mobile homes would have the slop in them...
... was thinking & wondering if those jacks for mobile homes would have the slop in them...
cranken
dfergie you may be able to revive your old crank. I have one that has been outside for probably near 20yrs, hehe. Froze up more than once, I just take it off, squirt it full of penetrating oil, wd40 sometimes, and wiggle the moving parts until it frees up again. Be sure to use gloves too-there's some foul stuff that'll come out of one end or the other!
My emergency actuator has a hand-crank, but I don't think it's what you are talking about. I took a dead motor off a working actuator, bent a piece of metal into a crank, and used a screw to secure the short part of the "L" bracket of the crank to the center screw of the arm where the motor used to interlock/engage the end of the arm screw.
That's pretty impressive that a trailer jack would serve such a good dual purpose. And I really like the way you rigged it up on your dish. It almost looks likes the dish came from the factory that way.
Too bad we can't have ten or twelve big dishes in our backyards pointing at different satellites. My neighbors are already laughing at my house every time they pass. And its no telling what they say behind my back.
I guess its a good thing I don't want to live in an exclusive community. I've got about ten three footers and one ten footer now.
Too bad we can't have ten or twelve big dishes in our backyards pointing at different satellites. My neighbors are already laughing at my house every time they pass. And its no telling what they say behind my back.
I guess its a good thing I don't want to live in an exclusive community. I've got about ten three footers and one ten footer now.
Hand cranks used to be de rigeur back in the day. My family's first dish was hand cranked, mainly because my Dad had already spent 2700.00 and another 400.00 for an actuator and control box was out, O-W-T out! And besides he had a teenager (me), what did he need a motor for?
I am sure there's a trailer jack somewhere out there that can be converted with a little effort. Sooner or later I will put the legwork in and figure one out, just for the heck of it. :up
I am sure there's a trailer jack somewhere out there that can be converted with a little effort. Sooner or later I will put the legwork in and figure one out, just for the heck of it. :up
Antenna envy is my guess. I find it strange that a home with an array of brightly colored plastic playground equipment gets a pass, but some people get all self serious when it comes to dishes. Ten ten footers -- now that would be art.
That's why I live in the country... except for a couple, most moved out here after I did so they knew I had a dish ranch...
Sundays back when I would be hunting up the feeds for the game and writing down what satellite & whether horizontal or vertical, lots of running out the back door...
Yes it was amazing the outside diameter of the jack was the same as an actuator (2" I think) and fit right in a actuator clamp. At the end of the jack I bolted on a pipe cap with a hole drilled in it to accommodate the threaded rod of the ball joint.
Just had a thought and going outside to check one of them out... I have a lightweight cabover camper that has jacks that might work...
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