Dish Won't Move Anymore

[sdsat]

Yesterday while I was scanning the skies looking for football games, my dish simply stopped moving. My receiver still turns on and goes through the motions of changing satellites. But, when I go out and look at the dish it isn't moving. Does that mean I burned out my dish motor? Is there anything else to try before I call the Dish Doctor and get him out here? Thanks.

SDSAT

 

[Mr Tony]

what kind of motor?

If its a SG2100 try a reset with the paperclip at the motor.

 

[sdsat]

I'm afraid that I don't know what motor I have. My dish is way up on my roof (a very high two stories) so I had it installed by the Dish Doctor. I can call and see if he has a record of this. Is there a way to tell without climbing on the roof? If not, is there a link to directions for rebooting?

Thanks for your help!

 

[satcustomer]

For approximately a year, I have been using a Stab-HH90 motor to frequently travel the arc from 72W to 123W. Although, knock on wood, I haven't experienced any issues with this motor, I have been wondering what the motor's useful life might be?

 

[Mr Tony]

I've used a SG2100 that has survived 4 Minnesota winters so far with no issues

 

[satcustomer]

Well hopefully my Stab-HH90 will hold up in the "cold" Northern California rainy winters!

 

[sdsat]

My system is exactly 2 years old and has worked great until now. Not too much snow in San Diego, but it hasn't missed a beat in rain, etc.

Any tips on how to reset a motor? Or, even how to figure out what motor you have?

Thanks!

 

[qwert1515]

Normally to reset the motor you have to go out to the motor and press a button with a paper clip, or open the motor up if it is a Stab.

The only other thing you can try from inside is to turn off the receiver or unplug it from the wall and wait a few minutes and plug it back in.

Good luck, I hope you can fix it without the Dish Doctor.

 

[sdsat]

Thanks. I've tried resetting the receiver (it has an on/off switch on the back). That didn't work. It looks like I will need to climb the roof. Yikes, I'm afraid of heights. I'll try to work up to it by next Saturday . . . .

 

[sdsat]

I spoke with the Dish Doctor today. He told me that it is likely that I have an SG 2100. I won't know until I actually climb the roof. He said that he thinks it is very likely that I burned out something in the motor and that doing the paperclip reset trick is "99%" unlikely to fix the problem. He also said that I will need to put the dish back to true south if the reset does fix the problem.

All true? Partially true? The Dish Doctor has been a good resource over the years (I used to work with him when I had a ring mounted BUD).

Is it common to need to reset the motor and does that usually do the trick? (This board has also been an invaluable resource over the years!)

 

[jerryt]

It is not uncommon for the SG2100 to need a reset.

Yes, if it starts moving again after a reset, move it to zero and reset it again.

 

[sdsat]

It is not uncommon for the SG2100 to need a reset.

Yes, if it starts moving again after a reset, move it to zero and reset it again.

Great! Now I just need to work up the courage to climb my very tall roof . . . .

 

[hantu]

When I first installed my setup, my motor would stop moving, as well.

If I:

cut the power at the receiver (throw the big switch in the back)
remove the coax from the "Antenna" jack
wait 30 seconds
reconnect the coax
re-power the receiver

the problem would be solved. The motor would start to move to whatever satellite was selected for viewing.

Better than climbing up on the roof, as far as I'm concerned.

Cheers,
Hantu

 

[lumpkin666]

Any chance that you can get Line-Of-Sight from another location? I'd seriously consider moving the dish (even if it costs you a bit of $$$) so that you can access it more easily. These things are tempermental at times.... it's best to have access to them so that you can tinker with them and fine tune them as needed.

 

[sdsat]

When I first installed my setup, my motor would stop moving, as well.

If I:

cut the power at the receiver (throw the big switch in the back)
remove the coax from the "Antenna" jack
wait 30 seconds
reconnect the coax
re-power the receiver

the problem would be solved. The motor would start to move to whatever satellite was selected for viewing.

Better than climbing up on the roof, as far as I'm concerned.

Cheers,
Hantu

Sadly, I just tried that and it didn't work . . .

 

[sdsat]

Any chance that you can get Line-Of-Sight from another location? I'd seriously consider moving the dish (even if it costs you a bit of $$$) so that you can access it more easily. These things are tempermental at times.... it's best to have access to them so that you can tinker with them and fine tune them as needed.

Unfortunately, there isn't a place that will work that has better access . . . .

 

[sdsat]

An update: I'm kicking myself on this one. I determined that my motor was fine but that my receiver was bad by borrowing another pansat 2700a and moving my dish with it. So, I purchased a new receiver on Tuesday (should arrive today).

Last night, as I was preparing to unhook the old receiver and throw it away, I remembered that I hadn't tried a factory reset. I remember being so opposed to losing all of my channels that I didn't try that at first. But, as I'm about to throw out the entire box, I thought what have I got to lose. So, you guessed it, I did a factory reset and the receiver works just like new. Argh. What am I going to do with two receivers? My wife was not thrilled with the new purchase as it was.

My one consolation is that I purchased a coolsat 6000 and I'm told that the blind scan is twice as fast as the pansat. So, I will give it a shot. My primary use is searching for feeds so blind scan is important.

Is there a market for used dishes . . . .?

 

[lumpkin666]

Is there a market for used dishes . . . .?

Do you mean "used satellite receivers"? if so, then your answer is yes. (actually used satellite dishes are sellable too, but its harder due to size/shipping). List it in our Classified section, or put it on ebay. It'll sell (maybe not for coolsat6000 money, but it'll sell) Or put it in another room and use it too!

 

[qwert1515]

I believe only Pub members can list items in the Classified section here.