gbox positioner or actuator flaking

[joshrr]

Hi, I have a gbox positioner that moves a harl/powerjack 24" 36v actuator on a 6ft dish. Recently its been flaking out, losing count and randomly the gbox has thrown an E-2 error (its only error). Now all it does is throw the E-2 error when you try and move the dish.

Wiring is fine (tested). Tried testing the read and during testing I noticed that the gbox is throwing 16volts out to the reed sensor even when the gbox is turned off. Can anyone verify that it should be throwing 16volts even when the power botton has been hit and the unit is turned off? I always thought the reed sensor simply sent pulses as a magnet spun next to it.

Thanks for anyone who can check this out on their gbox or similar setup. This isnt making sense and I want to track the problem down to the reed switch or the gbox.

thanks!!

 

[stanleyjohn]

I also had some major headaches when i recently got my c-band set up.When i used my g-box with the receiver the actuator (same as yours) would run away at times and lost its set points!Only way to stop it was to unplug the g box.The motor also at times would forget where to stop.Here is what i did to fix mine.
1-checked all connections! Good but problem still there.
2.Did a master reset of g-box still no good! Note! i also had your error 2 problem and after a master reset i was able to use box again.
3.Was told to try to use box directly without receiver! Still No good
4.Bought a different brand g box. Still no good
5 Finally went and bought another actuator (bought the heavy duty QUAL model) and system has worked great since.
So after many painfull days it came down to a new actuator that didnt work right.I might of gone overboard buying another new one when it could of been a defective reed switch.I kept the old one and some day i may get another reed switch for it and see if it fixes the problem.

 

[joshrr]

Wow thanks for the reply. That is EXACTLY what was happening to me except now all I get are E-2 errors and it will only move in 1inch chunks. Can you verify for me, with an electrical tester, that 15 to 16 volts comes out of your gbox when its turned off (but still plugged in). Also, do you think resetting the gbox helped or was it a fluke? I'd hate to lose all my positions as I think the QARL has the same pulses per inch as the HARL.

Thanks a ton for your advice!

 

[stanleyjohn]

I only find voltage on the motor terminals when motor is moving!Meter here not so great but voltage is at least 16v.When motor is not running! volts on output is zero!makes no difference if g box is on or off.I know what you say about loosing presets if a master reset is done!but in my case i found no other way to get box to work again.For me this was a brand new set up so i really didnt have many satellites stored yet.The master rest didnt solve my problems!after reseting the set points again and using the actuator the motor went wild again in a short time and i again lost my set points and had to unplug my box to shut down the motor.In my case it had to be the actuator because all problems went away after hooking up another actuator.I know how you feel!went through the same problem.If actuator is under warrenty i would start by getting it replaced since a new box didnt do me any good.If not in warrenty i would get a new reed switch! they are only a few dollars and can be found on most sites that sell actuators.Maybe someone else will chime in with another possible solution.

 

[LocutusOfBorg]

Hi, I have a gbox positioner that moves a harl/powerjack 24" 36v actuator on a 6ft dish. Recently its been flaking out, losing count and randomly the gbox has thrown an E-2 error (its only error). Now all it does is throw the E-2 error when you try and move the dish.

Wiring is fine (tested). Tried testing the read and during testing I noticed that the gbox is throwing 16volts out to the reed sensor even when the gbox is turned off. Can anyone verify that it should be throwing 16volts even when the power botton has been hit and the unit is turned off? I always thought the reed sensor simply sent pulses as a magnet spun next to it.

Thanks for anyone who can check this out on their gbox or similar setup. This isnt making sense and I want to track the problem down to the reed switch or the gbox.

thanks!!

The last time I checked, 16V would burn up the reed sensor. The actuator motor should be getting around 36V.

 

[joshrr]

Cool I'll try a master reset and a new actuator first. So can anyone tell me how a reed sensor works. Does the positioner send some voltage to the reed sensor and then the reed sensor interrupts the voltage? Or does the reed sensor generate the pulses and the gbox should not be sending any power to the reed at all? Just wondering what normal operation should look like and why my gbox is dumping a steady 15 to 16v out the sensor hookup.

Thanks!

 

[hd fan]

the reed sensor does not requiere power but earlier sensors like optical or hall effect requiered power , some 5V others 12V I guess. A GBox or VBox 3000 I think is designed for reed sensor only and therefore has NO DC power on the sensor terminals at all times. I think your GBOX might be defective and therefore you also have problably damaged the reed sensor.

Disconect the 2 sensor wires at the GBOX and Check if there is still voltage on them (coming from the actuator) but more likely it is the GBOX putting the 16V out on the sensor terminals since it is defective. If that is the case by a new reed switch as well and replace them.

 

[Pixl]

the reed sensor does not requiere power but earlier sensors like optical or hall effect requiered power , some 5V others 12V I guess. A GBox or VBox 3000 I think is designed for reed sensor only and therefore has NO DC power on the sensor terminals at all times.

The G-box will work optical or hall sensor type actuators if you supply
the voltage externally. I use an old 5v cell phone charger with my G-box and optical sensor.

Jim

 

[joshrr]

Ok.. yeah no voltage is coming from the reed sensor when unhooked from the gbox. Gbox still crankin out 16v from the sensor terminals even after the master reset and throws an E2 every time I try and move the dish. I'll try and replace both units. Thanks!!!

 

[stanleyjohn]

Maybe thats what happened to me! My g box was defective but when i got a new one it didnt work well also because the first g box damaged the reed sensor on my actuator.If this is the case with you!i would get a new g box and just replace the reed sensor in your actuator.

 

[joshrr]

Talked to Sadoun today (where I ordered my whole rig). Ok.. going to say their customer support totally ROCKS. Thank you Sadoun. Totally hassle free. Even let me upgrade to the QARL for the difference in price of my old actuator. So they are sending new Gbox and new actuator.

Yes I believe that the gbox roasted the reed switch. I verified that no pulses are coming from the reed switch but the motor is working. Also, 16v steady from the sensor connectors on the Gbox so with 16v streaming from the sensor connector... the Gbox aint sensing reed pulses... and roasting the reed at the same time.

Hopefully a new Gbox stays stable and doesnt roast my new actuator. But you said your new one is working fine right? Hopefully they made some manufacturing changes.

 

[stanleyjohn]

Talked to Sadoun today (where I ordered my whole rig). Ok.. going to say their customer support totally ROCKS. Thank you Sadoun. Totally hassle free. Even let me upgrade to the QARL for the difference in price of my old actuator. So they are sending new Gbox and new actuator.

Yes I believe that the gbox roasted the reed switch. I verified that no pulses are coming from the reed switch but the motor is working. Also, 16v steady from the sensor connectors on the Gbox so with 16v streaming from the sensor connector... the Gbox aint sensing reed pulses... and roasting the reed at the same time.

Hopefully a new Gbox stays stable and doesnt roast my new actuator. But you said your new one is working fine right? Hopefully they made some manufacturing changes.

It should be ok!Worked for me I think you will like the QARL Its looks alot more heavy duty compared to the HARL.Sadoun really tries to make things right! Thats one reason i bought two FTA systems from him.If you bought from sadoun then your setup should look alot like mine in this pic.PS! Let us know how it works out plus a pic or two of your new set up cant hurt.

 

[LocutusOfBorg]

Talked to Sadoun today (where I ordered my whole rig). Ok.. going to say their customer support totally ROCKS. Thank you Sadoun. Totally hassle free. Even let me upgrade to the QARL for the difference in price of my old actuator. So they are sending new Gbox and new actuator.

It's interesting that everyone but me can get to talk with someone at Sadoun. I always get their voice mail even during normal business hours. Sometimes I get a return call and sometimes I don't. Online orders get processed though.

 

[joshrr]

I definitely will post picture. Yeah my rig looks a lot like yours. Get great signal too but there are 2 transponders in c-band I cant get. the RTV dvb-s2 TPs on 83 West AMC 3 and the Fox news HD etc.. TP on 135 (I think) My setup is perfectly alligned via spectrum analyzer so I know its pointed right. Have a DMX741 for the lnb. Oh well. All other C-band comes in 75 to 80 qual so Im happy.

In response to the other post, I havent had any trouble getting a live body there. I did a lot of communication via email too which they were responsive about. Hopefully you 'll have more luck in the future.