Is this a good actuator to start out with?

[iammike]

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-18-Venture-Satellite-C-Band-Dish-Mover-Actuator_W0QQitemZ5791108234QQcategoryZ32848QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I found this on ebay, looks like it might be a decent actuator to get started with. Does anyone have any opinions? I'd thought about going with a 24" arm, but I'm not sure if I need one or not so thought I might start out on the cheap end first. I think this one will work with a vbox and it seems like the Venture brand might be a little better than some others. Incidentally, does anyone have a URL for Venture?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[tdti1]

I would go for a 24"

 

[Shawn95GT]

FWIW, that looks exactly like the one I got on closeout from a DMS dealer under the band name 'Super Power Jack' or something like that. The jack itself, the hardware etc look identical. I think I got the last one as they aren't listing them for sale any more. I'll double check the branding tonight.

Its a little thing but it pushes my 5' mesh around pretty nicely. On my mount the 18" of travel is more than enough to swing my dish through my visable arc. I think My mount is more of a limitation than the actuator is! I think to go further than that I need to add spacers to clear the mount. I'll check when I get my Pansat but I'm pretty sure I'm seeing 58w clear past 148w (West of that is a tree!) with how I have it setup now.

 

[iammike]

http://cgi.ebay.com/BIG-DISH-SATELLITE-18-INCH-VENTURE-MAXI-ACTUATOR-ARM_W0QQitemZ5764011054QQcategoryZ11726QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Here's another one. They're both Venture models, but based on the price (about $50 vs. $134 shipped) I'd guess there's at least some difference. It's kind of hard to figure out, as nobody seems to list much info on their web sites. Anybody know the difference between a "Maxi" and a "Blackjack" model? The 24" version of this one is only $10 more than the 18" so I'd definitely go 24" if I get this model.

 

[iammike]

I e-mailed the guy on ebay about the Venture Maxi actuator, and he didn't recommend it for use with a v-box. He didn't elaborate on why. Does anyone have a recommendation for a good actuator to use with a v-box? I'd like to control the thing with either my Fortec receiver or Twinhan PCI card.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[Shawn95GT]

I can say for sure that the reed type actuators work like a champ behind the VBOX.

Shawn

 

[iammike]

Shawn,

Did you have a chance to check the brand on your actuator last night?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[Shawn95GT]

Shawn,

Did you have a chance to check the brand on your actuator last night?

Thanks,
Mike

Yeah - It was indeed 'Super Power Jack'. I'll take some pics tonight - it's on the dish now.

Shawn

 

[iammike]

Yeah - It was indeed 'Super Power Jack'. I'll take some pics tonight - it's on the dish now.

Shawn

Does it look like this?

 

[Shawn95GT]

That one looks bigger, but generally yeah.

In that 1st ebay auction the zinc plated hardware and whatnot is exactly like what I'm using.

Shawn

 

[iammike]

That one looks bigger, but generally yeah.

In that 1st ebay auction the zinc plated hardware and whatnot is exactly like what I'm using.

Shawn

Trouble with that one is that the guy selling it doesn't recommend using it with a vbox. He thought a VonWeise would be a better choice. I'm guessing he's a pretty honest guy, since he doesn't sell VonWeise. He said that almost all VonWeise arms have a Reed sensor.

I've been somewhat impressed with the SuperJack tech support guy today. I e-mailed them this morning, and have had an on-going e-mail exchange all day today. His only concern was that the vbox amperage spec. was a little marginal. I think it's okay for my 8 foot aluminum dish though. I'm thinking I might just pick up the 18" Superjack on the cheap, and then upgrade later if it doesn't work well enough.

 

[Shawn95GT]

Trouble with that one is that the guy selling it doesn't recommend using it with a vbox. He thought a VonWeise would be a better choice. I'm guessing he's a pretty honest guy, since he doesn't sell VonWeise. He said that almost all VonWeise arms have a Reed sensor.

I've been somewhat impressed with the SuperJack tech support guy today. I e-mailed them this morning, and have had an on-going e-mail exchange all day today. His only concern was that the vbox amperage spec. was a little marginal. I think it's okay for my 8 foot aluminum dish though. I'm thinking I might just pick up the 18" Superjack on the cheap, and then upgrade later if it doesn't work well enough.

I'd say you put way more (well deserved) thought into this than I did. Luckily, mine works. I think the specs weren't quite as critical with my smaller dish. I believe the one I have is the same as the one Cascade has pushing his 1.2M Fortec around now.

The only thing I'd check if I were in your situation is if 18" will be enough travel to swing the dish across your visible arc. I'd give the superjack a shot.

<edit>
In This thread Cascade has a good pic of his actuator. It is the same as mine. This is his pic:


</edit>

Shawn

 

[iammike]

That really does look like the Venture arm. At this point, I'm leaning towards the superjack for cost and tech support issues. You may have a point on the 24" arm, although the support guy said the 18" works for most people. He told me I should check the specs. on my dish. Since it was laying out in the woods behind a guy's house for 15 years, they're a little hard to come by. Couldn't quite bring myself to admit that. Think I'll kick it around some more and then pull the trigger tomorrow. Gotta get my toys all together so I can do some more playing this weekend.