Late Titanium asc1 review

[stargate5]

Hi i'm sorry it took so lone to post a review on the asc1 that i won last fall. when asc1 come it was well packaged i hooked it to my Alien 2 it only took like 10 min. to set up all my satellites. i replaced a V-BOX with it way more power moving the dish asc1 could move the dish all winter down to 15 below the
v-box i had to wrap a heat tape around the actuator and put pipe wrap around it. so it works great sorry nothing on servo control i use lnbfs servo motors don't like cold either. so two thumbs up. Thanks!

 

[KF4YLM]

Thanks for the write-up.

I think the ASC1 is hard to beat.

Mine went "blank screen" for a while if it had to move the 3m antenna more than about 20deg. Stop and wait, display would come back. Sometimes the LNB voltage would wink out in that '''blank" phase, too.

Turns out, I had a bum (yet functional) servo on the polarity rotor! That was pulling serious current and stressing out the 5vdc rail. The LM7805 inside the ASC1 has no heat sink of it's own (bare tab TO220). Clue was directly cooling that IC with a can of "freeze"...

New servo and we're moving again no prob!

My old Von Wiess motor does get slow on the far East end of the tracked arc.. (I track 53 - 139W). Prob time to pull it apart and rebuild. But it gets slow enough that Reed pulse interval makes ASC think it's hit a mechanical limit.


Back to the ASC.... Mine did have trouble properly passing DiSEQC commands out to the feed. Scoped this and found the waveform badly distorted. Wouldn't drive a switch at the feed. But out pass a 22khz unmodulated tone fine enough to drive a 2-port tone switch. Used this to switch between C and Ku feeds. Need to revisit the DiSEQC commands pass thru now that I have replaced that bum servo.

 

[ZetaMale]

I found that I can't leave my serial cable hooked up to the ASC1 all the time. It causes it not to work until I remove the cable. I know, it's not necessary to leave it connected all the time but I'm lazy.

 

[norman881]

I found that I can't leave my serial cable hooked up to the ASC1 all the time. It causes it not to work until I remove the cable. I know, it's not necessary to leave it connected all the time but I'm lazy.

I haven't had mine connected since I installed my ASC1 in 2014. I have not needed it since then.

 

[Titanium]

Mine did have trouble properly passing DiSEQC commands out to the feed. Scoped this and found the waveform badly distorted. Wouldn't drive a switch at the feed. But out pass a 22khz unmodulated tone fine enough to drive a 2-port tone switch. Used this to switch between C and Ku feeds. Need to revisit the DiSEQC commands pass thru now that I have replaced that bum servo.

DiSEqC / 22KHz is passed through (tapped) and not generated by the ASC1. If the input waveform is correct, but the output is not, I would check that the chokes (on the F-fitting PCB) did not get deformed or squeezed together when reassembling the ASC1. Also check that the ground pigtail was reattached between the transformer screw and the plug/switch housing during reassembly.

Servo motor defects are often hard to find as they can be so intermittent and dependent on rotational position. Congrats on the excellent troubleshooting!

 

[Signality]

DiSEqC / 22KHz is passed through (tapped) and not generated by the ASC1. If the input waveform is correct, but the output is not, I would check that the chokes (on the F-fitting PCB) did not get deformed or squeezed together when reassembling the ASC1. Also check that the ground pigtail was reattached between the transformer screw and the plug/switch housing during reassembly.

Servo motor defects are often hard to find as they can be so intermittent and dependent on rotational position. Congrats on the excellent troubleshooting!

Hello Titanium my setup has 2 Disceq switches; a 8x1 1.1 switch cascaded by a 4x1 1.0 Switch. Will the ASC1 be able to pass the commands properly from the decoder to lnb?

 

[Magic Static]

to the forum Signality. I'm sure Titanium will be in soon but I can tell you from my experience there isn't a problem with the DiSEqC calls passing thru the ASC1.
But if you have some soldering skills and a real desire to see the DiSEqC calls pass thru yourself there is a DiSEqC decoder you can build. The schematic was provided by another member here. N0QBH Free to Air Satellite PIC Projects

I have built this and watched my ASC1 perform.

 

[Titanium]

I wouldn't expect any issue as long as your receiver outputs the protocol standard level of approx. 600mV and the switches aren't located hundred of feet away.

As Magic Static correctly commented, the 22KHz/DiSEqC is a only a pass-through circuit. Like with any loop-through device, there won't be any problems as long as the control signal amplitude is adequate for the down stream devices. Each series (cascade) of switches attenuates the control signal. With any system, multiple switches in series can create a problems with increased attenuation.

From experience, the DiSEqC decoder is a very useful test device and I use it often on the bench. Thanks Magic Static!

 

[Signality]

I wouldn't expect any issue as long as your receiver outputs the protocol standard level of approx. 600mV and the switches aren't located hundred of feet away.

As Magic Static correctly commented, the 22KHz/DiSEqC is a only a pass-through circuit. Like with any loop-through device, there won't be any problems as long as the control signal amplitude is adequate for the down stream devices. Each series (cascade) of switches attenuates the control signal. With any system, multiple switches in series can create a problems with increased attenuation.

From experience, the DiSEqC decoder is a very useful test device and I use it often on the bench. Thanks Magic Static!

Thanks Titanium . I tried it and its working well.

 

[Signality]

Thanks Titanium . I tried it and its working well.

The only other concern I've got Titanium I bought a superjack but unfortunately fried the reed switch during installation. I then bought a generic reed switch used in door/window sensors as a replacement. It works but intermittently. At times the motor moves well. Other timers it gives that 'sensor? Limit reached? ' error.

Is it a problem with the switch replacement? . What would be the best replacement. ?

 

[Titanium]

Yes, Superjack sensors are known for premature failure as are the braided wire connecting the motor brushes. Have also noted that the magnet field strength varies between batches. Not a quality product and unfortunately, an example of getting what you pay for. Putting too much effort into modifying is like putting lipstick on a pig... LOL Both Venture and Von Wiese offer quality satellite actuator models.

Reed switch makes and models respond differently to magnetic fields. Is the switch NO or NC (Normally Open or Normally Closed)? I recommend normally open type. Determine what part of the cycle is not reliable, open or close. Many types are available on DigiKey or other electronic component distributors. A reed switch designed for security systems may be more suitable for operation by exposure to a single strong magnetic field, but not the rapid open/close cycles with a momentary and weaker opposing field magnet wheel.

If the reed switch closure cycle is unreliable, try repositioning or changing the spacing with the magnet or rotate the reed switch to favor a different position.