Problem with GBOX and actuator

[Likvid]

I have strange problems with my GBOX i never encountered before.

It moves and counts fine when i move the dish West, however when i try to move it East the GBOX gives the E-2 error in display that means it doesn't get pulses.

Is this a known problem with GBOX after a while and if so, what components needs to be changed or is it better buying a new GBOX?

 

[Likvid]

Ok i have now checked the actuator with my other Gbox which i now is working with my other dish.

It's not a GBOX problem but there is a problem with the Actuator.

What is wrong? if the REED sensor was broken then it would give E-2 in both directions right?

I have the TD-18 actuator that Sadoun sells from Moteck/Jaeger.

 

[Likvid]

I found the problem, it's -15 degrees here today and freezing and saw that the limit switch inside the atuator was stuck by ice, very strange, i had the cover on, anyway it's working now.

 

[brentb636]

Good troubleshooting , and thanks for the solution .

 

[Lone Gunman]

I'd be wanting to know how water got inside that cover? No seal there? You don't have it mounted upside down to you? Ennywho, if there's no seal around that cover then I'd use some clear RTV to seal it up.

 

[stanleyjohn]

Hope i dont get water in mine!hasnt gotten real cold here yet! this mouning was the coldest so far at 24 deg F.Heres a pic of my actulator.

 

[Lone Gunman]

Stan is that DMX in the picture a U or a standard one? And how does it do with that 6 footer on Ku stuff? I've got a Janeil Junior 6 foot solid that I'm going to mount in the near future that I want to setup mainly for Ku stuff but the DMX741U I have on my SAMI now does some funky stuff, ie, I get some TP numbers outside the "normal" range when scanning Ku sats? It does fine on C stuff and works great but Ku is a different story.

And BTW, that actuator looks just like the SuperJack I got with my SAMI and yours is mounted correctly. I've seen a few lately that were mounted up side down, which is a no no!

 

[stanleyjohn]

Its a standard 741! It took me awhile to get it set up to work well on both ku and c but it can be done.Unless its a pretty weak sig i get just about all that c and ku can offer with good signal plus many ku and c s2 signals.The one negative i can think of is that by optimizing for best c and ku there have been just a few tps that some others with 6 footers seem to get but no go for me.

 

[Likvid]

I'd be wanting to know how water got inside that cover? No seal there? You don't have it mounted upside down to you? Ennywho, if there's no seal around that cover then I'd use some clear RTV to seal it up.

No the cable is pointed down from the motor so it's correct, i don't know how i could come in ice there and mess up the limits, i have removed the limits for now completely.

 

[Likvid]

Hope i dont get water in mine!hasnt gotten real cold here yet! this mouning was the coldest so far at 24 deg F.Heres a pic of my actulator.

Have you stringed the dish when you assembled it? it might be some panel that is not in line, might be the reason other people get the signal with their 6 footer.

 

[Likvid]

Can anyone explain why this actuator is so noisy? is it because it's a ACME and not Ball?

 

[Lone Gunman]

@ 15* I would make noise also!! :up Having said that, the only parts in a linear actuator that would make noise are the gears in the gearbox, bearings on the motor or the thrust bearings on the output shaft.

My SAMI and the VonWeise actuators on my dishes make NO noise at all that I can hear, but then again, I'm in central Virginia it isn't that cold here.......yet, and I can't hear s**t.

Ball screw and or Acme screws themselves basically make very little noise!..Unless, it is either with zero grease or lube in them. My "in use for 15 years" VonWeise made zero noise even though the acme nut was worn out. Just got to the point where it couldn't keep counts between southern sats.

The only true "bearings" in the ones I've seen is a Torrington needle thrust bearing on the output shaft and the ball bearings in the motor and if one of those gets water in it it will make noise at some point before it fails.

So what kind of noise are we talking about? Is it shaft speed, or is it motor speed?

 

[Likvid]

So what kind of noise are we talking about? Is it shaft speed, or is it motor speed?

I have a video i found to demonstrate how much noise it generates, it's the Moteck/Jaeger SuperPowerJack 18" that everyone seems to sell these days.

It's 2:40 minutes into the video

 

[stanleyjohn]

Yes its abit noisy!Just dont do alot of satellite surfing after 9 pm in a highly populated area.

 

[beavs2112]

Its a standard 741! It took me awhile to get it set up to work well on both ku and c but it can be done.Unless its a pretty weak sig i get just about all that c and ku can offer with good signal plus many ku and c s2 signals.The one negative i can think of is that by optimizing for best c and ku there have been just a few tps that some others with 6 footers seem to get but no go for me.

check here post # 24 for a possible solution to your 741 issues. sounds exactly like the skew issues i was having. h**p://www.satelliteguys.us/azbox-discussion/232598-premiun-plus-start-up-3.html

 

[LocutusOfBorg]

My Gbox went crazy last night. When I went to change sats it moved the dish east until the actuator "slammed" into the mount because it lost the east limit setting. Now I get an err2 indication when trying to bring the dish back to the west. I don't know if the actuator is toast but I'll have to take it down and see if I can get it to work again. This isn't the first time the Gbox has gone crazy. Apparently it's not trustworthy - especially if it loses the limits setting.

 

[FaT Air]

I just don't trust "soft" limits. Find the real/true limits and set the actuator limit switches. It's the safest route.

 

[LocutusOfBorg]

I just don't trust "soft" limits. Find the real/true limits and set the actuator limit switches. It's the safest route.

I was too lazy to set the hard limit but I'll make the effort next time.

 

[Likvid]

I was too lazy to set the hard limit but I'll make the effort next time.

Been there done that with slamming into pole because of being lazy

My other actuator which looses pulses have very high quality and it doesn't even have hardware limits

 

[Likvid]

Yes its abit noisy!Just dont do alot of satellite surfing after 9 pm in a highly populated area.

I live in a apartment and have my dish on the balcony and the motor noise travels into my neighbors diners room so it's not nice at all to be honest.