Von Weise reed switch trouble..

[Cham]

Either my reed switch on my Von Weise actuator quit working or the Uniden 7700 counter isn't working; can't get a count. The motor works fine.
Is there a simple way of checking one or both to verify a fault?

I checked the resistance between the two sensor wires at the actuator and also at the the connections on the receiver. About 6-7 ohms resistance at the actuator end, and about 10 ohms at the receiver end (about 100' cable). Suppose that tells me the cable is ok but I have nothing to compare to for the proper value for the reed switch. I also turned the magnet wheel a bit so the magnet would be away from the sensor, no difference in resistance reading.

Had some nearby lightning strikes last weekend that might have caused the problem... maybe it fused the contact inside the switch or frazzled the receiver circuit.

The skew and actual receiver work normally except for the counting part. Pain in the neck finding satellites... Often have to go look at the dish through the basement window to see where I last left it pointing!

-C.

 

[Lak7]

Is there a simple way of checking one or both to verify a fault?

Remove the Magnet Wheel
Connect an Ohm Meter to the Reed Switch
Slooooowly spin the Magnet Wheel next to the Reed Switch and watch the Ohm Meter, you should see the Pulses.

 

[Cham]

Lak7,
Just tried that, no difference. Just stays at 3 ohms. Actually removed the sensor and tried with a small rare earth magnet (really strong) and still no difference. Should be on or off depending on the proximity of the magnet... and it stays on.

Found a recent post on checking the receiver by attaching two wires and repeatedly touching them together (to resemble the signal from the reed sensor). I get the positioner to read by doing that, so I expect the receiver/positioner is fine.

Now... where does one find a reed switch? Will do some searching, sponsors above will be first up!

Thanks for your help!
-C.

 

[oldfoggie]

vonweise arm

check your local sat installers especially the ones that have been around for awhile, if you can't find one, I think I may have a couple of used ones kicking around

 

[classicsat]

When I needed a reed switch for my Thompson-Saginaw, I just got an NO magnetic burglar alarm window sensor from what was then my local Radio Shack (now The Source) store, and rigged it so it would open/close with the magnets on the wheel. I got a cheaper one that was in a smaller package and had just wires attached, which attached to the terminal strip.

 

[surfdevil83]

If you post a picture of your reed switch I might have one for ya.