Winegard 10ft actuator suggestions?

[tester239]

I've recently acquired a Winegard Pinnacle 10ft dish and the JGS Engineering brand actuator needs to be replaced. A few years ago I had a KTI dish with the Venture actuator that came with it. It was made in such a way that I couldn't take it apart and re-lubricate it properly. This actuator was eventually tossed, and the dish passed on since I couldn't have it where I was going.

But now I can once again join the C-band club and have a Big Dish. I'd like to do things right and get a new actuator rather than using some 15+ year old actuator that hasn't been used since the early 90's.

I'm looking for suggestions on where to buy in addition to the proper size for this dish. I didn't see a sticky thread with a list of online retailers for Big Dish parts so I figure I'd just ask. Google turns up a few places, but I'm not sure who's reputable.

Thanks for your help! If there's any interest, I can post some pics of the dish.. but it's still in parts.

 

[phlatwound]

Venture, Von Weiss and Saginaw are the top brands that I know of, not sure if all are still in business.

There are all kinds of imported actuators also but I have never had one of those so I can't recommend.

If you are limited in the amount of sky you can "see" an 18" will be sufficient, if you have line-of-sight horizon-to-horizon a 24" should be plenty, possibly a 36".

 

[Magic Static]

The Pinnacle is a heavy dish. I have one I recommend a 1500lb rated actuator. 36" would be optimal. 24" probably work for you. Unfortunately they are pricey for a good one. I was looking at a Saginaw last week for $500 Don't buy one of those $50 imports that say they can do a 10' dish, you'll regret it.

 

[FaT Air]

hypermegasat has the PMA brand. Can't say how good they are, My Von Weiss is O L D, and cost many times what the PMA goes for. Better to have more, than not enough (actuator length) so I'd opt for 24. that's what's on my 10ft.
Hey, Welcome back to CBand, you're going to like it.
YIKES- just looked at some Thompson-Saginaw prices. INDUSTRIAL quality and price. don't think they make any TVRO models any longer as I couldn't find any.
Venture MAXI looks to be still produced. ebay (I think that's a cheap price)
Von Weiss E-Store also, (Have 'em in my bookmarks, just in case) Hey, they're a bit cheaper today than what I paid BITD.

 

[Lone Gunman]

Just because a dish mover is old, doesn't mean it's no good?? A year or so ago I happened upon a couple of Von Weise movers that were 1980 something models and believe it or not, they were in pretty good condition inside. I cleaned them up, replaced the nut in one and after a fresh coat of Rust Oleum they look and work fine.

So having said all that, I'd take what you have apart and see what you got. It may not be as bad as it looks.

 

[tester239]

Just because a dish mover is old, doesn't mean it's no good?? A year or so ago I happened upon a couple of Von Weise movers that were 1980 something models and believe it or not, they were in pretty good condition inside. I cleaned them up, replaced the nut in one and after a fresh coat of Rust Oleum they look and work fine.

So having said all that, I'd take what you have apart and see what you got. It may not be as bad as it looks.

I did end up disassembling the JGS actuator and could easily clean and re-lubricate it, but the plastic/nylon eyelet on the end of the actuator looks suspect and I don't know where to get a new one. It has seized up - tried putting some grease and loosening it up, but it's still really stiff. If I could get a new eyelet/pivot I'd feel good about rebuilding the actuator it came with. I also couldn't find a replacement reed sensor that fits but I could make another work. The motor may actually still work, and could be replaced.

Thanks for the suggestions. Some follow-up questions:

With the Venture, what's the difference between the Maxi and the Maxi w/ ball screw? Is one better than the other? If I were to go the Venture route, should I buy direct or use XYZ distributor? That eBay listing linked earlier looks like a steal..

The Von Weise actuators on their e-store seem to only be rated up to 600lbs, 800 starting.

The Saginaw seems a bit out of my price range at this time. The PowerMax seems suspiciously cheap, but also cheap enough I could buy 3 and have spares

 

[DK_Sat]

The Saginaw actuators are top off the line, i am using a 24" for about 15 years with no problems, the Venture, Von Weiss are very good actuators to.

 

[Lone Gunman]

Ball screw units are zero backlash, meaning that when the dish crosses over due south there's no slack in the screw to go in the other direction. All standard acme nut screw setups have some running clearance in them that creates the due south flop. This gets worse as the nut and screw wear. The up side of the acme screw is that it's cheap and more tolerant of foreign material that may get into that area, ie, water and dirt/dust etc.

RE: your "plastic" eye piece or whatever? Pictures are worth a thousand words!

 

[tester239]

Ball screw units are zero backlash, meaning that when the dish crosses over due south there's no slack in the screw to go in the other direction. All standard acme nut screw setups have some running clearance in them that creates the due south flop. This gets worse as the nut and screw wear. The up side of the acme screw is that it's cheap and more tolerant of foreign material that may get into that area, ie, water and dirt/dust etc.

RE: your "plastic" eye piece or whatever? Pictures are worth a thousand words!

I'm not sure what exactly it's called, but it's the pivot joint at the end of the actuator arm that attaches to the polar mount. See pic attached.

 

[phlatwound]

Keep your eyes peeled for neglected BUDs in your area, you may spot one with an obviously fairly new actuator on it.

Von Weiss and Saginaws, while very different, both have fairly distinctive appearances that can be discerned from a good distance (especially with binocs).

There is a great thread on this forum that will show you how to rebuild a Von Weiss.

Money may not be an issue to you for this actuator, but if it is get out there and do a little hunting, you may be surprised what you can take home just for the asking.

I have a standard (not ball screw) Venture that is going on 20 years of use next year.

 

[Lone Gunman]

I'm not sure what exactly it's called, but it's the pivot joint at the end of the actuator arm that attaches to the polar mount. See pic attached.
View attachment 77346

That would be a heim joint. Some refer to them as a "rod end". Either way you're screwed because that's a proprietary part, ie, made specifically for this company. The heim joints that are used on a VonWeise mover are just standard heim joints that are threaded on the end and can be taken off pretty easily. The are also available from hundreds of dealers online and even on fleabay.

Having said that, if the rest of that mover works then I'd look at cutting that flat end off and trying to drill and tap it for a 1/2 x 20 heim joint instead. Don't know how thick that plug in the end is but if it's an inch or so, that's enough thread for a standard heim joint even if it's aluminum. You could take it to a local machine shop and have them drill and tap it on a lathe to make sure it's concentric with the shaft so a lock nut will fit flush.

FYI, My SuperJack mover has something similar and if/when that ever needs to be replaced, I'll have that one cut and threaded to make it work.

 

[chaskuchar]

i got a 36" actuator from sadoun before they moved to texas. it works well with my 8' dish. i had a problem with it not going the same place doing left to right vs. right to left but solved that. i had a sadoun polar mount and replaced the bolt fastening the movable altitude to the post connection. uses a 1/2 bolt with no threads in the connections. now it works perfectly. i was concerned that the problem might be in the actuator but now the acctuator is perfect. btw, the other acctuator on my 6' is an old manual acctuator that i have to hit the buttons to move it left or right. at least it works manually. charlie

 

[tester239]

Thanks for the help/suggestions guys.


Lone Gunman: Yeah, the heim joint (thanks for the term!) plastic plug is hollow and seems to be very brittle.. When trying to "massage" it out of the end of the arm, pieces of it started to chip away pretty easily.