How much arc would I gain (approx) ?

[Vipersan]

Ok ..having resigned myself to having to replace my 24 inch actuator arm due to sloppiness accrued over the last 12 months ..
Bad weather and wind loading etc.
I'll be hoping to get a heavier duty jack ..
I could simply replace it but it seems to me I might be able to push my 62 East limit a little further ..
Not by much as this would be limited by arm extension ..but the limit switch has been set to prevent the arm hitting the mount and pushing further than 62 East.(as indicated by the blue arrow in the photo
Fully retracted I can reach 58W ...
So ..it occurred to me simply drilling a new hole to mount the actuator as shown in the photo by the yellow ring ..might allow a bit more arc before binding on the polar mount...
Comments welcomed ..as are rough estimates of extra arc aquired in degrees ..??
I may have to up the jack size to achieve this ..but might me a problem with the wall behind Christina ..
Pity they dont make one in between around 30 inches ..
Currently 24" ..next size 36" ...which is truely overkill.

 

[Vipersan]

..I should add ..that this may be pointless anyway ..as I can only 'see' 62 East in the winter months due to a tree ...and 64 degrees might just point THROUGH a semi detached house rather than over it ..
lol
I really think maybe 64 ..possibly 66 E ..but beyond this elevation would _definately_ be a problem.
So Is it worth it ..who knows ..but I love to test limits.

 

[Captain Jack]

You'll definitely gain arc by drilling the hole in the shown spot though not sure how much - definitely a few degrees.

 

[Vipersan]

You'll definitely gain arc by drilling the hole in the shown spot though not sure how much - definitely a few degrees.

Cheers CJ ..
Not expecting or indeed wanting a whole lot more ..
As I said ..There's a house in the firing line ..
4 maybe 5 degrees is all I can hope for ..and even then ..probably only half the dish face in use at this elevation..
Might as well drill the extra hole ..since I'm going to have to swap out the jack anyway..

 

[Kveys]

I really think maybe 64 ..possibly 66 E ..but beyond this elevation would _definately_ be a problem.
So Is it worth it ..who knows ..but I love to test limits.

I recommend and my opinion that it is worth for try. Tanzania (3642R) and also 3 channel from Mozambique (3654R) are nice dx-exotic channels what i think. And "bunches" indian channels from 66E

 

[RimaNTSS]

Instead of drilling holes in the mount, better is to attach plate with lots of holes and then find proper one. Otherwise you can end with: Ouch, I need to drill another hole some 5mm further.

 

[Lazarus]

That's excellent - and so obvious a solution now we've seen it!

 

[RimaNTSS]

And to be able to play with actuator and it's fixing holes, I would advice to make simple but useful adjustable mechanical stop. With that, even with removed actuator, antenna stays tuned on far-east or far-west satellite.

 

[Vipersan]

I Like the idea in principle ..but not sure introducing extra linkage points on a dish as big and heavy as Christina would be such a good idea ..
Particularly as she already covers 120 degrees of arc and I'm only pushing for 5 degrees more.
Problem is that the jack arm would be fully extended at extreme East ..and needs to be as rigid as possible in this position..
..and I can't brace across the back plate as yours is ..on account there isn't one ..
The strength in my case is in the 1/8 inch steel that makes up the mount..and the steel ring where yours uses a backplate..
Great Idea though ..
might consider drilling one hole a little closer to the original first ..just to see how much is gained on the arc ..
Much easier for me to just drill a couple of holes than construct an ajustable system ..and thus inroduce more links.

 

[Channel Hopper]

If the largest you can get is 36" - oooooeeerrrrr ! - then move the dish by hand from west (minimum to rose joint on polarmount = 36") to East - (I'd guess 72") and work out where the drilling point lies.

(where do I send the bill ?)

 

[Vipersan]

Spent most of today working for the Tax man ..
Yep ..had my shop books to do ..grrrr
However I finished with a few hours of daylight in hand and no rain ..so decided to drill a second hole in the steel ,,which wasn't easy even with a new drill bit ..
That is some tough steel ..and somewhere between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick..
Anyway ..hole drilled and jack repositioned without any alterations other than the new mount point.
5 west now found at 1 West ..so much as expected ..gained 4 degrees East..
Nice..
Not that I can take advantage at this time of year due to leafage ..but when I get the new actuator ..I'll reset the arc by block shifting the positions on the V-box.
Until then ..I'm happy enough to manually shift Christina 4 degrees.
rgds
VS

 

[Vipersan]

Oh well ..a novel Idea whilst it lasted ..but although I get more acurate postioning to the East ..In order to get the same start point (fully retracted) at 58W ..and get the extra push to the East I'd need to go up a jack size ...obviously ...and there isn't sufficent clearance behind the dish..
A 36 inch jack isn't actually 36 inches in length ...probably more like 44 inches (including motor) when fully closed.
If anyone has one and can measure and confirm this I'd appreciate it..
Yes I can accomodate about 38 inches (oo err missus) ..44 inches would hit the soil stack or possibly even the wall behind..
Looks like I may have to go back to the original configuration as I don't think a 30 inch jack exists..
Doh!

 

[Vipersan]

Now I'm even more confused ..
Searching the net for a 30 inch actuator ..I stopped here :-
http://www.richtv.net/c_band_satellite_tv.html
It says under actuators..
18 24 36 inch lengths ..
but the drop down box says 18 24 and 30 inch ?
I guess I need to know for sure what the next size up from a 24" physically is for real (including the motor..)
So can anyone help me ?

 

[Channel Hopper]

You can put the rose joint almost anywhere you like on the shaft ( more ooooerrr !), the overal length (ooooerrrr ! ) means nothing, but I will measure mine if you want (oooooooooooooooooooooooooeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr !)

 

[Vipersan]

Yep ..I know what you mean CH ..but I have the rose at the very end as it is ..in order to achieve 58W when fully closed ..thus 99 % of the jack sticks out backwards and thus the motor is close to the wall..
When fully extended the jack would be literally twice as long ..to achieve maximum East ..and gripped at the rose half way ..if you follow my drift..
If I gripped using the rose further forward ..and closed it fully I couldn't achieve 58W.

 

[Lazarus]

I just can't take this any longer :-crying

Time for a cold shower.

 

[Vipersan]

These pics explain better I think..

 

[Vipersan]

..and this photo almost fully closed is with Christina pointing at 55 West

 

[Channel Hopper]

Then you may need to conteplate...................................................the snip............


Unless you stick the motor on the other side of course

 

[Vipersan]

Hi CH..
Can't see how moving the motor to the other side would help ..
Fully closed I'd still foul on the wall ..around 60 degrees East ..assuming I still wanted to reach 58 West fully extended ..
The Wall is south facing ..and the actuator motor swings with the tracking of the arc ..passing closest at roughly True South ..
So I imagine I'd have the same problem ..just in reverse.
rgds
VS