Ajak Patriot

[RimaNTSS]

Creating this thread just in case I decide someday go ahead with new project - to have 1.8m glass dish installed on this motor. Motor looks OK, in fool working condition. Connected 20V DC and it moves H-H easily taking only ~0.5A. So, when I start the project then I will probably do the following things:
- change reed switch to optical or hall sensor;
- eliminate declination adjustment on the motor;
- make new declination adjustment mechanism separately;
- connect the dish in such a way that it's center of gravity will be on the turning axis of the motor;
- change majority of nuts&bolts from galvanized to INOX and from imperial sizes to metric.
- maybe will go to USALS (need to start with that anyway).
When...... ? I do not know! Maybe soon. ;)

 

[RimaNTSS]

Assembled solid base on the floor of the garage, so vertical pipe can be adjusted plumb and no dot moves around. Also, for modeling purposes made couple of metal plates out of 4mm thick metal (later will probably use ~5mm thick INOX). A a main pipe will use 80x40x3mm INOX.

 

[Channel Hopper]

The Ajak motor drive was/is a highly underrated piece of kit. It should be possible to fit a whole VBox inside the cover and run it from a 36V DC supply down the old ribbon cable from the house.

 

[Captain Jack]

Yeah been looking for one for ages but never seen it on sale.

 

[RimaNTSS]

Got some INOX today, will use some of it for the construction.

 

[RimaNTSS]

Continued construction today. So far so good. Not ideal, of course.

 

[Captain Jack]

Is the long pole for balancing?

 

[RimaNTSS]

Yes, on it antenna will counterweight itself. I will cut away piece of it after dish is installed, so it will not be so long.

 

[moonbase]

As a point of information from some info I found online, the AJAK motors were made in three different variants.

AJAK Patriot - basic model, rated for up to 7.5ft mesh dish
AJAK Aimer - medium model, rated for up to 10ft mesh dish
AJAK H-180 - deluxe model, rated for up to 12ft mesh dish

I would guess that the dish size rating would be less for solid dishes?


Rgds

 

[RimaNTSS]

Thanks. Manual says

The PATRIOT is designed for eight-foot mesh antennas or six-foot solid antennas (or smaller).

And, if I eliminate problems of dish moving from the end positions than 6-foot glass dish should not be a problem.

 

[moonbase]

Thanks. Manual says

And, if I eliminate problems of dish moving from the end positions than 6-foot glass dish should not be a problem.

Yes, it should easy take a 6ft glass dish. Looking at the build quality inside the casing, I do not think the actual dish weight would be the issue with larger dishes, its probably the wind load. There is probably a safety margin built into the figures, these motors look like that can take more than they are rated for.

 

[RimaNTSS]

Decided to adopt my AJAK Patriot to CM-120. Surprisingly, the Ajak has no play at all and 1.2m glass antenna is easy to handle. I just needed to make proper mounting between the motor and the dish.

 

[focus36]

That looks great far better than the old superjack,what is the AJAK Patriot originally made for me been a newbie to all this stuff.

 

[RimaNTSS]

what is the AJAK Patriot originally made for

This is an old-school engine. As @moonbase said in his post #9, AJAK Patriot was made for 7.5m PFA mesh BUD. But the quality of Patriot is so great that it is a long-lasting piece of equipment, and after proper conversion to modern offset antenna it still can do the job, I think.

 

[Satfaca]

The "smallest" kid from the Ajak family... Patriot, Aimer & H180.

 

[Captain Jack]

Decided to adopt my AJAK Patriot to CM-120. Surprisingly, the Ajak has no play at all and 1.2m glass antenna is easy to handle. I just needed to make proper mounting between the motor and the dish.

How is the construction different from the likes of SMR1224 motors? That one still has some play... Small play but it's there.

 

[RimaNTSS]

Construction in 2 words "completely different" SMR1224 is ~5cm wider than The Patriot. The majority of SMR cogwheels are made of plastic, but the electric motor is much beefier. Diameter of the main axis is 25mm in both cases. Hard to say about the play, at least before antenna is installed and tested on reception. Physically, I do not feel any play.

 

[ArloG]

I have always liked those positioners. Time has proven that they are constructed very robust.
A strip, bead blast. Powdercoat or automotve paint with etching primer. Should bring it back close to new.
The motor and geartrain hopefully are in good condition. New brushes will do it well. I've had good luck getting close to the same brushes from the hardware store and carefully sanding them to size. Using copper impregnated brushes makes for long life.

Personally I'd stay away from a usals conversion. Versus a linear actuator, the geometry should stay close to the same through the arc and give you equal display counts between 2 degree spaced sats.
So finding and predicting where the next sat. is should be is very easy.
It's a fine candidate for an optical encoder with Schmitt trigger output. I've converted a few linear actuators to optical from reed switches.
Firstly trying a hall effect encoder and messing with magnet spacing. Although your....6? sector magnet would make a conversion to hall easy.
An optical sensor is perfect if you don't mind the work making an interrupter wheel. Garage door openers have them. Arduino kits and such have them.
I make mine with a Dremel and slitting saw. A drill press with an equally divided paper scale taped to the quill drive pulley.
Make a disc out of thin ABS, etc. Place the Dremel in a vice under the disc. Position it. And a metal pointer to make indexing the quill precise.
Move to a mark. Hold the pulley. And drop the quill over the disc. Let the cutter cut a slot. I've made 10-20 slots per revolution discs.
Or 3D print one if you have a printer.
Optical interrupters with Schmitt triggers are the way to go. Hands down.

 

[RimaNTSS]

I have 2 Patriots. One is in perfect condition, ready to be installed. Another one missing plastic cover and needs some metal treatment measures as well as changing nuts&bolts, but electric motor runs well. Will probably bring it back to life and also equip with CM120 additional infrastructure.

 

[RimaNTSS]

messing with magnet spacing. Although your....6?

Actually, there are 4 magnets originally. So, I made a new wheel for 5 (10) magnets, which goes on top of original wheel (black one). Also, the new holder for a reed switch installed. Sure, there is enough place to install optical or hall sensor. Ordered from Ali 3x2mm magnets, hoping they will work fine. If not, maybe bigger magnets will be needed.