Major Catastrophe ...

[Captain Jack]

A nice review with our friend Feedsat here - http://www.tele-audiovision.com/eng/TELE-audiovision-1409/#60

 

[Vipersan]

This morning I removed the motor/gearbox assy ..to allow for further swing E/W of the exo frame which carries the dish face ...
|Disengaged the worm drive so I could swing it by hand ...
and still I cannot reach the point of limit switch cutout ...
These really are (I assume) at 90E and 90W....
They are positioned around the centre shaft that passes through the motor box and main gear ..on which is a sigle tapered plastic cam.
Both E/W micro switches appear to be in series and normally close ...and in series with the motor...
Thus either one being depressed ..ie going open will cut the motor drive.
No wonder you had the same issue Llew ...
In most setups this would be unlikely to happen ...unless the dish was free to move from 90E to 90W imo.
an impractical limit really ..
Even usals motors are limited by default to 70E and 70W
Anyway ..I will have to cut away a small section of steel from each side of the Moteks bottom plate ..as shown in the photo by a black pen curved line ...as well as more steel from my add on frame as shown yesterday..
But I hope this will achieve my aim without compromising the motors strength too much..
rgds
VS

 

[Vipersan]

In actual fact that curved line indicating how much steel would need to be removed ..
had to be elongated ...the cut shown in the photos ..
As even when it passed the pivot nuts ,,..it still didn't activate the switch as it actually binds on its own pole top mount system ...
It doesn't now tho'
The East limit switch activates thus power to the motor would be cut ...
No way though that you could drive the motor back to centre without power ...but at least the gearbox would be saved ..
In order to reset afterwards ..you'd have to move the motor and gearbox backwards ..remove and disengage the worm ...and manually rotate back to centre..
This system is a joke ..
I'll concieved and poorly implemented.
If the top front cover was easily removed ...I could re-design it to work as it should with my fekkin eyes shut..
What passes for brains with the designer of the motor beggars belief..
Anyway ...just look at the photo to see where the dish would be pointing to activate this switch ..
??????
rgds
VS

 

[Captain Jack]

Just.... wow! I am at a loss for words.

 

[Vipersan]

Just.... wow! I am at a loss for words.

Indeed Alex ..
This motor should come with a warning in the box ..
This motor should only be fitted ..

A ...with 180 degrees of unobstructed movement of Dish ..
B ...Electronic Limits MUST be set in your positioner..
C ...Ideally not suitable for locations more than 20 degrees North and South of the equator..as declination greater than this can cause the motor to bind on intself at the extremes of travel.
D ...Should the hard limits be activated ..removal of motor/gearbox assembly and worm drive would be neccessary to disengaged and return the dish to operating range of arc
E ...Keep in mind that hardware limits cannot be altered in this motor

Is this the Camel of the Satellite Motor World ?
I think so ..
A horse designed by a committee

 

[Vipersan]

Having looked at the terminal block fitted in the motor there are a couple of unused connections ..
These are NOT wired to anything ..but the label underneath simply say 'Zero'..
I'm summising these could and probably were intended to directly feed the motor bypassing the limit switches ...by supplying power directly to the motor..
Guess ..what ..
They soon will be ...
This would allow the dish to be returned to centre by manually supplying a low voltage ..low current to it in the event the limits are activated in the future..
,,without disassembly..
Carefully of course ..whilst monitoring directly dish/motor movement.
They knew this was an issue ..but neglected to solve it ...
But I will !!!

 

[Llew]

Indeed Alex ..
This motor should come with a warning in the box ..
This motor should only be fitted ..

A ...with 180 degrees of unobstructed movement of Dish ..
B ...Electronic Limits MUST be set in your positioner..
C ...Ideally not suitable for locations more than 20 degrees North and South of the equator..as declination greater than this can cause the motor to bind on intself at the extremes of travel.
D ...Should the hard limits be activated ..removal of motor/gearbox assembly and worm drive would be neccessary to disengaged and return the dish to operating range of arc
E ...Keep in mind that hardware limits cannot be altered in this motor

Is this the Camel of the Satellite Motor World ?
I think so ..
A horse designed by a committee

Absolutely VS. The 80E-80W stated is useless for me, particularly where I have the Motek now (on a Triax TD88, maximum swing 40E-40W).
After realignment of the gears/wormdrive it performs perfectly OK now, but limits set in stone by the Echostar positioner software ;)

 

[Vipersan]

Absolutely VS. The 80E-80W stated is useless for me, particularly where I have the Motek now (on a Triax TD88, maximum swing 40E-40W).
After realignment of the gears/wormdrive it performs perfectly OK now, but limits set in stone by the Echostar positioner software ;)


View attachment 80984

Agreed totally Llew ..
..and I'd even argue that the 80-80 is debateable ..
More like 85-85 ..
Almost a half circle..
cest la vie..

 

[moonbase]

VS,

I am waiting for UPS to collect the Moteck, they are due to collect today, it is all by the front door ready to go.
Once they have collected it and it is in transit I will send you the tracking reference by private message.

Rgds

 

[Llew]

Having looked at the terminal block fitted in the motor there are a couple of unused connections ..
These are NOT wired to anything ..but the label underneath simply say 'Zero'..
I'm summising these could and probably were intended to directly feed the motor bypassing the limit switches ...by supplying power directly to the motor..

According to the spec sheet, the 'zero' terminals are (were) reserved for use with a positioner with Goto X function.
Nothing came of that AFAIK. Not that I would want to chance using the motor in that mode

 

[Vipersan]

According to the spec sheet, the 'zero' terminals are (were) reserved for use with a positioner with Goto X function.
Nothing came of that AFAIK. Not that I would want to chance using the motor in that mode

Neither would I Llew ..except in an emergency ...
and only then whilst being physically next to the motor watching it move ...and using a lower power to drive it..
Which is what I intend to do ..
At least then I'd have a way to reset WITHOUT motor disassembly..
rgds
Evan

 

[hvdh]

There is often a mixup between:
- the sat position on the Clarke-belt (for those living near the 0° meridian),
- the azimuth (when defined relative to the South),
- the arc of motor movement (hour angle).
Because they are often similar values, but certainly not equal.

For example:
London (0°E, 52°N), the belt is 76.5°W...76.5°E, azimuth -79.5°...79.5°, motor movement -82°...82°.
Equator (0°E, 0°N), the belt is -81.5°W...81.5°E, azimuth -90...90°, motor movement -90...90°.

It's strange when the "azimuth angle" is specified for a motor, since it depends on the latitude.
One can only guess (or measure) what is meant there.

 

[Vipersan]

A nice review with our friend Feedsat here - http://www.tele-audiovision.com/eng/TELE-audiovision-1409/#60

This indeed is a very nice box ..and a good review I thought ..
For me it lacks in 2 areas ...
In an Ideal world for serious Sat enthusiasts ....
A dual box that was capable of driving 2 actuators ...for AZ/EL combos ..
and I also would like more that 99 sat positions if this were possible ..
Since a lot of DXers use multiple lnbs on their dishes ...sat positions require duplication.
Example ...
Imagine if you will a bird' that carried transponders in say C Ku & Ka ...
That would require 3 lnbs ..thus 3 positions set in the box ..
Now Imagine a more complex lnb set up like the one I used to have ..doh!
further divide Ka into 4 sub bands ..
Each lnb requiring its own stored position ...
Now imagine you want to cover the whole arc in C Ku Ka A/B/C/D
99 sat positions just wont cut it ..
If Titanium brought out such a positioner ..I'd pay the premium and buy it ..
This would be a TRUE Enthusiasts box..
Until then ..
multiple cheapies are the only way to go.
rgds
VS

 

[Captain Jack]

From what I see, it has a servo control - perhaps that could somehow be adapted to drive a north/south actuator?

 

[Vipersan]

Maybe CJ ..but that only solves 1 issue ..and tbh ..the less important one from my perspective..
If they want to make a serious enthusiasts box ..
concentrate less on the look ..the design ..the steel ...and more on the ability to DO more ..
This is what I'd pay more for ..
Others may disagree ..
but for me this is simply a more robust, pimped Vbox ..with a better display..
rgds
VS

 

[Archived-1]

I have read bad reports about the Titanium positioner the reason i did not buy one the other day, its not locking positions has it should, and your told to order parts from Germany to make it work correctly , something on them lines anyhow, i would stay clear of them.

 

[Captain Jack]

Yeah, this one - http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASC1-Satell...A6NA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1437055962&sr=8-1

Not sure what to make of it, though.

 

[Vipersan]

Yeah, this one - http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASC1-Satell...A6NA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1437055962&sr=8-1

Not sure what to make of it, though.

...an odd recommendation from Titanium ..which if I read correctly suggests changing an optical sensor ..
which presumably is at the motor end not the positioner..
So ..
maybe these boxes do work ok ..with reed sensors but miscount if used with an optical..
Not very encouraging is it ..?

 

[Archived-1]

Yeah, this one - http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASC1-Satell...A6NA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1437055962&sr=8-1

Not sure what to make of it, though.

Yes that was it Alex.

 

[scopus]

I have read bad reports about the Titanium positioner the reason i did not buy one the other day, its not locking positions has it should, and your told to order parts from Germany to make it work correctly , something on them lines anyhow, i would stay clear of them.

Agreed Martin, they miscount the positions, needing a mod to work correctly. I'm not that enamoured with the C Band LNB's either.