My new toy :D

[cokeaddict]

Right - I'll give that a go and see if it helps. But I think mine is a mechanical issue rather than an er... electrical one.

Yeh it does sound like the bearing not holding tight, is causing your issue of it not hitting the same spot everytime.

 

[Captain Jack]

Odd....... DoveVision would not lock on SR of 2040 as per Lyngsat, but *does* lock on 2041. So much for a sensitive tuner..... It's supposed to be able to blind scan. Although, with a Black Hole image you do get the option of blind scanning and VIX 2.3 will have it too.

 

[Vipersan]

Hi CJ ...
seems odd there is play within a bearing ...
I assume you mean that there is space around the bolt threading through the bearing itself ..
Close up pictures would be helpful ...
I've had similar issues before ..and resorted to using brass olives from 15mm pipe compression fittings ...as these are chamfered ..and thus self adjusting when the bolt is tightened ..thus filling the gap ..
Or mybe I don't know where the 'play' is in your case ...
Again ..some close ups might help..
rgds
VS

 

[Captain Jack]

Hi VS,

Have a look at post #18, Nelson's pictures. My PM didn't come with the flanged/lipped bearing (the bronze one) and the metal insert, so I have to find a 3rd party one. Unfortunately, the one I got is just a teeny bit too small thus being slightly loose in the mounting hole (between the fixed and the moving part of the PM). I ordered a 16mm steel tube, which should fit the hole nicely. The metal insert will go inside that and - hopefully - be nice and tight.

Your idea of the chamfered 15mm pipe is brilliant and would have worked! Where were you earlier when I was struggling?

CJ

 

[Vipersan]

Hi CJ ..
here is the basic idea I've used in the past ..

Perhaps not applicable in your case ..
But maybe you could adapt it ..
rgds
VS

 

[Huevos]

DoveVision would not lock on SR of 2040

With the Duo from 37ºW and 45ºW.

 

[Captain Jack]

Interesting concept VS! Can't quite picture how I would adapt it to my situation, but I'll definitely keep it in mind. Wanna come over and fit the dish for me?

Huevos, does the Duo have the same tuner(s) as the Uno? I guess not, since Uno has blind scan and Duo doesn't. Very odd that mine wouldn't lock on SR 2040 but does on SR 2041. Once VIX 2.3 is released I'll see what the blind scan reveals on this TP.

45W is probably out. This building is higher than 8 meters (3 storeys)...

 

[Huevos]

Huevos, does the Duo have the same tuner(s) as the Uno? I guess not, since Uno has blind scan and Duo doesn't. Very odd that mine wouldn't lock on SR 2040 but does on SR 2041. Once VIX 2.3 is released I'll see what the blind scan reveals on this TP.

I doubt it. Pity about this low symbol rate thing though. I fancy an Uno, mainly for the blind scan, but if it is not going to lock low SRs I might get the Xtrend instead (for quite a bit less money).

 

[Captain Jack]

I was able to lock lower SRs on the Uno without issues (1240 was the lowest if I remember) - just this TP needed a small adjustment for some reason.

 

[cokeaddict]

Ok I can lock onto the 3 data transponders on 45°W but there is no lock on RASDTV for me

 

[Captain Jack]

OK, very good progress today. I went out this morning and found that the ball bearings on the actuator motor mounts were completely seized solid! Actually, I have never even bothered to check these... doh! So the actuator was working hard moving itself on very tightened bolts. A bit of WD40 freed both ends up, so it's free to move as it was designed....

Also, got rid of the self amalgamating tape(!) on the flanged bearing and replaced it with metal epoxy resin. This resulted in the bearing being sat very tightly in the hole as it was supposed to with the inner insert greased up and moving freely.

The result? Well, not 100% perfect but I would say 95%. The dish lands generally within 1% SNR no matter which direction it came from. I also somehow managed to squeeze 1 or 2% from a number of sats without modifying any of the alignment on the mount. JSC Sports HD on AB7 has gone up from 52% to 64% SNR! Unless it's a daily variation....

Also, noticed that if I squeeze the last of signal from MBC (Nilesat 101), JSC suffers and vice versa. Are they in different orbital positions? (7W and 7.2W respectively)

 

[Lazarus]

Great progress.

AB7 does indeed appear to be at 7.2W as opposed to 7.0W, but that isn't reflected on all info sources. Laziness, I suppose, but of course it makes a difference to those not bang in the heavy end of the footprint.

 

[Vipersan]

OK, very good progress today. I went out this morning and found that the ball bearings on the actuator motor mounts were completely seized solid! Actually, I have never even bothered to check these... doh! So the actuator was working hard moving itself on very tightened bolts. A bit of WD40 freed both ends up, so it's free to move as it was designed....

Also, got rid of the self amalgamating tape(!) on the flanged bearing and replaced it with metal epoxy resin. This resulted in the bearing being sat very tightly in the hole as it was supposed to with the inner insert greased up and moving freely.

The result? Well, not 100% perfect but I would say 95%. The dish lands generally within 1% SNR no matter which direction it came from. I also somehow managed to squeeze 1 or 2% from a number of sats without modifying any of the alignment on the mount. JSC Sports HD on AB7 has gone up from 52% to 64% SNR! Unless it's a daily variation....

Also, noticed that if I squeeze the last of signal from MBC (Nilesat 101), JSC suffers and vice versa. Are they in different orbital positions? (7W and 7.2W respectively)

Well done buddy ...Excellent progress ..
As to satellites in close proximity ..
Not so important on a small dish ...but ...the bigger the dish ...the tighter the beamwidth ..
This can result in the appearance of two distinct focal positions becoming apparent ...even at 0.XX degrees apart ..
What it does show is ..that you have set up your dish fairly accurately..
rgds
VS

 

[Captain Jack]

OK, I think it's very close to finishing now. Going to properly grease up the rod-end bearings (not ball bearings as I called them earlier) on the actuator arm and the actuator clamp and hopefully, it'll be close to 100%. Don't this WD40 type spray will work for a long time.

This morning I drove the dish from 9E to 5E and then SNR for TV1000 on 12054V was flicking between 68% and 69%. When driven from 1W to 5E, the SNR was solid on 69%, so there's still a tiny amount of error. I hope with the properly greased up bearings it will be perfect.

Also received my Spaun uncommitted switch today so I can put my Penta 85 back in action for the more eastern satellites.

 

[Lazarus]

Take care not to intermingle WD40 and Grease ..........

 

[Captain Jack]

Take care not to intermingle WD40 and Grease ..........

What will happen?

 

[Lazarus]

Well one use for WD40 is in helping to remove grease.

So the presence of WD40 may reduce the effectiveness of grease - shouldn't think a small amount of stray WD would be harmful though.

Best for bearing grease to be uncontaminated.

 

[Captain Jack]

Ah... Didn't know that. A bit of brake cleaner should get rid of that, right?

 

[Lazarus]

Not sure about brake cleaner ............. I just knew about the need to remove WD from the area to be re-greased.

But these are not high velocity or high load bearings, so I shouldn't worry too much ........... just be aware.

 

[Huevos]

I drove the dish from 9E to 5E and then SNR for TV1000 on 12054V was flicking between 68% and 69%. When driven from 1W to 5E, the SNR was solid on 69%

I get more fluctuation than that on some of my fixed dishes every time the wind blows.