Refurbishing an Actuator
- Thread starter Rick
- Start date
hexah
Specialist Contributor
- My Satellite Setup
- motorized Gibertini 85cm, fixed dishes from 1m to 64cm, generic FTA HD RX, TBS DVB-S2 PC card, a pile of bits and pieces
- My Location
- Hadrians Wall
That is a very useful guide and a well done repair job.
From my own experience I suggest people assume there will be some water in the box when they open it and open it very carefully. Once I got a cups worth of rusty water on my trousers, which was impossible to wash out. The jack still worked fine, I was just checking it after a long winter of bad weather.
Also I suggest the use of a concertina type cover for the bare metal arm, or even a plastic bag with a condensation hole, secured with self-amalgamating tape. The rubber seal where the arm meets the casing soon splits through use or in the sun, and that is where the water and ice gets in. And we have enough water in this country - summer is coming and so are the clouds.
From my own experience I suggest people assume there will be some water in the box when they open it and open it very carefully. Once I got a cups worth of rusty water on my trousers, which was impossible to wash out. The jack still worked fine, I was just checking it after a long winter of bad weather.
Also I suggest the use of a concertina type cover for the bare metal arm, or even a plastic bag with a condensation hole, secured with self-amalgamating tape. The rubber seal where the arm meets the casing soon splits through use or in the sun, and that is where the water and ice gets in. And we have enough water in this country - summer is coming and so are the clouds.
- My Satellite Setup
- Triple Dragon, Dreambox 8000, Echostar AD3000ip, TBS6522,6925,6983 PCie cards.
Gibertini 1.25m motorised dish driven by the AD3000, with either Inverto BU Quad or Norsat / XMW Ka LNBs . SMW 1.05m + 3 other dishes. Speccy: Promax HD Ranger+
- My Location
- The Flatlands of East Anglia
Nice job Rick. Thankfully I've never needed to do anything to mine (an Arkivator) other than a smear of silicone grease on the piston, and that's after over 15 years' daily use in all weathers.
A handy guide though, you never know...
A handy guide though, you never know...
- My Satellite Setup
- A little less analogue, and a lot more crap.
- My Location
- UK
And thank you for the nice credit Rick.
I've taken a lot of them apart over the years (including the earliest 24v versions from the mid 80's). The vast majority could be repaired, however the tiny changes each year from one model to another, plus some/many of the clones that use cost cutting exercises to maximise profit, means you end up with a cabinet full of individual/unique pieces as potential spares.
One final point once the motor is back together. The rubber/neoprene cover on the end is usually the culprit that let the water into the shaft in the first place. The old one will often show cracks, have expanded so that it no longer prevents water coming down from the back of the dish, or may have come off the shaft altogether (ending up near the bolt on the top rose joint).
Replacing a damaged one is key to a continued life on the motor, however if it is looking as though it is still watertight, then strap it to the outer shaft with one or two cable ties.
The best solution however is a telescopic gaiter, and a suitable candidate can be sourced from any shop that deals with off-road motorcycles, but you will end up with two when you really only need one.
I've taken a lot of them apart over the years (including the earliest 24v versions from the mid 80's). The vast majority could be repaired, however the tiny changes each year from one model to another, plus some/many of the clones that use cost cutting exercises to maximise profit, means you end up with a cabinet full of individual/unique pieces as potential spares.
One final point once the motor is back together. The rubber/neoprene cover on the end is usually the culprit that let the water into the shaft in the first place. The old one will often show cracks, have expanded so that it no longer prevents water coming down from the back of the dish, or may have come off the shaft altogether (ending up near the bolt on the top rose joint).
Replacing a damaged one is key to a continued life on the motor, however if it is looking as though it is still watertight, then strap it to the outer shaft with one or two cable ties.
The best solution however is a telescopic gaiter, and a suitable candidate can be sourced from any shop that deals with off-road motorcycles, but you will end up with two when you really only need one.
sunderland1955
Member
thanks for that rick
dave
dave
sunderland1955
Member
well rick looks like iam going to put this to the test as the dish wont go to 1`9E keep getting motor error and when i looked Actuator arm isnt comming out far enough so i think its stuck will give you my results after having a go fingers crossed
dave
dave
saadi
Member
- My Satellite Setup
- 1.80 m Prime Focus Dish
MOTOR: GeoTrackTD-24, 24'' . .:7°W - 62°O:..
Astra 1H/1KR/1L/1M + Astra3b+28E 2A/2B
Xoro HRS 8500
- My Location
- Amman, Jordan
Hello Rick,
I found your Guide extremely useful, so I decided to take my time and create one in German, I hope your Pics have no copyright, though I used only that of the gears ;)
Mirror: http://bit.ly/eXDhqg
I found your Guide extremely useful, so I decided to take my time and create one in German, I hope your Pics have no copyright, though I used only that of the gears ;)
Mirror: http://bit.ly/eXDhqg