when you go out to change it out (or you can check it out sooner) check the wiring , some of it might have gotten wet over the years and now has a poor connection.
Actuator Questions
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Divide the cost of an actuator by 19 years and it's really not that bad. I've had my dish probably around 15 years and replaced the actuator once. The original was a tiny 18 incher. Probably why it didn't last. I bought a 24 inch superjack II. Makes that 18 incher look like a toy. I would guess that with moving parts your arm was gonna wear out sooner or later. Good luck with the new one.
Well I ordered the new actuator should be here by the end of the week. Funny thing with the current one if it stops moving which is getting more commonplace all I need to do is rock the motor up and down on the gimbals and it moves again. 
It will be interesting to see what is causing this problem when I tear the thing down. Kinda stinks being stuck on one bird. I'm leaving it on W5 until swap out since most of my programming is there.
It will be interesting to see what is causing this problem when I tear the thing down. Kinda stinks being stuck on one bird. I'm leaving it on W5 until swap out since most of my programming is there.
That sounds just like like brushes to me.
Bet they are worn thin and barely making contact... usually only a couple bucks to replace.
Bet they are worn thin and barely making contact... usually only a couple bucks to replace.
I could be I will try to repair it when I swap it out and have a spare. Then I won't have extended downtime like I am having now.
Now my actuator won't be here till next week. I got a UPS tracking number from Sadoun yesterday saying it will be here today but had no info when I went to the UPS site. I called Sadoun today and they said oh it's still sitting on the dock. Nice place for it to be
They gave me some song and dance and told me Monday now. I haven't seen any UPS updates either yet. I've ordered from Sadoun before and didn't have any issues. Now Im kinda sorry I did order this from them. Let's get real 7 days from Ohio to Illinois thats pretty bad. I had Mike Kohl drop ship things from California for me and it only took 4 days. I should have went to Mike for this too. Oh well you live and learn.Edited to say:
I just got some updated tracking info from UPS that says it's updated to get here Friday. Maybe something was done on Sadouns end because I called ? I don't know. Even if it get's here tomorrow it may be Sunday before I can put it on now since were suppose to get big snow tomorrow and into Sat. It would have been nice if it came by 12 - 1 pm today. This afternoon was partly sunny and in the 20's. Why can't it be 100 in the shade like when I was putting up my G-10 dish
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ITS FIXED NOW!
Got the new actuator today in the early afternoon. Decided lets get it done since the snow stopped. Worked into the dark on it. Just finished reprogramming the 4DTV. Tore the motor off the Saginaw. It clicks and does nothing else. I brought the dish down manually using the screw part. I have to figure out what died in the sag the motor or the gear box?
Arm is fine. The Moteck QARL 3624 works very nice from what I've seen so far not a bad arm. Now its time to go enjoy tv and pass out. I'll post more later.
Got the new actuator today in the early afternoon. Decided lets get it done since the snow stopped. Worked into the dark on it. Just finished reprogramming the 4DTV. Tore the motor off the Saginaw. It clicks and does nothing else. I brought the dish down manually using the screw part. I have to figure out what died in the sag the motor or the gear box?
Arm is fine. The Moteck QARL 3624 works very nice from what I've seen so far not a bad arm. Now its time to go enjoy tv and pass out. I'll post more later.
Glad to hear you are up and runing again, tvropro, man cannot live on Ku-band alone!
If you can't repair that Saginaw don't throw it away, if that sucker is built like mine you can always use it to drive tent stakes, or something.
If you can't repair that Saginaw don't throw it away, if that sucker is built like mine you can always use it to drive tent stakes, or something.
Glad to hear you are up and runing again, tvropro, man cannot live on Ku-band alone!
If you can't repair that Saginaw don't throw it away, if that sucker is built like mine you can always use it to drive tent stakes, or something.
I got it done just in time, when I was connecting the wires on the new jack it started snowing. I was swinging the dish back and forth all evening resetting my bird positions. It started snowing big time and still going this morning. A couple things screwed me up, the Sag had a low 24 count sensor, the QARL has a 48 so that messed up my positions plus it died on W5 and I manually retracted the dish after removing the motor using a washer and a crescent wrench as a crank handle. The dish moved smoothly so the arm itself is fine. My limits were way off and sat positions were all over the place.
I supported the dish once down using a board and two 3" C clamps to hold the ring in position. I had stainless steel hardware on the original so the bolts broke free very easy. I got the new jack on bolted it up, removed my board brace and cut and re stripped all the wires (they were oxidized) Then came the test will it move? SUCCESS
That made my day! Then I quickly threw the the gearbox cover on to keep the snow coming down out. I did some wire dressing with cable ties then went in the house to try to figure out the reprogramming fiasco. That took me from 6 to 10 pm about. I like the fine tuning of the 48 counts and this jack is tight (no slop) the Sag had some slop from the git go, I think it has to do with the ball screw design and there gimbal bracket. I did go out there and tried to rock the dish and it's solid which should help in the wind. I put some white lithium grease on the new gimbal's ball just for added protection. All in all I like the product not bad for about $150.00
Im curious about the sag, I will mess with it in the near future to see what went wrong and what may be done to fix it. If nothing else it would be a good spare.
As far as Sadoun goes my call to them must have done something since they got it here yesterday as originally told by there CSR. When I talked to them on the phone they said sorry for the mix up but it should be there Monday. The lady I got was very cold and didn't seem to care about my problem. Whoever took care of this issue, kudos to them. By doing that it restored my faith in them and I will order from them again.
All in all Im glad I can move my dish again, Now I have to shovel a pile of snow today
and of course clean all my dishes out. Then I can play Attachments
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I think I have gotten that same "Janitor" myself. The one I got told me my pack of 10 dual LNBFs were still on the table and would be shipped the next day. I left the power shed (that is where my phone line is) and looked over at the highway. Big brown was on the highway and took the left onto our road. About 15 minutes later she pulled into our yard with my box of LNBFs.
SAGINAW DISECTING DIAGNOSIS
I took apart the motor on the Saginaw today. A pigtail from a brush was caught on the wire terminal. I untangled it cleaned the commutator and cleaned the dirt out of the motor slapped it back together hooked up a battery charger and it lives. The gear box sounds good and the arm goes up and down freely. Now the thing is the brushes are very low so I have to find new brushes somewhere and replace them, turn the commutator, lube everything up and I should have a good working spare.
Any idea's where to get brushes??
I took apart the motor on the Saginaw today. A pigtail from a brush was caught on the wire terminal. I untangled it cleaned the commutator and cleaned the dirt out of the motor slapped it back together hooked up a battery charger and it lives. The gear box sounds good and the arm goes up and down freely. Now the thing is the brushes are very low so I have to find new brushes somewhere and replace them, turn the commutator, lube everything up and I should have a good working spare.
Any idea's where to get brushes??
Most independently owned hardware stores (the old "if we ain't got it you don't need it" stores) carry them - in various sizes.
Usually they'll have drawers full of them. If you can't find some that fit exactly, you can usually get pretty close and do a little 'engineering' on the new brushes to make them fit.
We have a local hw store where I've done this quite often.
Also, I believe McMaster-Carr and Grainger carry them.
Usually they'll have drawers full of them. If you can't find some that fit exactly, you can usually get pretty close and do a little 'engineering' on the new brushes to make them fit.
We have a local hw store where I've done this quite often.
Also, I believe McMaster-Carr and Grainger carry them.
Thanks I'll have to check them out. Hate to toss the Sag when I can have a good working spare for a few bucks.
Iif the commutator looks ok, leave it alone. You're supposed to undercut the mica segment to segment insulators after turning.
Sanding down brushes by placing a piece of sandpaper on a flat surface is easy and fast. Make sure the curved end of the brush that mates with the comm goes back in the right orientation.
If the motor has bushings, put a couple of drops of light weight oil on the felt pads. If it has bearings, check and replace if needed.
Sanding down brushes by placing a piece of sandpaper on a flat surface is easy and fast. Make sure the curved end of the brush that mates with the comm goes back in the right orientation.
If the motor has bushings, put a couple of drops of light weight oil on the felt pads. If it has bearings, check and replace if needed.
It has some small scratches in it.
I'll have to see if I can get exact replacement size brushes or what and go from there.
If the scratches are not deep, don't worry about them. Look in the phone book under electric motors/repair. A motor shop may have the exact replacement, or something real close.
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