Anyone else having lousy luck with motors?

[Blindowl1234]

I've been the proud owner lol of 4 Sg2100 over the past five years. These were supposed to be the good ones not cheap knock offs. All are now dead.
Hooked up a spare 9120B I think it is, today and it will only work with Usals for some reason. That's ok at least it works! I don't watch much on KU but for some reason I've never
had good luck with any of these motors. The 24"actuator on my big dish has been there about 4-5 years and no issues with it. Anyone having better luck than I do?

 

[Magic Static]

I've owned a herd of em. They suck. Lots of issues. Modding the SG2100 for external power resolved most of them for me. But the best deal for me was to make my C-Band dish KU also. No more KU motors I hear the STAB is pretty good, but never owned one. I will be setting one up next week for a buddy I recommended get one though.

 

[northgeorgia]

Yep. Lots of problems. I bought a system that had a non-working (unless you consider "clicking" only working haha) SG2100. My 9120B worked for a while, but seems to have some kind of short in it, as it works only when it wants. The DG-380 has only had to be reset a couple of times, but knock on wood, has been pretty good for me.

 

[Xizer]

Get a STAB motor and all your issues will be resolved.

 

[jorgek]

I had a minor issue with my Stab 90 which I was able to repair rather easily. You certainly don't hear of many complaints from Stab owners.

 

[primestar31]

My 9120b isn't even a year old, and it only works when it wants to since winter. So, it only worked fine for around 2 months or so. It goes West just fine, but doesn't want to go East if it can help it. I have a DG380 to replace it with, but haven't installed it as of yet.

 

[turbosat]

DG380, working 3yrs or more now, so far so good, no issues at all.

 

[xtgold]

I had a lava h2h that went bad after 1 day.
I had to disconnect the limit sensors or the motor wouldn't budge.

 

[Anole]

Care of motors

2100's might have been pretty good at one time.
However, I think they were already junk/compromised/suspect by 5 years ago.
I learned a long time ago to steer clear, so I don't know exactly when they declined.

There have been several "external power" motor modifications over the years.
I favor one Pendragon came up with, but it wasn't specifically for the 2100.
He used one existing coax connector to supply power only.
The other coax connector brought in the diseqc/USALS command stream.
A laptop power supply (19v @ 2A?) does a good job.

An independent supply is NOT a cure-all, nor the first fix to apply.

First thing...
There are backlash adjustments for each type of motor.
Follow instructions and set it correctly!

Second thing...
I'd do is see if the gear train has real grease.
Some of the crap used turns to garbage with time.
Clean the gear train and apply a proper lube.
I suggest molybdenum disulfide axle grease. (best)
Second choice is lithium grease.
Not really interested in any alternatives...
If you put in new grease, put in the best!

Third and last...
consider external motor power.
But this won't cure the above problems.

If your motor has totally failed, I'd say the odds are that a relay died.
There have been some threads on replacing relays, but not a task for everyone.

Yes, there have been other failure modes.
Just covering the most likely.
.

 

[Martyn]

My DG-380 has been moving a 1m Winegard dish with no problems.

I bought it to replace a 9120 on a smaller dish. I recently took the motor apart and discovered the problem is a bad relay. Search forums and you'll see a bunch of complaints about 9120s deciding to go one way only.

 

[wallyhts]

I'm pretty happy with my SG6100 aka the monster motor lol.

Anyone ever Tim the tool man up a motor?

 

[SatelliteAV]

A few years ago I fabricated a polar mount with 1:1 gears and chain connecting to a DiSEqC motor . The GS120 motor handled a 1.8m dish, but slow on the lift near the horizon. Wanted to modify the motor to remove the mechanical stops and reduce the ratio by 2 or 4x, but lost interest in the project.

 

[madmadworld]

gave one away years ago got it cheap<$40. never got it working as well as the stab i had bought before it.
but my Stab's 100/120 are 5-7+ years old now still work like new. and they are the easiest to set up.no brainer imo

My first post here
http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/87416-MOTECK-SG-2100-Trouble?highlight=Sg+2100

 

[Blindowl1234]

Well I guess when this one dies I find a stab and be done with it. Most of my issues have been the relay or relays most probably.

 

[Tron]

I think that the biggest problem with FTA H-H motors is questionable lineage. There are so many clones out there, not to mention design changes, that it is hard to know what you're buying.

 

[Blindowl1234]

Tron, I agree a lot of garbage out there.

 

[SatelliteAV]

How much would you consider paying for a good HH motor? Loaded question, but we have a few sample units that are beasts, but come at a hefty price from the manufacturer.

One unit is rated 50+lbs and survival wind load equivalent to 80MPH on a 1.5m. Has two interchangeable posts 55mm and 42mm. Makes the Stab 120 look like a toy.

Estimate the retail to be $150.

 

[Bongu]

We are paying 60 to 90 dollars for mediocre motors currently. If a good true USALS H-H motor was available that could swing a 50+lb reflector for $150 in the US, I would consider one. Importing a STAB 120 (not a copycat) would cost me about $180 to $220 the last time I looked. If it had the GeoSatPro name on it, I know the support would be good!

 

[Xizer]

How much would you consider paying for a good HH motor? Loaded question, but we have a few sample units that are beasts, but come at a hefty price from the manufacturer.

One unit is rated 50+lbs and survival wind load equivalent to 80MPH on a 1.5m. Has two interchangeable posts 55mm and 42mm. Makes the Stab 120 look like a toy.

Estimate the retail to be $150.

That's it? With shipping the STAB HH120 costs $150. I've only been able to find them on sale from Canada on eBay.

If you guys can sell even better motors than the STAB HH120 for the same price you should do it...

 

[Anole]

I don't know.
Cheap newbies never listen when expensive STAB motors are recommended.
Why else did they disappear from US sales?
5-8 years ago, the HH90 didn't cost that much more than the Junker 2100's.

Those who bought the Stab 120, bitched that it was slow.
Lol. If they only knew, eh?

Could you sell enough 50 lb motors to intelligent users?
What percentage of 1.2 meter dish buyers would go for the motor?
Bundling one with the other might get enough sales to sustain the motor.
Then, sales to folks with heavy Andrew, Prodelin, ChannelMaster dishes would sweeten the pot!

Edit: with that motor, I'd go find a squat (rectangular) 4' wide Prodelin off a gas station and motorize it! :up
.