c band setup i have to keep moving my dish

[kentucky joe]

hello everyone
i have a problem i cant figure out i have a 8 foot solid dish with a superjack v-box hooked to it
here's my problem i program all of my satellite location's in my v-box let's say in the morning they work fine
but in the evening every time i change to a different satellite i have to move the dish about 9 notches to the east
its mostly on the satellites to the far east or the far west the ones in the middle of the arc are fine .
same thing if i program them at night i have to move 9 notches to the west by morning time
i'm thinking i don't have my dish following the arc correctly but i do pickup satellites 55w to 135w
i appreciate all the help

 

[Titanium]

If satellites 55-135w are coming in and only the counts are off, my guess is that the system is missing counts due to noise in the distribution wiring. Sounds like the mount is properly tracking the arc.

What type of wire is used for sensor and motor power?

 

[Magic Static]

This also happens when there is too much of a load on the actuator. Like the dish is too heavy, too much snow on it. Or the moving parts are rusting and seizing up. The dish is heaviest on the ends of the arc. I have noticed this happening when I have a big load of snow in the dish. Those spring lock connectors on that unit make very poor connections. Make sure your wire ends are in good condition and preferably tinned with a solder iron.

 

[kentucky joe]

If satellites 55-135w are coming in and only the counts are off, my guess is that the system is missing counts due to noise in the distribution wiring. Sounds like the mount is properly tracking the arc.

What type of wire is used for sensor and motor power?

• 4 conductors plus ground (green, red, black, white)
• 18 AWG 7x26 stranding
• Beldfoil shield and PVC jacket with ripcord

 

[kentucky joe]

This also happens when there is too much of a load on the actuator. Like the dish is too heavy, too much snow on it. Or the moving parts are rusting and seizing up. The dish is heaviest on the ends of the arc. I have noticed this happening when I have a big load of snow in the dish. Those spring lock connectors on that unit make very poor connections. Make sure your wire ends are in good condition and preferably tinned with a solder iron.

its always done this when new wiring and everything looks good no snow on it

 

[kentucky joe]

• 4 conductors plus ground (green, red, black, white)
• 18 AWG 7x26 stranding
• Beldfoil shield and PVC jacket with ripcord

also thanks for the reply

 

[kentucky joe]

its always done this when new wiring and everything looks good no snow on it

thanks for the reply

 

[kentucky joe]

its almost like the satellite that i'm pointing at is in a different location in the morning than it is at night
when i program the v box it works fine if i set it up in the morning it works fine for mornings only
if i reprogram it in the evening it works good
only in the evening
either way i program it in the morning i program it i have to move it east
in the evening if i program it in the evening i have to move it west in the mornings

 

[Titanium]

• 4 conductors plus ground (green, red, black, white)
• 18 AWG 7x26 stranding
• Beldfoil shield and PVC jacket with ripcord

Power and sensor in the same bundle will cause problems. Best practice is to have the two sensor wires inside a grounded shielded bundle and the two motor power wires run separately outside this bundle. Also, 18g wire is very small for motor power and usually a 12 or 14g is more suitable for motor power.

Try running a temporary motor power outside of the current wire bundle.

The satellite movement maintained within the box would not be detectable with a small consumer dish. This is not the issue.

 

[kentucky joe]

the wire i'm using is what it calls for up to 250 feet i'm only using 60 feet
also it works fine with the wire i'm using there is something different in the morning than there is at night is what i'm trying to say

 

[Titanium]

As a satellite installer, technician, equipment developer and distributor over the past 35 years, I will assure you that a 18g, 4 conductor plus shield bundle is not appropriate for carrying both motor power and sensor for a satellite actuator over a wire of any length.

Satellite positioning does not vary between day and night. If that were the case, hundreds of thousands of downlink locations would need to be moving their dishes throughout the day and night. Time to trouble shoot your system and the choice for distribution wiring is likely suspect.

Good luck!

 

[kentucky joe]

I'm just going by the tek2000.com site in there setup intructions thats where i bought the wire from it said 18g minimum up to 250 feet
do i need 16g or something else
about the night and day thing i know it don't make much sense but that's what it is doing not questioning your experience just trying to find a way to fix it

 

[kentucky joe]

well i went back and looked at my wiring and soldered both ends like you said and reset my v-box all my satellites are coming in fine without bumping it east or west lets hope it don't change this evening
thanks!

 

[Brct203]

I'm just going by the tek2000.com site in there setup intructions thats where i bought the wire from it said 18g minimum up to 250 feet
do i need 16g or something else
about the night and day thing i know it don't make much sense but that's what it is doing not questioning your experience just trying to find a way to fix it

that wiring diagram is not good - beside the wire gauge that is too small (like Titanium said, 12 to 14 AWG is usually recommended). But also, the motor wires should NOT be shielded together with the sensor wires, as the goal of the shield is to avoid interference on the sensor wires, particularly from the motor wires.

 

[kentucky joe]

ok thanks to both of you all for the help

 

[Arion]

In addition make sure that your grounded correctly. The drain wire should be bonded on either the motor side to pole ground or on the actuator side to your electrical ground. Ground one side and leave the other side open. That can also throw your counts off. I also followed Tek's advice and had similar problems. I finally used two of the 18ga and drain wire on the counter inputs and ran a separate 12ga zip wire for the positioner to separate the motor leads from the counter and now it works good.