Most robust rotor?

[hollyb]

After about 2 years service, my FTA disk Rotor decided to pack in over the Holidays and is firmly stuck at the extreme end of it's travel. Attempts by me and my son to get it working again have come to naught.

It had been giving problems for a year, "forgetting" its settings every week or three and making me reprogram the bird locations in the receiver.
Then it started needing me to climb up on the roof and reset it by pushing the reset button by hand, it's a good job I have a single-storey roof. I probably could get the rotor down and dismantle it and get it working again - but I'm not going to I don't want this thing to bite me twice!

Well, I've had enough, the next rotor I buy I want to be a model that others have had good experiences with, something more robust then the cheapest models. I use a DiSEqC 1.2 H-H rotor to turn a 1.4meter Ku band dish. I'll have my son take the old down only when we have the replacement in hand.

Any suggestions from people who have found above average durability would be welcome.

 

[Anole]

Unless one of the vendors has info to the contrary, I think the biggest motor is the HH-120 from STAB.
There are some discussions where members have installed them.

You have a 1.4m Ku dish?
That' s an unusually large one. What brand is it?
If it's exceptionally heavy, that could be a contributing factor to the death of your old motor.
Show us a couple of pictures - that always gets the interest going.


What motor and receiver do you have now?
Also, you might check - some motors have quite long warranties.

 

[hollyb]

You have a 1.4m Ku dish?
That' s an unusually large one. What brand is it?
If it's exceptionally heavy, that could be a contributing factor to the death of your old motor.
Show us a couple of pictures - that always gets the interest going.

My mistake, it's a 1.0M dish. Andrew brand.
The failed rotor is a GEOSAT GS120 which was supposed to be good up to 1.2M. It's not like we get snow or anything here on the Pacific coast.
The receiver I was using is a cheap Fortec Ultra, but I have another receiver I used to test by replacing to confirm the problem is with the rotor. I'm in California 122W 37.5N

Indeed I expect the failed rotor is fixable but I don't want to bother with it, I want a better one less likely to fail. I'll replace the rotor and cable and hopefully be done for a few years. I do wish the BBC would have FTA channels for North America like they do for Europe.

Anyway thanks, I'll look into the STAB, anyone else have experiences with it or any thing else on the heavy side?

 

[Mr Tony]

even though the motor may claim can handle a 1.2m dish some smaller dishes are heavier. I have a couple Primestar dishes that are 40x30 and the bracket to mount the dish on the back is H E A V Y!!

I know people who have removed the bracket on the back and fabricated something to drop a fair amount of weight off the dish

 

[gabshere]

the H180 would probably be overkill but it handles 59 lbs (27kg) and is usually for a 6ft dish
it also requires 36 VDC which would require a v-box type arrangment ( and is only a diesqc 1.2 motor)

the STAB HH-120 handles 37.5 lbs (17 kg) these mount upside looking from normal models , i figure its why they handle the load better than most.

bbc world is fta on c-band but would require a larger dish

 

[Sadoun]

Another motor I would recommend is the Sadoun PowerTech DG280 motor.

If you want to wait a month or so, we will be introducing the new Sadoun PowerTech DG380.

Both come with Metal Gears inside, +/- 80 degrees rotation, 50mm Shaft, and will handle your dish without any issues.

DG280: Metal Main Gear, Manual Backclash adjustment
DG380: Metal Main Gear, Automatic Backclash adjustment

 

[vfrjim]

After owning a Stab 120, I would never own one again. It could not handle my 1m Winegard without issues. I would try Sadoun's suggestion if it was me.

 

[Das Hammer]

Everyone has their likes and dislikes. I always had good performance out of the HH120. Had that flimsy 1.2 meter fortec dish bolted to it and watched it flop around in the wind on many occasions, but the motor still found positions well.

I think the biggest complaint against the HH120 is the rotation speed. It is pretty slow.

Still others would argue that you should fabricate a mount for your dish so it can be run with a linear actuator. To each their own.

Regardless, it will be interesting to see these new motors that Sadoun rolls out.

 

[jayelem]

I've had my Stab HH100 (older model before they came out with the new warranty) w/ 90 cm Fortec dish for 2 years now , and the HH100 has been failing for awhile now.

I suspect the problem is in the gears on my motor since it catches on to something then frees up, I am definitely going to get one of the new Sadoun Motors DG 280 , the big selling point is the + - 80 and the fact that it boasts it can handle a heavier dish.

 

[starman345]

I"m curious if the new DG model motors can be re-set to zero with a paper clip like the older SG-2100's? I'm also curious if the SG-2100 that Sadoun currently sells can be re-set? I e-mailed their tech support but no reply for a week or so now. Sadoun are you still alive??

 

[Anole]

. . . the HH100 has been failing for awhile now.

With all the talk of the backlash adjustment, have you thought about trying that?
Not sure if it's a solution appropriate to the problem, but it's still a good question to ask.
I can't imagine you actually wearing it out in a couple of years.

If you decide to throw it out, at least send it over so I can take it apart and see how it failed.
That could provide some useful info to the community.

 

[Sadoun]

I"m curious if the new DG model motors can be re-set to zero with a paper clip like the older SG-2100's? I'm also curious if the SG-2100 that Sadoun currently sells can be re-set? I e-mailed their tech support but no reply for a week or so now. Sadoun are you still alive??

Alive and well. I am just visiting the CES 2008 show.

Yes, both motors have reset capabilities.

 

[vfrjim]

I called Sadoun today and the DG380's status is about 3 1/2 months away from what I was told.