Repair Info- New Actuator Suggestions Wanted

[yankee495]

I dug out a heavier duty Von Weise actuator I had stored after my lighter duty Von Weise stripped the acme nut. I glued the magnets back in and put a lot of work in it. It seems the acme nut was about gone because I did clean and grease it good. I just set up a Freesat V7 and a V8 Super and that did it in.

I've been over at Von Weise reading the descriptions of the actuators. The one for $199, the drawing says 33" retracted and 24" extended. That's not right! Then the $269 one says 33" retracted and 57" extended, that's right. Both are 24" stroke with reed switches.

I'd rather not spend $225 on a new one but I'm tired of messing with it and I can fix this one later. They have acme nuts for $20 but they want $20 to ship it and I can get a whole actuator shipped for $25, go figure.

I'm just tired of working on stuff!!!!! I had shoulder surgery and am behind on everything and it's been one thing after the other it seems. The car, the bedroom TV quit, actuator, lawn tractor, the Jeep and now the actuator again. I stayed up late to get the V8 Super programmed because I need to be doing other things, I'm sure you know how that goes.

I used Google cache to display this, otherwise you have to download it.

It lists a tube only which would get me going if it fits my motor but I expect it to cost too much, might as well get a new one. Do you guys know anything about it or the cost? #25 on the list.

25 6Z091 n/a V00212AK76 58.8 34.8 24 n/a n/a 14.0 lbs Tube

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...ecrossreference.xls+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

When I Google 6Z091 I get this which I assume is a photo of the tube only, but it could be for representation only and it's no longer available.

https://www.grainger.com/product/DAYTON-Tube-6Z091


Then they have this for $199, the one that's listed wrong in the drawing or I think it is, has to be.

DC Actuator 36 VDC, Full Load Speed 11 inches/minute, Gear Ration 19:1, Full Load Thurst 600 lbs, 1/15 HP, Current @ Full Load 3 Amps, Reed Switch. Substitute for Dayton 5A651.

http://estore.vonweise.com/vw7636vdcactuator-1.aspx

This one is $269.

Solar Panel/Satellite DC Actuator with Telescoping Tube Assembly. 24-36 VDC 1/15 HP Bidirectional Permanent Magnet Input Motor. 600 lbs. Full Load Thrust. Linear Velocity at Full Load Thrust 6.8 – 11.0 in/min. with 24 Inch Linear Stroke. Reed Switch Feedback Control. Limit Switches for overall stoke control. Enclosure Totally Enclosed Non-Ventilated. 19:1 Gearbox Ratio.

http://estore.vonweise.com/v76-5actuatorwithtelescopingtube.aspx


This one is $229 and not too clear on the details on length etc.

Solar Panel/Satellite DC Actuator with Telescoping Tube Assembly. 36 VDC 1/15 HP Bidirectional Permanent Magnet Input Motor. 300 lbs. Full Load Thrust. Linear Velocity at Full Load Thrust 11.0 in/min with 24 Inch Linear Stroke. Reed Switch Feedback Control. Limit Switches for Overall Stoke Control. Enclosure Totally Enclosed Non-Ventilated. 28:1 Gearbox Ratio

http://estore.vonweise.com/vw-24lcactuatorwithtelescopingtube.aspx


I've read a lot of bad, bad, things about the cheaper Super Jacks and the Maxi or whatever it's called, I forget. I've also read the thread on acme nut repair and I have a dremel but not a welder. I'd like to get it going cheap but I'll just buy a new one if I have to. I'm pooped and wanna watch TV, not work on it until Christmas.

I glued the magnets back in this motor and made a magnet wheel for it and converted it to a reed switch. It has been running great but I worry about the motor magnets, brushes etc and I want to be done with this. I hate to pay $20 for an acme nut and $20 to ship it (wow), then have the motor quit and end up buying a new one anyway, after installing a $40 acme nut in this one.

So, you are the guys to ask for certain, which of these is the right one or is that tube affordable?

I want my MTV (METV)!

 

[primestar31]

http://www.gofastmotorsports.com/rickssatellitedishmovers.htm Venture MA-810-24K - $ 149.00

Good actuator, and good company to order from.

 

[Cham]

Von Weiss is a great actuator, and to replace one is not cheap but you get what you pay for. I have one here that has been working through -40 to +105 weather for 20+ years. Use it every day. It is starting to get some play in the drive end (thrust washer?) so I have to check it out soon before it gets too cold.

If going the route of the Venture unit, I would consider the ball-screw rather than the acme nut type. Yes they are more money but I suspect they would last longer if maintained.
Just IMHO...

 

[KE4EST]

but I suspect they would last longer

Yep, those would outlast us all.

 

[yankee495]

Von Weiss is a great actuator, and to replace one is not cheap but you get what you pay for. I have one here that has been working through -40 to +105 weather for 20+ years. Use it every day. It is starting to get some play in the drive end (thrust washer?) so I have to check it out soon before it gets too cold.

If going the route of the Venture unit, I would consider the ball-screw rather than the acme nut type. Yes they are more money but I suspect they would last longer if maintained.
Just IMHO...

I've had all of the acme nuts I can stand! I have an old VW actuator that was rusted together. I tried to get it apart about 5 years ago and just left it, didn't need it that bad and it wouldn't budge. So I put some WD-40 down it today and then I bought some PB Blast and got creative. I used packing tape to make a reservoir while standing on end. I just wrapped it around it and made sure the top end was loose. It didn't seep down in there so I laid it on its side and tapped it all up/down and around to crack up the crap. Sure enough, it seeped down in there. I did this a few times and then after a while I was able to get it apart. Wouldn't you know, now I know why they quit using it. The nut is already stripped.

While the Venture may be a nice one I'd rather get one I have all of these parts for, makes sense, but if you never need'em the point is moot. I didn't see the difference between the $199 and $229 one. They certainly need a whole lot more details and photos in my opinion. So I'm getting a new one and it's not going to be a $100 Ebay one because I don't wanna work on this again.

If you guys know the difference between those I'm appreciate knowing and I'll probably call them anyway. I want on my parts fit. I told my wife that someone could back into it and I have aluminum cases etc. I have gears, pins, bolts, everything but the acme nuts. But, the Venture is not out of the question if it's that good. I don't want to lose counts or work on it. I wanna install it and use it for a long time!

And thanks for taking the time to help me out here. I've never had to buy one! I had spares and parts. My smaller one is in good shape (just needs a nut too), the one with the plastic cover, a V76 I think. I hate their model numbers. I have to go eat, been a long day. Thanks again.

 

[yankee495]

I got a brand new Von Weise.

Ok, so I emailed Von Weise and Alan Signer cleared things up a bit. I still don't know the exact differences between the "V00212AT76 - VW76" and the V76-5 Actuator with telescoping tube. They both have the same tube mounting system with individual aluminum piece and the butterfly hole pattern instead of the three molded mounting tabs or whatever you call them. He also didn't tell me the resolution of it but I ordered the V00212AT76 - VW76 for a total of $225.70. The V76-5 has 8 magnets for a 48 count and the diagram he sent me shows only 4 magnets for the V00212AT76 - VW76 so that would make it a 24 count. They're the same horse power and speed (gear ratio 19:1) and I still don't know all of the exact differences.

I hope this is the one that is like the ones I have, he said it is but with a reed switch (mine was optical, I converted it). There is a model with a cheaper looking limit cam setup and I like the 2 screws to set the limit like I have now. I'd gladly pay the difference for the good one if it's that much better. If you're spending $225 you might as well go $300 if that's what it takes!!! If count is all it is I'll change it if I have to. I have magnets, nice small powerful ones that I can fit right on the wheel. I did email him back and ask for a couple of more details including the count but it was past 5PM. I think he assumed I could figure out the count and if it's 4 magnets then it has to be 24, and that's 24 per inch of extension.

I told him the models are confusing and he said that there is an error in the listing for the one I ordered. He said "The retracted dimension is 33.75” and the stoke length is 24.0”. The print has a typo, it should read 24.00 ± .50 extension".

You can order them with "options" so there is no telling what you get if you buy a used one. If you get one that looks the same as yours...those options under the cover could be anything from a potentiometer or an optical setup. I have a feeling I should've gotten the $269 one, but if it's just the count, well, I wouldn't pay that much more when I can modify it so easily.

I'll let you know what arrives, photos and all. Here's the diagram he sent me. I haven't found it on SG but it's probably here somewhere. So I'm tagging this one as a Von Weise V00212AT76 - VW76 diagram or a Von Weise V00212AT76 - VW76 assembly drawing and I reduced it to 1920x1484. The original TIF image is 6600x5100 and I'm attaching it as a zip file so you can keep it if you want. The resized one is still readable but the original is much better.

 

[Hockeynut]

Venture still made right here in America...Ohio!!!...They get my money and make a nice product!..Have 3 of there actuators..1 being a ballscrew...What a Caddy!!!

 

[yankee495]

Right after I bought the V00212AT76 - VW76 I was in the basement looking for a Uniden cover that I hadn't seen in a while. I found it and I found the arm with a good acme nut in it (no motor at all, hmmm?). The inner tube was covered in what looked like old, really old grease. A wire brush didn't touch it and none of the cleaners I have worked at all, nothing. I sanded it off and the powder turned to a sticky goo when it got wet. Weird stuff.

So I have a good inner arm tube to fix the one I'm using now, or was. The nut looks great, really good and I'm going to clean the acme screw until it's shiny, like new looking. When my smaller actuator stripped the nut I cleaning the bigger one really good, good and smooth and there was no crud or anything on it. But...it was still dark colored and probably a bit rough. It didn't feel rough to me but when applying the kind of pressure it must endure I'm guessing it was grinding the nut away. I learned my lesson, I'm going to make sure this one is really clean and smooth and then clean it some more!

I realize it could be cracked or something else inside that I can't see but I'm going to see if it'll run the dish. When the new one gets here I'll put this one up for a spare or something. It ran really good until the nut stripped. I really like the magnet conversion I did to it, could count by one and never missed a count. It did seem to have a tiny bit of slop when changing directions. If I approached SES-1 from the east it nailed it. When I approached it from the west the signal wasn't quite as strong. If I moved a bit more east and went back it was dead on again. I'm thinking that was slop from the nut ridges getting thinner.

So since I'm going to have a new one I'm going to clean and fix all of the ones I have. My Thomson Saginaw needs brushes and it has a potentiometer. It has a small dime sized gear that drives the larger gears to operate the potentiometer. There isn't much to use for attaching a magnet wheel but I'll figure something out. It has a ball screw and would be a great actuator with a little work. Had I did this before I needed one I might have avoided having to buy a new one but that's ok, it'll be nice to have a new one and not have to worry about it. One thing I've noticed about the Thompsons is that many are 12v? I don't know what this one is so I'll have to figure that out.

Considering I've never bought a new one and all of the ones I had were free then $225 isn't so bad! I guess that's about 1/1,000th of a cent per channel-per year or maybe less! All of a sudden I've spent around $400 of my stash on FTA though. A new feedhorn, two new switches, a V7 HD and two V8 Supers.

It's all good though because I bought a bunch of stuff to sell during the first half of the year. I have two super nice (new with tags) Tamrac camera/strobe cases on wheels that I'm going to sell and quite a few other things. This is how I fund my hobbies and my other hobbies are ham radio and photography so FTA is my inexpensive hobby! I also picked up a very nice, fairly rare, Pentax Ashanti focusing rail in very close to like new condition. It'll go for $100 I would think because of the rarity in the condition its in. I'm all set on camera gear, lenses, strobes, softboxes, light stands etc and FTA was needing an update for a while.

I was still using my old S9 despite the bugs and one of them was the dish didn't move a lot of the time. If I pushed left arrow to move a sat left, it didn't go. I had to move one more sat left and then go back to the one I wanted. This V8 Super goes when it is supposed to. The acme nut got a lot more use/wear than it would have had the S9 worked right.

Anyway, thanks for the advise and information guys and I will update this so everyone will know exactly what this is and what it looks like. I thought a good actuator cost $400 and that's one of the reasons I didn't just buy one a long time ago. I might put the one I'm using together and install my other dish, a twin of the 7.5 foot Perfect 10 that I'm using. I am going to go dish hunting and not come back until I find a 10 footer. I've been wanting one forever and I had one that was stolen right out of my backyard. I think the mesh may have been a hair too big for Ku and that's why it wasn't up yet, I was still trying to figure out if I'd gain anything.

So I'm going to go read around the board for a bit and see what's going on.

 

[Radioguy41]

The number of magnets affects the pulse count and some receivers have a problem with a high count actuator. The 4DTV is one. The 4DTV counts each pulse twice so a high pulse actuator causes it to miscount and you'll find your count settings for each satellite start to migrate. It's a good idea to determine what your receiver is comfortable with before ordering a new actuator and I agree, the ball screw is the way to go.

 

[yankee495]

The number of magnets affects the pulse count and some receivers have a problem with a high count actuator. The 4DTV is one. The 4DTV counts each pulse twice so a high pulse actuator causes it to miscount and you'll find your count settings for each satellite start to migrate. It's a good idea to determine what your receiver is comfortable with before ordering a new actuator and I agree, the ball screw is the way to go.

I'm using a Gbox and I converted my other Von Weise to a magnet wheel. It has 6 and the Gbox loves it. It doesn't miscount and it'll move by 1. When it was optical it was rare to get a 1 count movement. Others here have tested up to 16 magnets on a Gbox and it works. It would handle an 8 magnet wheel just fine but I'm afraid the one I ordered is 4. I'm not worried about it unless I have a hard time pinpointing Ku satellites. Their magnets could just be removed and smaller, stronger ones installed. They're so small they would fit between the mounting areas provided on the wheel.

 

[yankee495]

I finally got my actuator after the lady who had it called me because the phone number was on the label, FedEx took it to the wrong address! I called FedEx to tell them that it was showing delivered but I didn't have it. They're going to call me back which they haven't done yet and it has been an hour and a half. I guess I should call them so they'll know I have it no thanks to them. I called within 15 minutes of them leaving it at the wrong address and when the phone rang I assumed it was them. Nope!

I just called them, they're sorry. I had two expensive video cards delivered up the street. I could see the box on the couch and toys all over outside and inside. School was about to get out and I thought great, the kids will open my video cards. Anyway, this is like the fourth time it has happened. It seems FedEx has a lot of dyslexic drivers!

My address is 1151 and they sent the video cards to 1511 and today they sent my actuator to 1115. Yeah, that's not quite dyslexic, it appears they just can't read. I ordered an expensive photography light stand and they put it over the gate and it hit the ground so hard that it pushed the leg plug up into the leg and flared it out. It cut the sides of the plug right off. UPS doesn't do this! I am starting to not like FedEx too much!

So this new actuator is built cheaper. The limit switches are not screwed down, they slip down on plastic pegs and there is a foam pad that holds them in place when the cover is on. I folded a small strip of paper and put it through the hole on the switch to tighten it up a bit and now you can test and adjust the limit switch with the cover off. I often use a small drop of pancake syrup for temporary glue. It makes it sticky enough to hold in place but it's still removable. Over time as it dries it can really glue something good so I didn't use it this time. It would be hard to get something in there to soak it loose.

Also, only the extended position switch is adjustable. The retracted position is fixed. I still don't know the exact differences between the V00212AT76 - VW76 (mine for $199) and the V76-5 except that the V76-5 ($269) has the old style limit switches and 8 magnets where this one has just 4 magnets and the cheaper mounted switches. They are standard switches though. I think you could remove the plastic pegs and thread the holes (if they're not already) and use bolts to hold them in. This one says 24-36 volts but the description on the site just said 36v for both of them. If cheaper limit switch mounting and only 4 magnets is the only differences and you save $70, I'm happy. Both of those can be easily modified.

I'll take a photo of it when I get it mounted on the dish and let you know how it is pinpointing Ku satellites. Also, I don't think a recalculation is going to work because there is going to be much less counts between the sats with this one. When I converted my optical Von Weise to a reed switch set up I used 6 magnets so they'll be way off I think.

This magnet wheel has 4 magnets about the size of a dime, a little smaller. There is plenty of room to glue 4 smaller magnets between the ones that are on the wheel but you'd need to remove those and put 8 matching magnets on it. You wouldn't want them too strong and those N42 magnets are pretty strong but I ordered some very small ones. I think they'd have enough space between the magnetic fields to allow the switch to cycle open/closed etc. They do go in a north/south pattern, at least that's what the Von Weise diagram shows. On my converted one the magnets are all the same direction and seemed to work good, never missed a count.

I may convert this one this evening if I don't like the accuracy, yes I will. I use rubber cement so they don't have to dry real good because it's pretty gummy in a few minutes especially with it being 97 degrees here today. Wouldn't you know, yesterday it was 79-81, something like that. We had lows down to 54 or so too. Amazing for August.

This new actuator came with the boot, the small water seal that goes on the shaft, what do you call it? Can't think of it. It's the sleeve seal between the two tube pieces. It did not come with the mounting clamp but it does have the eye bearing on the dish end, can't think of the proper name for that either. A Male Rod End with bearing. The diagram says suppliers should send page one with page two on the back, I just got page one, yep, only one page directly from Von Weise.

The box had been torn open and taped closed on the end so maybe page two and the clamp is missing? Actually, it wasn't re-taped, it had two one layer thick pieces of tape and one was broken so that end was half open. I'm lucky I got the wire water seal which was just loose in the box. I am not happy with the packaging at all or the package sealing anyway. A couple more strips of tape would've prevented this. It just appears to me that if I were closing the box I'd have used more tape and I have done that type of job! And that's the motor end!

The shaft end has a hole where it went clear through the box! You'd think they'd put an extra cardboard piece in there or something and they only used two strips of tape one layer thick. This end did have a piece of tape going across the wide part of the end though, but being only one layer thick wasn't enough. Again, I'm lucky the wire water seal piece was in there at all, and again, If I had sealed the ends you would not have these problems!

I just noticed 1115 is written on the box with a marker so they wrote it on there to make it easier to see. The problem is my address isn't 1115 it is 1151! It appears the driver didn't actually read the label and just went by what someone else wrote on it! Wonderful! Did I mention that this is like the fourth or fifth time this has happened (delivered to the wrong address)? That's the problem! People make mistakes but FedEx seems to have a habit of doing it these days! Back in the 90s I ordered a lot of stuff, they were here almost everyday and I don't think I had but one thing broken (a computer case face) and I know I never had anything go to the wrong address. Actually it was UPS who delivered the broken computer case, a full size monster tower from Computer Geeks. I've had great luck with the USPS, never lost or broken a single item, never!

Ok, I'm going to go install it now.

 

[richyrich]

Great thread, by the way. So are we saying that the serial numbers on each part of the actuator; but did you find the other end of the work; the motor; or 24-36 vdc motor's in any part of this? I have an armature i need replacing to get an AJAX h-h chain. Seem's when I looked; I found nothing in the simalar TYPE and SIZE machine data I was looking at. In my case, the old armature. Your post here has some nice tabs; but I also get blocking typed searches must be causing this. These days i use brighter lights then in the old days. Thanks in advance; as I am going to try the links you posted to see for myself if it can be found. The ajax mount and chain is smooth like the von weisse.

 

[yankee495]

Great thread, by the way. So are we saying that the serial numbers on each part of the actuator; but did you find the other end of the work; the motor; or 24-36 vdc motor's in any part of this? I have an armature i need replacing to get an AJAX h-h chain. Seem's when I looked; I found nothing in the simalar TYPE and SIZE machine data I was looking at. In my case, the old armature. Your post here has some nice tabs; but I also get blocking typed searches must be causing this. These days i use brighter lights then in the old days. Thanks in advance; as I am going to try the links you posted to see for myself if it can be found. The ajax mount and chain is smooth like the von weisse.

I don't understand what you're asking? Basically, I was trying to find more info about the differences between the different Von Weise actuators as their site isn't real clear. Also, I still don't know the exact differences between the one I bought and the V76-5. I posted what I received as per the model number on the Von Weise site. It's working great by the way, but it's hard to get it to count by one. My 6 magnet wheel had no problem counting by one so I think I'll upgrade this one to 8 magnets.

 

[richyrich]

I am getting 4000 count's per drive (arc) on the ajax 110 degree move; this is pretty fast compared to the 8000+ counts on the von weisse 8 magnet wheel. They both are considered fast counting; or a fast counting mechanism; as is a little dish motor; i would say the von weisse was my deal with the better days; there were lots of them to put in; in the 90's. No different today; they are a slower moving unit; finer threaded than the rest. If you want; a von weisse can even count well enough to follow the sun; or robot a table that is heavy. I have just the arm as a gate mechanism when it is frozen solid in rust from the coastal weathers the west has I put those into a pile. Yes, the link works; von weisse themselves is fine with me. Thanks for your links.

Each of the different sizes are power structured language; that is how strong a mechanism it is. Amps drawn as a load is also shown if you take each arm; or mechanism; then say a 3 ampere draw is the amps during strokes operation; and the controller must be able to supply it as very perfect amps; and count it perfectly every distance it travels. The clamping or startup of the motor value (say 5-10 amps) is also into it's sizes; and the controller must supply it also. So the bigger motors are only made by tesla today. I used two sizes of the von weisse because that is what they designed for satellite dish controller's in the 90's; and one was stronger in strength (bigger) than the other. In the 80's; they made the older optical Uniden line controller motor arm's/actuators. Optical counter's went up to 10,000 counts per full drive to both limits. Some controllers could not position as fine as the unidens did; and the arms lasted a long time. The problem in opticals of its day was if any light got into the motors case; it will miscount; today they have it miniturized and sealed with black plastic so no light enters it; on the little dish motors. This is also why if you hook both a c band motor; and a little ku band motor to the same controller; they move un-similarly in the arc; or amount of movement per count; which is how fine the dish is moving and how perfectly it can position itself.

Parts are hard to find these days for each different motor; except by the original manufacturer. I am looking for an armature; the part that spins after the voltage is supplied; in this case; the same dc controller; a v box; g box is designed for. It is a worm geared drive on the armature; a very weird one on the ajax mount; and i have no jig yet that can grind the arms of the armature flat again; going to try to free hand it with a drill, but i have no margin as the bearing sagged the wear mark right at the outside of the armatures where it is plugged into the many armature wires. It also is housed magnetically to the case which cannot be "removed" for any fixing (really weird)...nobody else makes this type anymore. But yes; the von weisse will count the best new today; put on the von weisse and re-program; or re-actuate all them channels; that will be a new mount in my case; actuator brand new too. For precisest movements; the counts per inch matter; and optical grade is how USALS works "so fine". Todays satellite signals really are very finely moved to also.

 

[yankee495]

The V00212AT76 - VW76 is the one I bought and it only has four magnets. I converted my old optical Von Weise to a magnet wheel and made the wheel and everything. It had 6 slots in the optical wheel so I put 6 magnets on the wheel. The new one has room to glue 8 of my smaller magnets on it and I believe I'm going to try that.

It will position just fine and it doesn't miss a count but it's real hard to get it to count by 1. When bumping it up from 336 it hits 338 every time until you really try then you'll eventually hit 337. The 6 magnet wheel had no problem at all counting by 1 and it didn't miscount. Some of the Ku band is just 1 count off from the C and I know they should be exact but that's the nature of the C/Ku combo LNBFs. Since I can't store a C/Ku sat in the same position and have to use two slots and I have to set them 1 apart even if they seem to be in the exact same position. An 8 count wheel will give me 3 positions that are so close together they'd fall within a 2 count with the 4 magnet wheel and I'd be able to nail them every time.

I've been realigning the sats in the Gbox and it's a pain not being able to share positions between sats. It'd be nice of the receiver would let you put SES-3 and SES-3 Ku on position 22, but it's one sat to a position. There isn't any way to store a whole sat (both bands) in one position. This is why I need to be able to count by 1 and for aiming in general. Actually now that they're in there it's not so bad but if I want to adjust a sat by 1 I have to go through the east/west/east/west thing until I hit 337.

I've been realigning the dish to track the arc better and have needed a 1 count a lot of times. It was off a little bit and then I went the wrong way when adjusting the dish (at the dish) and it was off a lot, but I went back and changed it back the other way plus another 1/2 turn and almost nailed it. Now I need to get my wife to help me do the west sat/south sat/west sat/south sat etc again and get it exact.

I think the pole may have tilted a hair in 12 years or maybe the sats have that much of a finer beam but the sats were a tad up from where the dish was tracking, 1/2 to 3/4 turn or so. Anyway, now when I get dead on it with the Gbox it's off maybe 1/4 inch. When I pull the dish down the signal goes from 79 to 82 for instance. I don't pull it much, one finger and not a lot of pressure. I tuned 95W Ku, the last channel on it from 39 to 46 so that's a good improvement since I started. It isn't off much but I want it dead on.

We put the house cordless phone on intercom and she tells me when it's peaked. Tomorrow we'll get it finished, last night we had to be at a funeral so we had to stop before we were done. The one count problem arose first when re-positioning all of the sats because the count was different from 6 to 4 magnets and again when I was pinpointing a sat adjusting the declination. First you have to make sure you on it east/west with the Gbox, then up and down when adjusting the dish. After you start getting it very close the sats will shift a count east or west. Once I get it tracking the arc perfectly then I'll just do a recalculation and everything will be inline. I get confused, but I think it's if you're having to lower the dish you'll have to shift it east by 1 or 2 when you get it adjusted right.

My dish was tracking the arc a hair too low then I lowered it instead of raising it and now it's too high and I have to lower it a hair. I'll get it but after going through all of this I sure wish it would count by 1. That's why I'm thinking I should convert it to an 8 magnet wheel as soon as I am done adjusting the dish. Then I'd have to re-position all of the sats again because of the different count but I'd be set until it wears out. I don't know what Von Weise charges for an 8 magnet wheel. I might email them and ask but they want $20 just to ship an acme nut and I can't see paying $40 for a wheel when I can just change the magnets on this one. These small N42 or N52 magnets will fit on the factory wheel just fine.

So that's where I'm at with the new actuator. I love it but it has a hard time counting by one with a Gbox and it would make programming sats or adjusting the dish or anything you do easier. Once you get everything programmed in it really wouldn't matter much but an 8 magnet wheel would be really nice for next time, like when we get new 4K receivers and have to make a list from scratch again! .

 

[armadillo_115]

Yankee495...does your Gbox not count by one when using the Gbox remote?

I have a generic Vbox. Positioning with the receiver moves 2 counts...but positioning with the Vbox remote moves it by single counts. While setting/resetting a Sat position in my LinkBox 9000i menu...I found that I can use the Vbox remote to move by only 1 count if needed. Then I can 'Set' the position on the receiver screen.

I also use the Vbox remote to fine tune a channel while watching. Often it works but sometimes the receiver pulls it right back to the 'Set' position. The receiver and I can get it a sparring match.

 

[FTA4PA]

Yankee495...does your Gbox not count by one when using the Gbox remote?

I have a generic Vbox. Positioning with the receiver moves 2 counts...but positioning with the Vbox remote moves it by single counts. While setting/resetting a Sat position in my LinkBox 9000i menu...I found that I can use the Vbox remote to move by only 1 count if needed. Then I can 'Set' the position on the receiver screen.

I also use the Vbox remote to fine tune a channel while watching. Often it works but sometimes the receiver pulls it right back to the 'Set' position. The receiver and I can get it a sparring match.

I've had that happen, especially with my Amiko Mini HD SE. When I use the Vbox7 remote to fine tune the Amiko wants to motor back to the stored position before I can save. Really annoying...

 

[yankee495]

Yankee495...does your Gbox not count by one when using the Gbox remote?

I have a generic Vbox. Positioning with the receiver moves 2 counts...but positioning with the Vbox remote moves it by single counts. While setting/resetting a Sat position in my LinkBox 9000i menu...I found that I can use the Vbox remote to move by only 1 count if needed. Then I can 'Set' the position on the receiver screen.

I also use the Vbox remote to fine tune a channel while watching. Often it works but sometimes the receiver pulls it right back to the 'Set' position. The receiver and I can get it a sparring match.

No, it doesn't help to use the remote, it still counts by two. I have a feeling the 4 magnet setup is the cause. The magnets are in a north/south polarization setup, every other one being opposite, two north and two south. I think the 8 magnet conversion is as easy as removing the ones that are in it and putting in the much smaller ones. The ones in it are about the size of a dime and the ones I'm going to put in it are about the size of a pencil eraser, maybe a little bigger. I did know the size in mm but I forgot and am too lazy to look it up. I have so much crap in my head that some gets pushed out when I try to cram something else in! There is a thread here about it.

Anyway, the original magnets are so big that they eat up the space between them but my really small magnets will fit fine. I see no reason why it wouldn't just work but if I didn't they'd be easy to remove because I use rubber cement. It holds them in real good but is a bit pliable and peels out real easy. I hate the thought of re-positioning the sats again but it wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to battle the Gbox over position count.

And, I don't think anything if worse than this V8 Super when it comes to the dish taking off. It moves to the highlighted sat or channel in at least 3 important situations. They are: in the satellite setup menu, when you select a favorite folder or when you use the Rolodex search feature.

I have never seen the Rolodex search feature in a receiver. You hit OK to bring up the list then you click the blue button (it shows Blue box A-Z on screen). That brings up an alphabetical list on the right side of the screen (including the numbers/symbols etc) and you scroll down to "D" and it only displays channels starting with D. The problem is you have to click OK on the D (D on band down the side) to move the cursor to the list. When you do it takes off to the first channel on the list (the highlighted one) and never gives you a chance to move down a couple and select the one you want.

It also does this when you select a "Favorite" category. If you select "Movies" or "News" it'll take off to the last channel viewed in that category. In the satellite setup menu it tries to move to every single satellite in the list as you scroll past them to get to sat #10! It's a total battle unless you shut off the Gbox and turn it back on to store a sat. You can't do it from your recliner, you have to get a chair and sit right in front of it because you're going to need to cancel a few dozen times. Mr Fanf, the firmware programmer is going to add a menu option to fix this. It will be "Select By Highlight" or "Select By OK". It may work ok on a fixed dish but it bites on a motorized dish. Being able to "Select By OK" will make this a near perfect receiver, so much so that I can't really think of another problem beside the lack of clear step-by-step instructions for things like DLNA and SAT2IP, things that are new to me and a lot of people.