Sg2100 Motor Bracket Flex

[stogie5150]

Resetting the motor moves it to the home position, no? My resetting I mean hold both buttons down, then turn on the receiver, wait for the LED to quit flashing, let go of the buttons, and it moves to home position. Then I use USALS to move it to my TS satellite ( which for me is G11), then I adjust as you said to lock in the signal quality.

The P* 1m dishes have always been easy for me to aim with a motor. I have put them up at least 10 times in the last year, never had a problem. Its got me scratching my head.

First move the motor manually with the buttons to the zero position.

Reset the motor. Then enter the USALS numbers and let the motor move the dish to where it thinks the satellite is supposed to be. If the satellite isn't there, then adjust the whole assembly on the pole and dish up or down until it is there.

Make sure it is on the real sweet spot. A dish can have more than one which gives pretty good signal, but not the best.

Once you have the TS satellite tuned in the best you can, then everything else should fall in place.

Fred

 

[linuxman]

Resetting the motor moves it to the home position, no?

Maybe the new SG2100s are different, but on mine, there is an arrow that sticks out on the underside and the scale is all around the motor head. I move the arrow to the zero position using the buttons and put a straightened paper clip along side the led and push a button and hold it for 5 seconds or until the light turns green again.

That resets it for my motor.

 

[starman345]

Stogie, that SG-2100 sounds like a DXM-7000? When you do that reset procedure it does NOT reset the zero on the motor, it only re-sets the satellites that are stored (diseqc1.2) in the motor to the factory ones. To reset the zero you need to physically open the motor and move the gears.
To check, send your dish to zero via your stb and go and look at the zero pointer on the motor, is it on zero?

 

[stogie5150]

Tried this today. Same problem. I can hit G11 eastward to AMC6, westward to G26, then it drops off the farther west I go.

I think the motor bracket's whacked.

 

[linuxman]

If that is an 84e, why don't you just use the mount that came with it upside down like I did mine?





I used a 50MM tube and a 2" piece of split PVC, and it has been up there in the weather for over a year now with no problems at all.

I weighed mine, and even with the OEM cap and mount, it was only 20 Lbs.

 

[stogie5150]

Because I sent gabshere the mount, that's why.

!sadroll

There's a couple more P* dishes around here, I'll go ask for one and I may do just that. I tried the 84e as an expierment as Digiblur ( and me) thought the 1m P* I had on it before might be whacked. Turns out it wasn't.

 

[linuxman]

I used the mount from a 75e and adapted it to my 1M Primestar dish because the 3" mount was too big for my 2-3/8" mast.

You could do the same thing and turn it upside down and use it on a motor. The mount from the 75e was much lighter than the original that came with the 1M. The angle brackets are pretty easy to drill out and using a dremel, you can adjust where the holes go.



I know that using an original on a motor makes it much easier to tune in because of the adjustment bolt.

 

[Larry1]

Tried this today. Same problem. I can hit G11 eastward to AMC6, westward to G26, then it drops off the farther west I go.

I think the motor bracket's whacked.

Sounds like you need to adjust the motor bracket elevation some more as you are not following the arc. Don't assume that the scale on the bracket is exactly correct, but only a rough guide. Move the motor a few degrees each way (but not too far) to see if that helps out. You will also have to adjust the dish on the motor tube as well. This will make your arc either flatter or sharper as the motor turns. Remember there is more than one adjustment to the elevation. There is the dish adjustment on the motor arm/tube and the motor adjustment (on the bracket) on the mounting pole. Both these need adjustment to get the dish to track the arc correctly.

Please refer to page 10 (section 8) of the Stab HH90 for further reference. PDF file in the manuals sections.
http://www.satelliteguys.us/fta-manuals/92550-stab-hh90-english-spanish.html
Also make sure your dish is exactly on the centre line of the motor tube.

Also check to see if anything else is twisting or moving when you move to the ends of your arc. It only takes a slight movement to put it out of alignment.

 

[metrocell]

Stogie, i have a newer style SG-2100 like you. I can see from 30W to 129W. I also had trouble tracking at both ends of the arc. My latitude is 44.7N and my closest true south is 85W. When I set my latitude on the motor bracket I was great toward the center of the arc but when I went to the ends I would lose reception. Mine appeared to be a declination issue. What I did was set the latitude on my motor to 45.7 instead of 44.7 and repeaked on my true south using the dish adjustment. Now I can track across the arc with out trouble. You might try messing with your elevation settings on the motor bracket if you haven't already. Good Luck!

 

[stogie5150]

Sounds like you need to adjust the motor bracket elevation some more as you are not following the arc. Don't assume that the scale on the bracket is exactly correct, but only a rough guide. Move the motor a few degrees each way (but not too far) to see if that helps out. You will also have to adjust the dish on the motor tube as well. This will make your are either flatter or sharper as the motor turns. Remember there is more than one adjustment to the elevation. There is the dish adjustment on the motor arm/tube and the motor adjustment (on the bracket) on the mounting pole. Both these need adjustment to get the dish to track the arc correctly.

Thanks for the info.
The problem is I have another 1m P* dish, set up on a pole not 50 feet from it, set up EXACTLY the same way, and it works fine. The only difference is that the motor in question is the new style with the shiny bracket and smaller u-bolts.

I have already adjusted the motor elevation 1/2 degree at a time for three degrees each way, to no avail.

It HAS to be an out of plumb condition in some way, because I can be dead on in the middle and the east end, and 1/4 inch out elevation-wise at the west end of the arc. Its not just a little bit, its a LOT.

 

[Larry1]

Move the motor to the home position (south) and check to see if the dish, LNB arm, is actually vertical or is a few degrees off. Does sound as if it is rotated slightly on the pole and the elevation needs to be adjusted a bit if the one end of the arc is off.

 

[Larry1]

One more idea, maybe the weight of the dish is not causing the motor to move the dish far enough at the ends of the arc. What happens if you nudge the motor a little further. (from the IRD adjustments) Could be the play in the gears and the weight of the dish is causing the problems. Is the motor still vertical at the ends of the arc or is the motor bracket twisting?

 

[stogie5150]

I found out this morning I have an EXTRA motor bracket! So off I went to the hardware and auto parts stores for some 3/8 u-bolts and 3" muffler clamps, and a BOX of 5/16 washers.....Pictures to come as I go.

 

[stogie5150]

One more idea, maybe the weight of the dish is not causing the motor to move the dish far enough at the ends of the arc. What happens if you nudge the motor a little further. (from the IRD adjustments) Could be the play in the gears and the weight of the dish is causing the problems. Is the motor still vertical at the ends of the arc or is the motor bracket twisting?

I checked that. I put a magnetic torpedo level on the side of the bracket to check for out of plumb as it moved. Bumping the motor did not help, nor did loosening it on the pole and twisting the whole thing.

I have an identical setup not 50 feet away set up EXACTLY the same way and it works perfectly. That's why I am so exasperated at this whole thing.

But thanks for the thoughts and keep them coming! :up

 

[stogie5150]

Well fellas, I am at the end of my rope. I have done everything I know to do. I have the exact same problem with two different dishes, two different brackets, two whole different setups. Pole is plumb, motor is plumb to the pole, elevation has been tried two degrees each way of my latitude on the motor bracket.

Could the motor itself be bent in some way?
This IS the motor that I got as a warranty replacement awhile back from DMS....

Here's the pics of what I did. In order...
First pic, the new u-bolts I got.
Second, the bracket at my TS satellite. Its level.
Third, pic of the setup.
Fourth, its square to the pole.
Fifth, square again, dish moved to the 45 degree west position. Still level and square.
Sixth, Level at the 45 degree west position.
Seventh, Level at the 123 west position.
It is STILL HIGH on the EAST end, and LOW on the west end. I am talking about 1/4-3/8 of an inch difference. Not a little bit. The motor is stopping EXACTLY on the satellite, just the elevation is totally wrong.

I am about ready to take a BIG hammer to it.

 

[starman345]

I have two of the same type of motor you have, both of them shifted zero on me. I played with the first one for 2 hours before I figured out what was wrong. When you send it to reference does it go to exactly zero? I have to use a small mirror to see it clearly.

 

[stogie5150]

I have two of the same type of motor you have, both of them shifted zero on me. I played with the first one for 2 hours before I figured out what was wrong. When you send it to reference does it go to exactly zero? I have to use a small mirror to see it clearly.

There's no way to zero it on the Coolsat 5000. I just reset the motor itself and it goes to zero. Like I said, the motor is stopping on the satellites ( any satellite, not just my TS) every time using USALS, its just when it gets there the elevation is all wrong.

Bumping it in either direction does not help. Only if I physically change the elevation adjustment on the dish will it come in.

 

[linuxman]

Re-Read post #18 above.

This time, follow the instructions.

Fred

 

[stogie5150]

You don't have the real sweet spot on the dish elevation.

Make sure the elevation on the motor is set correctly with a protractor or digital inclinometer.

Then move the dish elevation on the tube up or down plus or minus 10 degrees from where you are now and see if you can find a sweeter spot on your TS satellite.

If that is indeed the problem, all others will be solved.

Fred

Fred I CAN'T do that. the dish's positon on the tube is FIXED.

I set the dish on my TS satellite exactly left to right and up and down, highest quality just as I have ALWAYS done. I've put up and taken down my 1m dishes at least 10 times in the past year putting new poles in, etc. THIS one is being a bear for some reason, and I am not doing anything different than I always have!

The elevation of the motor matters not a whit. I have gone as much as four degrees each way on the motor elevation, re zeroed my TS satellite, and it just will not track.

If I had to move it the SAME way at each end of the arc, say on each end I had to ELEVATE the dish, I'd say you were right. But the condition I have is I have to DE-elevate it an the EAST end and ELEVATE it at the west end.

 

[linuxman]

PM sent with phone number.