SG2100 or DG380

[Sadoun]

Ok, some of you have used SG2100 in the past, and now they are using the DG380.

Share your experience with each and which model (hands down) you would recommend for dishes 100cm to 120cm?

Please only vote if you have and experienced both models, to make the comparison fair.

Thank you very much.

 

[rodder]

i had a sg2100 after 11 month it broke somthing happen to the gears.i then got a dg380 i have had no problems with it.

 

[brentb636]

I currently have a SG21000 running my 1M dish and a DG380 running my 1.2M dish ( both motors from Sadoun, the SG2100 about 2 1/2 years old ). I like the extra heft of the DG380 and the speed. I've had it about 8 months with no real problems. If I needed another motor, a DG380 would be the one . The SG-2100 has had a lot of minor problems, all of which I've gotten through, and it's still running, so it's not exactly a piece of trash. My favorite motor is the little STAB HH90, which I have on a 90cm dish, because it NEVER gets lost and has been very reliable, but it's too small for this discussion.

 

[SatinKzo]

I like the DG380 for my 1.2m dish, I just didn't feel the 2100 was going to handle it. That being said, I had my sg2100 for over 3 years without a single issue on my 90cm dish.

 

[hd fan]

STAB and nothing but STAB, God bless the Italians who created it.

 

[DJ Rob]

I am using a 90cm dish. In the last year, I've had 3 of the newer DMS International SG-2100 motors and they ALL had issues. They all had overrun (going past where they are supposed to using USALS) and on one, the connector fell off right out of the box. A lot of grief and time wasted.

I got the Sadoun DG380, installed it and haven't had any issues. Solid motor. It is faster and seems to be a lot more accurate as well!

 

[Sadoun]

STAB and nothing but STAB, God bless the Italians who created it.

I have written a specs comparison between the STAB and Sadoun PowerTech motors before. The STAB is a good motor and I have sold it for many years. However, now a days, it is way to expensive and compared to the DG380 is way too slow.

 

[walrus1957]

I have used both the SG2100 and DG380 motors on a 1 meter and 1.2 meter dish. Both seem to be reliable and quick in positioning the dish. However here is one advantage the DG380 has over the SG2100 that very few people realize:

I have a 76cm dish motorized and dedicated for KU, and a 1.2 meter dish dedicated just for C-Band. I wanted one reciever to operate both dishes independently. But no mater what type switch was used to select the dishes using the SG2100 motors both dishes would move at the same time when a cband or ku band satellite was selected. I then purchased the DG380 motors and installed them on the 76cm and 1.2 meter dish. I connected my receiver to a 4x1 switch ahead of the motors and ran one port from the diseqc to the 1.2 meter and the another port to the 76cm dish. Now when I select a KU satellite only the 76cm dish operates and when I select a Cband sat only the 1.2 meter dish moves. I do not know why this doesn't work with SG2100 motors, but will strongly recommend the DG380 for multiple motorized dish setups operated from a single reciever.

 

[Sadoun]

Now when I select a KU satellite only the 76cm dish operates and when I select a Cband sat only the 1.2 meter dish moves. I do not know why this doesn't work with SG2100 motors, but will strongly recommend the DG380 for multiple motorized dish setups operated from a single reciever.

That is a great tip. Thanks for sharing

 

[AcWxRadar]

I have used several motors. DigiPower SG-2100, Moteck SG-2100, PowerTech DG-280/B and PowerTech DG-380.

When comparing these models, I find that they are all VERY reliable. The SG-2100's and the DG-XXX series are equally compatible to USALS and DiSEqC 1.2 control.

I did have an issue with one of the older SG-2100 motors as it would not handle the weight of a 1M Winegard dish. It could pan east or west of zero, but had a very difficult time panning back when gravity was working against it. This was only one of the SG-2100 motors and I cannot recall if it was a Moteck or a DigiPower version. All other SG-2100 motors that I have do not seem to have this problem, although I have not used them in quite a while as I have since been using the DG-280 and DG-380 motors.

Walrus may have been able to get an SG-2100 to move his 1.2 M dish, but I would be apprehensive to recommend the SG-2100 motor for this size of dish. I believe it would be borderline in spec's. That doesn't mean that it won't work, but that it might be working harder and have a shorter lifespan with such an application.

My personal opinion is that the DG-280 and DG-380 series motors are much more worthy of the initial expense. The SG-2100 motors are highly reliable and less expensive, but I find the price difference negligable.

I do not intend to rob the DG-XXX series motors of their status, but I must provide information accurately. Two of the SG-380 motors that I tested did not have the four housing bolts completely tightened. I did not observe this intially, but while I was trying to set up the motorized dish, I ran into problems with the arc that left me scratching my head. When I got to examining the motor, I noticed that the upper and lower housings (or shells) were separating from eachother.

The dish was attached to the motor tube and hence to the lower housing. The upper housing is fixed to the motor bracket. Because of the gap between the two shells of the housing, my latitude or motor elevation developed an error and would not track the arc.

Once these four bolts were securely tightened, the problem was corrected, so there was no malfunction with the motor itself. I beleive that the assembly technician was either working on these two motors on a Monday (possibly with a hangover) or on a Friday (and in a hurry to get home).

Both motors are assembled in the same fashion, so this could occur on either. You should check this before installation of any motor. This was not initially apparent, it only appeared after the weight of the dish assembly was applied.

I have not experienced nor duplicated the scenario that Walrus stated, so I do not have information on that issue. I have witnessed that the SG-2100 motor sometimes would not pick up or execute the move commands when changing sats when I had that motor set behind a SW21 and a DiSEqC switch (in series). I sometimes had to resend the move command more than once before it would move. i.e. select another satellite and then reselect the satellite that I wanted. This could have been the motor, the switch matrix that I was using or the receiver. I cannot confirm this as it was too infrequent of a problem to troubleshoot and isolate.

I would recommend either motor, but I prefer the DG-380 for the larger dishes like the 1.0 - 1.2 M. You won't go wrong with one of these motors, regardless of the dish size (as long as you stay within the recommended limits for any one of them).

RADAR