I purchased a Houston Tracker III on EBay. I want to use it to move my solar panels which are mounted on a satellite dish base because it puts out 24v. When I got the box, I could push the east or west button and the unit would move my panels about 1/2 inch on the actuator. I pushed the reset button with a push pin and now the east/west button do not do anything. I want to be able to push and hold east/west buton to move the panels during the day, is this possible? All I got was the box, I do not have a remote.
Using Houston Tracker III to Move Solar Panels
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Hmmmmmmmm C-band recievers need to receive a pulsed signal from the actuator (dish mover) to let the reciever know that the actuator is working, ie: moving a dish. The pulsed signal comes from a sensor in the actuator, most sensors are either reed or hall window effect. Without that pulsed signal the reciever will only activate the actuator for a short time, and will then have a "no pulse" error. What I would try is to hook up the "pulse" connectors from the actuator to the receiver. Good Luck
Welcome to SatelliteGuys... You probably need to set the limits... I will dig and see if I can find my manual as it has been several years since I did that... does a err message come up?wornout said:
Mine is just the actuator, seperate from receiver...I think you put a match in the reset hole and held east button until you ran out of arm,(or Satellites) and did same to go west, but I've slept since then....drhydro said:
no Manual... got tossed I guess...
dfergie said:
Well, I hooked up the pulse wires to the Tracker and held east while pushing in the reset switch, nothing. Did the same on the west. One good thing, it seems like when I unplugged it for two days, it reset to pulse mode and that will do me fine as long as I get 24 volts to the actuator, I can hold the button. The movement that way is much better than using the knife switch I was using and sending 12v up there, it really moved slooooooooooooooooooow.
It works
After reading all the advice I received here, I did a couple of things. I hooked up the limit wires and I powered down the unit, unplugged it, removed the 10 year battery, removed two of the computer chips and set them back in, reinstalled the battery, plugged it back in and it works. I have to hold the button while it moves but I am getting 24v out to the actuator and that sure moves the panels better than the 12v I rigged up.
Thanks to everyone for their help, I am a happy camper. wornout
After reading all the advice I received here, I did a couple of things. I hooked up the limit wires and I powered down the unit, unplugged it, removed the 10 year battery, removed two of the computer chips and set them back in, reinstalled the battery, plugged it back in and it works. I have to hold the button while it moves but I am getting 24v out to the actuator and that sure moves the panels better than the 12v I rigged up.
Thanks to everyone for their help, I am a happy camper. wornout
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