Time to buy a new actuator

My 10+ years old actuator finally choked and I guess it's time to buy a new 36 incher. Mistake I made was letting it sit on the same sat for a length of time and not moving it occasionally. Tried to move it with my GI 4dtv and received the error of east/west limits reached. The GI won't allow me to reset the limits nor do I want to reset the receiver because I will lose all sat maps. Went outside and the arm only clicks loudly and tries to move but goes nowhere. I am guessing the inside rod is stripped.

Good thing is, I had to search garage and found an older similar size actuator and a new v-box mover (never used before). I took the arm off the old actuator and spun the inside rod with a drill and it moved. But, the rod is stripped so it can't be used to replace my current actuator on the dish. At least I now have a spare motor less the arm should I ever need a replacement.

When I get the new actuator, I will be using the v-box instead of the GI 4dtv to move the dish.
Time to go shopping.....

A good 36 actuator costs money! My Venture 36 inch ball screw has been running for 5 years without any issues. Enigma2 image errors and a wire loose on the positioner are the only times I have calibrated it. The thing runs without worries or issues. But it is Noisy! I would recommend this actuator, providing the noise it makes will not be an issue. I installed a 24 inch version last year on a 10 foot mesh dish. Same thing: Noisy, but dependable.

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Eye balling measurements can be very deceiving..... lol

I went back to the garage and pulled out the inner tube on the bad actuator and it measures 26.5 inches from the sat bolt eyelet to the outer casing of the arm. Since the bad actuator has the same physical exterior dimensions as the one installed on my bud, I am guessing that it is actually a 24 inch actuator!

Less money to spend.... lol

A 24" should be plenty for a 10 fo0t dish. The 36" inch is more than I need, but a 24" was too short to cover what I wanted.