Strong winds strip actuator

[armadillo_115]

Per the title: Strong winds last night/today stripped the actuator on 'my' bud. (Wife's seems ok)
I noticed the dish was all the way over on the eastern side. I manually raised the dish back and it stopped right on 116w, but does NOT lock in. It will freely extend to the east. Something broken inside. I temporarily tied it in place.

It was getting too dark to see well, but I don't believe there was any damage to the dish or mount. Dish is receiving ok on 116w, which is the western sat of main interest for the wife.

Will have to take stock of my old spare actuators tomorrow. Best I recall, the only complete actuator remaining uses an optical sensor and will need to be converted to reed switch. Sure wish I had done that before when it was not needed at the time. * There is also a working pots type actuator and controller that could be used as a last resort. *

Sounds like fun? lol

[el bandido]

Take it apart and see what happened if you have the time. My guess is the screw broke.

A few years ago, actuators were fairly cheap if you bought the junk ones from China. I had a few "new" ones that never seemed to last much more than a year. But they were cheap to replace. So no big deal really. And of course the positioner errors these cheap actuators produced were provided at no extra charge.

Today, a decent 36 inch ball screw actuator will cost around $500.00 new. A decent 24 inch ball screw will be about 100 dollars less. The cheap actuators if you can find them are usually over a hundred dollars or maybe around $200.00 for a cheap 36 inch satellite actuator. IMO, the good high priced actuators are the ones to have because they do not give any problems if properly installed.

Re-using old actuators is a thing I also tried with mixed results. But usually positioner errors followed any used actuator I put together or refurbished, regardless of what I did to it. Yes. They could be made to work and move again...Kinda....Sorta.

An old actuator with decent tube and screw can be made into a manual dish mover if you get a little creative. Tack weld a turning device of your choice on the motor end, allowing you to turn the actuator by hand is an economical and usually a long lasting fix for a c band dish mover. Then again, maybe not such a good idea if you live in a cold climate and decide the dish needs turned at 11PM.

Shown below are a couple of pictures of actuators that I use. These are Venture actuators and they are noisy. But they get the job done, and they don't throw positioner errors or lose counts. These actuators are a blessing to have after years of doing it the hard way. Problem is they cost money. I think the cost of actuators has almost doubled in the last 5 years.

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[armadillo_115]

Any idea where I might order a reed switch (preferably with bracket} for this Uniden UST-705? The magnets sit approx 1/2 inch above the metal plate. I'm guessing this magnet wheel was optional or a conversion.... since I have an identical Uniden UST-705, that is optical.

I would order TWO reed switches while I'm at it. Try to make a magnet wheel and convert the optical Uniden UST-705 as well. But that would be a longer process. Need to get the one running asap.
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Dug around in the spares all afternoon. I have a decent spare shaft and 2 or 3 motors with reed switches ... but none mate up. Just my luck!

[el bandido]

What about fixing the one that broke --or is that even an option?

Mr. Brian @ Titanium Satellite may be able to help with your switch. Ask and see.

[armadillo_115]

I doubt the old shaft is worth fixing. I tried taking one of SuperJack HL's apart before and had no luck getting it back together again.

I'll google around and see if I can figure what specs I need for the reed switch. I believe there is 5 volts on the sensor wires, but not sure.

[el bandido]

A few years ago, this would not be a big deal. The Uniden UST-705 served many satellite dishes well, but today, it is just hard to find parts for anything like that. And finding a New replacement that does not break the bank is almost impossible. The only thing I see reasonable today is an 18 inch actuator.

[armadillo_115]

I found an old post on SatGuys where Magic Static told how to do the mod on a similar actuator. (The Uniden was supposedly a re-badged Von Weise) And luckily there is a link to order the reed switch that he used! I'm going to order a couple and go from there. It may be tricky making two new magnetic wheels with the tools I have on hand.

I still need to determine if the magnet strength matters. More googling to come. Thanks for the help so far.

[Terryl]

Now, once you get it all fixed and back together, there is one way to keep this from happening again, (info to others that also have a BUD) what I do to mine is to anchor it in place when I get a storm warning, I first swing it due East or West to the hard stops,(depending on the direction of the incoming storm) I then turn off the Vbox or receiver (to keep the dish from being moved when anchored) and using some anchor points I put in the ground I install two guy lines to the side of the dish.

The guy lines are interchangeable, they can be switched around depending on the East/West hard stops I used, simple eyelets installed on the rim of the dish, and in the anchor points located in the ground at equal spacing's from the dish work wonders.

Note: if your anchor points are located in the lawn, be sure to install them low enough to keep from hitting them with a lawn mower.

[el bandido]

Anchoring the dish for a storm can be a good thing. Similar to tying down an airplane. But it is a fact that we are running out of actuators to use as replacements when something breaks. I had several spare actuators at one time that had been collected from one place or another. And not too long ago, cheap actuators for satellite dishes were available at several places. But not today.

At some point a new actuator will have to be purchased or an old actuator will have to be converted to manual operation of some type. Do you need a reed switch or any switch at all? How about moving the actuator by just connecting power to it and bypass the switches? This is something to think about and switch-free system is probably "doable" in some form. But what are you gonna do when the motor quits and there are no replacements?

IMO, a good quality actuator is a great investment for more than one reason. The problem with a new actuator is they can cost some money. A cheap 24 inch actuator at WalMart for a satellite dish is advertised at less than $200.00. But how long will it last? An expensive actuator may not last long either, but generally well made products last a while unless abused.

Shown below is the cheapest new 24 inch actuator that I could find.

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[armadillo_115]

Now, once you get it all fixed and back together, there is one way to keep this from happening again, (info to others that also have a BUD) what I do to mine is to anchor it in place when I get a storm warning, I first swing it due East or West to the hard stops,(depending on the direction of the incoming storm) I then turn off the Vbox or receiver (to keep the dish from being moved when anchored) and using some anchor points I put in the ground I install two guy lines to the side of the dish.


The guy lines are interchangeable, they can be switched around depending on the East/West hard stops I used, simple eyelets installed on the rim of the dish, and in the anchor points located in the ground at equal spacing's from the dish work wonders.

Note: if your anchor points are located in the lawn, be sure to install them low enough to keep from hitting them with a lawn mower.

Terryl, I agree with the above. But this actuator was old and half wore out when I mounted it. It was well due to strip out. The winds we had were not near as high as we often get. I SHOULD have turned it a bit more directly into the NW winds though! At best, I may have nursed it along a couple more months. Live and learn I guess.