Dish will not turn west, help please

[greencajun]

Hello,

My system was working fine until last week, now something has gone wrong. I have a Ferguson Ariva 120E box and a Superjack DG-120 motor. I had it set up and aimed and was receiving everything from Hispansat in the west to Astra 2 in the east.

The problem is that the motor will not turn to the west, either automatically, with the east-west buttons in the Antenna Setup menu, or with the manual button on the motor. However, the motor does turn west if, but only if, I press Go to X - Reference. So since the motor does go west if I click on Reference, I guess the motor itself is OK. I have tried restarting the box, tightening all connections, no joy. Any suggestions for a possible fix?

Thanks,
Bill

 

[greencajun]

The fact that the motor does not turn west when I press the manual west button on the motor suggests the motor itself is at fault. But the fact that the motor does turn west when the Reference button is selected on the TV suggests the motor itself is OK. Are there perhaps 2 parallel wiring paths to the motor?

 

[Channel Hopper]

I would suggest the motor is working since it does traverse the arc. If you can move the dish East/West using the buttons at the rear of the gearbox this will prove it

I don't know the Ferguson receiver though, is there a clear down section for resetting the motor to factory conditions ?

 

[greencajun]

Thanks for the reply. Under Antenna Setup, there is a Delete All selection. I tried that but it did not resolve the problem. I suppose the only hope is to do a factory reset of the box, but I've been reluctant to do that, because 1) I doubt it will work, since the manual West button on the motor should work regardless of anything in the box, and 2) it would erase all my settings, which would require much work to put back together. I did check the voltage at the antenna and it seems OK, more than 14 volts.

 

[a33]

Without the GotoRef movement to the west, I would think that one of the mechanical relais in your motor would be 'stuck' (does the superjack work with relais?). This usually can be tested by tapping on the relais, and then (temporarily) the 'stuckness' can be gone.
(The end of life of the relais is near, then.)

However your story of the Goto-0 does complicate things. I thought about your 'separate circuits' suggestion and that that could be right, if there is a hard zero-switch inside, which directs the motorcurrent in another way? Don't know about that, though.

Anyway, I think that a solution can only be found by opening the motor, and checking: tapping the relais, and/or measuring if the voltage on the relais contacts when moving east and west.
But I am not familiar with any Superjack motor, I must say. So it's just what I would try.

Greetz,
A33

 

[greencajun]

your story of the Goto-0 does complicate things. I thought about your 'separate circuits' suggestion and that that could be right, if there is a hard zero-switch inside, which directs the motorcurrent in another way? Don't know about that, though.

Anyway, I think that a solution can only be found by opening the motor, and checking: tapping the relais, and/or measuring if the voltage on the relais contacts when moving east and west.

Yes, thanks, wish I had a schematic of the motor. Someone mentioned there is a control board inside.

 

[Channel Hopper]

Is it the 120 or the 120+ ?

Take a picture of the underneath, and confirm if you have tried moving it manually.

 

[greencajun]

Is it the 120 or the 120+ ?

Take a picture of the underneath, and confirm if you have tried moving it manually.

It is a 120, not a 120+. I have tried turning it manually. It turns manually to the east but does not turn manually to the west. Photo attached.
.

 

[Channel Hopper]

Need a better picture to confirm , but the upper button in the photo, what happens if you push it twice in quick succession ?

 

[Channel Hopper]

Forgot to add, turn off the DiSEqC function in the receiver before trying .

 

[greencajun]

Forgot to add, turn off the DiSEqC function in the receiver before trying .

My only 2 choices for Motor Type are DiSEqC1.2 and USALS. Or I can set to Fixed Antenna.

 

[Channel Hopper]

Fixed.

 

[greencajun]

I was heading outside when it started raining, will try in the morning.

What should happen with 2 quick pushes of that button?

 

[Channel Hopper]

I was heading outside when it started raining, will try in the morning.

What should happen with 2 quick pushes of that button?

It should move in the opposite direction to a single press.

Set the receiver to a horizontal polarity transmission to give 18V up the cable.

 

[greencajun]

It should move in the opposite direction to a single press.
Set the receiver to a horizontal polarity transmission to give 18V up the cable.

Box set to a Horizontally polarized channel and set to Fixed Antenna, pushing the top (west) button still does nothing, tried 2 quick presses, also tried long presses. The bottom (east) button is working normally. The only way to make the dish turn west is by selecting Go to Reference.

I'm attaching a better photo.

 

[Channel Hopper]

Then it might be the lower button you have to press twice.

Those connectors are very corroded, Have you looked inside or cut back the cable to improve the conductivity ?

 

[a33]

This thread suggests the two buttons are for east and west, and no pressing twice is needed:

Superjack DG-120

After a while of working fine, for some reason all of the positions of my motor seem to have shifted east - again. It has definately not moved on the pole. It would be nice if I could finally get this sorted once and for all O-Ha My motor is a Superjack DG-120, exactly the same as this. Can I...

www.satellites.co.uk

"The Jaegar Superjack DG-120 does not have the reset facility that the Motecks have. Just two buttons, drive east and drive west."
But I don't know if that is correct, or if that is the same motor as you have.

To check if there might be a cable issue, you could also bring your receiver to the motor, and check with a separate cable if it reacts to Move-commands.
(I once had a motor setup, where normal motor commands were not executed, only motor commands from the motor setup menu. Turned out that the very long cable and receiver combination caused that.)

You can test on both F-connections of the motor; they normally are looped through. (Sometimes the connection between an F-connector and motor circuit board is deteriorated, so you test in the meantime if there is a difference between the two.)

Greetz,
A33

 

[greencajun]

Then it might be the lower button you have to press twice.

Those connectors are very corroded, Have you looked inside or cut back the cable to improve the conductivity ?

Two quick presses on the lower button do not reverse the direction, all types of presses on this button just turn the dish to the east. I did notice the corrosion on the connectors but have not done anything about it yet, looks like I may need an entirely new installation.

 

[greencajun]

To check if there might be a cable issue, you could also bring your receiver to the motor, and check with a separate cable if it reacts to Move-commands.

That seems to be the only thing left to try, although I'm not excited about carrying the receiver up the ladder.

I'd attribute the problem to a bad motor and buy a new one, but the fact that the motor does turn west with the Go to Reference command is really baffling.

 

[Terryl]

That seems to be the only thing left to try, although I'm not excited about carrying the receiver up the ladder.

I'd attribute the problem to a bad motor and buy a new one, but the fact that the motor does turn west with the Go to Reference command is really baffling.

Box set to a Horizontally polarized channel and set to Fixed Antenna, pushing the top (west) button still does nothing, tried 2 quick presses, also tried long presses. The bottom (east) button is working normally. The only way to make the dish turn west is by selecting Go to Reference.

I'm attaching a better photo.
View attachment 131556

Some how water has got into the internals of the motor and affected the West button, or the circutry for the West button,(leaked in through those twist on connectors maybe??) looks like you may be needing a new motor in my opinion.

I'd remove the connections and look at the center conductor of the coax, if it's rusted then it's a good bet that something inside is FUBAR.

And use some weather proof connectors on the new install.