Advice Needed Slight play in diseq motor - causing slight wobble of dish.

[jeallen01]

Well, I live relatively close to you and thus the elevations setting will be similar, and I didn't have much trouble in "nudging" the motor up a tad so as to be able to push the hex key into the aperture and then adjust the backlash!

OTOH, there may actually be physical differences between the "Supreme" and "Superior" versions of the DM which would make the adjustments more difficult (possibly even "impossible" when mounted on a mast??) - and, since most of either version are "clones of some sort" with different "brand names" but from only a smallish number of actual manufacturers, those slight differences might cause such issues.

BTW: before I loosened the motor mounting bolts, I paint-sprayed the elevation adjustment clamp bolt to ensure that I could refit it at exactly the same setting.

 

[Channel Hopper]

There are some images of the dismantled motor here.

Super Dark Motor method of backlash adjustment

Well, I've just replaced my Super dark motor after just a year (or so). The problem was slack on the pole (backlash) and after several attempts of trying to adjust it, I decided to buy new. Curious how the backlash adjustment was supposed to work, I decided to open up the lid. Expecting to see...

www.satellites.co.uk

 

[Manikm909]

hey guys - ive been up ladder this morning

before we continue with this, can you confirm this is actually an issue \ backlash.

here is a video of me gentle holding left edge of dish and rocking very gently left to right - surely there should NOT be this amount of play, as small as it may appear - please watch all the way through

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

re tightening motor slack - i took sticker off, and the bracket stops me inserting alan key so will need to come off pole to look tightening it, \ replacing motor.

thanks!

 

[Trust]

Hard to see if there is some play in the way you pointed the camera , you should point to the bottomside of the motor

 

[Manikm909]

Hard to see if there is some play in the way you pointed the camera , you should point to the bottomside of the motor

i can do that, but you can see the dish is moving tho, and i can confirm it is the MOTOR STUB moving slightly, (not dish \ dish clamp) - but the the movement obviousyly is transferred and exaggerated due to size of dish

 

[ja5on]

I read on another forum years ago that someone could just about get the allen key in, Can you see anything ?
could you not try a wobble allen key

 

[Manikm909]

its high up, so hard to see comfortably - but i plan to loosen all bolts to hopefully give me enough clearance, or failing that i will just take dish off, and bring motor down for closer inspection - probably at weekend

 

[jeallen01]

I read on another forum years ago that someone could just about get the allen key in, Can you see anything ?
could you not try a wobble allen key

Now you have reminded me, I think that's what I used - i.e. something like this Neilsen 9pc Extra Long Metric Ball Point Hex Allen Key Set Allan Alan 1.5 - 10mm | eBay

And I still maintain, that - having both removed the clamping bolt next to the hole with the adjuster and loosened the elevation adjustment bolt - it should be possible to nudge/lever the motor very slightly upwards and sufficiently enough to allow the hex/Allen key to enter the adjuster hole and engage with the adjuster screw head, because that's what I've done on several occasions.

PS: I think I "nudged" the motor up by pushing a largish posidrive screwdriver into the now-empty clamp bolt hole and then pushing downwards on the handle - that, in turn, pushed the motor upwards enough to allow the hex key to fit into the adjuster screwhead.

 

[ja5on]

Yeah i understand and just asking. I need to do mine but not a chance.

Yep the allen key set is correct, didnt know how much of the allen key you could see

Be nice if you could show some picture or video of adjusting, so others can see how its done.

 

[Manikm909]

thanks all - do we think a 4mm alan key is needed? i will try @jeallen01 method of loosening one side and then sticking something in to create a gap, and then pulling down on stub to raise motor - and also - hopefully not falling off ladder.

also, from my video, do you think i do have the backlash issue?

 

[Manikm909]

finally managed to get up to dish today.

all resolved - thankfully.

i sprayed both sides a couple of days ago before doing it - so i would know which position to return motor angle to.

loosened both sides of motor (more so the SLACK hole side) - then with some gentle prising of motor mount bracket from motor - i did indeed manage to get a 5mm alan key into the hole for some nice tighetning of motor stub.

no more wobble as per video - took the opportunity to peak dish a bit more, getting nice signals 45w to 53e.

job done for another while......also trimmed the bolt length down going through pole and motor mount bracket, and also fitted new F connectors as the weather was nice.

 

[jeallen01]

Good, and so that was definitely a "backlash" issue then!

PS: that motor bracket looks slightly different from the ones supplied with my "Superior Dark Motors" - OTOH, "what's in a name" because "DMs" can actually have come from a variety of manufacturers!

PS: I trust you refitted the crossed-spanner "Don't remove" label, because, after all, it "must have been alright" before and didn't need any "adjustment", mustn't it!!

 

[Manikm909]

Thanks . Yeah . Quite a relief it was a relatively easy fix in the end. My motor is the "supreme intelligent" model, 2020 version. Lol. Yes. I refitted a different sticker over the top. A blank one. I also removed the Alan key in case any of you were wondering

 

[jeallen01]

Yup, said it shouldn't be a very difficult job - you just needed to learn what had to be done, and how to do it!

 

[Manikm909]

Yes although i wasn't 100 per cent sure it was A) a backlash issue . B.) Resolvable via end user with a tool

 

[jeallen01]

Previous "user experiences" often prove to be "useful advice" when deciding what one should do

 

[Manikm909]

it got stuck last night at 52e, and wouldnt go back west, obviously too tight -i had to go back up ladder, and loosen it off a bit, i didnt even go crazy tight - its about getting the correct balance i guess. sorted again for now.

 

[jeallen01]

Previous "user experiences" often prove to be "useful advice" when deciding what one should do

But getting the "user experience" yourself is even better

 

[Manikm909]

Your replying to yourself ?

 

[jeallen01]

Your replying to yourself ?

Nope, just emphasing that "actual personal experience" - which you now have! - is pretty much always better than "perceived knowledge" from elsewhere (unless, of course, your "actual personal experience" is less successful/ more expensive/ more painful than someone else's )