there is play in this motor!

keebs · #1 (**permalink**) 01-04-2007, 08:18 PM

man this tiny amount of play in this motor is making all the difference in the world here. its driving me nuts! does anyone have the same thing going on or any solutions? i have tried to compensate by setting a different sat location and it sometimes works but when i go to another location that is just fine and then go back to that sat that i changed the co ords by a little its out! i want to return the motor because it defective to me, unless someone has a solution? please somebody?!

crankbooster · #2 (**permalink**) 01-04-2007, 08:49 PM

You need to give out more info on your situation the motor's job is to move the dish around and it's the receiver that tell it when and how to move and stop.
So calm down and give a little more info on your problem.

keebs · #3 (**permalink**) 01-04-2007, 09:28 PM

SG2100. when the dish is at say 79deg. i can lock on and it is great! i will switch to another sat get that one sweet. go back to 79deg. and have it be off. all parts are tight. when i touch my finger to the dish and apply a small amount of pressure it shifts. there is a small amount of rocking (play) back and forth. when i do that it comes in perfect. i tried to compensate by say setting 79deg. at 78.5 and it works ok. then when i go to another sat, lock on it, then go back to 79deg. which i now have set at 78.5deg.it is out. the play in the motor has shifted during the move. again when i apply pressure to the dish it will tune good. and so on and so on. the cycle is futile. the play is small but it never falls on the same degree each time its moved. it rocks back and forth in any position. i even maybe thought to add a weight on one side. but im not really too happy with this. thanks for trying

crankbooster · #4 (**permalink**) 01-04-2007, 10:14 PM

What is the size of your dish?
I just bought a SG2100 from sadoun and I am expecting delivery 2mrw and i will install on saturday (praying for good weather).
I will let watch out for your concern and let you know the result.

radiobob · #5 (**permalink**) 01-04-2007, 11:11 PM

I've noticed a similar phenomenon with my SG-2100, but not so bad that I couldn't live with it. Particularly on G10R, some of the more marginal signals (the 11720 mux, of course) come in rock solid on one occasion, then on the next trip will be off just enough to require some remote control "nudging" in one way or another. It's not consistently off in a particular direction. so I end up nudging it a notch or two in whatever direction it requires.

Mind you, in most cases the signal is good enough so that it's not an issue--if it's off slightly, so what?--but for the marginal ones, it can sometimes be a pain.

glater · #6 (**permalink**) 01-04-2007, 11:49 PM

I have a Coolsat 5000, sg2100, Fortec 80cm dish, Sadoun standard lnb. Location 25 mi north of San Antonio, TX 78133. I have set up my system with peak signals on all satellites that I can receive and have the same problem as Keebs. When I change satellites the signal is weak or gone. In my situation, I always have to bump the motor east (2 to 5 clicks on fine). Never west! I have gone back to default settings on the receiver and reset the sg2100 a couple of times with a paper clip, checked all bolts on the dish and motor mounts. Even pencil marked to make sure that the dish isn't moving on the motor shaft or the pole mount. The problem always comes back. It happens everyday (USALS or 1.2) and is a very frustrating. I don't have any switches installed. Just one cable from dish to receiver. I have ordered a new compression toolkit to replace the connectors on my rg6 cables, thinking that the voltage to the motor might be changing. Don't know if the problem is the Coolsat 5000, the motor, or cabling. Any suggestions would certainly be appreciated.

rainman · #7 (**permalink**) 01-05-2007, 04:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keebs

SG2100. when the dish is at say 79deg. i can lock on and it is great! i will switch to another sat get that one sweet. go back to 79deg. and have it be off. all parts are tight. when i touch my finger to the dish and apply a small amount of pressure it shifts. there is a small amount of rocking (play) back and forth. when i do that it comes in perfect. i tried to compensate by say setting 79deg. at 78.5 and it works ok. then when i go to another sat, lock on it, then go back to 79deg. which i now have set at 78.5deg.it is out. the play in the motor has shifted during the move. again when i apply pressure to the dish it will tune good. and so on and so on. the cycle is futile. the play is small but it never falls on the same degree each time its moved. it rocks back and forth in any position. i even maybe thought to add a weight on one side. but im not really too happy with this. thanks for trying

the stab 100 is the same way keebs i wonder if it's not the small motor legacy they are slow and i don't think they are as dead on accurate as advertised.solution built a heavier duty motor.

wejones · #8 (**permalink**) 01-05-2007, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keebs

man this tiny amount of play in this motor is making all the difference in the world here. its driving me nuts! does anyone have the same thing going on or any solutions? i have tried to compensate by setting a different sat location and it sometimes works but when i go to another location that is just fine and then go back to that sat that i changed the co ords by a little its out! i want to return the motor because it defective to me, unless someone has a solution? please somebody?!

I've seen the same thing on both big and small dishes, but not so bad. I've seen it typically when I take the dish past it's high point, and then come back. Ie for me, I'm on the far east coast, and most of the sats I go to are west of me, and my dish is kind of going downhill to get there, so it usually stays on the same side of it's free play most of the time. However whenever I take a dish east over the atlantic, it shifts over to the other side of the free play, and when I bring it back to the west, I'm often off the sats. However if I take it far enough west, it will usually flop to the other side of the free play, and be OK again.
I think you are in Floride, so most of your sats are to your west, but I'm guessing that you have problems when you got to a sat like AMC6, then try going back to something like AMC4 or somthing. I'd bet that if you first went further west, say to G10r, then back to Amc4, that it would line up. Just a guess.
Re solution, I don't know. I've never taken one of these things apart. But Sadoun says that they have parts for them, so it might be possible to replace gears. I think the SG2100 has plastic gears, so they may have worn out somewhat to give you the free play...... If they were that way from the start, then I don't know.

rainman · #9 (**permalink**) 01-05-2007, 12:32 PM

mine had the play right out of the box Bill. it does make them hard to align.and if I am not mistaken the stab 100 has metal gears.

William Eng · #10 (**permalink**) 01-05-2007, 12:59 PM

Try checking all your nuts and bolts, and make sure everyone of them are really tight. Especially the one on the motor arm.

rainman · #11 (**permalink**) 01-05-2007, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by William Eng

Try checking all your nuts and bolts, and make sure everyone of them are really tight. Especially the one on the motor arm.

Have done that it seems to be internal movement on my motor maybe after we get the birdveiw dish up we will take the 36" dish down and open up the motor and see whats going on with it.

crankbooster · #12 (**permalink**) 01-09-2007, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crankbooster

What is the size of your dish?
I just bought a SG2100 from sadoun and I am expecting delivery 2mrw and i will install on saturday (praying for good weather).
I will let watch out for your concern and let you know the result.

I installed the ku band dish today but the SG2100 has a fault it wont turn past zero to the east so i have to return it back to sadoun and with your case I might opt for another brand of motor altogether.
Sorry I could'nt help.

pr1947 · #13 (**permalink**) 01-10-2007, 09:20 AM

I know exactly what you are talking about. I had the same problem last year. I got a lot of inputs from this forum but at the end I end up buying a new motor. Problem solved. If money is not an issue get a new one it will save you a lot of headaches.

elgemcdlf · #14 (**permalink**) 01-10-2007, 12:09 PM

I have no issues. Perhaps your alignment is marginal. Mine has play in it also but lands fine. I do not subscribe to the "leave motor settings alone and only adjust dish" mentality though. I work with all settings when I align. My present setup is on a swaying post. Even with that and on a windy day I rarely lose signal. Have not got around to filling it with concrete yet (the pole)