Vbox2 only goes west!

[rleehamn]

Got my vbox2 and the BSC321-2 C/Ku LNBF for the 8' ft dish.

Started out by by-passing the coax on the unit. I was able to extend the arm out from Horz. to my south sat which is 95. I went east to west several times before moving inside.

After inside I hooked back up but this time with the coax to the unit.
I did a blind scan and pick up chanls and verfied with lyngsat that it was correct bird.

I then decided to go ahead and store the location as location 30. On the ku side there was some chnnls not coming in to good so I hit the west button, watch the dish move, no improvment. after a few attempts, I then try going east with an Error Er2! no dish movement. I then went into setup and set the positioner to diseqc 1.2 (was set at none) still no luck. Reset the vbox several times no luck. Change the moter leads from e to w and then with e being west stills goes west but not east.

Er2 Message (No Pulses)
Re-check the wire connection.
Make sure the actuator is not stopped by Mechanical Limit.
Check if the Reed Switch Sensor is broken.
Check if the Motor is broken.

Any clues...

(never set the limits on the mercuryII nor the vbox and haven't mess with the outside c-band limits.) Dish moved farther east and west then now and now everytime I go more west I lose that much more east.

thanks

[rainman]

go ahead and clear the limits in the v box and the mercury may have been factory set.

[rleehamn]

I'm at work right now.

Will a reset on the vbox (unplug unit, hold power button, plug in unit wait for count down finish, let go of power button) not clear the limit?

I notice everytime I do a reset on vbox it's zero at the position I'm at.

I'll check the Merc but I don't think it's been set. (not 100% sure).

When things were begining to get interesting.

Thanks

[rainman]

check the manual that came with your v box it should tell you how to reset the limits.at work right now so can't check my manual.

[rleehamn]

Still no go..

Reset several time at front panel and tried by remote.

Tried for 95 and check that the limits were at default disable. (click to delete and left at disable).

If I hit move east or step move to east I get the symbol that I'm at the east limit! If I hit go to 0 It changes back to zero (dish may or may not move a little to bounce off error, dark outside.)

If I use the vbox remote to go east still err2.

So I'm thinking something outside??

I don't know that much on c-bands..

Got just a inch or so and the dish will be all the way west.

Thanks

[rleehamn]

Still no luck!!

Which would be best to do first? Send vbox2 back for replacement or buy new actuator? (Not looking to buy just a part but whole actuator if needed)

Von Weise Model V76-80 1/20 HP 2 2:1 Ratio 1.5 amp

Thanks

[rleehamn]

Just called a c-band company and got some tips, after telling what steps I took. I will check later today. He said it sounds most likely like the vbox, since if you change motor wires it should go the other direction. (suposely). He said to check the voltage on vbox2 when trying to move dish. So if not getting correct voltage on vbox2 then I will send in for replacement. (bummer if it's a 1 day failure)

Thanks

[wejones]

Originally Posted by rleehamn

Still no luck!!

Which would be best to do first? Send vbox2 back for replacement or buy new actuator? (Not looking to buy just a part but whole actuator if needed)

Von Weise Model V76-80 1/20 HP 2 2:1 Ratio 1.5 amp

Thanks

? Why do you think the actuator is at fault? Unless it's real old, that's not likely. You can test the actuator by just hooking it up to a car battery or car battery charger. See if it moves one way, then reverse the wires to see if it moves the other way. You can also use the car battery to move the thing back to a reference position to start over (ie when you reset the VBOX). Actuators usually specify 24 or 36 volts, but they will work on even 12 volts, they just move slower. When not under load, I've even run them off a 12V wall wart, but I wouldn't recommend that if it was on the dish.

[rleehamn]

Tried swapping the wires on the motor and still will not go east. So the vbox2 may be the problem. I haven't got to check the voltages off of it, and I haven't tried the battery as of yet.

Thanks.

[wejones]

Originally Posted by rleehamn

Tried swapping the wires on the motor and still will not go east. So the vbox2 may be the problem. I haven't got to check the voltages off of it, and I haven't tried the battery as of yet.

Thanks.

This is probably not relevant, but a couple questions... I can't remember where you are located, in the east or west? If in the east, did you install the actuator fully retracted when the dish was aimed to the west limit, and/or if you are in the west, did you install it fully retracted aiming at the eastern limit? Or, are you between the Mississippi and Rockies, in which case either is OK, and neither works well. I don't think this fits your symptoms, which seem more programming than mechanical, but actuators don't work well when extended past your due south sat, so it's best to install it so that most of your sats are pushing the dish up rather than trying to pull it up. Actuators push very well, but don't pull very well.

Also, again, not likely, but are you sure that the actuator isn't slipping in the clamp that attaches to the tube? I could see a possibility that if that attachment slips, that you could end up in a configuration where it couldn't go either direction.

But I really think this is a situation of needing to manually (with battery, or otherwise), move the dish to some reference position, then reset the VBOX. What that reference position should be is hopefully spelled out in the instructions.

[rleehamn]

I'm in Oklahoma about 5 miles from Arkansas line. (More towards south)

I got this 8' dish from a guy that lives in the same town. He couldn't remember what he done with his receiver.

I had a c-band a few years ago and still had a pole in the ground.
I mounted the c-band on the pole and hook to the mercuryII before I got the vbox2. It was almost all the way in (west position). I swung the bird until I got signal, and was verfied that I was on Horz satellite. I never move the arm either way until I got the vbox. When I got the vbox2 I moved it (the dish) almost all the way east and almost all the way west making sure I didn't go to the end either way. I done this about eight times or so (with out the coax being hooked up to the vbox), then I started looking for my south bird which is 95. I hit 95 no problem I check horz. it was still there, so I went back to 95, then moved everything inside the house. This time I hooked up the coax to the vbox2 with ird positioner set to none and no limits. I first program 95 at P30 the only thing I programmed into the vbox. I already scaned for c-band channels. I then made a 95 ku and scaned and got channels. Some was not in very good so I started moving the dish west with vbox remote they started coming in more clear. So I decided to go a little more west, then decided to go back east. Throws up ERR2 for east movement. Tried going west, it moves west everytime. I swapped motor wire, hit west to go east get ERR2, hit east to go west, moves west. Change cables back. Even tried to swap the two small wires no different.
I tried reset a couple of times, no luck. I tried tell the mercury2 that I had diseqc 1.2 (mercury2 still no limits, and vbox2 no limits set, didn't change any limits on dish). I'm not sure if actuator isn't slipping.
I will try the battery when I get home.
One question, by swapping the wires should it go either direction?

Thanks for the help..

[rleehamn]

Ok.. Tested with battery from my truck.

Motor moves west = yes
Motor moves east = no

So then most likely outside.

(Like I said I got this dish used and not sure what shape the actuator or any part to it is in!)

I guess I'll dig into it a little more outside and see if anything is sliping or not.

The motor did not even attempt to move east.

Thanks

[rleehamn]

Finally, some luck..

I don't really know the names of the parts but here goes..

where the 2 motor wire hook to two switches by long very slim bolts with a (plastic) separater between them.

(I've tried several times pushing the buttons prior with no change.)

I pulled the two sets of wires off of the switch and swap then hook to battery. Dish now moves east and not west.

I then pull the two switches (since getting dark) took inside and hook to a multimeter. The outer switch show no resistants and the inside switch did. So I slip the bolts off of them, and on each side of the plastic was a light film of oil. I went ahead and wipe that off of both, (since I didn't know if it was suppose to be and because I was going try to replace them)
I then decide to chech them again with the meter. They both check good!!
Maybe one of the switches was hung?! ( When you push on the switch there is no resistants (nothing on meter) let go and you do.

I put both back in, put cover on hook to battery and dish went east then west.

Hooked back up to vbox2 everything back to normal.

I tried to look up the switches with no luck in case I need to replace.

TM00502
3TM230A-4-W
15A,1/2HP,125.250VAC
0.25A,250VDC,0,50A,125VDC
CSA Ru
C & K Unimax USA

It has one white button for maybe limits, if push no current goes through.
One wire port says: NC
Missing port says: N0
Other Port says: com

Question: Should I set the limits with either the MercuryII or the vboxII?
And should I run it either to the east and or west to set vboxII back to zero?

Again thanks for the help.

[rainman]

glad to here you got it figured out.

[wejones]

Originally Posted by rleehamn

Finally, some luck..

I don't really know the names of the parts but here goes..

where the 2 motor wire hook to two switches by long very slim bolts with a (plastic) separater between them.

(I've tried several times pushing the buttons prior with no change.)

I pulled the two sets of wires off of the switch and swap then hook to battery. Dish now moves east and not west.

I then pull the two switches (since getting dark) took inside and hook to a multimeter. The outer switch show no resistants and the inside switch did. So I slip the bolts off of them, and on each side of the plastic was a light film of oil. I went ahead and wipe that off of both, (since I didn't know if it was suppose to be and because I was going try to replace them)
I then decide to chech them again with the meter. They both check good!!
Maybe one of the switches was hung?! ( When you push on the switch there is no resistants (nothing on meter) let go and you do.

I put both back in, put cover on hook to battery and dish went east then west.

Hooked back up to vbox2 everything back to normal.

I tried to look up the switches with no luck in case I need to replace.
........

I don't completely understand what you're describing, and I'm not familiar with that particular actuator (I'm more familiar with the HT actuators), but what you're describing sounds like the internal mechanical limit switches on the motor. You can usually adjust these, however it is not a good idea to operate without them, because those motors have enough leverage that you can do damage to the dish and things near the dish, if they don't stop when they get to the limits. It does sound like one of the switches got stuck open. It's been a while since I've had my actuators apart, but I think that it's possible to get the motor limit slider out of sync with the actual position of the actuator's piston. Ie, on the actuators I've used (I don't use an actuator now, since my big dish has a H-H), you could take the motor off the shaft, and run the motor, and the limit mechanism would be moving even though the piston wasn't extending, then when you put it back together it wouldn't be in sync. Same thing would happen if the threads slipped on the limit mechanism. Also, things can get confused limit wise, if the shaft is allowed to turn, like if it isn't attached to the dish, or if the cylinder isn't bolted in securely. I remember once that I once tried moving my dish, but instead the motor spun around. Dish didn't move, but I had a big birdsnest of wire wrapped around it.

But anyway, I'd recommend exercising those switches to see if they will work again, and put them back in. Your system should really never activate them, so if you push the button until they are conducting again, the system should work. I'd then make sure that the position of the slider that activates that switch actually relates properly to the position of the actuator shaft. If it doesn't, I'd recommend manually moving either the actuator shaft or the motor to get them in sync. On the actuators I've used, you can run the actuator with a hand drill, and run the motor with a battery, separately.