12 footer, HH motor and gbox

[JosLissy]

I just received a sathawk V3000 gbox and connected it to a 12 foot unimesh dish with a HH motor. When I use short cables close to the dish the gbox moves the dish perfectly throughout th arc. I then connected it from my living room and the gbox gives me an E-2 message. I kept on trying to move it with the arrows manually and then the gbox just went off and now it does not turn on.
Did I burn the box or is there a reset button due to overheating protection?
Appreciate your help
Thanks

[1captain]

Originally Posted by JosLissy

I just received a sathawk V3000 gbox and connected it to a 12 foot unimesh dish with a HH motor. When I use short cables close to the dish the gbox moves the dish perfectly throughout th arc. I then connected it from my living room and the gbox gives me an E-2 message. I kept on trying to move it with the arrows manually and then the gbox just went off and now it does not turn on.
Did I burn the box or is there a reset button due to overheating protection?
Appreciate your help
Thanks

Hi Jos I got 2 of the V-3000 an very nice peice, they work GREAT compared to the MotecII that i used before. now when i first got a V-3000 hook mine up to a Micro-Dine glass 10foot about 450lbs, then program in 3 sats amc-7, amc-3, an panam-9, then i ran it non stop for 2-hours solid only letting it set long enough to see a picture. an the v-3000 was right on an worked great, an no drift off the sats, an very little heat from the V-3000..

Now 1st thing to check is the wiring, ohm it out an make sue its good, an if it is ok then you may have a bad H to H motor on you're dish, or it may be binding on the mount some way causing a load of the amp draw. just read the specs an maximum current draw is 3-Amp, what i would do is hook up a c-band receiver an also hook up a volt meter that has amp draw an see how maney amps that you're H to H motor is pulling before trying any thing else, an then call Sadoun tech on Tues, can not tell you what E-2 means, an the box being dead is not good sign.

Good Luck hope you can get it fixed.

[Sadoun]

E2 explanation is written here in the middle of this page:
Sadoun Powertech VBOX III V3000 Positioner DiSEqC 1.2 Compatible


Here it is:

E2 Message on Display:There is only one error message -- E2 message for GBox. E-2 Message means NO PUSLES detected.

Possible causes:

• Re-check the wiring connection from the actuator to the GBox
• Make sure the actuator is not stopped due to Mechanical Limit.
• Check if the Reed Switch Sensor in the actuator is broken.
• Check if the Motor is broken.
• The Fuse inside the GBox might be broken.

[Wilis]

Thanks guys all is good because everything worked fine when I connected it close to the dish.
Where can I find the fuse in the gbox? I openned it up and could not find it.
Thanks again

[JosLissy]

There is no fuse inside the GBox!!

[jmnet]

Same think happened to me today. It was working fine and all of a sudden nothing. I disconnected all wires tried to power back on and nothing.

I think it's dead but I checking to see if there is some sort of reset. I'm leaving it unplugged overnight. I doubt it, but maybe it will be OK in the morning after a night of cool down.

[Vitruvius]

Sounds like your wiring from the house to the dish may have a short. Can you run loose wire from the house to the dish as a temporary setup and see how that works for a while?

[jmnet]

Slowly working on the wiring part. I have a toner and need to get outside to at lease check to see if there is a break somewhere in the wire. Everything is in conduit from the house to the top of the dish pole so I don't suspect rodents.....

One thought though, I noticed the output on the GBox is 36V and my receivers output was 24V. Not sure what the actuator is rated for. Any chance of overload to the actuator from the GBox? If the actuator was only rated for 24V could it have burned up? The receiver ran the actuator for years with no problems.........


Thanks.

[Wilis]

I've burnt 2 gboxes already. I know wiring is good because I have a clear sight of the wire coming down into the hose.
Both just died by trying to move the dish. The dish is a 12 footer with a H-H motor. I guess these gboxes are not made to handle a dish this big.
The problem with them is that they are not prepared to handle an overload, once they die, they die.
The first gbox lasted a week and the second one lasted a day!!!!

[greg47]

Might want to check the size of the wire to the length of the run. Longer runs require better wire to get the voltage to the motor. A 12 foot dish of any type is quite a bit of weight to push and pull. A good check of the motor and drive gears should be done also.

[1captain]

Originally Posted by Wilis

I've burnt 2 gboxes already. I know wiring is good because I have a clear sight of the wire coming down into the hose.
Both just died by trying to move the dish. The dish is a 12 footer with a H-H motor. I guess these gboxes are not made to handle a dish this big.
The problem with them is that they are not prepared to handle an overload, once they die, they die.
The first gbox lasted a week and the second one lasted a day!!!!

Wilis Don't think that the V-3000 can't handle a dish this big, because it can. been using a 2 of the V-3000, an the 1 dish it runs is a 10' 6" dish solid fiber glass about 450 lbs. this dish is VERY HEAVY, an when i 1st got these V-3000 programed in 3 sats AMC-7, AMC-3, an Panam-9, then ran it from sat to sat for 2-hours non stop only letting a picture come in then off to the next sat, but did this for to see if it remember the sat locations an it did it was right on. an i thought that the heavy mule was the best test for the V-3000.

Now getting to you're problem, CHECK YOU'RE AMP DRAW when the dish is moving like in the earler post in this thread, that i said. have seen alot of motors that after years of use that their amp draw will go way up an if you'res is over 3amp it will cause this problem. now I just had a person with a DSR 922 that took out the actuator board in the receiver had to send it in for repair an it came back to his Ajax HtoH mount, had 9.2amp draw on start up an would sit at 6.9 amp wile moving the dish. an don't know what kind of set up you got but if you're pulling on you're motor over 3amps I don't care what kind of dish mover that you are using they wont last. now you're c-band receiver will have a heavyer supply in them but they too have their limits, most are around 5amp draw.

Good Luck an check you're amp draw.

[JosLissy]

Sorry for the ignorance but how do you check amp draw? I am not an electrician but have been following the thread and would like to check it.

[1captain]

Originally Posted by JosLissy

Sorry for the ignorance but how do you check amp draw? I am not an electrician but have been following the thread and would like to check it.

Jos you check it with a volt meter that will have amps scale in it, normal you will have to put you're test leads into a different plug or plugs on the volt meter. now I got a Fluke an a Beckman (like the Beckman better) then after you have the meter set right, just hook it in line with 1 of the heavy wires going to the motor, then call up a satellite an watch the meter, also I like to look all the way west to east, then back to west, an that will tell you if the mount is binding in any part of the arc, but on the amp draw you will see it spike up at 1st start up then settle down to a constant amp draw, now that constant sud be the same tru out the hole arc, but if it jumps in a area, that more likely is binding of the mount, worm gear, or main ring gear.

Good luck an hope it helps.