vbox II with ER2

[Frank4]

Hi all,I have a six foot sami now with a bsc621 standard 24 actuator and a conax mini pvr.My lnb runs about a 160 feet on rg6 an inline amplifier then to the vbox from the vbox to the conax mini with a loop through to another receiver in the house.
This is the third time I have used this vbox and I always get the error 2 message.I am not at the end of the hardware limits and the actuator is new the reed switch is hooked up right.My signal is 50-60 if I remove the amp it is 5.This setup works fine when I use and old IQ prism analog receiver with it.actuator moves fine.
Is there a internal fuse in the vbox2 or something I was looking at the V3000,I haven't cracked the case on it yet. Any body have any Ideas ? Thanks for the help guys.

[Vitruvius]

I have a 6 ft dish with the BSC621-2 C / KU Band LNBF with about 150 feet of RG6 to it and get about a 35% to 65% quality signal without an amplifier. You should be able to get better signal without the amplifier.

Have you tried eliminating the amplifier and the piggy back receiver to see what you get?

You can pull the VBox out of the RG6 line and use the number designations to position the dish if you keep track of them. I know it is not ideal.

[Frank4]

Still haven't found the problem with the v box 2 even if I hook it up to an actuator on the table I can reset the vbox and still get the er2.I have checked the wires,reset the box the fuse inside is not blown at first i thought maybe I had to long of run on my lines, but the actuator works fine with the analog receiver.So I put my corotor 2 back up on the dish and I am using the old analog receiver to adjust the skew and move the dish.Its really a hassle.I ordered a pansat 3500sd today do work with the skew.Hope fully soon I can get the positioner to work.I am really disappointed in the vbox though I bought it as a backup over a year ago and never used it.Then on june 29th my house was hit by lightning.Did lots of strange things blew the phone box off the side of the house,all the phones, tv,ariza sat receiver, acuator,the ku norsat lnb on the corotor luckily I had a spare.the fridge ,the a/c heat pump and many other things.Thank God we weren't hurt and it did not blow the computer and we have insurance.It scrambled the 4dtv dsr 920 to where you could use it but the count wouldn't stay right on the satelite dish position numbers It would sit there and all of a sudden start changing channels without touching it.

[Vitruvius]

I know how it is to have a problem and try to figure out where it lies by eliminating options. My system was either hit by lightning or a power surge and fried my receiver and lnb on the small dish...

Have you set up a grounding scheme on your system?
I am relying on my mast that goes into the ground only 3 ft and am thinking of hammering in a real ground near the dish...

I know there is a reset process for the VBox... Have you tried that?

[rainman]

what type of actuator are you using does it use a reed sensor I don't think the v box will see other types of sensors.

[Frank4]

I did have the dish grounded with a rod but I am not sure why lightning do es what it does.The ariza was hooked up to a set of rabbit ears.The tv that blew was inline with a digital converter box the converter box is fine and the tv is dead and the 920 is scrambled .There were surge protectors on everything.All the phone lines in the house were affected.The sat dish also had a grounding block at coaxial line where it goes into the house.The motor on the awning died and that was not even plugged in I think thats what it hit and then went through the tile on the roof of the house.Then into anything that seemed like an antenna.
I have done the resets on the box and the motor twitches and then reads er2.
The actuator I have is new and is a
Actuator Positioner Satellite Dish Antenna 24" Jack Venture C-Band Arm with Super Sensor II Limit Reed Automatic Waterproof Mover, Part # MA-710-24T

Venture 24" Actuator Arm with Super Sensor II Limit Reed Switch !!!

Jack Venture 24" actuator with limit and reed sensor. Quiet operation, precision gearing. Actuator arms for the automatic/remote positioning of satellite dishes. The actuators are supplied with an adjustable fixing kit to allow the actuator to be fixed to a variety of brackets.
Features:Adjustable Limit Reed Switch Protection.

• Anti-Rust Epoxy Coated Steel Construction.
• Whisper Quiet Long Life Operation
• Single Screw Limit Switch Adjustment
• Freeze Vent Protection Holes
• Precise Accuracy Positioning for both KU / C Band Capabilities
• Waterproof Shaft SealsSpecifications:Super Sensor II Limit Reed Switch (48 pulses/inch).36 Volt DC Maximum
• 1 1/2" Diameter High Strength Tube

I was thinking of ordering a pansat Ap600 positioner has anyone used one of these?
Thanks for the input guys

[Vitruvius]

The V3000 states this:
There is only one error message -- E2 message for GBox. E-2 Message means NO PUSLES detected.

So I guess your system is not detecting pulses. Have you tried different wires to see if the wires were burnt out?

[Frank4]

I have gone out to the dish with an extension cord and 10 foot long motor bundle.And no go.The analog receiver works fine though.And I programmed in several satellites and it will find them just fine.So the reed switch ,pulse count must be working.I've been thinking maybe I just got a lemon I almost ordered a pansat ap600 then I realized it has no diseq function.So I ordered a GBOX V. I wonder what the difference is between the 2 and the 5.
Anyway I will update when I know more.Thanks for recomendations.I hope you get your 922's up soon I really miss my 920 and all the no pay tv on there.Also there programming seems more user freindly.Using this IQ prism is like working with DOS But thankfully it works for now.It will be great if I can get that pansat 3500 setup with the Gbox 5 with the sonic voom ac3 decoder thingy

[zimba]

I just installed the Moteck Vbox 2 together with my 36 V actuater brand Kathrein ZAS 05/M 5 wires in the cable but V box doesnt see pulses so I get ERR 2. Any Idea whats wrong.
The motor has
blue= 36volt dc+
green= 36volt dc-
Red = +5V
Black = 0v
Yellow = puls

Zimba

[sthscan]

I wonder if there is some type of firmware bug.

I came here after the problem struck me tonight. I have been using my VBOX II for the last year or two without problems. I was even using it earlier today and now I get a ER2 when trying to go EAST. going west works out fine so I don't know why I can go west but not go east without an error.

Since it's almost midnight, I will have to troubleshoot tomorrow unless someone has anything to try not already mentioned here. I will try alternate wires to my actuator to see if that works.

I've already done a reset and I"m not at my limits so I know it's not because of limits.

I may have to go put it back on my manual east/west switch that I used before the VBOX until I can get things figured out and fixed.

[sthscan]

Originally Posted by zimba

I just installed the Moteck Vbox 2 together with my 36 V actuater brand Kathrein ZAS 05/M 5 wires in the cable but V box doesnt see pulses so I get ERR 2. Any Idea whats wrong.
The motor has
blue= 36volt dc+
green= 36volt dc-
Red = +5V
Black = 0v
Yellow = puls

Zimba

on the surface, I don't see your pulse wires. I hope you aren't trying to hook up your polarotor servo wires to your V-BOX II pulse as that won't work.

[sthscan]

Originally Posted by sthscan

I wonder if there is some type of firmware bug.

I think i've figured it out. It appears to be poor manufacturing processes.

I did some tracing, thinking a bad relay was the issue since that is the heart of getting the voltage out the back panal of the VBOX to the actuator. I noticed input power seemed to be consistant but the relay didn't seem to work reliably for the EAST function. Noticing some poor looking solder joints, I decided to touch them up and now EAST and WEST seem to be reliable (at least if you consider about 45 minutes of going back and forth across the arc an indication).

I'll keep playing with it the next few days - setting limits and reprogramming my satellites - and we'll see if it continues to operate well or if it starts acting up again. If it starts acting up, I may have to investigate the actuator motor assemly itself or the wiring going to the dish from the VBOX.