DG 380 won't move dish in the heat of the day!

[Black Dog 22]

DG 380 Problem

Several months ago, I purchased a DG380 system and have had a lot of problems getting it to move. Sometimes it works great and sometimes not at all. Yesterday,it was not working. Then we had a thunderstorm pass by and all of a sudden it started working. The temperature before the storm was around 100˚ F. After, it was around 75˚ F. During the heat of the day today, it quit moving again. As you would expect, I went out and cooled the motor down with the water hose. Again, it started moving the dish.

Since I feel that this is a lot of trouble to go to to change sats, how can I fix this problem. Has anyone had this problem before and if so, how was it fixed?

Thanks,
Black Dog 22

[Sadoun]

interesting. Didn't hear this before. Let us know your findings.

[Vitruvius]

My DG280 has stopped working, but I think it is a receiver issue, since I have tried everything including trying to use a different motor...

I had a thought about your issue of overheating... The heat from the sun would make all the metal parts expand and it may be binding some movement part. Do you have a way to loosen the bar attachment? I know the DG 280 has an adjustment for tightening up any loose play with the bar, and your motor may have the same system. Try loosening it a bit...

Good luck...

[Rob Ram]

Check that the backlash adjustment is not too tight. The backlash adjustment is intended to eliminate excess space between the gear teeth and the effects of temperature can over tighten the spacing.
I have a DG280 and I set the backlash adjustment too tight. It worked fine for a while, and then no longer moved. Loosened the backlash adjustment slightly and now the motor works fine. Incidentally, the factory backlash adjustment was good.

[Vitruvius]

Rob, Oh... is that what it is called, the 'Backlash'? When you overtightened the backlash, could you still move the dish with the buttons on the motor, but not with the receiver?

Vit

[el bandido]

The 380 does not have a backlash or any other adjustments unless I missed something in the owners manual.
Black Dog 22, What is the size and weight of your dish?

[Rob Ram]

I use the Mercury II receiver. The DG280 only made noise but did not turn with either the east/west DG280 buttons or from the receiver. Only if I relieved the motor strain by hand, caused from weight of the 90 CM Dish, could I get the motor to turn with the E/W buttons. The DG280 manual I received is the DG240 manual. On page 3 top it shows the location for "ADJUST THE TUBE LOOSE" adjustment screws. This is the backlash adjustment.

[Rob Ram]

The on-line manual for the DG380 is the DG240 manual. I can only reference the on-line manual. On page 3 it shows the backlash adjustments. Regardless though, manual or auto will be sensitive to temperature if too much slack is removed.

[Sadoun]

The DG380 has a built-in automatic backlash adjustment. It is self adjusts so no need to climb steps to or use tools.