I had an Orion that was intermittent and it turned out to be a bad reed switch.
Gary K4FMX
> On Dec 12, 2023, at 11:15 PM, al.n6ta@gmail.com wrote:
>
> I got a lot of great messages about how I should proceed and some details on
> problems that one would not expect. Some are cable related, some parts
> inside the rotor and compatibility of the controller and the length of
> cable.
>
> I will not summarize here but will later. The thing decided to work again
> and I am planning a trip out of the country, leaving in less than a week.
> So, the best will wait until I get bac and the WX degrades( no doubt!).
>
> A big THANKS to you all!!
>
> Related but not a solution, I ordered a new ARCO from DXE as an upgrade,
> just cuz. It will get into the mix when I get this other mess untangled.
>
> 73 es Happy Holiday.
>
> Al N6TA
>
>
>
> From: al.n6ta@gmail.com <al.n6ta@gmail.com>
> Sent: Monday, December 11, 2023 5:42 PM
> To: towertalk@contesting.com
> Subject: Diagnosing a stuck rotator
>
>
>
> I find myself in a bind in that my DB36 is not turning when commanded. I
> have a 5 year old GH RT21 driving a year old M2 Orion OR2800. I am using
> beefy cable due to the 250' run to the positioner. The DX-70 tower, Yagi
> and 2800 are new and installed a year ago. It has been working fine until
> the problem started.
>
>
>
> When I command the R21 to turn to a heading, I get the 'no motion error'.
> That means that the controller is looking for reed switch feedback and that
> feedback is missing so the voltage to the rotor is turned off. Since I have
> had some concern about this RT21, I decided to swap in the backup M2
> controller. I got the same basic response: Error 1.
>
>
>
> I have been able to pulse the rotator from the M2 box enough times to see
> the reed switch open and close, but each test returns the error. But it
> seems that the motor shaft is turning or the reed switch would not toggle.
> It also indicates the motor voltage is getting to the rotator and the
> feedback is getting back. After taking a break from worrying about it, the
> rotator suddenly began to respond again, and I could turn it CW and CCW
> though it is not calibrated. I used it a couple days, but it has now
> stopped responding again. I cannot rule out an intermittent in the cable,
> but it would be surprising. It is a long run, broken at the tower base with
> easy to inspect connections. The run up the tower is strain relieved at the
> top and is tied off to the tower so it cannot wag in the wind. This s very,
> very stiff rotor cable. I think it has #13 wires for the motor.
>
>
>
> I am left to assume that there is friction in the mast that is too much for
> the rotator to overcome. That could be a bad assumption and I would love
> that not to be the case. The tower is a DX-70 Tash crank up tilt over with
> a tilt plate. The DB36 is about 1.5' above the top of the tower. The 2"
> mast goes through a bearing in the tower top plate and down to a K7NV clamp
> on the OR2800. The rotor is about 7' down the tower. I think the antenna
> weight is on the rotator, not being partially hele by the bearing. I may be
> lucky that it is currently stuck such that if I crank down and tilt, the
> tilt plate will work and I should get the tower mostly horizontal and the
> Yagi boom parallel to the ground. It would get me access to the rotor in
> the tower, I hope.
>
>
>
> I will add that this same thing happened last May, 6 months into my new
> system. I did what I described above, and it suddenly started working so I
> just hooked the RT21 back up and have happy until last week, 6 months later.
> Before I am asked, the RT21 screen goes dark every week or so. Cycling the
> power switch brings it back on for another few days or couple weeks before
> it happens again. Jeff at GH thinks I have an intermitted AC issue, but I
> doubt it. I changed the AC cord and plugged it into a different socket in
> the power strip. Nothing else on the strip had showed an issue so I have
> just ignored this for now. It has been happening for months. I do not
> believe this relates to the rotor stuck issue since the M2 box does not fix
> the stick issue.
>
>
>
> So, have I committed a tower sin in the way I mounted the DB36 to the
> rotator that could cause a binding or some kind of friction that the
> motor/controller cannot overcome?
>
> Any comments welcome!
>
> Al N6TA
>
>
>
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