----- Original Message ----- From: "Joel Black" jbblack68@gmail.com Cc: "'AMSAT'" amsat-bb@amsat.org Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2010 10:44 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] Playing With Lightning
I certainly appreciate all the replies and the encouragement.
If any of you with a G-5400 controller would check something out, I'd appreciate it. When I move up or right, there is a momentary deflection in the opposite direction. Then, when I release the button, it jumps ahead a bit by just a few degrees. If I move down or left, there is no immediate deflection, but when I release the button, it deflects in the opposite direction. I just don't remember mine acting that way before the strike.
Thanks, Joel, W4JBB
Hi Joel, W4JBB
Trouble-shooting for your G-5400
I suggest you to momentarily disconnect the wires A1-A2-A3 going from the rear of the control box up to the rotator.
Connect temporarely for test a 500 ohm wire wound potentiometer to terminals A1-A2-A3 of the control box taking into account that A2 is the wiper of the potentiometer.
Power supply the control box and rotate very slowly by hand the shaft of the potentiometer.
If the pointer of the azimut instrument follows accordingly your rotation by hand than there is no damage into the control box.
Repeate the same procedure for the wires E1-E2-E3 to test the elevation remembering that E2 is the wiper of the potentiometer.
If the pointer of the elevation instrument follows accordingly your by hand rotation of the potentiometer then there is no damage into the control box.
If the deflection of the instruments is still like you describes probably the integrated circuits C3 and C4 into the control box where damaged by the strike.
Reconnect the original wires between the rotator and the control box and using a high impedance DC voltmeter measure the voltage between A2-A3 and E2-E3
While rotating the antennas left and righ and up and down observe if the voltage follows smootly the above rotation.
If the voltage jumps there is probably a damage into the potentiometer wipers inside the rotator
Check if the voltage between A1- A3 and between E1-E3 is about 6 volts.
The voltage must remain constant at about 6 volts rotating the antennas othervise the voltage regulator Q2 was damaged by the strike.
Using the above trouble-shooting you can establish if the problem is located into the rotator or into the controlbox or along the wires connecting both.
Have fun !
Best 73" de
i8CVS Domenico