Michael,
We can hope for a broken wire, hopefully close to the ground. Not sure if there is a real difference this year, but here in new england I have heard an unusually large number of complaints about critters chewing through cables. Does the control box make any indication of current flowing when you try to change the elevation, i.e does the control box hum louder than usual?
I would also be curious to see what the resistance is between pins 4-6 and pins 5-6 of the , I would expect to see a few ohms.
de KM1P Joe
________________________________________ From: AMSAT-BB [email protected] on behalf of Michael Hatzakis Jr MD via AMSAT-BB [email protected] Sent: Friday, March 27, 2020 5:25 PM To: Gerald Witalec; [email protected] Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Trying to get back on the sats... but G-5500 Failure
Jerry,
Just for perspective. That rotor has been up for 15 years or more. Been through multiple major storms, snow, ice, etc and has been flawless for that entire time. This is the first failure in all that time, and more than likely related to sitting dormant for 6 years. So, I would say, that is pretty darn good. Can’t speak for others, but I don’t have an issues with that duration of a failure free period.
Michael Hatzakis Jr MD. K3MH
On Mar 27, 2020, at 2:21 PM, Gerald Witalec [email protected] wrote:
Hi Michael, Been reading a lot on the AMSAT-BB and amazed about how many of you are having problems with such an expensive rotor. I have decided not to purchase it and going to build my SAT station instead with servo motors.
Jerry...W8RQM
On Friday, March 27, 2020, 4:58:27 PM EDT, Michael Hatzakis Jr MD via AMSAT-BB [email protected] wrote:
Hi guys/gals,
I used to be very active on the Sats, and for years; have a great set-up, but thanks to life events, went dark for about 5-6 years.
Trying to find a silver lining in this COVID crisis, while my business is in the tank, thought I would get back to my love of the birds.
Unfortunately, I turned on my G-5500 controller and suddenly find the elevation portion of the rotor isnt responding. Rotation is fine. Thanks to my fearless days of my 40’s, the antenna is up on the chimney in a set up thats a little challenging to service, so I am looking for what I can do on the ground to try to debug and prepare first, before embarking on a roof expedition.
What are the common reasons for the elevation rotator to stop responding? is there much I can do on the ground to debug, and/or prepare when I go up on the roof to check the rotor out? What are the repair options?
Michael Hatzakis Jr MD K3MH [email protected] mailto:[email protected] <mailto:[email protected] mailto:[email protected]> _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. mailto:[email protected]. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
_______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb