Hi Clive,
I haven't heard of failures of the controller or software directly, but this could happen. A more common problem might be mis-calibration, in that if your elevation rotor reads only 175 degrees and your software and controller is trying to send it to 180 degrees, the thing will keep going until it shuts off at the limit switches in the rotor itself (G5500). I've seen this before, no problem since the limit switches are fairly robust, but something to keep an eye on.
I plan to use the thermal cut-outs for the extra protection as soon as I get a repaired / replacement motor to work with.
Yesterday I built a jig for bench testing the rotor. Cables and connectors are still on the mast, so I needed a way to connect the 7-pin connector to the controller manually, also to a scope to verify alignment of the 500-ohm pot sensor. Made jig from 6 individual connectors through clear plexiglass, broken out to six terminals on side. That will help with alignment during reassembly.
Also spent some time figuring out how the brake goes together - seems I didn't manage to get photos of it as I took it off of the motor before shipping it out, and just yesterday noticed the spring in there and puzzled over how the heck it works. Think I have it figured out, though.
Dave KB5WIA On Feb 26, 2012 4:24 AM, "Clive Wallis" list1@g3cwv.co.uk wrote:
Hi Dave,
Many thanks for your reply to my questions about motor problems. Sorry for the long delay in getting back to you.
Some time ago, most of the problems we got with the elevation rotators were due to water getting into the unit, due to the lack of proper seals. We don't seem to hear much about this recently. Has the sealing been improved?
I'm hoping to replace my G5500 later in the year, when the weather is a bit warmer :)
73 Clive G3CWV
Hitchin, North Hertfordshire, UK
On 26/02/2012 17:16, David Palmer KB5WIA wrote:
Hi Clive,
I haven't heard of failures of the controller or software directly, but this could happen. A more common problem might be mis-calibration, in that if your elevation rotor reads only 175 degrees and your software and controller is trying to send it to 180 degrees, the thing will keep going until it shuts off at the limit switches in the rotor itself (G5500). I've seen this before, no problem since the limit switches are fairly robust, but something to keep an eye on.
I plan to use the thermal cut-outs for the extra protection as soon as I get a repaired / replacement motor to work with.
Yesterday I built a jig for bench testing the rotor. Cables and connectors are still on the mast, so I needed a way to connect the 7-pin connector to the controller manually, also to a scope to verify alignment of the 500-ohm pot sensor. Made jig from 6 individual connectors through clear plexiglass, broken out to six terminals on side. That will help with alignment during reassembly.
Also spent some time figuring out how the brake goes together - seems I didn't manage to get photos of it as I took it off of the motor before shipping it out, and just yesterday noticed the spring in there and puzzled over how the heck it works. Think I have it figured out, though.
Dave KB5WIA
On Feb 26, 2012 4:24 AM, "Clive Wallis" <list1@g3cwv.co.uk mailto:list1@g3cwv.co.uk> wrote:
participants (2)
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Clive Wallis -
David Palmer KB5WIA