Rotator fail

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737mech

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I'm sure it has happened to others here, just asking before I go up to my roof if there is any obvious fail items with rotator motors?
 

merlin

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Most basic rotators have a 24 volt AC that runs the AC drive motor. Any other component on those lines will stop the motor. You can measure the voltage trying to turn the rotator with any AC volt meter. as mentioned above.
( this is a motor start capacitor.)
There is almost always a 'limit switch' . if those fail, nothing runs.
More advanced rotators may have a drive IC with feedback. If that fails, nothing turns.
This feedback may even indicate position.
More advanced yet (digital) use a stepper motor/ drive IC, and the feedback tells a microcontroler what is up.
Anything fails there, nothing works. (usually a fail indicator here)
Look up basic remote servo circuits for a better understanding.
antenna rotor wiring diagram - Wiring Diagram (2bitboer.com)
I built a positioner for a small dish using a heavy duty pan and tilt mount for a camera. Both azimuth and elevation.
The controller all digital, computerized. Tracking things like orbiting satellite/ ISS and such.
I could use 'WXtrack to run it. The plans were found on QRZ website, I just modified it heavily.
(IE:) Antenna Rotator Controller (kg4jjh.com)
anyway, you get the idea.
 
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mikew

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Typical failure is the capacitor in the control box as stated previously, check that first, it may save you a trip to the roof.
 

737mech

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Thanks for the tips! I have the RCA VH126N and it seems not getting voltage from the outputs. I'm looking now for any repair tips others may have on this unit. I did open the controller and nothing looks bad or problematic. For the $100 price tag maybe I'll try changing those caps first. One big main one and two smaller ones I see. They don't look deformed or anything. The unit is rarely used so makes me wonder what happened to it?
 

WA0CBW

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Most rotor motor capacitors are AC non-polarized. There would only be one for the motor. There may be other DC capacitors used in circuits for the position and display indicator voltages. I'm not familiar with your rotor so it may use a different method.

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