Testing actuator reed.
- Thread starter dog-man
- Start date
OK, problem found.
Rain has been getting into the actual motor, itself. It's wet and corroded.
Either I didn't seal every joint properly, or the expensive sealant isn't as good as it makes out.
So, what are my chances of rescuing this if I let it dry until late tomorrow, then attempt to clean it up as good as I can?
I have a supply of electrical cleaner.
Wednesday will be the earliest I could refit it if the weather forecast is correct.
Rain has been getting into the actual motor, itself. It's wet and corroded.
Either I didn't seal every joint properly, or the expensive sealant isn't as good as it makes out.
So, what are my chances of rescuing this if I let it dry until late tomorrow, then attempt to clean it up as good as I can?
I have a supply of electrical cleaner.
Wednesday will be the earliest I could refit it if the weather forecast is correct.
You can only try pal, back in the early days of sat I put Vaseline on the exposed nuts,bolts ECT on my 90cm/128 and it was still bone dry when it was removed nearly a decade later but water has a knack of finding a way,regards
Whilst cleaning the powdery mush from inside the motor coil housing with a very soft toothbrush, I have discovered that one of the carbon brushes has broken off it's attachment to the wire.
Does anyone know where I can buy a new one and details of what type?
Does anyone know where I can buy a new one and details of what type?
manic01
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Am I right in believing that carbon brushes can be cut to size, so I don't actually need to source the exact size required?
***EDIT***
I can answer my own question. Cutting to size is not recommended, but they can be safely filed or sanded down to size.
That makes it easier to source ones that will fit.
***EDIT***
I can answer my own question. Cutting to size is not recommended, but they can be safely filed or sanded down to size.
That makes it easier to source ones that will fit.
Last edited:
I am struggling to find brushes that can be used. I have found some that are close, but I have no idea how long the existing brushes were when new, so can only guess.
I don't know if there is a limit as to how much brushes could be filed or sanded down to reduce their size to make them fit.
The brushes on the actuator are currently, 11mm long x 5.19mm wide x 5.98mm depth.
These are the closest that I have found so far......
---https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07DYW64HM/?coliid=I3O6G57SBPSFFF&colid=3LTSFZ36NL85X&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
I don't know if there is a limit as to how much brushes could be filed or sanded down to reduce their size to make them fit.
The brushes on the actuator are currently, 11mm long x 5.19mm wide x 5.98mm depth.
These are the closest that I have found so far......
---https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07DYW64HM/?coliid=I3O6G57SBPSFFF&colid=3LTSFZ36NL85X&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
Could you post a couple of photos of the insides so we can have a look,regards
They have arrived, and they are very close in size to the originals, so they should do the job. I will need to do a bit of soldering to extend the wire, but sadly not today as I am looking after my 5-year-old grandson, and it is guaranteed that he would attempt to grab the soldering iron. 
Disaster................
Whilst reassembling the actuator, the carbon brushes snapped. They are so delicate.
I have other pairs to modify, but I think I will leave it as a project to do later in the year when my workshop is back in action and I can have privacy and nobody disturbing me. At the moment, I am using the dining room table.
In the meantime, I will fit the spare actuator to get the dish moving again. It's not a heavy-duty version, but will do the job. Too much rain today, but tomorrow should be dry.
I learnt something today. It matters which way round you fit the round magnet. Fit it the wrong way, and the actuator moves for a second, then stops, then starts and so on, complete with error 2.
I took the opportunity of testing every reed that I have, with the spare actuator, and every single one is working fine.
Whilst reassembling the actuator, the carbon brushes snapped.
They are so delicate.I have other pairs to modify, but I think I will leave it as a project to do later in the year when my workshop is back in action and I can have privacy and nobody disturbing me. At the moment, I am using the dining room table.
In the meantime, I will fit the spare actuator to get the dish moving again. It's not a heavy-duty version, but will do the job. Too much rain today, but tomorrow should be dry.
I learnt something today. It matters which way round you fit the round magnet. Fit it the wrong way, and the actuator moves for a second, then stops, then starts and so on, complete with error 2.
I took the opportunity of testing every reed that I have, with the spare actuator, and every single one is working fine.
Superjack, supercrap! I have a few here also. Very familiar with them.
The motors leak. I got a brand new motor for one of my tubes. From the get go I opened it up to make sure the bronze bearings were lubed well. They were practically dry.
The screws that bonded the brushes to the main motor wires were loose.
On a dry fit the brushes were riding at the very tip of the commutator. Even removing all but one spacer didn't improve that much at all.
I ended up pressing out the bronze bushing from the casting and sanding off some of the shoulder thickness of it.
The brushes are cheap carbon. They only last a year with moderate actuator usage.
A trip to the hardware store with the brush stub and finding a pair in the brush assortment boxes gave me a set that was a touch too big in dimensions.
Grab a pair of copper impregnated ones. They are harder and more robust. Ending up in a few years of use instead of one.
If you're of any mechanical aptitude and have a micrometer, calipers. A piece of glass and 80, 120, 220 sandpaper. And a square chunk of wood or metal for a guide rail.
Sanding the new brushes to fit perfectly took about 20 minutes. Don't make them fit too tight in the motor brush holders. They will bind when some brush dust flings around.
I had to swap and solder the old brush ring terminals.
The superjack motor brush holders have a small pin that helps to hook the brush leads around and compress the brush spring while you insert the armature. Then just pop the brush wires off the pins and check for commutator alignment.
Put the magnet housing over a long screwdriver. Then put the screwdriver handle on the end of the amature shaft. The magnet will slide over the armature without moving until the magnet is seated.
If your gasket seals are in good shape, a bead of rubber cement on both sides of them and waiting a few minutes for the glue to set helps with water seepage.
Don't forget a touch of rubber cement where the screw heads are too. Don't tighten the screws too tight and align the magnet with the housing carefully. A little twist until things fall in place. The magnet and gear case have their own alignment dimples. Make sure you have indexing correct.
What else....hmmm.
After the motor is assembled again you probably will want to check end play. A look at the gear side and pulling/pushing the helical armature shaft. Looking for just a little bit of shaft play. You don't want it binding in the case. You may have to adjust the shims. I always found the shaft too damned tight. Rip-chow-ching quality controls!
Haha your big mistake was assembling the motor "whilst". Next time try it all "while" being careful and diligent.
I have ditched the reed switch for a fabricated hall sensor and motor control interface consisting of a solid state relay. Because mine didnt have provision for a hall or optical sensor.
By using an old vcr gear and a set of 3mm neodymium disc magnets from Amazon. I've increased the pulses/revolution to 20 from the original 6 of the factory magnet.
The hall sensor is a bistable type. A bit of an oops at first. All of the magnet poles were the same and the switch wouldn't work. I could have swapped it for a monostable sensor. It's what I had.
Maybe is was because "whilst" putiing it all together I didnt read the data sheet well (joking). So I ended up pulling every other of the 20 magnets and re-gluing them in an alternating N-S-N-S configuration. It works extremely well and counts stay....."spot-on".
NO MORE supercrap for me. A Von Weise or Venture actuator is the only way for a future 36" actuator.
The motors leak. I got a brand new motor for one of my tubes. From the get go I opened it up to make sure the bronze bearings were lubed well. They were practically dry.
The screws that bonded the brushes to the main motor wires were loose.
On a dry fit the brushes were riding at the very tip of the commutator. Even removing all but one spacer didn't improve that much at all.
I ended up pressing out the bronze bushing from the casting and sanding off some of the shoulder thickness of it.
The brushes are cheap carbon. They only last a year with moderate actuator usage.
A trip to the hardware store with the brush stub and finding a pair in the brush assortment boxes gave me a set that was a touch too big in dimensions.
Grab a pair of copper impregnated ones. They are harder and more robust. Ending up in a few years of use instead of one.
If you're of any mechanical aptitude and have a micrometer, calipers. A piece of glass and 80, 120, 220 sandpaper. And a square chunk of wood or metal for a guide rail.
Sanding the new brushes to fit perfectly took about 20 minutes. Don't make them fit too tight in the motor brush holders. They will bind when some brush dust flings around.
I had to swap and solder the old brush ring terminals.
The superjack motor brush holders have a small pin that helps to hook the brush leads around and compress the brush spring while you insert the armature. Then just pop the brush wires off the pins and check for commutator alignment.
Put the magnet housing over a long screwdriver. Then put the screwdriver handle on the end of the amature shaft. The magnet will slide over the armature without moving until the magnet is seated.
If your gasket seals are in good shape, a bead of rubber cement on both sides of them and waiting a few minutes for the glue to set helps with water seepage.
Don't forget a touch of rubber cement where the screw heads are too. Don't tighten the screws too tight and align the magnet with the housing carefully. A little twist until things fall in place. The magnet and gear case have their own alignment dimples. Make sure you have indexing correct.
What else....hmmm.
After the motor is assembled again you probably will want to check end play. A look at the gear side and pulling/pushing the helical armature shaft. Looking for just a little bit of shaft play. You don't want it binding in the case. You may have to adjust the shims. I always found the shaft too damned tight. Rip-chow-ching quality controls!
Haha your big mistake was assembling the motor "whilst". Next time try it all "while" being careful and diligent.
I have ditched the reed switch for a fabricated hall sensor and motor control interface consisting of a solid state relay. Because mine didnt have provision for a hall or optical sensor.
By using an old vcr gear and a set of 3mm neodymium disc magnets from Amazon. I've increased the pulses/revolution to 20 from the original 6 of the factory magnet.
The hall sensor is a bistable type. A bit of an oops at first. All of the magnet poles were the same and the switch wouldn't work. I could have swapped it for a monostable sensor. It's what I had.
Maybe is was because "whilst" putiing it all together I didnt read the data sheet well (joking). So I ended up pulling every other of the 20 magnets and re-gluing them in an alternating N-S-N-S configuration. It works extremely well and counts stay....."spot-on".
NO MORE supercrap for me. A Von Weise or Venture actuator is the only way for a future 36" actuator.
Very interesting.
@dog-man
If your actuators are genuine original Superjack QARL models and were manufactured some years ago they are possibly worth trying to repair.
If they are more recent models or the HARL models or named something like Super Power Jack they are not worth repairing, they will probably fail again.
The Super Power Jack models are just two bob clones, not fit to go into a lucky bag or a pack of cornflakes.
As @ArloG has pointed out, it you want a decent quality 36V linear actuator nowadays you probably need to look at Venture or Von Weiss from the USA or Linak in Europe.
However, another option for you would be to try and source a second hand Jaeger 1224 H-H 36V motor or some similar type of H-H motor.
I am not sure what size dish you are using but a Jaeger 1224 H-H motor can easily cope with a dish up to 1.5m.
Plus, with an H-H motor you have unlimited East/West arc subject to satellite line of sight, there is no fouling of a polar mount to worry about at arc extremes.
If your actuators are genuine original Superjack QARL models and were manufactured some years ago they are possibly worth trying to repair.
If they are more recent models or the HARL models or named something like Super Power Jack they are not worth repairing, they will probably fail again.
The Super Power Jack models are just two bob clones, not fit to go into a lucky bag or a pack of cornflakes.
As @ArloG has pointed out, it you want a decent quality 36V linear actuator nowadays you probably need to look at Venture or Von Weiss from the USA or Linak in Europe.
However, another option for you would be to try and source a second hand Jaeger 1224 H-H 36V motor or some similar type of H-H motor.
I am not sure what size dish you are using but a Jaeger 1224 H-H motor can easily cope with a dish up to 1.5m.
Plus, with an H-H motor you have unlimited East/West arc subject to satellite line of sight, there is no fouling of a polar mount to worry about at arc extremes.
My heavy-duty actuator is a bona fide super jack Qarl. The standard one is almost certainly a clone, but it will do for now until I can refurbish the heavy-duty one.
I didn't know about the Jaeger H-H 36v motor. I shall investigate.
My dish is a 1.25 Gibby. Very heavy.
I didn't know about the Jaeger H-H 36v motor. I shall investigate.
My dish is a 1.25 Gibby. Very heavy.
Give over, a Gibby 1.25m aint heavy, it is paper thin aluminium, you can see it rippling in a fart strength wind.
A Jaeger 1224 H-H motor will easily take a 1.25m Gibby without breaking sweat.
Here is a 1.25m spun aluminium Unicorn dish on a Jaeger 1224 H-H mount. The motor moves the dish easily and is rock solid when locked on a satellite.
This dish is heavier than a Gibby 1.25m.
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@moonbase
is that a 2 meter prime Focus Dish in pictures ??
you say its 1.25m but looks a lot bigger than that .
it looks almost identical to mine just curious , if so then Yes it sure will be a lot heavier than it even looks like in the pics .
the Jaeger 1224 H-H mount works via V-Box and the Same 4 core Electrical cable as Superjack ?
is Jaeger 1224 H-H mount noisy moving around i know Superjack Arm is loud but i have no neighbour nearby
so really no issues about noise .
is that a 2 meter prime Focus Dish in pictures ??
you say its 1.25m but looks a lot bigger than that .
it looks almost identical to mine just curious , if so then Yes it sure will be a lot heavier than it even looks like in the pics .
the Jaeger 1224 H-H mount works via V-Box and the Same 4 core Electrical cable as Superjack ?
is Jaeger 1224 H-H mount noisy moving around i know Superjack Arm is loud but i have no neighbour nearby
so really no issues about noise .
