Motorised Dish moving in wind

[Fano]

I'm just wondering about other posters dishes moving in strong winds.

I am having some issues with my 1m Gibertini and I'm getting fed up of having to realign it manually .
The dish is a 1m Aluminium Gibertini and its attached to a Superjack DG120 motor which is attached to a 2" scaffold pole on a TK bracket.
Its been up for the last 2 years and when it works its great .
It works well for a few months ,until a strong wind blows and I notice a reduced snr on the weaker sats especially 16e.
I readjust the motor position via software and that is fine until some more wind and eventually I need to realign it after 6 months.

The pole is still plumb and the motor declination is still at its starting point.The dish angle is still the same and the dish is still flush on the motor arm.Bolts are tight,no give.
The odd thing is that the dish always shifts Westwards .
When installing the dish I designed its positioning so as it would be sheltered from Westerly and Southerly winds .
I think the motor is shifting westwards on the pole .
The Superjack motor along with the Moteck motor has a poorly designed backplate .The U bolts that are used to attach the motor to the pole are difficult to tighten properly as the bracket metal bends when you tighten it .
The clamps are made from terrible metal.
I put 2 flat steel plates behind the brackets ,it was the only way I could tighten the bracket properly .
I think this flaw is causing the motor to move in a South South easterly wind ,when the dish is looking straight into the wind at 28e ,where it is primarily parked.

I was wondering when other peoples dishes move out of alignment what moves ?
The dish elevation ,the dish on the motor ,or the motor on the pole ?
I'm going to solve this matter ,even if I have to fabricate a reinforced bracket with new clamps as I'm getting fed of realigning the dish.

 

[dick b]

I"ve got 2 dishes on diseqc motors one with a gibertini 85cm mounted on the front of my house with T&Ks which in the severe winds of a couple of months ago did move slightly but just adjusted my longitude on usals to bring it back(it had moved east about 1 degree)as I seem to be still getting a good signal on all the sats I"m leaveing any outside re-set til the summer.the 1mt televes I have on a ground pole braced by a shed didnt move at all and I
must admit I was expecting it to as the wind was horrendous.I have TM motors for both dishes and find the brackets fine.In the 4/5 years I have been using these motors it was the first time I"ve had one shift.

 

[Diddy]

Had same problem. I got a scaffold pole (The proper stuff not the temp scaffold type) and chucked the other soft metal pole away. Problem solved as you/I could tighten the U bolts up properly so the motor wouldn't move even in high winds.

 

[Rat]

reading any replies with interest lol
mine will be on a 2m pole above gutter and was thinking about strong winds myself

I back onto open farmers fields so does get quite windy at times

 

[Fano]

I"ve got 2 dishes on diseqc motors one with a gibertini 85cm mounted on the front of my house with T&Ks which in the severe winds of a couple of months ago did move slightly but just adjusted my longitude on usals to bring it back(it had moved east about 1 degree)as I seem to be still getting a good signal on all the sats I"m leaveing any outside re-set til the summer.the 1mt televes I have on a ground pole braced by a shed didnt move at all and I
must admit I was expecting it to as the wind was horrendous.I have TM motors for both dishes and find the brackets fine.In the 4/5 years I have been using these motors it was the first time I"ve had one shift.

Thanks Dick.
Your 85m Gibertini would be a similar weight to my 1m,they are quite a heavy dish ,the housing on the back is very weighty.
I think my dish moved at least 5 degrees this time,if it was 1-2 degrees I could adjust it by changing settings in usals.
4/5 years with one shift is very good.

Had same problem. I got a scaffold pole (The proper stuff not the temp scaffold type) and chucked the other soft metal pole away. Problem solved as you/I could tighten the U bolts up properly so the motor wouldn't move even in high winds.

The scaffold pole I have is rock solid ,its not an issue.
I did paint the pole allright ,which in hindsight may have been a mistake as the paint comes off when it rubs against the motor.
The main issue is the bracket on the motor.The metal is weak and so are the clamps for the motor to attach to the pole.They bend when you tighten them.
Its a known issue on the Moteck/Superjack.
As I said I put 2 small metal plates behind the clamps and then put the nuts on the other side ,so as to take thee load off the clamps and tighten then without bending.
I still cant tighten the clamps fully as the U bolts will warp the bracket.
They seem tight enough but obviously I now believe they shift slightly in high wind.
I think I will have to reinforce the bracket and replace the clamps or else get a new motor.
Option A is probably better .

 

[eddieaok]

None slip nuts and washers cured the problem for me

Ed

 

[Darklordsbane]

Hi Guys
I have a similar problem with my Dads dish which I installed so any little issues guess who gets a phone call first, anyway because of where I had to put it for lines of sight I cannot beef it up so I set it on Thor got a very sharp cheisel and marked the pole and motor bracket, that way when it moves maybe twice a year I just loosen the bracket and move it back to where the marks are and tighten it up again saves a lot of time.
regards DLB

 

[betas]

Its the scaffold pole its too hard i use a steam pipe 75mm works for me

 

[dick b]

"fano" looking at your pic the Technomate motors use large "U" bolts and these supply re-inforcing to help with the flexing issue and once the motor is in the bracket this also helps to make a firm fixing.

 

[Rumpelstiltskin.]

 

[Fano]

"fano" looking at your pic the Technomate motors use large "U" bolts and these supply re-inforcing to help with the flexing issue and once the motor is in the bracket this also helps to make a firm fixing.

Yes Dick,I currently have that setup on my motor.The earlier pic is not of my bracket but another guy who modded his.
The U bolts are in place on mine and I do have the motor installed properly.
The main problem is when you tighten the U bolts ,the motor bracket bends around the pole towards the rear.The metal is too light .
Similarly the clamps when tightened bend around the pole towards the front.
I stopped the clamps bending by using steel plates behind them .
This is a recent pic of my setup,you can see the xtra metal plates behind the clamps .

 

[dick b]

yeah thats some re-inforcing you have there. the only other thing I can suggest is once you have it aligned spot on remove the actual motor but leave the bracket on your mount then drill a hole right through the back of the bracket and through the pole and tap it and screw a bolt through both it will never move again then. if you do need to adjust it you will have to slacken the T&ks and move it that way.(you could do it on a bench and adjust your azimuth like that anyway) put a collar on your pole above the bottom bracket to stop it sliding down while you adjust it.

 

[digidude]

the plates with the teeth are designed to bend slightly when tightening, , each tiny turn of the tightening bolts actually moves the whole motor / dish setup, and actually allows very fine alaignment of the dish, as well as actually biting into the pole its all mounted on

if these back brackets are unable to bend, the teeth wont bite into the pole properly, and a good gust of wind will send the whole setup spinning on the main pole, as you are finding

stronger aint always better

 

[Fano]

the plates with the teeth are designed to bend slightly when tightening, , each tiny turn of the tightening bolts actually moves the whole motor / dish setup, and actually allows very fine alaignment of the dish, as well as actually biting into the pole its all mounted on

if these back brackets are unable to bend, the teeth wont bite into the pole properly, and a good gust of wind will send the whole setup spinning on the main pole, as you are finding

stronger aint always better

I see what you are saying but the original clamps will tighten forever.
The metal they are made from is pure shite and they will keep on bending as they tighten.
I gave up tightening them as the clamps were crumpling and the washers kept tightening.
I installed the metal sheets and that stops the clamps bending .It does give a good grip on the pole .
I added a couple of large washers too but I still cannot tighten the u bolts fully .If I continue to tighten then the Motor back plate bends around the pole.
I might have to do some experimenting ,perhaps get some toothed washers or spring washers or replace the U bolts .
There are some good ideas on this thread
http://www.satellites.co.uk/forums/...2-moteck-motors-got-really-bad-quality-4.html