posted
Status as of today. Received the interconnect board (ICB) yesterday and it was installed on the Datastorm. Replacing the ICB did not solve the problem of all the D2 lights except the LNB flashing on and off and not going into the ready state. Now both the UCB and ICB have been replaced. What can be the problem???
-------------------- Ed & Midge Witt
Verizon PDA Tethering-- "High Speed in only certain areas" Internet Access Datastorm F1 | D2 v3.7.6 | DW7000 | 91/990 | Secure Wireless | 2 Vista Notebooks Posts: 35 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
The only time I can get into the D2 is when the 9 pin is disconnected from the back of it. So when I can get into the D2 there is no status because it is not connected to the Datastorm. What will help is if there is a log from the D2 when it faults. Is there any such thing?
Anyway, we've gotten the F1 documents from the Motosat website to include the wiring diagram. Ed is going to trace through the electrical system later. Will let you know what he finds out.
-------------------- Ed & Midge Witt
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posted
We've completed the test of the electrical and the motors. The motors turned out fine. The elevation, azimuth, and skew motors moved the dish appropriately. Ran the Ohm tests on the connector twice, once before running the motors and once after. For the first test ohm readings were high. Ed said this was normal for motors not operated for a period of time. After exercising the motors the black2brown, brown2red, red2orange, and blue2white were within limits, but the yellow2green was 57M ohms instead of infinity and the green2purple was 2.7 ohms instead of the 22K as the Motosat ohm test says they are supposed to be.
Does anyone know what these readings mean?
-------------------- Ed & Midge Witt
Verizon PDA Tethering-- "High Speed in only certain areas" Internet Access Datastorm F1 | D2 v3.7.6 | DW7000 | 91/990 | Secure Wireless | 2 Vista Notebooks Posts: 35 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
Hmm maybe I stand corrected and you possibly do have a "short" somewhere. In all you testing and diagnosing so far, have you yet used a spare control cable from the D2 to dish, just going out a window or something? Of course, you need a spare control cable for this test, but it could tell a lot.
posted
You need to get yourself to a knowledgeable dealer! or to MotoSAT. Where are you? Where are you headed? Scott's suggestion as to your next move is an excellent one.
-------------------- Bill Adams Winegard Company Posts: 15702 | From: Traveling the Western US | Registered: May 2003
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posted
Looks like they are North east of Indianapolis.
-------------------- Steve O'Bosky Dealer/Installer Datastorm/MotoSat TV 559-901-9044 sro54 at yahoo.com F1 DataStorm |D4|7000S|99W/1370|Linksys WRT54GC Windows 7 premiumSee our location Posts: 1083 | From: Visalia, CA | Registered: May 2003
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posted
We are not on the road and Steve is on the mark. The coach is just northeast of Indianapolis parked behind our home.
We have checked out the system with a spare control cable and still got the same problem. That is why the UCB was replaced. I had an authorized dealer look at the system but he determined that the ICB was bad because the busy light blinked on his D2 when he disconnected the connection to the ICB when in reality he stopped communication betweem the ICB and UCB. You already know all the electrical Ohm tests ending up with no more insight into what is wrong then what I had in March. I'm at a loss here and can't get the dealer to return my calls today. The next closest one now is in Elkhart, IN, 112 miles away by country roads. Can anyone give me recommendations for our next step?
-------------------- Ed & Midge Witt
Verizon PDA Tethering-- "High Speed in only certain areas" Internet Access Datastorm F1 | D2 v3.7.6 | DW7000 | 91/990 | Secure Wireless | 2 Vista Notebooks Posts: 35 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
Let us know where your travels might take you and when and we can likely find you a qualified installer with a little better trouble-shooting skills. There are not many out there, but they are out there.
-------------------- Bill Adams Winegard Company Posts: 15702 | From: Traveling the Western US | Registered: May 2003
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posted
Well, it could be a pinched/crushed/broken cable inside the mount itself, between the control cable connection and the ICB. If so, that is not going to be fun.
I hate to say it, but your next move, could be to remove the dish from the roof, crate the entire thing up including the D2 and modem and ship the whole shooting match to Motosat for a full refurbishment.
Either that or get to a qualified dealer/tech who really knows their stuff. Problem is, if a tech discovers (100% for sure) that there is a cabling problem inside the mount, there is not much he can do in the field anyway. And you could burn a lot more money in labor in the process.
Are you and Ed capable of unbolting, and safely lowering a 100+ Lb. dish down from the roof, crating it and shipping it to Motosat? If so, you might explore and weigh that out as an option.
Maybe someone else here has a better idea. But from what I can gather, you have basically swapped everything out already: D2, ctrl cable, Interconect board & upper control board... There is nothing left in the equation except motors and sensors and that dreaded internal cabling.
The last possibility that I see, is the rare chance that you got a second bad part in the testing process. i.e. another bad control cable, or another bad UCB etc...
Considering expenses and availability of qualified repair persons (or lack thereof...), there is one other option that I can think of.
Although it may "sound drastic...", how about removing the entire mount from the base plate, and shipping the entire assembly (and controller) to Motosat for overhaul? It would take some doing, but might be the easiest and cheapest overall option.
They would have to "crate" the assembly, and arrange for shipping of course.
But if they are unable to resolve, and the local repair folks cannot resolve, and they don't want to "travel" to a distant repair facility... it just might be a workable option.
Comments???
[edit] Now for me, I am thinking that this might be a good time of year for a "trip" to SLC..... And after the repair, do some touring of the beautiful National Parks in the area...
[2nd edit]... OK Scott... I see by the posting time that you got in there first. Glad to see I am not the only one thinking along those lines though.... By the way.. Passed you a few weeks ago at the Costco.
-------------------- David Douglass Tempe, AZ (Or On The Road).. D4(4.1.3) HNS7000s 117-1070 Windows 7 Ultimate (64) Posts: 592 | From: Tempe, AZ | Registered: May 2003
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posted
After reading over the posts it appears to me that you are still using the SAME UCB that you originally had. I understand that MotoSat re-flashed the firmware BUT that procedure would neither correct this problem or properly test the UCB operation. If the UCB you are using is not a new one then you need to try another UCB before going through the ordeal and expense of shipping the unit to MotoSat.
-------------------- Don Marr WWW.OREGONRV.NET 541-683-5361 See where I am Country Coach Concept 40' F1 - D3|7000s|99W|LinkSys wireless with 1000mw WiFi amp & Ext. antenna Posts: 3379 | From: Eugene, OR | Registered: Jun 2004
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posted
Thanks for all the input. I was told previously by Motosat there was a possibility of a cable being pinched in the mount, but if that were the case how could Ed have manually moved the dish testing all motors touching the different wires to a battery? And per Phil at Motosat the ohm tests indicate there is no problem with the control cable or the cables in the mount. As far as the UCB Motosat sent back to me being the same one I gave them I can unequivically say that it is not the same. We took pictures of the original board prior to removing it from the dish so Ed would know how it should be attached. When comparing it to the UCB that we received we found that it wasn't the same. Both the original board and the one sent to us by Motosat had writing on them in indelible ink. The writing was different, Bl86 original vs BL Q replacement. Also on the small raised board on the UCB the number above the word TRIMBLE was different, 37238-10-D original vs 37238-10-D REV D3 replacement. I'm not sure of the 10 on the original though because it is hard to read. Finally there was a circular black stamp on the original below TRIMBLE which is not on the board we received. It's possible they did send another board that is bad. I contacted Motosat this afternoon after I posted here going over the history. They have agreed to send another board because Phil suspects the UCB they sent could possibly be bad. After we receive the next board we'll install what they send and I'll post the results here. Wish us luck.
Midge W.
-------------------- Ed & Midge Witt
Verizon PDA Tethering-- "High Speed in only certain areas" Internet Access Datastorm F1 | D2 v3.7.6 | DW7000 | 91/990 | Secure Wireless | 2 Vista Notebooks Posts: 35 | Registered: Jul 2005
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In your post of May 3, you said, "Ran the Ohm tests on the connector twice, ...". Did you mean the control cable from the black plug to the green 9 pin connector, or while they were still connected to the printed circuits, or what?
I may have another suggestion. You could still have an open or a short from the 9 pin connector at the base of the mount to the interconnect board or from the interconnect board to the upper control board, or most any place.
The 57 Ohms you reported when checking the Green and Yellow wires may be the problem. The Green lead is for the ground and the Yellow is for motor count. Of course, if you are checking these wires while connected to the printed circuits, then you might want to check them again after they are disconnected.
I have an identical spare F1 DataStorm with the same interconnect board you have described. I can check your numbers if it stops raining here in New York. You can call me if you would like and I will try to help you with your diagnosis.
-------------------- DATASTORM OF FLORIDA MY LOCATION: CLICK HERE
TONY ARCURI
E M A I L for FASTER SERVICE, or leave a message 954-431-0022
F1,2-Watt,D3,7000S,89W,1150 2003 NEWMAR, MADP, TAHOE Posts: 193 | From: Anywhere our MH will go | Registered: Aug 2003
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