The original stuff is in a box in a shop building. It's a bit of a mess
That looks nice. What is that sensor, exactly?
Never one to throw out potentially usable stuff. Telstar kind of hit a bone.
If it makes sense at all. If you can get the gearbox and actuator tube running good. Seeing that a potentiometer is in fact a positive feedback device that would provide an ancient dish mover without memory storage a positional signal. Meaning an analog to digital converter could change a resistance value to a numerical value on a display where you would then look for a satellite at position X from a cheat sheet.
Perhaps with limited memory slot storage.
Whereas a pulse generator like a reed switch with sector magnet triggers, hall devices with magnet wheel. Or like I'm using, an optical interrupter with slotted wheel. I believe the successor to potentiometer type feedback.
Thinking I have this subject splattered here and there on satguys. This is an experiment. You don't even know if and when you get your dish up and working. If scanning more than one satellite is feasible where you live. And a new, in the box actuator is going to be expensive. I really don't even know your level of mechancal/electrical skills. But the enthusiasm is tops. As well as your "getting your guns loaded" great questions.
I said that a very cheap but old dish mover could be had from eBay. Just a stand-alone unit that would drive the dish. Most I see use a reed switch. Twenty bucks.
The Amazon Arduino kits can even be found with interrupter wheels. For a few bucks. All you would need to do it pull the potentiometer from your gearbox. Fashion up a way to mount the optical wheel. Build a bracket to mount an optical switch. And providing you have a 3 wire cable for the sensor at the motor and inside. The rest is easy. Maybe dig up an old wall wart charger to give the optical sensor juice.
And looking at the schematic from one of the Amazon kits. Know anything about electronics? Well, take a peek.
In it's current configuration, OUT and ground provide a voltage that comes from Vcc when the sensor is (thinking) unblocked.
Kind of cool. But pay attention to the LM393 comparator on the optical module. Next image.
On the sensor module is the LM393 comparator IC. And it's configured as a current source. Beam is unblocked, the LED lights and voltage appears between the Out and ground (pretty sure....need more coffee. Anyway).
Below, look at Q16. Internal to the IC. Q16 is your switch. Reed switch contacts if you had one in the gearcase.
Optical wheel spinning turns the switch on and off.
Now. There are several ways to make this work. Easily. My configuration is a bit different. Uses an external solid state relay.
In the simplest form. You get the thing working in your gearcase. And snip the 10k and possibly the 1k resistors by the LED indicator.
And test with a multimeter.
No new actuator. No hunting for the right magnet. No playing around with finding a sweet spot to put a reed sensor that may or may not play nice.
You slice that light beam. You get switching action. Every single time.
And it opens the possibility at a later time to add a vbox dish mover that interfaces with a receiver to move the dish when you change satellites on the receiver.
I just spent 27 bucks of your money. Sure beats tossing the actuator for a new one. Ya' think?
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