[TowerTalk] M2 Orion rotor problem seems to be fixed (for now)

[Steve Jackson]

Thanks to the many who responded with great and knowledgeable suggestions.  The ham spirit of camaraderie and helpfulness is certainly well represented on this reflector.

I am not yet sure what happened in my case, but the result was that my controller lost its marbles.  

Experiments suggested by responders allowed me to determine (by applying 12VDC and spotting the antennas) that the positioner turned the array both CW and CCW to the respective hard stops, about 14 degrees past North in each direction.  

So, the hard limit switches work, and so does the motor.  Then, the challenge was to set the antenna to a known heading and re-cal the controller.  With the help of the XYL N1GMR, I did so, and, for whatever reason, normal operation has been restored.  Apparently the rotation index 'pulses' are making it back OK to the controller box.

Not sure why the setup failed; this mystery will be solved, perhaps by climbing the tower to inspect connectors - but not today.  

I can now ponder sit-down things instead, such as why US 1x2 Extras in CQWW don't know their 40M phone band limits  ;-)  and how much I should charge for the F12 C-36XR I have that I want to sell.

73  Steve KZ1X/4



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