winegard automatic swm3 antenna

[mikestock]

"No LNB Voltage". Does anybody know where the problem may be? It worked fine last trip but now the dish turns completely upside down with the LNB arm vertical. Makes one revolution and back, then stows.

Had a guy washed my roof and I got back from an errand to find him using a pressure washer, which is a no_no, but I was too late. This is the first trip since, so I guess that must be related to the pressure washer. I unplugged the 6 way on the back of the controller and replaced but to no avail. When the rain stops I hope to look for a damaged wire.

[Carl_n_Susan]

As a RF Mogul customer I found them to be terrific to deal with. They do have local people who do installs. And the price, installed, was $1850- less than what Winegard wanted. I boondock a lot and wanted the controller to be 12V powered. After talking to the support folks, no problem. The 120V normal supply is converted to 12V anyway and a direct 12V connect is fine. No need to fire up the generator or inverter to get the antenna up and running.

The support folks in Salt Lake City are easy to contact and work with you through any problem. Try that with Winegard. Plus if parts are required, they ship them to you if that is what you want. One additional feature is they use a standard LNB (in my case DirecTV) so replacing it is inexpensive and easy.

There are 6 of us in our camping group and all but one now use the RF Mogul.

[Bill_Satellite]

Their only competitor is RF Mogul (the former MotoSAT folks). It's more expensive, and they still have problems, but they will ship you the parts and you can install them yourself. They have very few dealers but if you travel to any of the warm weather destinations favored by RVers you will likely find a dealer within a few minutes or a few hours drive.

[mikestock]

Well, Finally sent my turret to Winegard and just got it back. Weather hasn't allowed me to reinstall but the total cost to me, including one way shipping was $364 plus $88. I was 2-1/2 months out of warranty. The failure was sudden. It worked perfectly until it didn't. No event, such as lightning or physical contact happened. It worked, I drove to another site and it didn't work.

I don't know who Winegard has as a competitor but I would try them if I had a do-over. May be better but not worse, IMO.

[mikestock]

Bill. It's (') not (").Put your glasses on.

[Bill_Satellite]

You should not be dealing with any cable that's only 5 1/2" long. The problem is usually the coax that runs inside the arm up to the LNB. It's likely 3 feet long or so an runs from the LNB, inside the arm, through a clamp on the arm and then into the top of the base.

[mikestock]

Bill.Satellite wrote:
Just FYI, it's never a good idea to scrape the center wire. The signal travels on the surface of the wire and you want that wire to remain as smooth as possible.
As to the other leads, yes, coax is coax. If you really have the SK-SWM3 antenna you should only have 1 wire that leads from the SWM LNB to the base. Where are these other coax cables? Any coax can be used to test if that cable is bad. Even a spare 50 footer sitting around somewhere.

Yes, I "really" have a SWM3 Traveler. I made a new 5-1/2' RG6 jumper. That made no difference. When I say I scrapped, the center I only applied enough pressure to clean the brown corrosion. I really didn't expect it to work. I'm aware that the signal travels on the outer surface just like electric current. That's why multi-stranded wire will carry more current than the equivalent amount of copper in a single strand.

[mikestock]

dapperdan wrote:
I haven't had a chance to look. Did this cable have regular RG6 connectors on both ends?

My dish would turn completely over lake a saucer, make a complete 360 search with the lnb arm pointed straight up and then return to the stow position. Was your experience similar?

Did you get CS help from Winegard? "

Our dish operates the same as yours. I didn't notice any corrosion on either end of that short cable I replaced. To be honest the faulty cable didn't "look" bad but obviously was. I managed to be able to use my "homemade" cable for a little while but I made it a bit too short and eventually that one failed. The replacement has been working great ever since. :BDan

I didn't have the luck you had. The replacement cable made no difference. I talked to Winegard CS and I will have to pack up the turret and return it to Iowa. Repair will be a flat fee of $350. I pay shipping there and they pay return shipping. The turret weighs about 50 lbs.

As to those other connections on the base you'd have to call Winegard and ask them, I have NO idea if they'd work or not. I reconnected the replacement cable to the same terminal on the base.

[mikestock]

dapperdan wrote:
I haven't had a chance to look. Did this cable have regular RG6 connectors on both ends?

My dish would turn completely over lake a saucer, make a complete 360 search with the lnb arm pointed straight up and then return to the stow position. Was your experience similar?

Did you get CS help from Winegard? "

Our dish operates the same as yours. I didn't notice any corrosion on either end of that short cable I replaced. To be honest the faulty cable didn't "look" bad but obviously was. I managed to be able to use my "homemade" cable for a little while but I made it a bit too short and eventually that one failed. The replacement has been working great ever since. :B

I didn't have the luck you had. The replacement cable made no difference. I talked to Winegard CS and I will have to pack up the turret and return it to Iowa. Repair will be a flat fee of $350. I pay shipping there and they pay return shipping. The turret weighs about 50 lbs.

As to those other connections on the base you'd have to call Winegard and ask them, I have NO idea if they'd work or not. I reconnected the replacement cable to the same terminal on the base.


Dan

[Bill_Satellite]

mikestock wrote:
The connector at the LNB was clean as a whistle . The one at the box was a little corroded. I scrapped the center wire with a knife and Deoxed all of it. Didn't work. There are 3 coax connections in the base. Is it possible they are interchangeable? Thanks.

Just FYI, it's never a good idea to scrape the center wire. The signal travels on the surface of the wire and you want that wire to remain as smooth as possible.
As to the other leads, yes, coax is coax. If you really have the SK-SWM3 antenna you should only have 1 wire that leads from the SWM LNB to the base. Where are these other coax cables? Any coax can be used to test if that cable is bad. Even a spare 50 footer sitting around somewhere.

[dapperdan]

I haven't had a chance to look. Did this cable have regular RG6 connectors on both ends?

My dish would turn completely over lake a saucer, make a complete 360 search with the lnb arm pointed straight up and then return to the stow position. Was your experience similar?

Did you get CS help from Winegard? "

Our dish operates the same as yours. I didn't notice any corrosion on either end of that short cable I replaced. To be honest the faulty cable didn't "look" bad but obviously was. I managed to be able to use my "homemade" cable for a little while but I made it a bit too short and eventually that one failed. The replacement has been working great ever since. :B

As to those other connections on the base you'd have to call Winegard and ask them, I have NO idea if they'd work or not. I reconnected the replacement cable to the same terminal on the base.


Dan

[mikestock]

The connector at the LNB was clean as a whistle . The one at the box was a little corroded. I scrapped the center wire with a knife and Deoxed all of it. Didn't work. There are 3 coax connections in the base. Is it possible they are interchangeable? Thanks.

[Rocky2]

X2 Dapper Dan. Winegard explained the problem and sent me the cable no cost. I wasn't in a hurry so that worked out just fine.

[mikestock]

Bill.Satellite wrote:
It is most likely the cable between the LNB and the base. It might just be the connector at the base if it got hit with a pressure washer. Remove the LNB cable and ensure it's clean and dry. If not, clean, use some dielectric grease and reinstall. If that does not fix it remove the LNB and detach the coax and run a new one. Standard coax can be used to replace the skinny coax to test the unit.

Thanks. That sounds a lot like what Dapperdan was describing. The Biblical rain has stopped so maybe my wife will let me go back up there. I have some Deoxit and a kit to make coax to size. Maybe this will work.

[Bill_Satellite]

It is most likely the cable between the LNB and the base. It might just be the connector at the base if it got hit with a pressure washer. Remove the LNB cable and ensure it's clean and dry. If not, clean, use some dielectric grease and reinstall. If that does not fix it remove the LNB and detach the coax and run a new one. Standard coax can be used to replace the skinny coax to test the unit.