Noisy Trav'ler

[skypoke]

I have a Trav'ler 1000, a little more than a year old. It works well but I'm increasingly concerned about the noise it makes while deploying and stowing. It squeaks, grinds and you can hear the slack in the gear train. It is jerky as it alternately takes up and releases slack in its rotating gear mechanism. All in all, not noises you want to hear a near $2K installation making so early in its life. It's never suffered any damage or abuse, just normal use. Are there lubrication points that might help to slick up its operation? Are the drive gears bronze?

Thanks, Charles

[Bill Adams]

The noises you are hearing in the azimuth rotation is perfectly normal. It sounds like that when you install it and it will sound like that for years to come. There is no need for concern. There should not be any grinding noise so you should go up on the roof and try to identify where and when this sound occurs. I wouldn't be terribly concerned about a squeak but it would be interesting to know when this happens as well.

[skypoke]

Bill,
I am going to respectfully disagree. A precisely manufactured tech device should not make the sounds you would expect to hear from an ungreased rickshaw. If you don't mind me asking, how many years of actual proven use are you basing your longevity statements on?

Once again, is it possible to field lubricate this device and reduce the noise?

Chuck

[Bill Adams]

Since the unit came onto the market in Jan. 2008 I am basing my information on that time period. This is a precisely manufactured unit but it likely would not qualify for use in the US Space program. There is always a compromise needed in order to produce a well built product as well as keep the cost down. Winegard has done an excellent job and the reliability (so far) has proven to be superior. Your specific mount might have issues which needs to be addressed. As I mentioned before, the azimuth noise you describe is perfectly normal (even if it could have been done some other way). However, there should not be a grinding noise. There might be a squeak but I would not be terribly concerned. Did you find out when these type of noises are occurring? While moving in elevation, azimuth, skew?

[skypoke]

Bill,

Fair enough, I guess it really doesn't have to be scientific grade in order to function properly. The noise is in azimuth....skew and elevation seem to be smooth. I also realized that the noise is greatly amplified by being mounted on the sounding board roof of the RV, I'm hearing it from inside, from outside it is noticeable but not nearly as loud. That said....

We're now in the east and the dish is no longer working as well as it was. It locks onto the first satellite, peaks and then resumes the search for the same satellite in an endless loop. I find if I turn it off while it is peaking that the tv works fine provided I time it just right along with a bit of luck, otherwise it continues to locate, identify, peak the same sat over and over. I also notice that it sounds a bit different when deploying,when it is started up it gives a short burst, sounds like it's finishing stowing, then starts its elevation routine normally.

Could I have damaged it somehow or is there possibly some sort of realignment routine I can run? Could it be that it is homesick for Texas where it worked perfectly?

Thanks for the help, Chuck

[Bill Adams]

Where in the East are you? Have you let it finish the long search/peak routine to see if a * appears in front of all 3 satellites or will it never finish? Are you certain that you have a clear view to all 3 satellites?