Dish slop/movement

[Trek-Cyclist]

We have a manual dish and getting a signal has been a piece of cake so far. The ONLY issue we have is the slack/play in the dish. If the wind is strong sometimes the dish bounces and we get temporary signal loss.
We are currently in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and most folks here can't get a signal, but at 28* and 241 azimuth we have one although it's very touchy. I had to use a small bungee from the LNB mount to the front radio antenna to keep the dish from moving even a half degree,so far so good...
Any help on getting the slack out of it would be appreciated.

[Trek-Cyclist]

We have a manual dish and getting a signal has been a piece of cake so far. The ONLY issue we have is the slack/play in the dish. If the wind is strong sometimes the dish bounces and we get temporary signal loss.
We are currently in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and most folks here can't get a signal, but at 28* and 241 azimuth we have one although it's very touchy. I had to use a small bungee from the LNB mount to the front radio antenna to keep the dish from moving even a half degree,so far so good...
Any help on getting the slack out of it would be appreciated.

[Ding-a-ling]

Ed,

That seems to be an inherent problem with the Winegard manual dish. Other owners of the same product with whom I have spoken also have griped about it. A couple years ago mine was disassembled and we put heavy gear lube on the worm drive. That helped for a while.

One way to overcome the trouble is to go WAY south in FL or TX. That way the elevation is so high you are beyond the tipping point of the antenna.

[Pubtym]

Had the problem too. Called Winegard Techs. Person said early version made with plastic gear wheels..wear (slop) after time.

Also, the gears are fastened to shafts with allen screws. ..screws loosen after time in plastic gear wheels...poor/cheapo design..with tech support I disassembled gear housing and retightened allen screws. Fixed the slop. Heavy gear lube is a very temp fix..go for the allen screws holding gears to shafts.

Just canned the whole Winegard unit..now own small 18 inch single dish Moto Sat...quality parts and reliability throughout...works every time...even high gusty winds! Auto operation is as simple as chewing gum. Go Moto Sat! I don't sell Moto Sat...but I am a very pleased user-owner.

Any member wanting to see a quality-affordable auto sat, stop by at GNR..I'll be in MIL WIT row. At night you'll recognize it..there is a trademark blue LED illuminating the disc.

Don't make another mistake by buying new Winegard at GNR...

[DonavonP]

I tightened that allen screw like Pubtym and it's been holding tight. As I recall, an extra long allen wrench would have been helpful.

If you go to Winegard.com and download this pdf or whichever pdf applies to your model, you'll see "main elevating gear" on approx. page 10. The allen screw on that gear is loose. It is possible to strip the threads so just snug it up. If you do strip the threads then you could use a slightly larger allen screw.

Good luck Ed. If I wasn't on the wagon, I'd suggest setting out a row of cold beers around the front to the RV just in case you fall off the roof and need immediate medicinal attention.

[Pubtym]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by DonavonP:
I tightened that allen screw like Pubtym and it's been holding tight. As I recall, an extra long allen wrench would have been helpful.

If you go to Winegard.com and download this pdf or whichever pdf applies to your model, you'll see "main elevating gear" on approx. page 10. The allen screw on that gear is loose. It is possible to strip the threads so just snug it up. If you do strip the threads then you could use a slightly larger allen screw.

Good luck Ed. If I wasn't on the wagon, I'd suggest setting out a row of cold beers around the front to the RV just in case you fall off the roof and need immediate medicinal attention. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Might try a little "blue" LocTite on allen screw threads when you retighten..max torque on allen screw..5 #s

[Clay L]

Tightening the Allen screw is not always the answer.
Winegard has a "wind kit" that helps.
In my case after installing the kit the elevation could still be changed enough to cause loss of signal if the wind was strong enough and came from the right angle.

I added a couple of stretchy 5/8 diameter, 8 in long springs from the bracket on the middle of the back of the dish down to the rotating base.

They are weak enough to not put undue pressure on the elevating mechanism when you are raising the dish but strong enough to provide some extra support when the dish is up.

This didn't completely solve the problem but sure helped it a lot.

[AFChap]

Sitting here on the GNR grounds yesterday when it was very windy, I was looking around at several Winegard dishes flopping around in the wind -- both side to side and up and down!

I've heard the wind kit can make a lot of difference. We had an automatic Winegard dish originally, but were unable to make it work. I replaced it with an automatic dual LNB Motosat. When we pulled the Winegard off the roof, one of the connectors fell apart on it's own so our problem probably was that it was not installed properly when the coach was built! Sold that unused dish to another owner for parts...

[Pubtym]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by AFChap:
Sitting here on the GNR grounds yesterday when it was very windy, I was looking around at several Winegard dishes flopping around in the wind -- both side to side and up and down!

I've heard the wind kit can make a lot of difference. We had an automatic Winegard dish originally, but were unable to make it work. I replaced it with an automatic dual LNB Motosat. When we pulled the Winegard off the roof, one of the connectors fell apart on it's own so our problem probably was that it was not installed properly when the coach was built! Sold that unused dish to another owner for parts... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yup..there will now be at least two Moto Sats on GNR MIlWIT Row...again...at night... look for the blue LED's shinning on the face of the dish. Sat will be working too..

Ditch Winegard..go Moto Sat...no wind kit ever required..no rubber bands...no bungies...no aux springs..no chewing gum..no bailing wire..

[Pubtym]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Ed/Full-time:
Thanks for the input...
Maybe I should drink the beers that way if I do fall off the roof it won't hurt as bad! I'll give the Allen wrench a try using lock tight and heavy gear lube. If that doesn't do it I'll be heading to the blue light.... !
Thanks Again... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

OK..good luck..most complicated part of dish teardown and replacement is realighnment of dish base to mount..suggest marker pens as you remove stuff. For allen wrench fix..try a very small vice grip to hold wrench as you insert it down into screw..

Just a thought..dino grease might harden with age..and very cold wx..consider silicon --or teflon based grease.

Bluelight special is cheaper than set of Konis installed..

[Bill Adams]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Thanks for the input...
Maybe I should drink the beers that way if I do fall off the roof it won't hurt as bad! I'll give the Allen wrench a try using lock tight and heavy gear lube. If that doesn't do it I'll be heading to the blue light.... ! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Good luck!! I can tell you that there is little if any chance of getting the slop out of a Winegard crank up dish. Even their automatic open face dishes (before the finally gave up and quite selling them) flopped forward and back in the wind. At least they did not go side to side like the crank-ups can.
Hopefully, Winegard has left all of their previous engineering behind them as they build their new multi-head dishes. If not, those antennas simply cannot tolerate any amount of movement and still work properly.

[Pubtym]

Amen..

[AFChap]

We had very strong winds from the WSW about 2:30am here at GNR last night. I noticed the Winegard on top of an Adventurer a couple of rows in front of me this morning -- dish is lying nearly flat pointed almost straight up at the sky with LNB out front like it is searching for a satellite!

[Jerry J]

If you are at GNR, why not check with Service. Today I had my Winneguard Dish updated with no cost, Goodwill from Winnebago. Mine would flop in the wind, could hear it inside and picture would breakup. Part no. is 120233-04-703 Kit-Directional HDL Upgrade, installed updated turret assembly. If the wind blows like last night I should be able to "hear" if there is an improvement. I will leave it up no matter what (I think ).
Jerry J
2006 Winnebago Outlook 25F