Winegard digital elevation readout

[darbyjudy]

I have a Winegard roof top dish antenna that has a digital readout for the elevation. While on my last trip I was setting up the antenna and when I pushed the button to see the elevation it would not work. So I took the cover off and checked to see if I had 12 volts to the unit, which I did. I then noticed that there was a place for a 9 volt battery, so I put a battery in it and it worked. What could have happened that the 12 volts will no longer work. Do I have to purchase a new Digital magic? Can you buy parts for them? I can continue using the 9 volt battery but it is a hassel to change when the battery goes dead. Any one with a little help.

[Clay L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by darbyjudy SNIP What could have happened that the 12 volts will no longer work. Do I have to purchase a new Digital magic? Can you buy parts for them? I can continue using the 9 volt battery but it is a hassle to change when the battery goes dead. Any one with a little help.

I haven't looked at the pc board in quite a while and don't remember what the 12 goes through before it gets to the circuitry. Usually devices used in an automotive environment have some voltage conditioning components to protect the circuitry from transients/spikes. I suspect that one of those components has failed or there is a bad solder joint.
You can try to get a friendly (as in free - maybe a ham radio operator or retired tech) technician to troubleshoot it.
Paying someone to do it will probably cost as much as a new board.

Since the circuit works on the 9 volt input you could do what I did. My unit was installed by the dealer and he did not run 12 volts to it. He chose the easier 9 volt battery route.

I got tired of replacing the battery every couple of months and made a simple voltage regulator that has a 9 volt output.
I got a LM7809 integrated circuit at Radio Shack, added a couple of capacitors, a 9 volt battery snap on connector, soldered it together on a small piece of perf board (also from Radio Shack), then mounted it with double sided tape on the inside wall of the display housing. Note that since the battery connector is intended to snap on a battery and not where a battery snaps on, the snap on connector red wire will go to the negative 9 volts from the regulator and the black wire will go to the positive 9 volt output.
I got 12 volts from the back of the Winegard amplifier wall plate and connected that to the regulator.

You can get a data sheet off the internet that has the circuit diagram and capacitor values.

Mine has been working great for several years with the regulator.

One thing to be aware of when using either a 9 volt battery or the 12 v supply is that the unit can sometimes get lost in the land of digital bytes and need to be reset by removing all power for 30 seconds or so. I have had to do that four times in the 7 years I have had it. Only once with the regulator circuit in place though.
As I recall I got a "ER" on the display when it had to be reset.

[darbyjudy]

Clay I read your post but after looking at what to do it is beyond me to make this voltage thing. I am just not that savy in electronics.

[Clay L]

Well if you were close by I would give you a hand.
We are in Bouse AZ now and will head to Palisade CO in the first part of April.

[darbyjudy]

You know if I had a diagram and instructions on how to make this voltage thing I probably could do it.

[JFGOBUCS]

WINEGARD INSTRUCTIONS FOR "DIGITAL MAGIC" ELEVATION SENSING UNIT FOR RV DSS ANTENNAS

Might Help

[Clay L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by darbyjudy You know if I had a diagram and instructions on how to make this voltage thing I probably could do it.

If you take a look here http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:p...torrc7.gif&t=1 there is a diagram.

I got 12 volts from the Winegard wall plate. You could plug into the 12 volt outlet on the front but I soldered my leads to the back side.
You should be able to get the parts and a small piece of perf board to build the regulator on at Radio Shack.

You will also need a 9 volt battery connector with leads.
In this case since you are going to snap it into the on-board battery connector you will need to solder the red lead from the connector to the negative lead of the regulator and the black lead to the +9 volt point on the regulator.

The perf board assembly can be double sided foam taped to the side of the Digital Magic housing on the inside.

If you haven't done any soldering, you might want to get some help from a ham radio operator or someone else with experience building circuits.

[hr275]

[QUOTE=Clay L;765627]If you take a look here http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:p...torrc7.gif&t=1 there is a diagram.

Hi Clay l
This is my first time to ask a question on this site.
Is their a way to keep the readout on the Winegard display on longer.
Some times I have to turn it on several times to get the antenna pointed in the right direction and elevation, depending on how level the motor home is.
hr275

[Clay L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hr275 Hi Clay l This is my first time to ask a question on this site. Is their a way to keep the readout on the Winegard display on longer. Some times I have to turn it on several times to get the antenna pointed in the right direction and elevation, depending on how level the motor home is. hr275

Not that I know of. I am pretty picky about leveling so I never have to adjust the elevation after the initial setting.

As a side note we just had a Winegard SK3005 automatic dish installed so we can get high definition. It's pretty slick. It took it 3 or 4 minutes to find all 5 satellites (DirectTV) and if it works that well everywhere we park I am going to be very happy.
Of course if there are trees or something in the way I will have to pull out the tripod and 18 inch round dish. In the past I only had to do that maybe once a year though so it shouldn't be a problem.