Winegard Sensar Antenna Maintenance

[wlf00]

I have the Winegard Sensar antenna on my coach. It seemed to be sticking a little when I was lowering the antenna into the travel position. So I looked at the manual to see what maintenance was required. They listed three things to do.

1. Lubricate the elevating gear by applying a liberal amount of silicone spray lubricant to the elevating gear with the lift in the down position. Run the lift up and down to distribute the lubricant over the gears.
2. Lubricate the bearing surface between the rotating gear housing and the base plate. Elevate antenna and remove plastic plug from the rotating gear housing. Spray lubricant into hole and around edges of gear housing. Rotate gear housing until lubricant coats bearing surfaces and antenna rotates freely.
3. Lubricate the rubber quad ring on the elevating shaft below the worm gear. This will keep the quad ring from becoming brittle which could result in leaks down the elevating shaft. Refer to parts explosion figure for removing worm gear.

I did the first two and the antenna works a lot better. I do not know how to remove the worm gear assembly. The parts explosion in the manual was not very helpful.

So I went to the Winegard web site to see what information they might have. In their support section, they had the following question and answer listed:

Quote:

Question: What, if any, seasonal maintenance is required on my Winegard Sensar antenna? Tech Tip: The Winegard Sensar or “Batwing” antenna requires very little care throughout its life, however 3-4 times each year it is strongly recommended that the unit receive some maintenance. By raising the antenna and spraying the gears with a Silicon Spray Lubricant you can increase the life and the enjoyment of the Sensar. This “bath” helps in two ways. First by cleaning the dirt and debris from the gears the unit will be easier to operate, making raising the unit much less taxing. Secondly, this lubricates the seal that prevents water from flowing into the coach. Without this lubrication, the seal will eventually get brittle and crack. Properly lubricated, this seal should last for the life of unit.

So my questions now is what have others done as far as maintenance on their Winegard Sensar antennas? And if you lubricated the quad ring by removing the worm gear assembly, how did you do it.

Thanks,

[Bill Adams]

DO NOT do anything further! Winegard recently showed removing the black Hexagonal(?) plug and spraying lube in there as well. This is terrible advice and can lead to an antenna that will not set in place properly.
Spray lube where ever you can get the little extension tube and call it a day.

[wlf00]

Bill,

Thanks for the advice. That works for me.