How to take apart and replace VBox II transformer?

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belter-one
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How to take apart and replace VBox II transformer?

Post by belter-one » Wed Jul 01, 2020 1:33 pm

Hello,

My actuator arm started running slower and slower, about 8 months old. I lubricated it with silicone spray and yesterday marine synthetic lubricant. It did not help. The VBox II positioner a.k.a Diseq box(three years old?) died trying to drive this actuator. Does anyone know how to gently take a VBox II positioner apart, or do I just rip it apart in order to find and replace the transformer? Any help on this will be appreciated. I am also going to replace the actuator arm motor with another motor I have in another dead actuator (the screw assembly disintegrated). I am also considering taking this stuff apart and lubricating it directly in an attempt to prolong the life of this equipment. Here is a picture of the VBox II that is about to be gutted:
VBox-II.png

Any help and/or information on this would be greatly appreciated. I will also post the results of our current repair attempts on this equipment in need of repair.

Cheers and happy dishing,

belter-one

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belter-one
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Re: How to take apart and replace VBox II transformer?

Post by belter-one » Wed Jul 01, 2020 3:19 pm

Hello,

I have another VBox II positioner, so I rolled a known good transformer with the suspect transformer in the dead VBox II and confirmed it is the transformer. Probably fried trying to move the possibly seizing 8 month old actuator arm. Anyone know the transformer part number/specifications so I can price one out from grainger or some other outlet? I am going to see if rolling the motor portion of my actuators restores functionality to the actuator. I would love to be able to lubricate ALL the moving parts in this equipment in order to protect it from the PNW weathering.

Hi ho hi ho,

belter-one :smile:

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Re: How to take apart and replace VBox II transformer?

Post by DRIVN78415 » Wed Jul 01, 2020 7:44 pm

those boxes sometime problematic for me when one relays gets stuck to moved eastward direction all the time...2nd time i have to open up and tap tap tap on right relay to get unstuck ...but transformer...?? if you have the skilled to replace it, good but person like me ...i would not mess with it, its very unfair to find anymore of it ...it used to be cheap, now it cost 3 times more from tek2000.....i gonna uplug it every-time we get lighting storm

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Re: How to take apart and replace VBox II transformer?

Post by belter-one » Wed Jul 01, 2020 10:38 pm

DRIVN78415 wrote:
Wed Jul 01, 2020 7:44 pm
those boxes sometime problematic for me when one relays gets stuck to moved eastward direction all the time...2nd time i have to open up and tap tap tap on right relay to get unstuck ...but transformer...?? if you have the skilled to replace it, good but person like me ...i would not mess with it, its very unfair to find anymore of it ...it used to be cheap, now it cost 3 times more from tek2000.....i gonna uplug it every-time we get lighting storm
Hi DRIVN78415,

Thank you for the reply. Useful information on the relay. I agree caution is needed if one is going to replace the transformer, plenty of capacitors on the circuit boards that could shock someone if they are not careful. I am going to price out the transformer and see if it makes sense to replace it or eventually buy another VBox II. We have had good success though, as the old actuator motor from my previous superjack is fully functional and quiet. However I am having to swap out the wiring blocks as the old ones are rusted. With a little luck all will be up and running again tomorrow.

A penny saved is a penny earned, :smile:

belter-one

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Re: How to take apart and replace VBox II transformer?

Post by fatso » Wed Jul 01, 2020 11:24 pm

I replaced the transformer with one I bought at digikey.com a while back. Do a search on their website and try to find one that will fit in your vbox. They have lots of selection...
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Re: How to take apart and replace VBox II transformer?

Post by belter-one » Thu Jul 02, 2020 1:28 am

fatso wrote:
Wed Jul 01, 2020 11:24 pm
I replaced the transformer with one I bought at digikey.com a while back. Do a search on their website and try to find one that will fit in your vbox. They have lots of selection...
Hi fatso,

Thank you. That helps a lot. Do you remember the type, part number or any kind of descriptor that would help me find a usable transformer? Please see below two pictures, one with components on the circuit board that might be related to the transformer?
Transformer.png
Components-rotated.jpg

Much appreciated,

belter-one

P.S. Happy Canada Day!

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Re: How to take apart and replace VBox II transformer?

Post by belter-one » Fri Jul 03, 2020 1:45 pm

Some success:

Managed to get the VBox II up and running. We are using the old motor on the new actuator arm because it runs so smoothly and quietly. The new motor is quite noisy, so we harvested some of the wiring harnesses to replace the rusted ones in the old wiring. Everything works well enough except that the VBox II will not shut off using its onboard power button, nor the remote's power button. So I will have to work around that by unplugging it when not in use. Successful enough for now, as this will save us from having to buy more equipment.

Beautiful in the PNW,

belter-one :smile:

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Re: How to take apart and replace VBox II transformer?

Post by belter-one » Fri Jul 03, 2020 2:57 pm

Good times,

Everything appears to be working again, with one I hope trivial difference: When the receiver is turned off the VBox II DiseqC box powers down after about 3 seconds, as expected. However instead of one green LED that is still visible and powered there are now three LED dots that are powered and visible. Does anyone know if this is significant, or does it mean anything in particular? All happy here and learning a lot more as we go.

Cheers,

belter-one

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Drift

Post by xRf4ZEsQF939G » Mon Jul 06, 2020 1:49 pm

I have a brand new VBOX 2 and arm. I have alot of drift when I go from one end of the arc to the other. What should I look for to try either stop the drift from programmed sats or at least make it as little as possible.

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Re: How to take apart and replace VBox II transformer?

Post by belter-one » Tue Jul 07, 2020 12:50 pm

Hello,

I had problems with that for a bit, until I tightened the bolts on the helmet, very carefully so as not to lose signal. Perhaps this might help?

Best of luck,

belter-one

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