I have previously posted under another subject, Antenna Detection Failure. However now after several changes, I am down to just one failure, intermittent 80m to 40m tuning. This occurs after a 'reset procedure' that I devised in which the SWR steady increases after several tuning cycles until there is Motor Failure when tuning only from 80m to 40m.
I have had my antenna for almost 2 weeks and have only for a few short hours at a time that are problem free. It's very frustrating for me because when the antenna works, it works very well.
There are two changes I made which stopped other occasional problems such as high SWR and Antenna detection failure. 1) Removed any bends or excessive curves in the motor control cable and antenna wires, 2) Added ferrite RF chokes to all cables connected to my ATU (except the antenna cables) and my rotor control box.
I am also having a problem with extended semi-auto tuning times ranging from 5 seconds to over a minute.
My radio is a FTDX-3000D.
My reset procedure is to unplug the ATU for 15 minutes - then opening and closing the antenna in Debug Mode. This always fails the first time with an ATU power reset or Motor Failure error when opening from fully closed at high speed. To complete the first cycle I have to use slow speed when opening the antenna in Debug mode. Once I cycle the antenna in Debug mode a couple of times, I can successfully run Auto Detect Antenna. Finally, I am able to use the antenna system normally for a few hours until the problem occurs again.
Has anyone else had this problem? What was done to resolve it?
I have had a Baby Loop since mid 2020. I occasionally have this annoying message about MOTOR FAIL NO LOAD. Every now and then this error can be cleared by power cycling the ATU, or just trying to do the frequency tune operation repetitively. But in most cases that doesn't work. I have always been able to fix this problem by walking outside to the antenna with a long handled tool like a rake or a broom, and simply give the actuator a little nudge. I did this tonight and it worked. The plates of the capacitor were fully meshed (lowest antenna frequency), and by gently pushing the actuator up, it opened the plates just a little, maybe 1/8 inch or so. That was enough to let the antenna work. That's fine in May (although annoying), but it's not fine to have to do that in February, when there are three feet of snow around the antenna.
I have read other posts suggesting it's something to do with the limit switch opening up at the end of the actuator travel, leaving the motor control loop dead. If this is true, is there some way to adjust the position of the limit switch to avoid this frustrating failure?
I hope this may be helpful to someone else.
Tom, W7GT