Both the Vbox and Gbox dish movers are made from the cheapest parts available, but they will usually work for a long time if the actuator does not have any issues. These dish movers may also be referred to or called positioners. Heat was never really thought about in the design of these two dish movers. Using an external power supply will be a good idea for some dish systems.

Most fta actuators are designed to operate between 24 and 36 volts using dc current. Power supplies are sold on Ebay and at other locations that will produce 24-36 volts all day, and at current ratings of up to 10 amps. These power supplies will normally cost under 50 dollars. I purchased a pair of 24 volt supplies on Ebay for under 50 dollars shipped. The 24 volt supply I chose can produce around 8 amps at 27 volts dc.

The basic procedure for installing a power supply into an existing Gbox or Vbox is simple. What is described here assumes that you know the basics of electricity to keep from being shocked or electrocuted.

Remove the pc board from the case, and reconnect ac power. Probe the outputs of the transformer with an ac volt meter. There should be four wires on the transformer output. The low side drives the dish mover controls and chips, while the high side provides the power to the actuator. Both sides of the transformer outputs are ran through circuits to change the power from ac to dc. One way to install an external power supply in the dish mover is to cut the high voltage outputs of the transformer, then solder the wires for the external power supply directly to the relays on the dish mover pc board. There are two relays, one for each direction of travel. The actuator motor is a dc motor. The motor has two leads and will move in one direction when dc voltage is applied to the two leads. It will move in the opposite direction when the two leads are reversed, This explains the need for two relays.The relays are usually rated for 10 amps which is more than most of us need. (We will continue in the next post with pictures)