Oyster 11 85cm Motorhome automatic satellite dish issues repaired

My motorhome satellite dish Oyster ll or 2 whichever, had motor error and I have fixed it but the video shows other issues that you might have encountered, worth a watch, try DIY.
The oyster 11 is an automatic dish with self seeking control panel which finds the right satellite for you

[@thecurrantbun]

Excellent video and blooming well done on tackling the task yourself. I have a 2006 AT Dakota, that’s nearly 18 years old and I’ve just had a message flash up ref a Y motor issue, so I’ve a much better idea of what to do and it’s thanks to you 👍🏻

[@johnliput]

Glad it helps, I'm sure you can sort it out, common sense once you start stripping it down

[@ianbartlett3936]

Thank you so much for an excellent video, carefully explained amd easy to understand 👍 I believe I have the exact same problem. Will let you know how I go.

[@jimgibson4760]

Thanks for taking the time to share.

[@davesport62]

Thanks for posting this. My dish; I think identical to yours is 15 years old. It's worked faultlessly all these years & I figured it's time to give it some TLC and lubrication as a very minimum. I couldn't find any information on line other than your video about how to take the thing apart. I'll whip id down tomorrow & get some grease into all the pivots, gears & bushes. Thanks again for the heads-up. Just watching your other vid about the knock-off Makita batteries blowing up \o/ Glad you're ok.

[@johnliput]

Thank you for your nice comments, yes I had same issues, I couldn't find any info at all on the mechanism so thought I would try enlighten others on my findings and issues.

[@davesport62]

@@johnliput Just wondering if you've fired your dish up again? Mine's not locking on to Astra 2 now :o) Sounds lovely & smooth with all the cogs greased up but can't lock on. Is yours working? I'll have to phone Oyster Sat Tech on Monday. Many thx, Dave.

[@johnliput]

@@davesport62 hi no I never actually use it, I just needed the dish to work as go up and seek however I can't try it as in see if it will find a dish as I'm surrounded by trees so it can't see the satellite. I'm away soon so will try it out and get back to you. I use a fire stick so as long as I have 4G I can get all TV programs, I Normally use aerial as well. Will let u know how I go on with it when I try it

[@davesport62]

@@johnliput Ok, cheers. I spoke to Anthony at Oyster Sat Tech & it looks like my LNB might be goosed. I should have tested the system prior to taking it apart. Lesson learned. I'll call them Monday & order another. Thanks again for the vid :o)

[@michaelsimpson9779]

Excellent content. There may be a special grease for the nylon gears, some greases may possibly not be good for the plastic. Not sure. Could the software update have been downloaded to a USB stick and done on site?

[@johnliput]

Hi I just used general duty grease, and not sure about the software as you might need a special cable to get it into a USB format for the PC. Not sure on both issues.

[@prichardson5283]

Very helpful , just the information I was after , just one question which way in it mounted on the van ? it looks side on

[@johnliput]

Yes ony autotrail Cheyenne it is mounted side ways but this has no issues when driving it about as its down of course. My dish is fully automatic, once on site i press the button inside and it lifts and searches for the satellite on its own and locks in to it within 40 seconds. If i forget to press the button to lower it when going the sytem kniws my ignition is on so it lowers automaticaly to its parked mode which is side ways,its amazing how it all works automaticly.

[@prichardson5283]

@@johnliput Yes I have had one for 3 years , they are a great system . I am about to sell my van so just bought a second hand one and am in the process of giving it a good going over before I fit it on my next van

[@daijones1515]

Excellent video John, thanks for uploading it. What error txt on your display was showing if the Y axis was out of alignment. Did you have to do a reset on the display to clear the fault after you realigned the microswitch to the park position correctly. The problem I have, is when I put power to the display/control box in the cupboard, it does not go through a self test. therebye allowing me to press the sat button and up she goes. The display locks me out and displays the text....."Y motor" also i can hear the motor on and the cog turning. Pressing the two arrows together for a few seconds brings up the text "Control Box 1.07" Any ideas on my problem? After seeing your video it's given me the confidence to get on the roof and inspect in situ first. Thanks.

[@johnliput]

Hi my problem was the elevating motor to lift it was seized up, tgats why i showed the video, i had to free the screw drive as to my video, once i did that the dish lifted and spun around however it could never find the satalite but it now moved around with no problems. I contacted Oyster in the UK and they were very helpful, they told me after i did some tests with them on line and they said my software was well out of date. The told me to send the dish less the actual dish just the main unit and the control unit, i sent them it all and it came back and found the satalites no problem, they charged me £125 and its been perfect. You can ring them up they are very helpfull, beware if you do send your parts in as on the web its the wrong address so ask them for the correct number. Anthony Read Technical Director, Oyster Sat-Tech LTD Unit 5 Hemploe Bus Park Hemploe Road Welford Northants NN6 6HF Office: 01858575928 Direct line: 01858570924 Mobile: [phone]

[@daijones1515]

@@johnliput Thanks for all the information John, all noted. Your video gave me the confidence to get up on the roof and disassemble my Vision 2 system preety much the same as what you did at floor level. The fault was identical to yours, the Y - Motor microswitch was not compressed in the park position, hence the control box display not happy when booting up to do a selftest. That caused me to be locked out from doing anything, pulling fuses, resetting the control box by various means all no good. I stripped the hardware down and released the rear clamps to reset the end shaft bolt onto the park/Y-motor microswitch. Same as you, pulling it away from the worm drive and positioning it correctly. Wd 40 applied to various areas, general cleaning before applying fresh grease after clamp reassembly. Fuse was reinserted and power switched on to the control box display. I tested the system without the dish attatched with the white dome cover off so that I could see how the cogs were moving. Imediately it did a self test and cycled through to normal status. Dish icon pressed and normal sequence started. LNB fault came up as I had disconnected the coax cable, cogs still moving looking for Astra 2. Stopped search and returned to park position. All remaining parts were reassembled and restarted sequence. Dish elevated, searched and found Astra 2, all sorted, just in time for the final at Wimbledon, Formula 1 and Tour de France today. Certainly a lot quieter than previously too. I include this lengthy description to help the people who have similar Oyster problems and thank John for taking the time to do this very informative video. I'm not an engineer or clever with my hands, but I will give something a go if i've seen it done like John did in this video. Thanks.

[@funkyronster]

You sir, are a gentleman! When I last looked for info 3 years ago this wasn't available. My Oyster sat has had no maintenance for many years, and although it still works, it is really squeaky and rough - I'm sure it needs lubricating inside. I just needed to know how to get inside it - so now I do! Can you tell me what sort of lube or grease I should be using? Many thanks.

[@johnliput]

Hi thanks for liking my video. I just used WD40 spray onto the bearings first to free them up them used general purpose grease on the nylon cogs, and its like new again.

[@funkyronster]

@@johnliput Me again. been thinking about this. If all I want to do is lubricate inside, can't I just leave the dish on the arm, lift it all off and lay it to one side and then remove the covers and then lubricate? I can't see anything in your video that makes me think it must be taken off the roof. For repair work sure, but just to lube it? What do you think?

[@johnliput]

@@funkyronster hi yes if your not taking the whole unit off the roof then leave the dish on and just undo the 2 nuts that hold the arm on, lay it on the roof and undo the 2 small screws to lift the cover off, the round rubber will dislodge so remember how it goes on, you can then lubricate it all. What normaly sizes up is the bearings not the nylon cogs.

[@funkyronster]

@@johnliput Thanks John. When you say that about the bearings, do you mean that just slapping and squirting lube won't help, and that the bearings might be shot and need replacing? It hasn't had a huge amount of use, but what it has had is 3 winters of doing nothing in storage in a field while we were abroad. It definitely is more graunchy than before we went away. However somebody else on a forum said to just use it a lot and it should free up but I'm not sure about that.

[@johnliput]

@@funkyronster like forum says use it a lot, mine had not been used in about 10 years so was sized up mine worked just once then failed thats why i took it off the motorhome to give it a good repair, it works every time now but i needed to send it to oyster for new software as it was out of date and would not find any satalites at all. Now works great

[@markhutchison2767]

Hi,mine broke last wk,storm broke it from the park position,mine spins round,but not lift dish,dish is now fioppy,any ideas,s? Thanks

[@johnliput]

You can send it to the oyster company, they are very good and not too expensive give tech services an email on [e-mail] If you email him ask for their correct address and tel number as other sites seem to take there details so you end up speaking to a third party. They are very good, they can sell you the parts or they will fix it for you, i had my software updated from them, they are very good.