Tech Support:
www.steppir.com/support
Tel: 425.891.6134
Page 79
SteppIR antennas are all powered by stepper motors, hence the name. Stepper motors function by rotating
the shaft a specific number of “steps” per revolution. The SDA 100 is simply counting the steps, of which for
each step sequence there is a known length that the antenna is adjusting. If for some reason the antenna
gets out of calibration, the method for recalibrating is pretty simple. When you press the calibrate button,
the controller retracts each element until it assumes it is “home”, and then keeps retracting the stepper mo-
tors for a period of time to ensure that there is no question that the elements have indeed been homed. At
that point, the controller sends the elements back out to the exact frequency they were at when the calibra-
tion function started. That is why in calibration mode you will hear the antennas make a loud growling
sound towards the end of the retracting—the elements are homed but the stepper motors keep right on go-
ing for a while longer before sending the elements back out.
It is important to note that if a problem arises with the elements, such as an obstruction that is impeding the
path of the copper strip, the SDA 100 controller will not recognize this, so just because the controller is
showing the proper length for any given band, there may still be an issue. Even though the controller may
indicate that the copper strip is moving, in a troubleshooting situation it very well may not be. The controller
does not have much say in the indicating of a problem—it’s job is to simply get the elements to the right
length. This is why we have come up with the following information for you to review when having issues:
The antenna is out of calibration
—this is something that happens from time to time and is not a problem
at all. Whenever you suspect a problem the very first thing that should be done is a calibrate. It is
always a good idea to calibrate the antenna if you are having trouble. It is best to set the DB36 to 20M be-
fore doing the calibrate function. You only need to calibrate once. To be certain that the antenna was in-
deed out of calibration, check the SWR before you calibrate and check it again after you calibrate to see if
there are any improvements. If the SWR is unchanged, the antenna was in calibration and is not the issue.
The lengths of the antenna are incorrect
— Using the “Cause/Effect” theory, generally the first place to
look for trouble is the last place you have been. Using this line of thinking, if there is a problem with your
antenna, we need to be sure you are using the factory default lengths for your controller. Regardless of
whether you think you have done anything that could change the lengths, as a second step in troubleshoot-
ing (the first being the simple calibration of the antenna), be sure to reset the factory default lengths.
The SDA 100 electronic controller has a defective or intermittent driver chip
—
It only takes a mo-
mentary short to damage a driver chip
. The problem with driver chips, is that a blown driver chip or a dam-
aged driver chip that has not failed outright can act a lot like a damaged EHU. What we don’t want you to
do, is jump to conclusion on an EHU issue, only to spend time and money taking your antenna down and
find out that it was a driver chip problem, or some other issue with the controller in the first place. Taking
the time to troubleshoot and repair a controller is
MUCH
easier than taking down an antenna to repair an
EHU.
With that in mind, the following are steps for checking the voltage between the pin pairs that feed the motor
windings. This information is critical to our technical support staff and you can save a lot of time by having
this data available before contacting us. Instructions as follows:
With the DB-25 connector removed from the back of the controller, measure the voltage between the pin
pairs that feed the motor windings. For example, pins 1 & 2 and 3 & 4 when referring to the driven element.
The other elements pin pairs are listed in the troubleshooting guide These are the same pairs you use to
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
SECTION 15.0
TROUBLESHOOTING THE DB36 YAGI
TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS