Hirscmann Aerial R129

[Carson218]

Hi,

Just replaced the aerial mast on my R129 and its not fully retracting. At one point it nearly did, but not now.

Can anyone advise on the following regarding the operation of the lowering stop command;
a) Run on timer from the radio?
b) Run on timer within the aerial?
c) Limit switch within the aerial?

Thanks,
Nicky

 

[Dodipops]

Probably has a piece of the old mast stuck in the motor, you’ll have to pull the motor take of the casing and remove it.

 

[Merc220cls]

Are you sure the new mast is exactly the same length as the original ?
Way back in the day I used to fit in car entertainment ICE and found some electric aerials were of a slightly different length.
Normally after fitting it would take a couple of up and down movement to “centralise” the mast drive onto the collecting drum before the limit switches came into action
The timer you speak of on the radio is to delay the down movement after switching off the ignition, for example if you simply had stalled the engine and you switch off ignition to re start you don’t want unnecessary power being used to motor the aerial down therefore the delay.

I had load of accessories on my cars but electric aerial was never a personal choice as they gave so much trouble with sticking due to our weather systems but the Hirchmann aerials were of a better quality than most.

 

[Carson218]

Hi. I stripped the aerial down and found that there are various electronic components controlling the mast raise/lower positions.....not straight forward limit switches. Ended up having to buy a new motor, all good now.

 

[optimusprime]

Did you open it up before refitting the new mast drive ? small parts of the old mast break off and rest inside ,so need cleaning out .If you have done this , You need to know how to insert the new nylon mast drive Remove it by taking the nut off .Switch radio on so it ejects the drive cable compleatly , then keep switching on and off till it takes it all down into the motor so feep doing it -- ejecting it and inserting it eventuasl you will get the mast drive right in , so then lock up the retaining nut.

 

[Carson218]

Yes I had stripped the unit fully. I had a brief look at the PCB controlling the mast operation for any dry solder joints or burned our components, but couldn‘t see anything.

I bought a used aerial from eBay, mast was seized, but had a new one, so swapped it out ran the aerial a couple of times by switching the radio on/off.....all good now

 

[optimusprime]

Good news Carson . Just wipe the mast with silicon now and then ,dont use normal oil on the mast , it goes black and takes the dirt down inside .

 

[Merc220cls]

I was in the ICE trade many years ago and I used Kent Industries “Dry Lube”.
Even silicon can attract dust but this stuff really worked.

The rep called one day and demonstrated it by tightly squeezing two business cards together between finger and thumb then trying to move them. They wouldn’t budge.
He then sprayed the Dry Lube on and you could move the two cards with ease.

To be honest I sort of scoffed at this demo and threw the two cards aside. A couple of weeks later I picked them up and you could still slide the cards when squeezed. I subsequently bought some ans still have the one below in the workshop. Unfortunately the can although half full has lost is pressurisation so doesn’t spray anymore but I can’t get round to throwing it out.

It’s a bit of a relic like me I suppose !

 

[optimusprime]

Yes i would think it would be good to use . But i have used this silicon for some time now, and i have a few tins of the stuff on the shelf .

 

[BTB 500]

I keep the mast completely dry/clean ... I just give it an occasional wipe down with meths. I don't believe they need any actual lubrication.

 

[Carson218]

I bought lubricating wipes from Hirchman, they work a treat

 

[Dougcsv]

Sorry to butt in on this thread but figured it was relevant - happy to start a new thread... Anyway I have a Hirschmann Auta6000el - looked inside and the controller module is toast - burned and blackened - Anyone know if you can get replacement modules or should I toss it and get a compatible ?? TIA