I got a new antenna... this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MIA182O?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title Because my old antenna doesn't go up and down anymore. I knew going in that the new antenna wiring would be different and I followed the instructions on how to create a diode board from this thread: https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/308-antenna-mast-replacement-suggestion.566439/page-4 I know little to nothing about electronics so I'm quite certain I'm doing something wrong. In this configuration the antenna only goes up.. this is with both leads of the new antenna connected and one lead of the power wires coming from the switch connected, the black clip is clipped to the wire that by testing I found out is the "down" wire. This configuration goes Up ONLY Image Unavailable, Please Login The problem is... if I connect the black to either diode the antenna STILL only goes up even though the "down" wire (as far as I can tell) is the one connected. The only way I can get the antenna to go DOWN is to disconnect the WHITE lead which is connected to the GREEN wire from the antenna. And leave the RED lead which is connected to the RED wire and then use either the BLACK lead from the power wire or RED lead from the power wire. Doesn't matter which one I use the antenna will go down with the configurations below. This configuration goes Down ONLY Image Unavailable, Please Login This configuration goes Down ONLY Image Unavailable, Please Login This is how I have the diodes wired... I THINK in the same way as the previous mentioned thread. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login I haven't soldered anything yet... wanted to make sure it worked before I did. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
The board you built originally built is 2 diodes in parallel, which is effectively 1 diode with double the current rating it I'm remembering basic circuits right. If a current draw is not specified for the motor, maybe measure the resistance of the motor to confirm the single diode you are using is rated for enough current. I = v/r, use v=14 which is the running voltage, r= whatever you measure for the resistance of the antenna motor.
Right, that's assuming that it was supposed to be wired with both in parallel... I have no idea since it wasn't clear from the thread. There's a picture of the diode board, and then a picture of 2 wires going in and two wires coming out. The diode I have in there is a 3a 200v ... although I don't know how many amps are running through it... but at 12v I'm guessing a 200v diode is plenty?
The voltage it fine (assume 14V not 12 btw) its the amperage that is to worry about. Somewhere in the instructions it might say what the current draw is (measured in amps), but if not you can measure it directly with an amp meter or indirectly by measuring the resistance and calculating with the formula I gave you.
Looks like I need to replace it with a 10 amp since it draws 3 - 5 amps according to the box. Thanks for the help man!
