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SeaTel 4006 RZ-7 , 8 Watt Codan BUC Upgrade | Marine Satellite Systems specializes in copol and BUC upgrades. |
8W Codan BUC upgrade waveguide configuration Seatel 4006 RZ-7Having just upgraded a 4006 RZ-7 to a 4006 RZ-23 without any detailed instructions, I thought I would include this photo showing the resultant waveguide configuration.

This was an upgrade from a 4 Watt NJR BUC to an 8 Watt Codan BUC.

It took me a while to realize that the new BUC had to be mounted at the edge of the equipment frame panel, close to the dish in order for the supplied H-Bend and E-Bend waveguide pieces to make up.

It looks pretty straight forward once it is completed, but trying to work out where to place the heavy hardware on an unbalanced antenna at the top of a mast in a tiny radome took a bit of patience and dexterity.  A simple photo like this would have made the job much easier.

It was necessary to remove the the entire equipment frame panel (aluminum plate) from the antenna to move mounting bolts and mount the new BUC stand-offs supplied.

Of course,  this required a serious rebalance of the antenna removing, and moving existing weights. None of the additional weights supplied with the kit were used.

In this installation the BUC was powered  via the coax cable from a 48 Volt Codan 6580 power supply which was mounted to wood mounting pads glued to the radome base with 5200. The power supply was powered from the 220V in the breaker box. It was not necessary to turn off the old 24V power from the satellite modem, as the 6580 power supply blocks DC at the input.

I also added the BUC M&C FSK modem on the opposite panel which gets its 24VDC power from the pedestal FSK modem connector. The pinouts for this and the M&C connections to the BUC are clearly shown on the 4006-23 schematic diagram in the antenna manual. This additional modem will allow serial, M&C communication to the BUC with a laptop from the below deck equipment, if needed. In most cases, the BUC can be used in default configuration.

Over the years, we have had quite a bit of experience with antenna changes like copol and BUC upgrades and rebalancing antennas. It can be quite a complex procedure often taking more than one day onboard, and a little research beforehand to ensure that the proper waveguide pieces and mounting brackets are on site.

SeaTel sells upgrade kits containing all the parts one would need, and then some. It is often more cost effective to do a custom upgrade where we supply only the required components to accomplish the upgrade to the required level.