What is behind my other posts regarding the Dayton motor is that it failed when pulling up 6-800 pound shutter on an observatory dome. For one person, getting the shutter closed was very difficult. To get something of a grasp on this, imagine the top of your head as a dome. Place your right hand over the back of your head so that your fingers reach down over your head. Your hand is the shutter, and your eyes are the optical equipment inside the dome. The shutter goes up and down. Down means lower, that is, it would cover your eyes. Up means to raise the shutter. You would pull your hand over the back of your head to its base, which is essentially the limit of the shutter's backside.
The failure with motor occurred when the shutter was almost fully open. The backside of the shutter was almost to the roof of the building the dome rests on. With a neighbor's help, we got it down. I had him stand on the roof where the shutter was easily reachable, I lift upwards. He didn't have to lift hard. Meanwhile inside the dome I turned the 3" cylindrical coupler between the motor and shutter gears. It took about 20 minutes to close the shutter. Without his lift, turning the coupler was very difficult.
It now occurs to me that I might have been able to do this on my own by hooking a rope on the shutter, and dragging it inside to where I was standing on a 10' ladder moving the coupler. Sort of a tug, then twist, then tug, ... operation. Maybe!! :-)
Here's my question. I really don't want to pay close to $700 for a device the mfger has that provides a hand crank so the shutter can be opened and closed manually. Can anyone think of something simpler? The coupler is an awkward place to get any tool into it. I tried a leather (strap) wrench but it was impossible.
Wayne T. Watson (Watson Adventures, Prop., Nevada City, CA) (121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time) Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet