The weather and my free time finally came together; (see post #309) I was able to get the Hy-Gain CD-45 rotor up on the tower last weekend. I took a picture of the old unit (on the left) an Archer (which looks much like the Channel Master and Delhi) beside the Hy-gain (on the right). It certainly looks that it is a much more robust unit.
The controller is silent as it uses a potentiometer in the rotor to indicate its direction. There is no motor in the controller.
I was even able to put the rotor up on the tower without the neighbours attempting to sneak a peek from their garage window or from behind a hay bale. There isn’t much my wife and I can do outside without them trying to see what is going on. But I am digressing.
When the installer dropped off the unit, he indicated that he prefers the CD-45 over the AR-40. He mentioned the controller for the AR-40 is prone to failure during thunderstorms.
The unit has been running for a week now with no problems!

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/picture.php?albumid=205&pictureid=901

I did a search, but didn't see anything.

Does anyone have any experience with Gemini rotors? I know they're no longer in production. However, I'd appreciate any feedback on the device if anyone has experience with them.

Thanks in advance

he indicated that he prefers the CD-45 over the AR-40. He mentioned the controller for the AR-40 is prone to failure during thunderstorms.



That's why I feed my AR-40 rotor control line through a lightning arrestor where it enters the house. You should always protect all wiring... not just the coax... when it enters a structure.

...feed my AR-40 rotor control line through a lightning arrestor where it enters the house...
HDTV101
What are you using for a lighting arrestor? The CD-45 uses 7 conductors. I should install one as I will be putting up a 68' tower in a month or two.

He uses gas discharge lightning arrestors and we discuss those in the Grounding thread:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=62265

HDTV101 can you please post your info there? :)

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?p=923921#post923921

here you go...

Just wondered if anyone has experience gear slippage with their CM (older generation) rotors. After a heavy wind storm my rotor appears to have slipped about 30 degrees out of sync (its definitely not the support pipes that slipped....its within the rotor itself ).
Thanks

30 degrees is quite a bit, but did it resync okay? There must have been quite a wind storm!

I did the full resync (all the way clockwise then all the way ccw) but I wondered if some sort of slippage has indeed happened,won't it still be off anyways ?......or does the syncronizing resolve this ?
(you can see that I don't know much about rotors :) )

The rotor's armature is free floating inside the rotor's stator housing, so its not geared. It rotates due to changes of electrical polarity in it that the controller box sets and resets over its control wires. Sometimes it can get way out of whack with heavy wind gusts, so a resync will "train" it to relearn where the rotation stop-point on the rotor itself is. Some rotors set that stop-point at due south, others at due north, while some of the computerized pro grade ham rotors dispense with a stop-point altogether.

Ahh....thanks Stampeder. Thats interesting.
I thought there was some sort of gearing.....I guess I'm wrong :)
So.....if the resync does not resolve the issue then maybe my original comment (of the support pipe not slipping) is perhaps not the case.
The support is about 25ft off the ground (I'm probably too far away to say for sure if the pipe has slipped. I do remember that when I installed it I clamped it down at much as I could (without taking the chance of cracking the cast aluminum).
Does anyone ever drill a hole through the cast support of the rotor right through the pipe......and then isert a bolt or cotter pin or something ?
To prevent any spinning .

Does anyone ever drill a hole through the cast support of the rotor right through the pipe......and then isert a bolt or cotter pin or something ?
To prevent any spinning That would be precisely what I would do if the support pipe is being torqued out of alignment. Good bye pipe slip. :) I think a hot-dipped-galvanized bolt would be best - a cotter pin or bent nail might rust/weaken over time.

The problem with older channel master rotors going out of sync is largely due to the main gear in the control box wearing out,it loses teeth causing the problem.this gear gear is made of a softer material than the other hard plastic gears in the control and deteriorates.you can resolve your problem by replacing this gear or purchasing a new remote control unit,they work excellent with all the older channel master and crown rotors!!!!

Hi Southgate,
By opening up the controller,can these soft teeth be easily viewed by removing the base cover?
thanks

There are two slot head screws in the bottom of the control box and a clip at the back end of it you can unlatch with a slot screwdriver or a knife blade.you will notice the gear is of different material then the other gears.

I installed a Delhi 604-RC‏ Rotor yesterday and when we first turned it on it turned the antenna about 30-40 degrees and quit.
It wont work at all, no matter what I tried. Disconnected and re-connected, checked connections and mount, nothing works.
Does anybout have any experience with this rotor?
I'm wondering if there is some trick to get it going? Did i miss something or is it likely dead?
Thanx,
Tom

Thankyou for moving my post, I couldn't find the right thread. Anyway, I see nobody had any ideas. I had a suggestion that we should have tried it on the ground before mounting on the mast. Doh!
The supplier says he'll exchange it. And I'll try it before re-installing. But that of course means at least 2 more trips to the roof!!

Anyone have any experience with a Yaesu G-450A? It's cheaper than the hy-gain ar40 and is popular with ham guys. I'm think about getting a rotor but don't want to waste my money on a channel master that will only last a season or two.

I use one to turn a small/mid sized two-element HF yagi. Before that it turned a mid-sized three-element HF yagi. No problems at all during the almost eight years it's been mounted on my tower.

You will need some sort of shims in order to accomodate the smaller diameter masts usually associated with OTA antennas. The G-450 mast holder is designed for masts from about 1.75" to about 2.25" OD.

Is there way to get a CM 9521A to use south as the "stop" instead of north, without cheating and installing the antenna pointed north when the rotor box is pointed south?