Maybe I'm thinking of something else. On my amateur radio tower I have a thrust bearing that is clamped to the antenna mast and carries all the weight. The rotor (Yaesu G450) is mounted below on a plate and simply turns the antenna. It isn't supporting any weight.

While searching for more info on rotors I did find other people using the thrust bearing to hold the weight like you do (using a Yaesu GS-065 for example).

Some people are for it, others against, I guess it might depend on the quality of the thrust bearing and the weight it is asked to bear...

Have a nice day!

Nick

Maybe I'm thinking of something else. On my amateur radio tower I have a thrust bearing that is clamped to the antenna mast and carries all the weight. The rotor (Yaesu G450) is mounted below on a plate and simply turns the antenna. It isn't supporting any weight.

I haven't seen those (where the rotor is within the tower, yet the bearing carries all weight), but I suppose we're both correct! Both designs apparently exist. Though with TV-specific applications, I've only seen designs where the rotor supports the mast weight.

Ham equipment--while usually much more expensive--is definitely preferred for rotation. Accurate, durable, long life.

I will be installing an antenna tower with a friend in the next week or so.

Including a rotor. Budget constraints limit the fellow to a budget rotor such as the Channel Master.

Questions:

I couldn't get a straight answer from the guy about how many feet of rotor wire he needs. I'm going to err on the side of caution and purchase 150 ft. My guess is the run is something under 100ft. What guage of rotor wire should I buy? If I buy the thicker guage and the run is less than 150 ft, does it matter?

Also, I noticed for around the same price I can get either a Channel Master 9521a or an Antennacraft TDP2. It appears the Antennacraft one has an analog controller while the Channel Master is digital? Anyone with experience here have a preference? I'm thinking that the analog (round dial) controller might be out-of-style, but it might have some practical benefits. Opinions?

What is the difference between 9521 and 9521a?

The Channela Master and the Antennacraft both seem like lower-end rotors? Is one better than the other?

Who cares about style? Okay, maybe the wife. I'm using a CDE (now owned by Hy-Gain) HAM V control box from the early 70's. ;-)

HWP,
Remember there are cold weather issues with the CM and support does not return calls. The TPD2 looks low budget, no remote and probably relies on timing rather than a hall sensor. (Constantly need to re-sync). Take a look at Eagle Aspen rotr100, same cost uses solid copper coax and disqc signals, has sensor and remote control.
The gauge of wire is directly related to voltage drop. The larger the conductor, (lower number) the less drop per foot. 22 will do but nothing wrong with 18 but costs more. You run is on the short side so no issue either way.

I want to put my rotor inside the tower and add a thrust bearing to the mast. Is there a kit for this and/or where should I be looking for parts?

You can purchase a DMX thrust bearing for most Wade-Delhi Towers from a Wade dealer. If your tower has an inside rotor mount plate, the bolt hole pattern fits most rotors. For Channel Master, an 'L' bracket is used to mount to the plate.

I mixed and matched a 1970's CM motor and controller, and got the motor to work - 3 wire system

the problem is the motor turns 2 whole rotations for every 1 rotation of the controller dial

I am not sure what happened or how to correct this ?

thanks

Any hep you can offer would be appreciated. Recently my rotor stopped working, the rotor and control is only a year old, it's a 9521. The rotor can turn one way fine but when I try to turn it the other way it doesn't move and the rotor box clicks loudly and repeatedly. I've checked the wire at the bottom and the top and can't figure it out.

Thanks in advance!

Matt

It has been a long time since I used one of those, but by any chance have you had any high winds in your area that may have messed up the alignment. You may have to re-sync, or realign the antenna.

I Unpacked the unit today, the control box is quite heavy seems of good quality. First was to bench test the unit. Kind of cool that is has 450 degree travels so you can get to 020 from 343 without going all the way round. Next was the deep freeze in the freezer overnight @-20c. Next day test the cold weather performance, it was the same as room temp.
Next was to mount it to the tower. I want it inside the tower rather than on top to get around the short pole requirement to prevent wind stress on the rotor. First task was to modify a Delhi Gold nugget tower for this to mount in. I clamped a 2ft retaining pole on the mounting bracket with most of it lower than the rotor down 2 rungs. Put the rotor on top. Then slide a 10ft 1.5” diameter pole thru the tower and into the rotor. The alignment was way off. First issue is the sloppy fit in the tower head. I crafted a copper pipe that fit snuggly in the tower and over the 10ft pole. Still alignment was off at the rotor. I used a saddle clamp from a muffler U bolt clamp to hold the rotor further from the retaining pole. Now was aligned nicely but 10ft pole diameter was too narrow so when U clamped it into rotor it pulls it off plum. I had to add a 1.25” Diameter PVC pipe over the bottom of the 10ft pole. Perfect, raised the tower up and tested it out. I needed to loosen all hardware as it was binding while turning. After a few travels the unit seated into the right spot. Tighten it all up and add some lube to the copper sleeve. I need some kind of a boot to keep the water out. Spouse suggested a Javex bottle; I was thinking more like a CV boot.

Wilspin, please post some pics of the finished project if you can....

yeah, if possible, maybe also test it with and without an external DC feed, so the desired rf path can bypass the diseqc interface's insertion loss.
If ya could do that, ya may gain an understanding of overall DX performance with and without the bypass in place.

wilspin, I need some kind of a boot to keep the water out. Spouse suggested a Javex bottle; I was thinking more like a CV boot.
Javex bottles and such breakdown in the sun, we use them in our boat for bailers and replace them yearly. Find something that will last longer when exposed to UV, the CV boot is a good idea, or an actual electrical or plumbing boot that are made for sunlight exposure.
I'm actually thinking of doing something similar so I too look forward to seeing some pics!

Yes UV rays are a real problem. I will post some shots of the testing site in an album in my profile. I am not planning to use one cable as I do not know if the 7777 amp is compatible. Separate cables for rotor and antenna.
This is really a nice rotor. U punch in the numbers and it goes there, the antenna lags behinds the counter but once it gets there the number flashes till antenna catches up. Apparently you need solid copper coax for any runs longer than 75 feet. I am using copper coated steel. I will test to see if that is needed or not. This thing is bang on, no re-syncing needed so far. The larger remote has the buttons in a much better arrangement than the CM counterpart. I used a 1.5’copper tube as a sleeve with an elbow soldered to the top then cut off the elbow so the collar was left on the pipe. This will prevent the tube from sliding down. Also added solder rings about an inch wide on the outside of the sleeve top and bottom as a thickener.

I need some kind of a boot to keep the water out. Spouse suggested a Javex bottle; I was thinking more like a CV boot.

Wilspin:

What about using a rubber plumbing plunger as a boot? If you can get one of the old style with real rubber, it should last a reasonable period of time.

The control does not turn off (power save) when not in use. I suspect because it can power a pre amp you don’t want that. It’s something to consider when feeding multi TV's. If you turn the unit off are U also turning off the preamp? As I am not testing with singe cable I will not know.

Just thought I'd mention here that I have now installed a rotator on the new tower I installed in June 2011 in Toronto (East York near Pape & Danforth).

Here is a link to a photo of my rotator on my tower taken from my photo album found within my profile:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/album.php?albumid=740&pictureid=4596

I ended up using 75' of Channel Master brand 22 gauge rotator wire.

The rotator has made a huge difference in my ability to get steady reception from WBBZ. One of my TVs (Panasonic) has a signal meter that displays the signal in percentages. It is useful in tweaking the aim to find the peak spot for WBBZ.

During the first few days, I was enjoying fall tropo so WBBZ was coming in no matter where my antenna was directed. But now that regular conditions have returned, my reception of WBBZ has been saved by being able to tweak exactly to where the antenna works best.

I expect I might need to use the rotator on the coldest winter days for WPXJ also. Last winter without the rotator and without a pre-amp my HDHomeRun could tell ION was there, but if the weather was below -3 degrees, I couldn't get a picture. This year, with the pre-amp and the ability to aim the antenna, I hope ION will stay all year 'round now.

Plus, I have the added fun in the summer to be able to aim anywhere in search of tropo "gets." Earlier this week, I was regularly scanning in 53 digital channels per scan. For the first time I got visits from the Allegheny region of PA and from Watertown and Syracuse NY, in addition to Erie and Rochester.

If you're thinking of getting a rotator, I encourage you to get one -- even over the option of having multiple antennas. Even though our house uses all eight of our splits for various TVs and the HDHomeRun, the minor changes to the antenna aim would rarely cause any Toronto or Buffalo channels to drop out. So worrying about other TV viewers in other rooms is really not a concern.

The antenna rotator that I got was a 1970's Channel Master 9510. I obtained it from Digital Home member "Southgate." He is in the Greater Toronto Area. He inspected and reconditioned it for me. It should be ready to spend many more years in the air. Southgate is a passionate OTA hobbyist and he has a collection of vintage antennas and rotators. He is able to repair and restore them. If you're looking for an old, dependable item, it might be worth sending him a private message.

Added 75' of cable to the rotor so now have 150'. No impact to the performance at all. E/A says 75 max of copper coated steel coax or it won't work. Maybe solid copper coax is not needed or maybe when no RF is on the cable it will work OK.

It is still accurate and functional, no sign of any cold issues been -5c lately. I would like to make a coax bus throught the house so I can move the controller to any room. Anyone know how I can do this? Kind of like a token ring network. So I don’t need to ‘split’ or ‘combine’ just allow power to connections in each room