[DXer]

Hi DXer, wouldn't happen to still have the broken eagle aspen kicking around and be willing to 'donate' to a guy for cost of shipping of course, to use for diseqc projects would ya?

Sorry, no. Although it had ceased turning the antenna, when I stripped it down and bench tested it, I could find nothing wrong. It failed in mid winter, and I didn't retrieve it from the roof until spring, so I concluded it must have just been frozen. It currently waits to live another day turning another array 😊

It was such a great rotor compared to others in that price range for its accutate positioning system that when it failed, I wanted to buy the same model to replace it. As you well know, I discovered they were no longer available. It is so frustrating that all the good OTA gear of yesteryear is progressively being replaced by inferior products.

 

[majortom]

I hear ya, I really wish someone else would get the point and release something similar
to the marketplace.

 

[samson51]

Digiwave AR500 rotator data and tweaks

I don’t post often but thought I would add some data to the forum, if its not already known. This may help with future troubleshooting and preventing problems before they occur.

I purchased a AR500 Digiwave rotator from Lowes.ca for $123. It arrived within 24 hours and I proceeded to look it over. My experience has led me to make sure Chinese made devices work before installing so I removed the bottom plate from the drive unit to look it over. Case serial #1000501

The first thing I noticed was that three of the four 3\8” cap screws that hold the motor unit mounting plate to the case were loose by several turns each, only one screw was tight. I removed these screws completely and removed the motor assembly plate for inspection. Pleasantly surprised to see that all gears were metal and lightly greased with a white grease.

I measured the voltage of the 2 AA that came with it for the remote control and found one was dead, indeed the bottom of the cell was corroded, the other cell read 1.56V (normal)


Things found and fixed:
1 – The metal arm that sets the drive backlash only used one screw though there was a second threaded location for another screw which I added.

2 – The motor wires, #30 gauge or so looked like they could break with vibration so secured them with silicon caulk so they cannot move.

3 – Used removable loctite (#242) on most screws and nuts and reassembled the unit.

4 – Greased the main bearing (under the large rubber ring) as there was no grease. This is a machined aluminum bearing surface that rides on a stainless steel shim.

On the bench I measured the operating voltage and current to the motor on all 3 wires. Connected to the controller.
All measurements are with a Fluke model 83 multimeter and are 60 Hz AC, both rotation directions are shown, 3 feet of #18 wire were used for the test:

AC Voltage
Terminals 1,3 20.1 V, 20.5 V
Terminals 2,3 25.2 V, 20.1 V
Terminals 1,2 35.3 V, 35.3 V

AC Current
Terminals 1 628 mA, 786 mA
Terminals 2 631 mA, 782 mA
Terminals 3 648 mA, 652 mA

Stalling the motor produced very little increase in these current value, perhaps 50mA or so

After running the unit on the bench for 4-5 minutes I read the temperature of the motor winding and found a max of 53 degrees C using an IR thermometer.

Hope this helps someone.

 

[Billiam62]

New Channel Master 9521HD Rotor

I need a rotor that will handle larger antennas. Anyone have experience with the new CM rotor? From what I've read in some reviews it is sturdier than the model it replaced. Will it handle something as big as the Antennacraft HD1850?

 

[Wilson7777]

Nexxtech motor with no control unit

I bought a Nexxtech antenna rotator motor at Value Village the other day. It did not come with the control unit though. It's a 3-wire motor. I was hoping to just get "any" 3-wire control unit and use it but I'm not sure if any would work. I asked channel master and they said they can't guarantee that their control unit will work with my rotator motor. Does anyone have "mis-matched" success stories that they can share? I suppose I could hunt around until I find a working Nexxtech control unit but I may never find one! Thanks.

 

[classicsat]

In theory, any should work, 3 wire controllers run a motor in the controller, and switches to shut it off when the motor and switch position match. The rotator and controller motors are just in parallel.

 

[woolfmaster326]

I need a control for my ar-500. Can't find one. What other band can i use? Needs to be 3 wire and 36-40V AC?? maybe a channel master 3 wire? Thanks...

 

[FrankTurbo]

i have one where do you live?

 

[Wilson7777]

Nexxtech = Orbyx = Channel Master?

I was looking at some old posts from 2006 and there was a discussion about the same issue I'm having (see my above post). I bought a Nexxtech antenna rotator motor at VV but it didn't come with the control unit.

It's a 1501245 which I believe Radio Shack and The Source both sold. I just want to make sure if I spend $80 on a new control unit that it's going to work.

Also, I saw a link from 2006 for the manual to this Nexxtech unit. Does someone still have the manual they can give me a link to? The link from 2006 obviously doesn't work anymore.

Thanks!

 

[DXer]

Be aware that there are rotor controllers advertized quite often on Kijiji, of all vintages, for much less than the cost of a new one. In fact, there are complete rotors (motor and controller) for less than $80 usually.

Sent from my LG-H812 using Tapatalk

 

[Tyre]

New member questions here....

I have a Wade antenna 604-RC control box part 994058 (on box)

Units marking is a "Delhi remote programmable antenna rotator 604-RC"

3 wire unit to rotator

What is the voltage they use and can a remote for it be sourced

Thank you in advance

 

[abnutcracker]

Being told the Channel Master CM9521HD no longer available in Canada . Also being told when supply is sold out the unit is no longer being produced ...Tariff's??

 

[ckeays]

I need to move my antenna a few degrees at a time for fine tuning.

Does anyone know if the Channel Master CM9521HD is precise enough for that?

 

[hayseed]

Rotor Identification Help

I have recovered a rotor from a neighbour's disassembled tower. Rotor only, no controller. It has "model AD-17" on a label on the bottom, 12045 stamped into the case and 12046 on the mast mount. Screws rusted on bottom plate, have not been able to open it yet? Forum and Google search as yielded no match on model number. Does anyone have any idea of the manufacturer?

 

[majortom]

Saw some Model AD-36 antenna rotor control boxes made by Electrohome on '********'
Perhaps that's the matching control box for it?

 

[majortom]

Try 'FleaBay.ca' ... This forum smashes the domain name.

 

[Chiwaukee]

My experience with this Channel Master 9521A rotator. In early 2016 solid signal had a sale. I think each Rotator was $110. I decided to buy two. I was setting up a new array and my old array was about to get an upgrade and it had Radio Shack Rotator that was 26 years old. It wasn't doing a full rotation anymore.

I set up my new array and put 9521A underneath. Most of the weight of the array was taken up by not one- but two thrust bearings so all the Rotator had to do was turn it without bearing any weight. It lasted from Spring through the summer and almost through the winter. Then it just gave out. So on a nicer afternoon in January or February I went up on my my roof to change the rotator. One of the nice features of having two thrust bearings is you can change Rotator without dropping the mast.

I put the other new 9521A rotator in there and everything was fine for the next couple of months. But it also went out. I was so upset I just locked the antennas down and used them in the best aim.

I had sent some emails to Channel Master and even called them on the phone and everybody played stupid. They alluded to the fact that the new 9521 HD had "some improvements"

I took the bottom cover off redistributed some of the grease which was still soft and pliable and hook the controller back up to it and it suddenly worked. Really? Is it possible for a rotator to have intermittent problems?

The one thing I noticed about both of these rotators felt sloppy. Here's the video.

20201029_074229.mp4

Shared with Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

So, does anybody know what the problem is with these? is it the slop? Somebody mentioned on another forum that because the construction is so sloppy sometimes the gears can overlap and get stuck.

 

[majortom]

many years ago I obtained one of the older CM rotors, from ~ the early 90s...
It was frozen when I got it, but was able to similarly free it up, and it worked fine for the 2 or 3 years I left it up.
Eventually the gears in the control box disintegrated. One gear in particular will basically turn to
wax and start falling apart. That's the old school style control box.
Ever since, I have had the Eagle Aspen ROTR 100 diseqc based rotor installed, and it's been flawless since June 2012.
It's a shame they don't make them anymore, I would certainly buy another one if they did.
Diseqc is way better than having to run control cables, and having no reliable feedback.

 

[fgt]

My experience with this Channel Master 9521A rotator. In early 2016 solid signal had a sale. I think each Rotator was $110. I decided to buy two. I was setting up a new array and my old array was about to get an upgrade and it had Radio Shack Rotator that was 26 years old. It wasn't doing a full rotation anymore.

I set up my new array and put 9521A underneath. Most of the weight of the array was taken up by not one but two thrust bearings so all the Rotator had to do was turn it without bearing any weight. It lasted from Spring through the summer and almost through the winter. Then it just gave out. So on a nicer afternoon in January or February I want to find my roof to change the rotator. One of the nice features of having two thrust bearings is you can change Rotator without dropping the mast.

I put the other new 9521A rotator in there and everything was fine for the next couple of months. But it also went out. I was so upset I just locked the antennas down and used them in the best aim.

I had sent some emails to Channel Master and even called them on the phone and everybody played stupid. They included how to the fact that the new 9521 HD had "some improvements"

I took the bottom cover off redistributed some of the grease which was still soft and pliable and hook the controller back up to it and it suddenly worked. Really? Is it possible for a rotator to have intermittent problems?

The one thing I noticed about both of these rotators felt sloppy. Here's the video.

20201029_074229.mp4

Shared with Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

So, does anybody know what the problem is with these is it the slop? Did somebody mention that because the construction is so sloppy sometimes the gears can overlap and get stuck.

I watched your video. Keep in mind I am no expert whatsoever but one thing I immediately noticed was that you seem to be missing a piece on the rotor. I have a couple of these units. One is really old, the other is from 2009. Both of the units have a black round gasket between the two moving pieces to help prevent water getting into the units and freezing up during the winter months. Without that gasket, you end up with a problem like you have with an extreme amount of play in the rotor. Even with the gasket, there is still a fair amount of wiggle. I doubt very much if you can get parts for these units but it might be worth a try. In my case, I have taken to wrapping the unit with clear vinyl to help keep water out of the unit. That will also deteriorate and I usually need to replace the covering every few years. Good Luck!
F.T.

 

[Chiwaukee]

I watched your video. Keep in mind I am no expert whatsoever but one thing I immediately noticed was that you seem to be missing a piece on the rotor. I have a couple of these units. One is really old, the other is from 2009. Both of the units have a black round gasket between the two moving pieces to help prevent water getting into the units and freezing up during the winter months. Without that gasket, you end up with a problem like you have with an extreme amount of play in the rotor. Even with the gasket, there is still a fair amount of wiggle. I doubt very much if you can get parts for these units but it might be worth a try. In my case, I have taken to wrapping the unit with clear vinyl to help keep water out of the unit. That will also deteriorate and I usually need to replace the covering every few years. Good Luck!
F.T.

Okay, I see your point. No I took the seal off to show the amount of play. The seal comes off rather easily.

That Rotator was like that from day one. I bought two brand new ones and couldn't believe how loose they were. But then I thought that's just the way they are. So they are manufactured that way. Cheap Channel Master chinese-built garbage.

As a footnote, I found an old CM9515 took it apart cleaned all the old grease off the gears put it all back together and it works great. Hard to believe