[50mhz] Re: Rat Shack Rotor

[Bill Gallagher]

Mine has been working for the six meter 5-element and a 13-element 220 beam since 1981. I opened it up about ten years ago, cleaned it up, replaced the 'bearings' (if you open yours. you'll see what I mean) and cleaned it out in general. I used de-oxit on the locator contacts, which were a bit carboned up and were the actual cause of the 'sticking'.
I'd suggest moving the rotator down into the tower a bit and making yourself a thrust bearing for the antena mast; I used steel pipe and some automotive axle bearings to create an assembly that supports the antennas and allows them to spin freely. The mast passes through the bearing assembly, and is then  attached to the rotor. Since the rotor doesn't need to support any weight anymore, it'll  last forever.
I also have the rotor mounted at about the 5-foot level in the tower, so if it DOES die, I can swap in a new one in no time. I also have a locking mechanism, which is just a sleeve that bolts to the mast and tower; if there are going to be heavy winds, I can 'freeze' the antennas in place  so the rotor doesn't strip out.
Bill WARA



----- Original Message ----


Message: 1
Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:19:21 -0000
From: "John Geiger" <aa5jg at lcisp.com>
Subject: [50mhz] Radio Shack TV rotors
To: <VHFcontesting at contesting.com>, <vhf at w6yx.stanford.edu>,
    <50mhz at mailman.qth.net>, <6meter at yahoogroups.com>
Message-ID: <00ab01c8d871$8ef53dc0$0501a8c0 at oemcomputer>
Content-Type: text/plain;    charset="iso-8859-1"

I have a Radio Shack TV rotor which has been in use for around 10 years, and
is currently turning my 2m and 70cm beams.  It handles the antennas with no<<<