[ADXA] bright ideas needed

Thu Mar 21 11:14:40 EDT 2024

Ha!  That is truly a bright and simple idea.  I don’t know if lightning
eats the pots in my motors or not, but both times they have failed, it was
after a period of having the needle behave more and more erratically over
time.  We have had some lightning recently, though, so it is something to
think about.  Maybe lightning started or finished the failure process.  But
7 seconds for 45 degrees - brilliant.  It will certainly limit the trips
out the door to look.  I guess the peaking of signals will keep the timing
cycle from wandering.  2 elements is pretty broad, but it also means aiming
does not need to be as precise.

Thanks, 73,
Dennis

On Thu, Mar 21, 2024 at 10:01 AM k5ur at aol.com <k5ur at aol.com> wrote:

> I have three Tailtwisters up. None of the three have indication working
> and haven't for years. I get too much lightning here which eats the pot up
> on the tower. They turn fine, just no indication.
>
> I finally quit trying to fix them and for years all I do is count in
> seconds when I turn them. I can usually land pretty accurate on the
> heading. (Dennis, 7 seconds per 45 degrees..... hi). I've been using that
> method for probably 30 years..... really.
>
> 73,
> Rick - K5UR
>
>
> On Thursday, March 21, 2024 at 09:33:08 AM CDT, David Norris via ADXA <
> adxa at mailman.qth.net> wrote:
>
>
> I have no trouble with tailtwisters - just keep a spare ready to go up and
> don’t overload them.
>
> 73
>
> David A. Norris, K5UZ
> Director, Delta Division
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Mar 21, 2024, at 9:30 AM, Charles McKenzie, KF5TL via ADXA <
> adxa at mailman.qth.net> wrote:
> >
> > I gave up on tail twisters and bought a Yaesu 2800 , and a heavier one
> if it fails.
> > I even hate to give the blinking twisters things away with all the
> issues I had with them!!
> > If you can stand the little extra an Antenna Genius is a great option,
> it will control 2
> > rotors, your direction indicator is a compass on the antennas boom. you
> need 2 wires to the
> > Rotor for power and a cat 5  or 6 to the compass. The genius needs a cat
> 5 or 6 cable.
> > Thats what I am going to for both towers rotation controls. With a
> rotating tower a
> > piece of PVC attached to the tower just above head height will suffice.
> > 73 KF5TL
> > Charles
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >> On 2024-03-20 18:58, Dennis Schaefer wrote:
> >> My rotator quit indicating.  It rotates, but the pot in the motor unit
> >> has opened up.  I can run outside and see which way it is pointing,
> >> but that isn't very elegant, especially since my back and neck are
> >> still a little messed up.  I need a way to temporarily tell the
> >> direction until I get it fixed.
> >> I thought about a camera, but the way our house is arranged, the only
> >> window I can put one in faces West and gets direct sun into the lens
> >> several hours a day.  Its a cheap camera, and it might not hurt
> >> anything, but it would make the camera unusable for that time.  I
> >> could probably get an outdoor-rated camera and point it somewhere out
> >> of direct sun.  That's the only real solution I can think of.
> >> The antenna and rotator are on a Hazer that only comes down to the
> >> garage roof.  I can't climb on the roof anymore, so I think the Hazer
> >> is going to go away in favor of a more standard configuration.
> >> Someone who knows way more than I do is coming by later in the week
> >> and will advise me.
> >> I will probably put the Force-12 C3 back up but I sure wish there was
> >> something I could do to make it work better, or at least have a better
> >> SWR, on 12 meters.  I guess a QRO antenna tuner would be the best
> >> option.  The 4.5 SWR on 12M doesn't make the amp very happy.  I have a
> >> Dentron tuner that is stout enough, but it does not have a bypass
> >> switch.  It would probably be easy to rig something with two switches,
> >> but that would have the possibility for accidentally running power
> >> into an open feed would always be there.  The C-3 has two direct
> >> coupled elements for 10 meters, and one is for operating FM above 28.9
> >> Mhz.  I wish I knew what would happen if I extended that element to
> >> make it resonate on 12 meters.  I plan to get help to get this all
> >> done in one shot, so I don't have the luxury of time for antenna
> >> experimentation.
> >> Ideas or comments are welcome!
> >> 73,
> >> Dennis
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