At this location I have two in use and a G-800 model. One is at 100 ft.
turning a 6 el. 15 M and 6 el. 10 M monobanders, the second is turning a 2
el. Cushcraft 40 M and 5 el. 10 M yagi at 70 ft. The G-800 turns an
interlaced 4 el.20/4 el. 15 M yagi (8 elements on the boom) at 55 ft that
has a 34 ft. boom. After pinning this one to the mast, everything is good.
Weaknesses: The aluminum cast clamp system requires drilling the mast so a
bolt can be used to pin the mast to the rotor. There is a tightening
process on the brackets but often the clamp can still break. Over
tightening causes the clam shell brackets to crack, undertightening can
cause the mast to slip and would then require recalibrating. The
simplicity of the control cable (6 wires) means that the control box is
complicated and thus could be a challenge to repair. I recently had the
G-800 control box (same box works on the 800 and 1000 models) fail due to a
power supply problem. It was difficult to troubleshoot and had to got to
the factory for repair - $175. Lightening: A couple of years ago, I had
lightening strike nearby (in the woods and not the towers) which caused a
power surge. Somehow, the potentiometer in the rotor itself blew out. The
control boxes were fine. The potentiometer costs about $28 and the repair
process (which I did myself) is somewhat tricky. Jack, W1WEF put together
a great guide and process to disassemble and reassemble the rotor - that is
a big help. There are no step by step guidelines in the manual.
Strengths: I also like the analog indicator and the program-ability of the
control box from a contest logging program. When pinned, the rotors do
hold in high winds. I have moved away from the old Ham-M series
completely. Price is acceptable given the quality.
Good luck!
Regards,
Mark, K1RX_______________________________________________
See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather
Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions
and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
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