Steve:
I have had HiGain rotators for all of my hamlife (since '58) and have always
put bolts through the mast/rotator interface. Through many big wind storms, I
have never had a rotator failure due to this from a windstorm. The Msquare
RC2800P-A rotator manual specifically recommends against it.
I have had discussions with them over the phone about this and they reiterate
this point. An important thing to do when tightening the Msquare rotator clamp
is to tighten the 6 bolts holding the rotator to the mast, and then tighten the
bolts holding that clamp to the rotator top plate. I don't question that bolts
can stretch over time, but I believe that these are Grade 8 bolts and shouldn't
do that. You can always go to a higher grade strength if you think it
necessary. I have had only one slippage with mine and that was because it
wasn't tightened in this fashion. It is now. I haven't had it up long enough
and in enough wind storms since to know if that is going to eliminate this
problem. Fortunately with a motorized crank-up US Tower in my case, I can just
nest the tower, reposition and retighten. I would rather reposition and
re-tighten than replace a rotator.
If anyone wants a definitive answer on this re Msquare rotators, contact Mike
(owner and one of the M's in Msquare and KLM<). He is a very nice man who goes
out of his way to help. You can go to the bank with what he tells you.
John Owens - N7SEJ
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