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Re: [TowerTalk] Prop pitch question

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Prop pitch question
From: john@kk9a.com
Date: Fri, 22 May 2020 13:46:45 -0500
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>

I have a medium prop pitch turning a home brew 60' boom 20m beam and a small 40m beam. The medium prop pitch has a 7063:1 gear box and my antennas have never turned in the wind. The problem is that your 40m antenna is just too big! Would a smaller motor with a higher ratio gear box be a better choice - I would say definitely no. It is impressive that the extra large prop pitch has held up for you. I do not see why you could not mount a Hy-Gain type brake on the motor, was a brake ever on the original prop pitch motors?

John KK9A



Stan Stockton K5GO wrote:


I have an extra large prop pitch that has been turning a large 40m Yagi for 13.5 years. Unfortunately the gear reduction on the extra large prop pitch is only 5830-1 instead of 9576-1 for the small one. I am guessing the small prop pitch would hold it. At any rate, although it does a fine job of turning the antenna, and would hold most any antenna you could imagine, the prop pitch has never been able to hold this antenna in place. I've probably replaced the coax jumper between the hardline at the top of the tower and the hardline on the boom a dozen times after big winds.

I know that mounting the prop pitch outside the tower with the proper gears and chain I could make it hold the antenna. What I would prefer is to install a brake of some kind that would stop the shaft coming out of the bottom of the motor to keep it from turning. I would think the torque would be small. I haven't tried it but want to think I might hold that antenna in place with my fingers on the shaft coming out the bottom of the motor??

Anyway, the question is this. Does anyone have an idea for an off the shelf product that could be adapted to stop that shaft when I wanted to "park" the antenna or after it is rotated with a delay?

Thanks... Stan, K5GO

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