Jon,
It does sound as though the rotor is binding in one direction. Make sure
the load above the rotor is very balanced; any amount of imbalance when an
AR-22 is used without a thrust bearing will make it practically stop -- it
doesn't have nearly the torque of a CD-45 or HAM-M type.
Also, the AR-22 servo control system does not work well if the rotor is used
for small incremental changes in direction. Remember, these were
inexpensive rotors (I bought several brand new in 1966-67 for $39/each,
complete with the control box) intended to turn TV antennas that were not
highly directional; it was normal to crank the rotor 45 degrees or more at a
time, to favor TV signals from another city. It would have been extremely
rare for anyone to need to turn their TV antenna only two or three "clicks"
(12-18 degrees) at a time, as from practically nowhere are cities this close
together.
If you need to turn the rotor only 12 degrees (two "clicks" worth of
rotation), it is best to crank it ten clicks forward, then eight clicks
back. That accomplishes the 12 degrees of desired rotation without
stressing the sytem beyond what it can handle.
It was very common, even with brand new AR-22's, that if you used the rotor
to make 1-2-3 "click" adjustments, after doing so the indicator would be
quite far off. That was normal, and I don't recall any known fix for this
-- it's inherant in the design.
The AR-22 is not the greatest choice for highly directional antennas, no
matter how lightweight they may be.
WB2WIK/6
"If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." -
Mario Andretti
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jon Ogden [SMTP:na9d@speakeasy.net]
> Sent: Wednesday, January 01, 2003 4:17 PM
> To: Randy Wing; towertalk@contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [Towertalk] AR-22 Rotor Control Box Question
>
> on 1/1/03 4:30 PM, Randy Wing at rwing@southwind.net wrote:
>
> > Jon,
> >
> > I oversimplified. What I meant to add to this was that there is an
> > adjustment on the CDE for correcting for incorrect amounts of slew.
> >
>
> No, I've not done that. I have no instruction manual. How do you do
> that?
>
> Also, the rotor seems to turn faster in one direction (clockwise) than in
> the other (CCW). The "clicks" come a lot slower. Is it possible that I
> am
> binding a little bit in one direction?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Jon
>
> -------------------------------------
> Jon Ogden
> NA9D (ex: KE9NA)
>
> Citizen of the People's Democratic Republik of Illinois
>
> Life Member: ARRL, NRA
> Member: AMSAT, DXCC
>
> http://www.qsl.net/na9d
>
> "A life lived in fear is a life half lived."
>
>
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