That is quite a claim. Either the potentiometer or the drive gear is
slipping, If it is the drive gear you may not have a tight enough fit with
the motor. The main gear is not round and setting it can be tricky. I just
don't see how a controller can solve this problem, even with soft starts and
stops, heavy winds will also cause slipping.
John KK9A / P40A
To: TowerTalk Post <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: [TowerTalk] Green Heron Controller Performs Miracles
From: Jim Idelson <k1ir@designet.com>
Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2008 15:01:32 -0500
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
Yes. It is true. The Green Heron Controller does perform miracles.
For several years, I've been turning my big Optibeam OB4-40 4-element 40m
yagi
with a TIC Ring Rotor. The rotor uses a single drive motor. With this setup,
I've continually experienced the same problems of 'slipping' and losing
calibration reported by many others. While some have been able to tame the
rotor by getting it tweaked 'just rght', I have never been able to achieve a
stable installation. We have never made it through a major DX contest here
without my having to climb the tower and reposition the antenna and
recalibrate
the TIC Ring and controller.
About two months ago, I spoke to Carl at TIC General about this problem
[again]. Although he insisted that a single drive motor should be enough, I
insisted that I wanted to try the solution that others have found
effective - a
second drive motor. He didn't have any motors in stock, though, so I would
have
to wait. Well I waited and never heard from TIC. But, in the weeks leading
up
to the ARRL DX CW COntest, I was talking to Jeff W2FU about his plans for
the
contest. I mentioned the 40m rotor problem and he suggested that his
controller
could very likely be a solution to the problem. He insisted that I try one
of
my RT-20's on that rotor and see if things got better. I put a Green Heron
in
and took the TIC controller out of the station setup.
The results have been nothing short of a miracle. The Green Heron controller
uses PWM, ramps the motor up to speed slowly, and ramps it down to a gentle
stop as it reaches its destination heading. These advanced rotor control
features have completely resolved the rotation issues I've experienced with
my
40m installation. The rotor operated perfectly throughout the CW weekend. I
am
convinced that I don't need to buy that second drive motor for the TIC Ring.
73,
Jim Idelson K1IR
email k1ir at designet.com
web http://www.k1ir.com
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