Today I swapped-out a rebuilt Ham III for my dependable Ham IV of 15 years.
(Zero problems/no overhauls/in the air for 90% of that time!) It seemed
that the "pot" in the rotator had a problem as the direction indicator
showed the rotator to stop moving for about 15 degrees when rotating
near south.
Guess what! The Ham III does the same thing. Now I'm thinking.....
is the mast binding???? Well, if that's so, the rotator should draw more
current when it hits that point. Up from the basement comes the variac
with ammeter. Hmmmmm....no change in current when going through
south......Could the control box meter be sticking?? (no apparent problems
like bent needle, etc. ) How to get it to indicate south while in the
calibrate
mode?? Use the variac! Below 90 VAC, the meter starts dropping and
guess what! THE METER STICKS At SOUTH!
I went through a lot of time and money upgrading the Ham III and installing
it. I hope this will save someone a bit of aggravation. (The Ham IV will
go in for a rebuild.....served me well....deserves a couple of years off!)
73, John WA0VQR
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