In a message dated 4/17/2007 7:24:54 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
cmsande@gmail.com writes:
> I saw some old posts by you (circa 2002) stating that you have started
pinning the Orion rotators due to slippage. I have a Orion RC2800PX turning a
4L SteppIR and each time we have some wind, by antenna gets swung out of
position. This happened again today.
Hiya, Craig --
It's an Orion design flaw, the mast clamp has 2 problems. First, the
surface where the nuts and bolts seat are dimpled - not flat. Over time, the
wind motion causes the washers to pound the dimples flat, thus loosening up
the
nuts; then the mast is loose and starts moving. The problem can be eliminated
by milling or grinding those surfaces flat.
Secondly only 2-3 teeth of the clamp actually contact the mast,
resulting in very little clamping. Then you get the teeth being worn down as
the mast
moves back and forth and it loosens some more.
You can re-tighten everything and it'll probably be good for a couple of
years. For a 4L SteppIR, you can also pin the mast. Pinning works for
everything
except a MonstIR.
> I have heard good things about the Green Heron Engineering univeral
rotator controller, which can be re-calibrated in case the mast slips in the
rotator, however eventually the coaxial cable loop would start wrapping around
the
mast if I did nothing more to secure the rotator-to-mast connection.
The GH controller is very nice but won't do anything about the basic
problem.
What I do for my customers is provide a new replacement mast clamp that
uses 6 U-bolts to hold the mast and does NOT slip. It's $120.00 but if you
re-tighten everything and pin the mast, you'll be good to go.
Cheers,
Steve K7LXC
Champion Radio Products
Cell: 206-890-4188
************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
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