[TowerTalk] Prop Pitch Speed Up

[Stan or Patricia Griffiths]

Boy, I certainly hope no one ever again ruins a perfectly
good prop pitch by chopping out some of the gears.  Another
way to speed it up is to use AC on it with a small variable
auto transformer (Variac) and run it at about 35 VAC.  This
does not reduce its torque.  It may wear out the brushes
faster but mine have still lasted more than 20 years.  It is
directly proportional to how much you rotate your antenna.

Once you chop out the gears, it does not have sufficient
friction to stay put with a sizeable antenna on it in a
wind.  I know of no way to reverse a gear modification.  If
your antenna is small enough that the wind will not windmill
it with a gear modified prop pitch, use a smaller rotator
and save the unmodified prop pitch for an IMPORTANT job.
They ain't makin' these anymore . . .

Stan
w7ni@teleport.com




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