[TowerTalk] Rotator Load

[Bill Coleman]

On 9/7/01 1:40 PM, Kevin Nathan at k7rx@earthlink.net wrote:

>I am going to be putting up a tower later this month.  I am in the middle of
>some possible horse trading on the tower but it will most probably be 50
>feet of Rohn 25G with the top section having the sleeve at the top rather
>than the flat plate and thrust bearing assembly.

25AG3 or 25AG2, I suppose.

>I have acquired two AR22
>rotators and one control box for them.  I know these aren't the big boys but
>they were very reasonable and I'm trying to do this whole project on a
>shoestring so to speak.  I want to put a Cushcraft A3, a Cubex Hornet 2 and
>6 meter quad and my Comet 2x4 Pro vhf/uhf colinear on top of this tower and
>turn them with this rotator.  I am assuming the windloading of the colinear
>would be negligible since it is vertical.  The combined windload of the A3
>and the Hornet is about 5.4 sq. feet.
>
>Do you think the AR22 is sufficient for this system?  Are there any tricks I
>can use to make the load more manageable for it?


The AR22 would be plenty for just the A3S alone. I had one up for about 3 
years, and it held a Butternut HF4B before that for 5 years.

The colinear vertical doesn't have neglible wind load.

Biggest question is -- how much are your going to separate all these 
antennas. What sort of mast you using -- how big and how heavy.

An AR22 would likely handle all this, but it only has 12 ball bearings, 
so it really isn't designed to handle much in the way of weight. A 25AG3 
top helps, so you won't see much side load on the rotator.

Turning all these antennas isn't so big a deal. Holding them stopped may 
be a problem in a strong wind. 

Since you have a spare AR22, you might give it a try. If the rotator 
strips a gear in a high wind, consider upgrading to a Ham-M or similar 
rotator.



Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL        Mail: aa4lr@arrl.net
Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
            -- Wilbur Wright, 1901


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