[Towertalk] Another Heavy Duty rotator...

[KI7WX@aol.com]

We installed one of Craig's new RD1800 rotors a few months ago at N6RO and it's currently turning a side mounted 40 foot boom 5 element 20M yagi. That's a good size yagi and the RD1800 spins it easily. 

The gear train on the RD1800 looks well thought out and robust. The mast clamps are similar to the M2-Orion design and are beefy. Control seems fine using a T2X control box with a small interface box. 

There are a couple beta-type gliches to fix, but these are small and he'll be able to sort them with little difficulty. I understand that production has been a bit slow to start, and there have been some small mods to the rotor casing and to the indicator circuit (potentiometer gear could slip on the earlier design).

As we used to say on USENET: YMMV, but IMHO this is going to be a nice product for the amateur market. Folks looking for a good size rotor would do well to check it out.

Cheers,

Mark
KI7WX