[Towertalk] Dayton day 2

[K7LXC@aol.com]

    A couple of more observations. There was a company who will be 
introducing titanium yagis. Their claim is that the antennas will not corrode 
and they will be practically indestructible. For those guys with hostile 
environments, they may be worth the additional 30-50% cost factor. We'll have 
to see what designs they come out with. I don't know if they'll make the 
titanium itself available.

    The new AlfaSpid rotator was on display. It's a smallish rotator but does 
have the worm gear drive that should be a great feature for any installation. 
The rotation is controlled either by a dedicated mouse with preset buttons on 
the side or push buttons on a small profile control box. I'm not sure of the 
specs but this should be somewhere in the T2X/G-2800 range. Don, VE6JY, says 
he's turning a full-sized 40M beam with one. 

    The AlfaSpid is a rotator that's been out in EU for awhile so there is 
already some sort of track record for it (any feedback out there?). It's made 
in Poland and has 8 bolts through a tube for both the mast clamp and the base 
mount. The bottom of the base mount has a flange that can be plate mounted so 
it can either be plate or mast mounted. The Dayton special price of $535 is 
very attractive but I don't know if they have a 'normal' price for it yet. 

    The interesting story here is that there was a radio store in Edmonton 
(I'm sure the only one) where these guys are from that was going out of 
business so 20 of the local hams got together and bought it to keep it going. 
This rotator is a product of their own. How many guys are willing to put 
their money where their mouth is? 

Cheers,
Steve     K7LXC
TOWER TECH