[Towertalk] HAM IV strange defect

[Ken Kinyon]

Roger, is the wind blowing when it won't work?  I had this happen with a
different brand of rotor.  I had a bronze bushing instead of a thrust
bearing at the top of the tower.  When the wind blew, it put enough force on
the mast against the bushing, that the friction kept the rotor from turning?
Maybe it is something similar.
73,
Ken W7TS

-------------------
Kenneth E.  Kinyon
34 Princeton Circle
Longmont, CO 80503-2106
Voice: (303) 684-0037
Fax:  (303) 776-5088
E-mail: W7TS@attbi.com
	  W7TS@qsl.net
	  W7TS@arrl.net
ALPCA #8339
ARRL-LM
-------------------

-----Original Message-----
From: towertalk-admin@contesting.com
[mailto:towertalk-admin@contesting.com]On Behalf Of Roger
Sent: Monday, November 04, 2002 21:31
To: TowerTalk
Subject: [Towertalk] HAM IV strange defect


My HAM IV rotator has a strange failure.
One night I turned on the control box and tried to turn the beam (a single
Force 12 C-3, nothing more). It did not turn (the needle did not move and
the antenna really did not move too). I tried to rotate to the other
direction. No operation. I gave up. A month later, without touching
anything, it worked again. It kept OK for, say, two months. On a given
night it stoped working again. One week later it came back to life. Then
after a month it stoped working again. This cycle repeated several times.

When I had the chance, during a "stop", I took it from the tower.
Before  disassembling it, I connected it (in my garage) to the control box
using a short piece of cable. It worked perfectly... I left everything
assembled in the garage and some days later I tested it again. The rotor
did not turn. I disassembled it, but I did not find any signs of damage.
Even the break wedge seems to work perfectly. In resume, the rotor simply
keeps this strange behaviour but, inside it, every piece seems brand new.

Has anybody already experienced this kind of failure? Assuming that the
cable is not the problem, may I suspect of a problem in the control box?
What components should I investigate?

Your advice will be much appreciated.
73 de Roger, PY1OL

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