[TowerTalk] Yaesu vs. Tailtwister

[Mark Pride]

I have both.  In a nutshell, the aluminum casting to mount the mast to the
rotor is probably the weak link in the 1000SDX.  You will need to pin the
mast to the rotor to avoid cracking the clam shell clamp.  Wish the
G1000SDX had the steel clamp system like the Tailtwister!  The Tailtwister
is easier to fix and maintain (simple control box and rotor) because of the
use of an 8 wire control wire.  The Yaesu G1000SDX control box and rotor is
more complicated but only uses 6 wires.  The automatic features are nice in
this unit.  I recently had a control box failure and returned it to Vertex
(authorized repair center for Yaesu) and cost me about $150 incl. shipping.
A couple of years ago, a lightening strike took out a rotor and required
replacing a potentiometer ($25 for this part) and a careful disassembly and
assembly process (search on W1WEF Yaesu rotor notes).  All is fine now.  I
like the G1000SDX.  When working, it is very nice and the always visible
pointer is handy too.  With the Tailtwister, you have to power up the
control box to see where the antenna is pointed.  Metric size hardware is
used on the Yaesu.

You will have no problem turning the TH7 with Yaesu.  I am using it today
to turn a 6 el. 15 and 6 el. 10 M monobander.  Long booms, holds well in
the wind after pinning the mast to the rotor.  I know guys that have linked
the auto pointing feature to certain contest programs with success.

Regards,

Mark, K1RX