[TowerTalk] It's still moving

[K8RI on Tower talk]

Apparently they used the wrong lube, or it was supposed to be changed to 
something that doesn't stiffen up at zero.  It did eventually make it close 
to that last night.  I think too that the rotator hadn't been getting enough 
use.


>I sometimes wonders if antenna rotors don't acclimatize to their
> surroundings..... I am amazed at how high a temperature I have heard 
> people
> comment on that their rotor is froze up.    Up here a balky rotator at the
> temperature (11F) that Roger mentions would be usable only about 4 months 
> of
> year ....  well maybe a stretch but some years it feels that way.  And 
> many
> rotors up here do work well into the  minus many degrees F range, altho 
> that
> often depends on the line length and grease used.  All my normal sized
> rotors (except Yaesu 400) work fine at -44F, the coldest I've seen here.

The coldest I've evr seen here (43 deg 37 min N) was minus 28F and that was 
quite a few years ago. I don't think I've seen much below minus 10F in the 
last 10 to 20 years. Then again, our winters are a good 5 weeks shorter than 
they were 50 years ago according the Department of Natural Resources (DNR)

> Some places see even colder temps.  I worry more about cracking the jacket
> on the coax at these temps, but I now have most of the coaxes fed thru the
> center of the rotor and come out the bottom, so much easier on the cable.
>
> The bigger, home brew gear box stuff uses kerosene in the gear box to 
> dilute
> the heavy gear oil they normally use. I usually take out as much of that 
> oil
> as I can and then cut it with kerosene.  And no I don't put a cloth in it
> and light the wick in winter.... they usually need a kick in the winter to
> start which I accomplish by giving them a burst of 220 vac and the drop 
> back
> to 110 once they start.  They are 4 or 500 feet away so I know there is a

On this one there is only 200' of cable and it does run on 110 VAC.  The 
newer ones run on 24 and 48 VDC

I'd think a heat tape and some insulation wrapped around the whole works 
would work wonders.<:-))

73

Roger (K8RI)


> lot of line loss as they try to start, this was the simplest (and 
> cheapest)
> way to allow them to start reliably at all temperatures.
>
> 73 Don
> VE6JY
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "K8RI on Tower talk" <k8ri-tower at charter.net>
> To: <TOWERTALK at contesting.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 06:05
> Subject: [TowerTalk] It's still moving
>
>
>> Maybe a few remember my rotator froze up last winter.
>>
>> The temp is currently down to 11 and the rotator is still working fine.
> It
>> sometimes starts a little sluggish, but is up to speed in just a few
>> degrees. Last winter it wouldn't budge any where near the current
>> temperature.
>>
>> The forecast keeps getting bumped a bit lower each time I check, but they
>> are now forecasting -1 F for the low.  I would be surprised if it keeps
>> turning when it gets that cold.
>>
>> I didn't get a chance to change the gear lube to the artic version, but I
>> found that exercising the rotator from stop to stop a few times a day put
>> new life into it.  It seems I had been using between 0 and 90 degrees for
> so
>> long that the thing just didn't want to go beyond that.
>>
>> I guess if it gets cold and stays cold I can go out in the shop and fire
> up
>> the old Hallicrafters HT32, SX101, and HT-33B to stay warm. OTOH I have
> that
>> old Henry 2K-4 and that thing throws out more heat than any amp I've ever
>> run.
>>
>>
>> Roger Halstead (K8RI and ARRL 40 year Life Member)
>> N833R - World's oldest Debonair CD-2
>> www.rogerhalstead.com
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>> See: http://www.mscomputer.com  for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless
> Weather Stations", and lot's more.  Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with 
> any
> questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
>>
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>
> _______________________________________________
>
> See: http://www.mscomputer.com  for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless 
> Weather Stations", and lot's more.  Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with 
> any questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
>
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