[TowerTalk] Rotors - your thoughts please.

[K8RI on Tower Talk]

Me? I happen to like the Pro sis tel (Big Boy) series of rotors.  I consider 
them the best on the market, BUT  they are big, powerful, and expensive. 
They have changed the motor design so it better fits most towers. Mine is 
the older PST61 which weighs about 35#  I would not hesitate to purchase one 
of the new ones.  In my case, probably the PST62HD which has 1,925 inch 
pounds of torque, or over 25,000 inch pounds of braking torque. 
http://web.tiscali.it/I7PHH/  BTW, they do make a bracket for mounting the 
earlier one on 45 and 55G towers.  I just turned the motor to fit.

Then there is the big monster PST71 at 66#.  With the discussion a while 
back as to thrust bearings, the PST61 is designed to hold a vertical weight 
of 1,800# while the PST 71 will support 2,200#

I'm turning a relatively massive array, but pretty puny compared to some on 
here.  I don't have a lot of wind induced  torque, but then again it's not 
insignificant.  I have a TH-5 at 100 feet, a 7L C3i 6-meter beam (28 foot 
boom) at 115 feet, and stacked pairs of 11 L 440s and 12 L 144s on a 14 foot 
cross boom at 130 feet.  All in all, probably about 500 to 600#.

The Tail Twister didn't last long enough to say I ever used one.  I don't 
think I'd try the Yaesu although I like the looks.  It *reportedly* has some 
fragile gears.  The HDR series of rotors probably have the strength, but 
their design is such you have to release the brake and then turn the motor 
on.  The brake switch is an On/Off switch and might do better with a 
momentary. Still, I'm not fond of the spur gear arrangement for turning 
massive loads, or high torque.
I'd not want to try turning the array in high winds with an HDR... again. 
<:-))

I like the double worm gear arrangement of the Pro Sis Tel.  The Alpha Spid 
uses the same approach but different mechanical layout.  The ratings on the 
Alpha Spid are a bit lighter than the PST61 for torque (but not a lot) and 
they are considerably less expensive at roughly $600 compared to about $1300 
for the PST61D and $2,000 for the PST61DHP.  the PST71D is going to be over 
$2500 by the time you get it home.   The prices have gone up considerably 
since I purchased mine three years ago.  This thread had me considering the 
purchase of a spare until I saw the current prices from the US distributor.

I like the figures on the Alpha Spid although not quite up to the PST61 or 
71, but don't like the way it mounts.  I want a flat plate mount inside the 
tower and I really don't like flat plate to post adapters.

Although it is considerably less money and more bang for the buck I'd 
probably still stay with another PST61, but  PST61DHP this time.  No more 
water problems inside the motor.  If I wasn't turning such a massive load 
I'd go for the Alpha Spid and figure out a way to change the mount.

Roger Halstead (K8RI, EN73 & ARRL Life Member)
N833R, World's Oldest Debonair (S# CD-2)
www.rogerhalstead.com

> Thats an easy question to answer...Spid without a doubt.
>
> Lee Buller wrote:
>
>> So, what do people like out there?  T2X?  Yaesu?  Stay with what I got? 
>> AlphSpid?
>
>> Lee - K0WA
>
> -- 
> Doug Renwick VA5DX
> PO Box 50, Clavet, Saskatchewan, Canada S0K 0Y0
> VE5RA at sasktel.net
> First VE5 9BDXCC
> What profit it a ham if he gains all the awards yet forfeits his soul?
> I'll run the race and I will never be the same again.
>
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