[TowerTalk] K-Factor capacities

[Michael Tope]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim Brown" <jim at audiosystemsgroup.com>


> On Mon, 24 Jul 2006 16:21:24 -0500, Allen R. Brier wrote:
>
>>What are the K-Factor capacities of HAM-IV and Tailtwister
>>rotators?
>
> K-Factor is a descriptor for the harmonic current drawn by a
> product, and the ability of power system components to handle
> harmonic current without overheating.
>
> See the Power and Grounding tutorial on my website, as well as the
> references cited in it for further details.
>
> http://audiosystemsgroup.com/publish.htm
>
> 73,
>
> Jim Brown K9YC
>

That's a different K-factor, Jim. In rotator speak, K-factor is a crude
measure of how much antenna a rotator can safely turn:

http://www.hamstation.com/yg2800.htm

It's an attempt to capture the effects of an antennas mass-moment of
inertia since capacity ratings that specify "square feet of windload" don't
account at all for mass distribution (for a fixed weight, the more the
antenna's mass is offset from the center of rotation, the more torque is
required to start and stop the antenna).

73, Mike W4EF..................................................