[TowerTalk] Alfa Spid rotator

[Richard (Rick) Karlquist]

I have successfully rotated my SteppIR for several years
with an Alfa Spid.  It has many good points.  The one major
shortcoming is that the controller box does not support
north centered antennas, and it does not support DCU-1 protocol.
If you read the manual, you might think that it supports north
centering and DCU-1, but it does not actually support them.
The prognosis for getting the control box firmware fixed is
not good.

I recently did a lot of research on alternate controller boxes
and discovered that the Idiom Press and EA4TX boards definitely
do NOT support any rotator with a reed switch instead of a pot.
The Green Heron controller in this month's QST possibly supports
the Alfa Spid, but it is not clear that it supports the full
DCU-1 protocol.  The owner of Green Heron was unable to verify
that when I asked about it.  That is not a problem unless you
are going to controller the Green Heron from a computer program
that expects full DCU-1 like LP-rotor.

If I have any of my information wrong, someone straighten me out.
I have already spent too much time on this.

Rick N6RK

> -----Original Message-----
> From: towertalk-bounces at contesting.com
> [mailto:towertalk-bounces at contesting.com]On Behalf Of Bill Turner
> Sent: Sunday, September 24, 2006 10:23 AM
> To: towertalk at contesting.com
> Subject: [TowerTalk] Alfa Spid rotator
> 
> 
> 
> I'm looking for a new rotator to bottom-mount in my 80 foot tower. I'm
> leaning toward the Alfa Spid. I especially like their simple control
> system.
> 
> I know all rotators have pros and cons, but are there any "gotchas"
> with the Alfa Spid? Anything not immediately apparent that I'd be
> sorry for later? 
> 
> The reviews in eham.com are mostly good except for one poor chap who
> couldn't get anything to work right. :-)
> 
> All advice appreciated.
> 
> 73, Bill W6WRT
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