[TowerTalk] TIC ring slipping

[john at kk9a.com]

Inspect the gears and make sure that the motor assembly is fully meshed. 
Rings are not round so maybe push the motor in a little tighter.  I think 
it's hard to make it too tight. I turn a very heavy homebrew 20m beam on a 
60' boom with two 40m OptiBeam elements interlaced and the only time I have 
had slippage is when the spur gears wore out.  I machined new gears as 
replacements were not available from the manufacture. Surprisingly, the wind 
has never backdriven the small German windshield wiper motor that TIC used 
in this model.

John KK9A


To:"towertalk at contesting.com" <towertalk at contesting.com>
Subject:[TowerTalk] TIC ring slipping
From:"Zivney, Terry" <00tlzivney at bsu.edu>
Date:Tue, 18 Feb 2014 19:03:33 +0000
List-post:<towertalk at contesting.com">mailto:towertalk at contesting.com>

I have 3 TIC rings on my Rohn 45 tower.  THey have been  up for 10 or more
years, and give good service.  Always turn.
But, I have had a problem from time-to-time with the one holding
the largest antenna - 48 foot boom 5 el 20m and 2 el Cushcraft 40m.  The 
ring
(single motor) seems to turn every time.  It holds its position even in the
strongest winds.
BUT, from time to time, generally during a contest, it seems to slip 
position.
That is, when I start the contest I turn it
SE to use for the Caribbean multipliers.  Then next morning,
I turn it NE for Europe to stack with the top 20m beam.
Repeat the second day.  When I go out Monday morning
after the contest, I find the antenna, instead of pointing NE,
is pointing roughly East.  That is, it has moved somewhere
between 45 and 60 degrees!  I can't see the antenna
tower from the shack, and of course, generally the
time I need to turn it is dark, so probably couldn't
see anything anyway.

I can leave the antenna parked there for months, and it
never moves.  The antenna NEVER moves (slips) in the other
direction.  The TIC ring uses a pot to keep track of direction.

Any ideas?

Terry N4T