[TowerTalk] T2X rotor issue

[Robert Harmon]

Jon,

I have had a number of T2X rotators over the years and they all worked nicely with 2" OD mast.  Thats a strange situation 
with your unit.   It will be interesting to hear if others have had this issue.  I am taking an old unit out of service next week 
for overhaul.  I will see what I find on the ears.  


73,
Bob
K6UJ



> On Jul 3, 2020, at 4:47 PM, Jon Zaimes via TowerTalk <towertalk at contesting.com> wrote:
> 
> In preparing a mast for a new Rohn 55 tower here, I pulled a spare T2X
> (HyGain Tailtwister) rotor off the shelf. It had been rebuilt in 2016 and
> kept for a spare. 
> 
> 
> 
> With the rotor horizontal on the workbench, I took a short piece of 2" OD
> galvanized steel Rohn mast and set it into the V area in the upper mast
> housing. Much to my surprise, it would not completely seat in the V. The
> "ears" around the four U bolt holes were large enough to prevent full
> insertion of the mast. This was obvious if I tried to slide the mast in on
> the V from the upper end - it stopped as soon as it came to the upper set of
> ears.
> 
> 
> 
> Of course, with the mast not seating in the V completely it is not
> concentric with the rotor and risks damage to the housing or motor.
> 
> 
> 
> This rotor is stamped 1993 on the bottom but it's unknown if the upper
> housing is that old or was replaced during the most recent or a previous
> rebuild. I bought it used.
> 
> 
> 
> I pulled an older  T2X off the shelf (circa 1984) and noticed that the
> "ears" on this one were different - nice and square while the 1993 model had
> rounded corners on these ears. The mast easily fit into the V on the older
> model, with room to spare: I slid a thin piece of aluminum flashing down
> between the mast and ear on each side.
> 
> 
> 
> My quick fix on the problem housing will be to file and grind the ears back
> enough so the mast can fully seat in the V. 
> 
> 
> 
> But I'm wondering if this is a common issue. It might not be easily
> discovered up on the tower, unless a climber were looking from the back and
> down and noticed the gap between V and mast.
> 
> 
> 
> I have a half dozen T2X in service on my own towers, and have worked on
> dozens and dozens of others, but this is the first one with this fit problem
> observed.
> 
> 
> 
> I did verify the mast piece I was using was truly round (not compressed) and
> was 2" OD. The T2X is in fact specified to take a mast up to 2 1/16" OD.
> 
> 
> 
> On the '93 model, I was able to easily insert fully a piece of 1.9" OD water
> pipe, often used for light load mast material. This fit in the V just fine.
> 
> 
> 
> 73/Jon
> 
> 
> 
> Jon P. Zaimes, AA1K
> 
> Tower climber for hire
> 
> http://www.aa1k.us/
> 
> 
> 
> Reviews of AA1K tower work on eham website:
> http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/12922
> 
> 
> 
> Hug your favorite tower every day, and always stay connected to it.
> 
> 
> 
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