[TowerTalk] Rotor Cabling Query

Robert Harmon k6uj at pacbell.net
Mon Apr 5 13:17:41 EDT 2021


So will the HyGain Tailtwister hold securely with no creeping if I disconnect  the brake wire ?   I have had the typical stuck brake scenario with my old Tail Twisters in the past and I like the 
idea of not using the brake circuit if possible. I always let it coast to a stop anyway.    I have a new TailTwister replacement going up in a couple of weeks.  


Bob
K6UJ



> On Apr 5, 2021, at 9:56 AM, john at kk9a.com wrote:
> 
> You can save a lot of heavy gauge wire by using a rotator without a brake. A brake adds controller complexity, it sometimes sticks and it requires two extra conductors. I believe only Hy-Gain uses brakes. I have not owned a rotator with a brake in decades and even my 60 ft boom antennas to not creep in the wind.
> 
> John KK9A
> 
> Lux, Jim wrote:
> 
> 
> The brake draws 5A @ 24V according to the manual. You probably need 20V
> or so minimum, so for 1400 ft (out and back), to keep the voltage drop
> at 6V from the usual 26V transformer, the resistance has to be less than
> about an ohm.  AWG10 is 1 ohm/1000 ft.  So you'd need what, AWG 8?
> That's a pretty substantial expense.
> 
> The manual calls for AWG14 for 300 ft. You're running more than twice
> that, so to keep the resistance the same, you need to go down 3 gauges
> (3 gauges is twice the area/half the resistance). They call out AWG16
> for most of the other wires than the common and brake. (The motor draws
> 2.25A)
> 
> 
> Someone probably makes a suitable interface (Green Heron?).
> 
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