> I have an old Rohn TB3 that came with a used tower I bought.
Cosmetically it looks good and spins without any unusual noise, but it feels
like the
bearings are somewhat oval in shape instead of round. It's hard to
explain, but it's almost like a sort of ratcheting effect, like there is a
little
notch every few degrees, so that it almost 'clicks' into place, but without
a clicking sound.
> I haven't tested it with a load, but I assume it would probably spin OK
with only a very small increase in friction.
Howdy --
The ratcheting is probably from wind hammering where the antenna is
parked at the same place and the antenna and mast act like a lever on the TB
bearings when the wind blows.
The races are aluminum and the bearings are stainless steel so the
problem is in the race and not typically the ball bearings.
Since it spins okay, I'd go ahead and use it. It's probably got a
shorter service life than a new one but your rotator should be able to turn it
for years with no additional problems. And DO NOT lube the danged thing -
it's supposed to run dry.
Cheers,
Steve K7LXC
TOWER TECH
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
|