As noted, I had some issues with my G-800DXA. After returning from a week
away, I noted that my beam was no longer pointed the way I had left it so,
after investigating, found that the rotator was no longer functional. To
make a long story short, I took the rotator down today to find that it had,
once again, self destructed. The insides look as if a bomb had gone off in
the housing.
This is the second time this has happened. I returned it to Yaesu for repair
and it had worked fine up until now.
Anyway, I won't be buying another Yaesu rotator as long as they are
constructed out of cheap aluminum. My beam is not large by any means (3el
SteppIR with 30/40 dipole) compared to installations I've seen but for some
reason, the G-800DXA is unable to handle it.
73 -- Paul VO1HE
> -----Original Message-----
> From: yaesu-bounces@contesting.com
> [mailto:yaesu-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Paul J. Piercey
> Sent: March 3, 2008 20:24
> To: yaesu@contesting.com
> Subject: [Yaesu] G-800DXA Rotator
>
> I have always been a fan of Yaesu rotators until now. I got a
> G-800DXA last year and I have to admit that I am truly
> disappointed with it's operation.
>
> I had a G-400RC for 15 years and it never gave me any
> trouble. I upgraded my beam and the 400 wouldn't hold the
> antenna in the wind so I opted for a heavier duty rotator and
> the 800DXA seemed to fit the bill. I have found that it is
> very good at holding its position but is sadly lacking in
> rotating power. It struggles in moderate wind and, currently,
> is unable to rotate my antenna any more than 5 degrees for
> some unknown reason.
>
> The beam had spun on the mast so I dropped the tower and
> tilted it to tighten up the mast clamps. When I had the beam
> loosened completely, I tried to rotate the mast to the
> correct position. When the mast had almost reached the proper
> alignment, it stopped and would go no further, nor would it
> go back to where it came from. I checked the installation and
> found nothing that could be impeding the rotation. After an
> hour of testing and trying to get it to move, it finally came
> free and I could complete the job.
>
> Once I had tilted the tower back to vertical, I tested the
> rotator. It rotated in one direction and, when testing it in
> the opposite direction, it stopped and has not been able to
> move more than a few degrees since.
>
> It seems that even the smallest resistance causes the thing
> problems. I have about 80ft of cable from my shack to the rotator.
>
> This is not the first time it has locked up. It happened a
> couple months ago and I thought it may have been due to
> freezing rain but we have had much worse weather since then
> and, until this morning, had been operating, despite it's
> lack of turning power, in wind, cold, freezing rain, etc.
>
> Anyway, I will be completely re-aligning the rotator and
> re-cabling it as soon as the weather gets better but if it
> continues to operate in this manner, I'll be replacing it.
>
> Does anyone know the rotational torque of this rotator? If
> mine is any indication, it can't be very high.
>
> 73 -- Paul VO1HE
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