Thanks to all of you for your inputs and advice.
The reason I was concerned is that I was turning a 40M quad with a T2X,
and I believe the gear train has been damaged because it only turns in
one direction now. As Tom and Jose have said, one has to be careful
about turning in the wind. Their warning was echoed by Craig of CATS
who said that although the brake is quite adequate on the T2X, if the
brake is released in a high wind and an attempt is made to turn the
antenna, the forces are acting directly on the gears which can be more
easily damaged. The winds at my QTH can be brutal.
It sounds like some people are not pinning their masts to the rotor.
Unless there's some other clever way to lock the mast in the rotor
clamps, the only way I know of for preventing the mast from
weather-vaning in the wind is to put a bolt through the clamps and
mast. If I didn't do that, I would be adjusting the direction of the
antenna on a daily basis. OTOH, it may well be that the pinned mast was
the major contributor to the damage of my rotor.
I should also add that I learned in talking to CATS that, despite the
manufacturer's claims to the contrary, there is not much difference
between the internal mechanical construction of the T2X and the Ham
series of rotors. Craig advised that I would lose little, if any,
mechanical strength, torque, etc. if I were to replace my damaged T2X
with a Ham II, which had been upgraded to a Ham III by the installation
of a heavy duty brake.
Again, many thanks to all. I'll be using the T2X for the Steppir, but
I'll be more careful when the wind is blowing here.
73, Joe
K2XX
N4BAA - Jose Castillo wrote:
> I am turning my 5L 20M mono on 44 foot boom and a Force 12 2L30 and 2L
> 40 with a T2X. I service my T2Xs about every two years.
> No issues here.
> I would agree with Tom, NI1N in that it does have troubles turning in
> winds..(around 30 MPH here in Va Bch, VA)....but no slippage as of yet...
> I have built my own version of a slip knot system with some Steel
> braided cables and some plates so that IF the mast ever does slip in
> hurricane winds...
> It won't be able to turn more than about 45 degrees....which will keep
> my cables from wrapping around the mast and parting...
>
> Your 4L SteppIR will be fine if that is all you are turning...but when
> I redo my next QTH..(VERY SOON BTW..I am retiring from the US Navy in
> one month)...
> I will go with an OR-2800 or PROSTISTEL...
>
> GL adn 73
>
> Jose - N4BAA
>
> Tom McAlee wrote:
>> I turn a 4 element SteppIR and an OptiBeam OB2-40 on the same mast with a
>> T2X.
>>
>> It is a bit much for it. Occasionally with very high winds that last for
>> days (you're not far away Joe, you know what its like sometimes here!) the
>> mast will slip inside the rotator. I've heard from a reliable source that
>> that's a first indicator that it may be loaded up too much.
>>
>> It's been up for 2.5 years now and that's happened 4 times.
>>
>> The original rotator started acting funky after about a year. Sometimes it
>> would stop in the middle of turn, other times it just refused to start at
>> all, etc. So, I replaced it last July and this time I've been more careful
>> not to turn the antennas during very windy periods (I didn't know that that
>> was something to be avoided with the T2X).
>>
>> Other than two mast slippages, it has been fine ever since. Then again, it
>> hasn't been that long. I sort of expect to have to replace it again in the
>> not-to-distant future. Unfortunately, I don't have many options for
>> rotators given the size of the tower and how close it is to the thrust
>> bearing plate. Lesson learned the hard way :)
>>
>> 73,
>> Tom, NI1N
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Joe Giacobello" <k2xx@swva.net>
>> To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
>> Sent: Monday, March 12, 2007 1:30 PM
>> Subject: [TowerTalk] 4 Element Steppir and T2X
>>
>>
>>
>>> Is anyone turning a 4 element Steppir with a T2X? If so, has
>>> performance been satisfactory.? Any problems in high winds, etc.?
>>>
>>> 73, Joe
>>> K2XX
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>>
>>>
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>>>
>>
>>
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>>
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