Antenna rotators

[Airdorn]

Can anyone suggest a low-cost, decent antenna rotator? I just want to use it to turn a yagi hooked to a scanner.

Thanks!

 

[andrewccm]

I am interested as well.. Plan on placing a Yagi in my attic

 

[DPD1]

You would only need the lightest duty for something that size. Channel Master (or whoever bought them) makes a basic model that goes by the number 9521. There's also one made by a company called ECG and I think the model is U-105. Those are probably carried by AES, HRO and other places. RadioShack does have one, and I believe it's actually the ECG model. Most models above those are going to be more than you really need.

Keep in mind that your directional ability may be limited in an attic. You're likely to be getting reflected signals, so if the rotator does make a difference, it may not always make sense as to how it's turned.

Dave
www.DPDProductions.com
Antennas & Accessories for the RF Professional & Radio Hobbyist

 

[iMONITOR]

Radio Shack carries two:
http://www.radioshack.com/family/index.jsp?cp=2032057.2032187.2032189&categoryId=2032207&pg=1

 

[andrewccm]

Thank you.

 

[Airdorn]

Thanks for the info!

What do y'all think about this one:

http://tinyurl.com/6eh85m

?

 

[andrewccm]

Thanks for the info!

What do y'all think about this one:

http://tinyurl.com/6eh85m

?

I just ordered one of those myself.. good price...

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=MTRTR200-100

 

[iMONITOR]

Thanks for the info!

What do y'all think about this one:

http://tinyurl.com/6eh85m

?

Looks like a great deal!

 

[andrewccm]

Be sure and order the wire.. The ebay one does not come with it.. If you go to their website you can get it with 100ft of wire for $7 more. I made the mistake of ordering through the Ebay site and had to place a separate order for the wire.

Solid Signal was very responsive and agreed to refund me the shipping on the separate order due to my mistake.

 

[Airdorn]

Is it special wire, or can't I just use some typical 4-conductor stranded wire for it?

 

[andrewccm]

Is it special wire, or can't I just use some typical 4-conductor stranded wire for it?

Good question. I am sure it is just standard wire. I went ahead and got 100ft of it for $10.99...Looks like standard 3 conductor wire.

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=SCM9554-100

 

[mancow]

I used a simple roll of telephone wire for mine. I figure that there isn't that much current being drawn.

 

[delta_p]

Heat sufficient?

Does anyone know if this CM 9521A rotator will take attic temperatures ok without failing? Thinking about using one in my attic. My attic gets like nuclear hot in summer


PP

 

[andrewccm]

For the record, I was over at Frys yesterday and saw several of these CM rotors available.

 

[red8]

For the record, I was over at Frys yesterday and saw several of these CM rotors available.

I thought they quit making those antenna rotators, I remember having on the TV when I first moved down to Louisiana. And that was over 40 years ago. By the way, I had the opportunity to go to Frys there in Fort Worth, several years ago and was blown away at all
the gadgets they had.
red8

 

[andrewccm]

Yeah.. the boxes look older, but here at the Arlington, TX store there were at least 6 or 7 of them. I am not sure if they are the exact same model...but they were CM and looked like the same....I just didn't make note of the model number.

The Frys in Dallas up on 635 is a much nicer store than this one. But luckily the Arlington store is about 5 min from my house when I need something fast.

 

[lost_in_maine]

I am interested as well.. Plan on placing a Yagi in my attic

I just bought a rotor for my Grove Scanner Beam here:
http://www.buy.com/prod/magnavox-m61415-automatic-antenna-rotor/q/loc/111/90116681.html

Magnavox M61415 41.99 with free shipping....

 

[andrewccm]

Does anyone know if this CM 9521A rotator will take attic temperatures ok without failing? Thinking about using one in my attic. My attic gets like nuclear hot in summer


PP

Mine just arrived.. Wow.. Much more heavy duty than I expected. My wire and Yagi have not arrived yet, so I haven't had a chance to test it. However, my plans have changed a little bit. I thought I was going to have to mount the rotator on a mast or tripod (in attic). But the darn thing is pretty heavy...I think I probably could get away with much less in the way of mounting. It might even just sit on the attic floor without need for a semi-permanent mount.

I'll report back when I get all the goods.

 

[N8DRC]

Thanks for the info!

What do y'all think about this one:

http://tinyurl.com/6eh85m

?

I have 2 of these units they are great, I use one for a Wilson 8 element 800 yagi, and one for a large Channel Master tv antenna..

 

[N1BHH]

Something that must be done before purchasing any rotator to be used in an attic is to check to see how much room you have. Here in the northeast, most roofs have a high pitch and plenty of height and turning radius is not an issue. How much of a turning radius does the beam take? I have seen a rotor in an attic, simply mounted to a plate bolted to the rafters and a small mast to mount the antenna and it rotates free. That's one consideration that some people miss. If it's a 6 or 7 element yagi at 800 Megahertz, it won't be too much of a problem, at 6-7 elements on 2 meters, that could be a problem. The 800 Megahertz antenna would take up far less of a turning radius. Just another thought before you jump in. I prefer outdoor antennas to indoor, they tend to work much better, without obstacles.