Rotor Antenna Control ...

[cwmoser]

Several bids on this antique rotor control:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Caught my eye as I bought one exactly like it a couple months ago at an estate auction. I guess this is "eye candy" to us TV people :-)

[jeyurkon]

Originally Posted by cwmoser

Several bids on this antique rotor control:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Caught my eye as I bought one exactly like it a couple months ago at an estate auction. I guess this is "eye candy" to us TV people :-)

I picked up one a couple of weeks ago. It had about half the number of bids and went for $10 less.

I also have the Philco labeled version of this. I will be using it for more than eye candy though. I found a good rotor to go with it and they work. I should probably find a replacement motor start cap though just to be safe.

John

[jr_tech]

Originally Posted by jeyurkon

I picked up one a couple of weeks ago. It had about half the number of bids and went for $10 less.

I also have the Philco labeled version of this. I will be using it for more than eye candy though. I found a good rotor to go with it and they work. I should probably find a replacement motor start cap though just to be safe.

John

Oh Oh!... I think that I might have bid against you on that one... sorry! Great find on the rotor, these seldom show up! I would love to use something like this to rotate my outside AM loop, rather than buying another Yaesu system like I use for FM dx.
Do these have something like 4 light bulbs to indicate direction?, I see no pointer, like the Yaesu has.

jr

[bandersen]

I have one of these too Yes, there's a light bulb behind each direction indicator.

[cwmoser]

My goodness, these are popular. I would like to just make mine light up as I don't have an outside antenna. Never took one of these apart - anyone have a schematic or advice on bringing them back to life? The AC cord on mine was badly frayed so I just cut it off.

[jeyurkon]

Originally Posted by jr_tech

Oh Oh!... I think that I might have bid against you on that one... sorry! Great find on the rotor, these seldom show up! I would love to use something like this to rotate my outside AM loop, rather than buying another Yaesu system like I use for FM dx.
Do these have something like 4 light bulbs to indicate direction?, I see no pointer, like the Yaesu has.

jr

Sorry about bidding against you too! I don't really need two. I could part with one. I went for the second one because it was the same brand as we used to have.

If you're serious about getting a rotor, contact [email protected]. He'll probably have one to match this rotor control, and very inexpensively. He has them laying out in the yard, if he hasn't disposed of them yet. I feared the worst when I heard that but the one I got is in excellent condition.

PM me if you are interested in the Philco version. I do need to check out the new one before I commit to letting go of the Philco.

John

[jeyurkon]

Originally Posted by cwmoser

My goodness, these are popular. I would like to just make mine light up as I don't have an outside antenna. Never took one of these apart - anyone have a schematic or advice on bringing them back to life? The AC cord on mine was badly frayed so I just cut it off.

I have a service manual. I have to get up into the attic, which is difficult right now, and then I'll scan it if someone doesn't beat me to it first.

John

[jeyurkon]

I forgot to point out that the lights are controlled by wafer switches in the rotor itself. You'd need to either have a motor rotating a wafer switch or provide an electronic equivalent.

John

[jeyurkon]

Originally Posted by jr_tech

Oh Oh!... I think that I might have bid against you on that one... sorry! Great find on the rotor, these seldom show up! I would love to use something like this to rotate my outside AM loop, rather than buying another Yaesu system like I use for FM dx.
Do these have something like 4 light bulbs to indicate direction?, I see no pointer, like the Yaesu has.

jr

I'm losing my marbles. I would probably help if I mentioned that the matching rotor is a TR-2.

John

[bandersen]

Originally Posted by jeyurkon

I forgot to point out that the lights are controlled by wafer switches in the rotor itself. You'd need to either have a motor rotating a wafer switch or provide an electronic equivalent.

John

Right. All I did was hard-wire a couple of the lights so when I flip the paddle they light up. Specifically, pins 1 & 2 connected to pin 8.

I got this tidbit from another fourm: http://forums.qrz.com/archive/index.php/t-40067.html

"Pins 1 to 4 connect to switch terminals inside the rotor to light directional lamps in the rotor box. Pins 5 and 6 are for each motor winding; pin 7 is return through a lamp and switch(in the rotor housing) indicating activation, and pin 8 is ground return. This model has no brake."

[jr_tech]

John,
Thanks for the info and offer... I have a very nice controller for a TR-4, so I will check first to see if the rotor doc has a matching motor unit for it. However, the TR-2 control is better looking and the picture of it lit up REALLY has me drooling
I have several vintage Philco TVs so a Philco TR-2 control would be very cool ! Now if they made any of these in IVORY bakelite, that would be my "dream" set-up!

jr

[jeyurkon]

Here's the service manual for the Radiart TR-2 Rotor. It's 21 megs.

https://www.msu.edu/~yurkon/Documents/radiart.pdf

Useful if you pick up a TR-2 rotor to go with the controller.

John

[kj4ltc]

can someone point me in the right directon for a replacement motor start capacitor. I have a TR-2 rotor but seeing how scarce the control box for them is, i'm just going to build a controller. Pretty much all i need is the capacitor and can someone verify the transformer's output voltage, 24 or 26 vac? at 2.25A i believe??? Thankyou in advance if this rotor does not fulfill my need it will be for sale.

[jeyurkon]

Originally Posted by kj4ltc

can someone point me in the right directon for a replacement motor start capacitor. I have a TR-2 rotor but seeing how scarce the control box for them is, i'm just going to build a controller. Pretty much all i need is the capacitor and can someone verify the transformer's output voltage, 24 or 26 vac? at 2.25A i believe??? Thankyou in advance if this rotor does not fulfill my need it will be for sale.

I ended up with two control boxes and would be willing to part with one if you're interested.

John

[jeyurkon]

You can get the capacitor at www.rotor-doc.com. It's probably easiest to email them and tell them what you're looking for. Yes, the transformer is 24VAC for the motor.

John