16 Apr 2012

Rotators or big wheels

There was a time when a small rotator capable of turning a modest 2m yagi could be bought for around £40 but there appears to be little available now below £300. The low cost Yaesu rotator (G250?) appears to be unavailable now.  I was thinking about erecting small beams for 6m, 2m and 70cm and was wondering about suitable rotators, but am rather put off by the costs.

A better alternative may be a big wheel antenna with around 3dBd gain omnidirectional, or more if two are stacked. 5dBd is at least as much gain as an HB9CV without the worry of a rotator.
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3 comments:

  1. UnknownTue Apr 17, 09:57:00 am GMT+1

    Try eBay for a rotator, Roger. I got one a couple of years ago for less than £40. I see what looks like the same model being sold for £53 + postage, there is also a used one with a bid of £50.

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  2. Roger G3XBMTue Apr 17, 10:01:00 am GMT+1

    Thanks Julian. At the moment I am veering in the direction of a big wheel(s).

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  3. AnonymousWed Apr 18, 09:54:00 am GMT+1

    I agree with Julian Moss, there are new relatively low cost ($50-$100) antenna rotors on ebaY (AR-1200, AR-500 are two). Also, there are lots of HDTV antennas with built in rotors for around $30 on ebaY. It would be interesting to experiment with one of those to see if can be re-purposed for ham use. 73's, David WB4ONA

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