[amsat-bb] Re: G5500 Azimuth Rotator Update

[Greg D]

Hi Dave,

How long does one have to stall the motor before the windings' 
insulation starts to degrade? I seem to recall it's not very long (less 
than minutes).

With all that thermal mass, and the insulation from the heat shrink 
tubing, is the thermal switch really going to be effective mounted that 
way? I would have thought it needed to be buried in the windings 
themselves somehow (though I can't imagine getting good thermal contact 
there either).

Great pictures, by the way.

Greg KO6TH


David Palmer KB5WIA wrote:
> Hi Everyone,
>
> Here's a quick update on my G5500 Azimuth rotator story.  (Recall that
> three weeks ago I stalled the rotator after switching antennas.)
> Yaesu Parts USA is still backordered on the replacement motors,
> possibly some will arrive from Japan in a few more weeks (or possibly
> not).  The company that I sent the motor to in LA (Eurton Electric)
> just gave me a quote today for the rewinding cost:  $365.  That's
> close to $3X what the motors go for new (if you can find one!), so at
> least with them it's not cost-effective to repair the motor.  I'm
> having the motor shipped back, and I'll either try to rewind it
> myself, maybe someone else who can rewind it, or buy a replacement
> sometime in the future.
>
> To get the antennas back on the air, I decided last week that it would
> be good to have a spare -- so I ended up purchasing a replacement
> G5500 system and installing the azimuth rotator this last weekend.
> Everything's working great so far!  I also added a thermal cut-out
> switch to the motor to prevent a similar stall-induced-motor-burnout
> in the future.  If anyone is interested in how I installed the switch
> (or what a G5500 azimuth rotator looks like inside), I've added
> pictures to my blog at:
>
> http://kb5wia.blogspot.com/2012/03/az-el-antenna-system-new-70cm-yagi-and.html
>
> 73!
>
> Dave KB5WIA
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