[amsat-bb] Yaesu G-5500 Potentiometer replacement

[Kevin Schuchmann]

    A picture would be worth a thousand words, but lets give it a try, 
the motor is attached to what looks like a metal "bow tie" and is 
surrounded by a coil spring with a bent  tab at each end, when the motor 
runs the bow tie grabs a tab and "pulls" the spring with it and the 
pulling winds the spring  in slightly and reduces it's size thus 
dropping drag, when not running and you try to manually turn it the bow 
tie is now  "pushing" against the spring tab  which makes the spring try 
to  get bigger and drag goes up stopping you from moving, if your 
freewheeling...

A) setscrew loose on bow tie and is slipping on motor shaft
b) bow tie is too high or low and allowing spring tab to miss
c) rotor got jarred badly and spring got knocked out of position
d) previous maintenance put the wrong grease on the spring and it is 
slipping (how would I know that? lol)  should be white lithium and just 
a little

73 Kevin WA6FWF




On 3/14/2015 8:47 PM, Jim Jerzycke wrote:
> Here's a quick question for those that have had the azimuth rotor 
> apart.....
>
> Last year when I packed things up from Field Day, I left the antennas 
> and cross-boom in my "Mini Portable Roof Mount" system. During the 
> drive home, my son noticed the antennas were windmilling in azimuth.
>
> When we got home and unloaded the set up, you could turn the azimuth 
> rotor by hand. It still hits the stops, and I haven't tried to run it, 
> but I'm wondering what shook loose during the ride home.
>
> Yeah, me bad for not pulling the cross-boom out!
>
> I haven't taken the azimuth rotor apart yet (I have 4 complete G-5400 
> and G-5500 sets), so do you think I really busted something, or did a 
> setscrew just come loose?
>
> 73, Jim  KQ6EA
>
> PS....I'll be using my "regular" setup for Field Day this year as 
> NI6BB onboard the Battleship Iowa.
>
>
>