U-100/110 rotor...help?..

[ve6pg]

  i have a u-100...no control box..that is, 4 conductor type...i have 3 wire type controllers...any way to modify the 3 wire types to work on the u-100/110?..

..tim..

..sk..

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Obviously, the easiest way to start is to compare the wiring diagram of your unnamed 3 wire controller with the wiring diagram of the U-100.

[ve6pg]

...again, i wonder why i ask, when i get "replies" like this...

..sk..

[KM1H]

Because some of us want questioners to do some work on their own before bothering us

OOOH, I couldnt resist that, feeling especially frisky today.

Carl

[ve6pg]

..i have researched it...cant find an answer, so i thought...i  might  ask   here, oh forget it...


..sk..

[KA2DZT]

IIRC just connect the wires 1,2,3 from the control to the rotor 1,2,3.  The three wire Channel Master design control will run the Alliance U-100 rotor.  The U-100 controls were troublesome and very often failed to work correctly.

I just scrapped about 20 of the U-100 rotors and still have a number of the controls but they're not worth using because of the nearly 100% failure rate.  Actually the problem is the switch contacts in the rotor that causes the controller to not work correctly.  The whole thing was a piss-poor design.  The CD AR-22 rotors used the same design and they were equally troublesome.  The U-100 rotor by itself was very reliable, the control design was the big problem.

The Channel Master design three wire rotors were very reliable and rarely failed.

I installed TV antennas for nearly 50 yrs and installed hundreds of these rotors.

Fred

[ve6pg]

my dwg shows #4 as going to contacts in the rotor, and other goodies in the box...the boxes i have are "crown tenna-liners", 3 wires ones...will these track/move the rotor ok?...and any ideas as to the load/how much the u-100 can handle?..
..tim..

..sk..

[KA2DZT]

Just leave #4 not connected, as it is not needed.  Any of the three wire controls should turn the U-100.  Hook it up and give it a try.  It should track pretty close.  To sync the rotor to the control just turn the control fully clockwise and then fully counter clockwise.  Do it a few times.  In one of the directions the rotor will reach its stop but the control will continue to turn to its stop.

The U-100 was designed for TV antennas, even big ones.  It will turn any VHF antenna and should work for small 10M beams.  Don't try to use it for Tri-banders.  It will turn things like a Mini-Quad.

Terminal #4 is the switch contact that sends a pulse back to the U-100 control.  The pulse actuates a solenoid that allows the direction pointer to move one space.  The switch is actuated by a pin on one of the gears in the rotor.  You're not using the U-100 control so no need for terminal #4.

IIRC the name Crown was used on the Channel Master rotors.  The original 3-wire rotors were all Channel Masters.  When their patent ran out other companies copied the design.  I think they were made in Canada.  Now they're made in China.  The China made ones seemed to be better than the original Channel Masters.

Channel Master, over the years, redesigned the control box a number of times.  Any of them will turn the Channel Master rotor and likewise should turn a U-100.

The last rotor that Channel Master made was the one that used a solid state control box with a remote control.  I think there are issues trying to use this control or the rotor with other Channel Master controls or rotors.  The voltage is different.  The originals (including the U-100) all ran on about 30 vac.  The solid state control and matching rotor run off a 18 vac wall wart.

Fred