|
New to Ham Radio?
My Profile
Community
Articles
Forums
News
Reviews
Friends Remembered
Speak Out
Strays
Survey Question
Operating
Contesting
DX Cluster Spots
Propagation
Resources
Calendar
Classifieds
Ham Exams
Ham Links
List Archives
News Articles
Product Reviews
QSL Managers
Site Info
eHam Help (FAQ)
Support the site
The eHam Team
Advertising Info
Vision Statement
About eHam.net
|
| Reviews Summary for Yaesu 5500 |
|
You can
write your own review of the Yaesu 5500.
|
M0VOX
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Aug 28, 2007 07:14
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Very Solid Product in General
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
I have had a G-5500 Az/El Rotator in service for about 8 years now. After the first 5 years of use, the right (AZ) bulb went; minor technicality - so I didn't bother fixing it. After 7 years of service, the LEFT (CCW) switch became unservicable; since I was using a computer interface, this was not a major problem and I repaired it sometime later. In the last week (after almost 8 years of service), the rotator controller has died completely; it looks like a problem with the PSU - but the AZ motor is also getting a little worn now.
I have decided to replace the whole thing and keep the old one for spares. Unless you really have money to burn (and the space) this product is the only game in town and I would still recommend it.
|
|
KC8ZEV
|
Rating: 5/5
|
May 12, 2007 06:46
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Years of Reliable Service!!
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
Working satellites with this unit is great fun!! When it comes to AZ-EL rotators, the list to pick from is rather short. It was hard to justify the cost ($599), but after using this system, it was an excellant choice. It has never given me a problem. This unit has been in daily use for 3 years now. Proper installation is key, careful soldering of the connector pins for the control cables and not overtightening the mounting bolts is a must. Rotator has been used in -30 F weather and worked great!! Always check for ice buildup during the winter prior to use, that is just common sense. Probably not a good idea to use if everything has a inch of ice all over it, I have never tried to press my luck. This unit is not for radio astronomy use. Don't expect this rotator to turn some massive array and give years and years of service. Keep antenna size and windload per Yaesu specs and this unit will perform. Motor is quiet, housing is truly weatherproof. Control unit works well and has plenty of adjustment capabilities for meter calibration. No electrical noise whatsoever from the motors or control unit. I highly recommend a fiberglass horizontal boom but that is not mandatory. I run a W0LMD Sat Tracker and NOVA for rotator software and it completes the package. A great little unit!!
KC8ZEV
|
|
N4OZI
|
Rating: 1/5
|
Jan 17, 2004 16:36
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Major problem
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
First, let me start this off by saying that I’m not saying to buy a different rotor. I just ended up with a lemon, chances are most people won’t end up with the problem I had.
I too had the azimuth rotator fail on me as well. I had bought the rotor in the summer of 2002 as a start to building my satellite station. Over the next year and a half, I continued getting antennas and building my tower. Finished it all in November of 2003 with the installation of the rotor and antennas. The rotor worked great for 5 days and on the 6th day just locked up and would not move. Even using the other cable didn’t help.
This was a huge problem since I had to rent the gin pole again and replace the rotor since I didn’t want to take down the antennas only to put them back up again later. Plus, I had to buy another azimuth rotor from Yaesu to get this done.
All is well now, and I would buy another one since, for the most part, they are the only game in town, so to speak. But it did cost me a lot of time and money because of this problem.
|
|
AL7B
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Sep 24, 2003 03:13
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Does OK
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
I have been using this rotator system for about 3 years and it has performed fairly well. I got off to a rough start though.
New, out of the box, one side of the power switch was open. The control box would not even turn on. After resolving this I found one of the meter lamps was open.
After about a year of service the azimuth rotator failed. I found one of the gears were missing a keeper clip and it had slipped off the shaft. Last winter the azimuth rotator failed again. It is now down and on my bench ready to repaired.
The system tracks the NOAA HRPT satellites well and seems solid when it is operating. For the price of the rotator and data interface I was hoping for more reliabliity though.
|
|
K3ROJ
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Aug 13, 2001 21:49
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Excellent AZ EL rotator
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
After discovering that the AO40 satellite would still be functional on some frequencies, I decided to receive the 2.4 GHZ downlink and 435 up. Also I had become interested in 10GHZ narrowband work using the DB6NT transverter and their 2 watt amplifier. It became a hassle to go roving on high mountaintops every contest so I decided to make a go of it here at my location. Being able to move the 2 foot dish to any AZ EL direction, I can bounce 10GHZ off of several unlikely objects nearby such as a school and other tall buildings.
The rotator holds the 2 foot dish and other antennas very well and was lucky to find a piece of fiberglass rod used for the horizontal boom. Yes, the motor does make noise but was told that is normal. A good source of rotator wire is to use the direct burial muti-wire used for lawn sprinklers. Since the transverters and amplifiers are remoted to my shack, I use almost 100 feet of that special wire ( $14.95 for 100' ).
|
|
VE3TBD
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Mar 3, 2001 21:48
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Good Results
|
Time owned: 3 to 6 months
|
Just purchased last November 2000 for an ARISS project in Ottawa, Canada. We did the first ISS contact in Canada and decided on new equipment to complete the project.
The 5500 performed extremely well in outrageous conditions -20 degress F ! heavy winds etc..
Cable runs of 150 feet seemed to not bother the speed although we did use heavy cable. Interface from Nova utilized - sasi tracker. We did experience some difficulty with initial setup but that was overcome. Motors sound like they need lubrication although we experienced no problems.
|
|
KC0W
|
Rating: 3/5
|
Nov 13, 2000 01:00
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Fair
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
Don't expect to have a real long run of rotor cable or the rotor will S-L-O-W way down, even after adjusting the voltage pot on the control box. I use Nova for Windows for my satellite tracking program into the 5500's control box.
The 5500 is about the only game in town if you need an AZ/EL rotor for satellite work. Because it will handle only 11 sq. ft. of antenna load, the Yaesu 5500 is almost usless for any serious moonbounce array.
Checkout M2's 2800 & 3000 AZ/EL package if you want the ultimate AZ/EL system........Just be sitting down when you find out the price.
|
|
If you have any questions, problems, or suggestions about Reviews,
please email your Reviews Manager.
|
|
|
|
|
