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write your own review of the Yaesu G-450XL.
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W4BTX
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Rating: 4/5
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Aug 25, 2011 13:21
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W4BTX
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have had the G-450xl since 1996 and have never had any problems with it. I use it to haul around a Mosley "Classic 33" tribander and it always works. This rotator is advertized as being suitable for "VHF and light HF tri-banders so I expect most problems are from trying to make it do the work of a heavier duty rotator. It DOES do what it says it will do.
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VK6NDT
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Rating: 0/5
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Jun 18, 2010 07:56
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Very Poor Controller
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Ok So mine isnt exactly the Yaesu. I have the Kenpro 400 (which is pretty damn close and as i couldnt find a section to bag out Kenpro, the yaesu section is going to cop it).
Age: God Knows.. infact im not sure even if God Does know...
Issues.. 1. Since i have owned it the needle does nothing but spin around and around and around, as if it is getting no feed back from the indicator. (proved to be controller at fault not rotator - and still couldnt find the fault)
2. Both CW and CCW switches crapped out.. within days of each other.. my fix, cover the ugly holes left in the case and put a 3 pos self centering momontary switch in place. worked alot better and i had faith in it.
3. just recently the controller would really bog down going CW but would go CCW fine then after about 20min worked fine again.
4. turn unit on, rotate antenna, turn controller off (coz needle spins around and around and around) turn back on 5 min later to change directions... no go, no life at all. let sit for some time and try again.. presto.
5. finally Sh1t its self today. blows the internal fuse. hrm.. try and fix it or use it as a weight for when im throwing the rope over the tree branch to string up my long wire?
What really gets my goat about it packing it in now... I only just bought a brand new 3 element triband yagi.. now no rotator controller to turn the thing!
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K8DXX
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 3, 2010 20:07
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Why such variation?
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Just noticed the less than perfect reviews on this rotator. Why the variation in experience? Is it date manufactured, apparently not? Is it size of load? Owners with smaller beans have problems. Guys with larger beams do not. Is it the operator? Who knows?
In 1999, mine had already been in service over 3 years rotating a tribander. In 2010, it's still working fine and rotating a 5 element 6 meter beam and 20 element 2 meter beam, all on a 10 foot mast. It's still mounted inside the tower and has a thrust bearing above it. Is that the secret? So far, only problem with my control box has been a burned out light bulb.
Go figure?
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VE3TMT
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 20, 2009 03:03
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So far so good
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Picked up used but in new condition. Mounted inside a Delhi 32' tower turning an A3S and A270-10S. No problems so far. I do keep the beams pointed into the wind when I'm not operating.
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W6PMR
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Rating: 1/5
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Jul 19, 2009 20:39
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Giving up!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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My 450 has been nothing but problems since the first day I installed it for my VHF/UHF beams.
Looks more heavy duty than it is, Mine shows
any direction it wants, stops working for no reason, sometimes goes ccw but not cw then the next day reverses this problem!
I have changed the cable three times, removed and bench checked twice, both the rotor and the controller and now I'm giving up.
A lot of tower climbing and work for nothing,
oh well.
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WA4DOU
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Rating: 4/5
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May 17, 2008 17:40
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Can't complain!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I've had my G-450XL for a bit over 8 years, turning a Force 12 C3SS up 53 ft. In the past year or two I've occasionally had trouble with a sticking indicator, usually around north. Yesterday I finally experienced the failure of the CCW switch. Considering all things, I can't complain.
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VK5FDMR
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 13, 2007 02:12
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Excellent Unit
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Hi everyone,
I will keep this review short as some may see it as being in the wrong location however I did not find anything for "Kenpro". My unit is the Kenpro KR450-XL and by what I can see it seems to be the same as the Yaesu G-450XL, to look at anyway. I am very impressed with my unit and it turns my 5 Element 10m mono bander with no effort at all. I would highly recomend it. High quality construction and effortless operation too.
Best 73 de Dave VK5FDMR
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VE6TWN
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 12, 2007 18:21
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Good looking controller and good rotator
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have been using this rotator with the MA5B mini beam for few months now.
Before I put up this rotator, I connected rotator with the controller to check and calibrate it. It is very accurate after calibration.
The MA5B and G-450XL both are working very well, not a single problem. Switches are both very solid, no problem at all.
Overall, I am very happy with this setup.
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KQ6EA
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Rating: 3/5
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May 14, 2006 12:08
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Update
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I finally got over to Yaesu to get the replacement switches for the control box for my G-450. The replacement switches are much higher quality, being a small toggle-switch (think "Alcoswitch") mounted to a small bracket that holds the plastic paddle that sticks through the front panel. Easy to change, reasonably priced ($7 each, plus tax)and it feels more like a "real" switch than the junk that was OEM in the controller.
Everything works fine again, and I no longer have the push-button switches I scabbed in there hanging out of the control box.
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N2WN
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Rating: 4/5
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Feb 1, 2005 12:33
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Reliable, but Not Perfect
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I picked mine up from a frustrated ham. He had a problem with the connectors (as mentioned here). It took a little head scratching, but I resolved it. I like the 360 degree indicator. It has taken abuse from a microburst storm. It handles my 2 Element 5 band quad nicely. Documentation could be improved, connector at the controller should be improved. I would not call it plug and play. I've used CDE rotators, and so far like this as much or more than those.
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