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| Reviews Summary for Alfa-SPID rotor |
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Reviews: 28
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Average rating: 4.3/5
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MSRP: $(missing—add MSRP)
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Description: ALFASPID rotors are of a high quality with Torque to spare. They are custom made to withstand the harsh Canadian conditions.
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More info: http://www.alfaradio.ca/alfaspid.html
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You can
write your own review of the Alfa-SPID rotor.
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VE3YZR
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 30, 2007 16:00
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Very good value
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Time owned: months
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I've had Tailtwister, HRD 300 and a Create brake, I've also tried Yaesu's (not the 2800) and they've all broke. Either the gears, cheap casting, etc.
I like the double worm drive of this one, the clever mounting system that easily allows it to be mounted anywhere in the mast line and you can route the cables through it.
For the Canadian weather with wind and ice, experience has demonstrated that no less will do.
I have not tried the Prosistel which is about the only one commercially available for me to try left, this Alpha-Spid unit is very flexible: varying PS voltage will control speed, controller is computer ready and it just works.
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VK4KKD
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Rating: 5/5
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May 19, 2007 01:20
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Horses for courses
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Big arrays attract big horizontal force - the answer to that is simple also - don't take the dealers word - he wants to sell the product - do your homework and then add in 50% for the worst case scenario - from the size of the array and the location it should have been clearly obvious that the Spid was "under-specified" for the load he wanted to put on it.
All things being equal the Spid is a fantastic rotator - simple and strong within it's design parameters. After all you don't go out to plow a paddock with a thoroughbred Arab when you should be using a draught horse.
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KL7AR
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Rating: 0/5
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Oct 10, 2006 13:30
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Over rated and cheap
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Well for all of you people that put in glowing reports "GOOD LUCK". I purchased an AlfaSpid when I put up my new Force 12 620/340 beam. It weighs about 250 LBS.on a 50 foot boom. The 1st thing I found was that rotator was hard to install and badly engineered. With the pipe to pipe monting system, if you have a problem and you have to remove the rotator be prepared to lift your antenna up 6 inches to enable you to get the unit out of the tower.The locking bolts are flat on the ends thus if you are using a harden steel mast they will slip and allow the antenna to turn. This happened to me in the first wind storm with 50 MPH winds. I was forced to remove the factor bolts and replace them with bolts that were tappered on the ends and then dimple the mast. This worked a little to well. In the next wind storm 65 MPH winds the rotator was completely destroyed. It was ripped apart allowing the beam to swing in the wind and destroy the coax feed line. Between the crane to get the antenna down and the replacement coax the repair was $1000. BIG MISTAKE TO BUY AN ALFASPID. One thing I noticed was that during the wind storm the gearing would allow the boom of the antenna to move 5 to 6 feet. This constant slamming of the antenna against the gearing in the rotator I am sure hastened it's failure. BAD DESIGN! The controller is noisy on HF. The unit has no "Soft Start or Stop" therefore when you turn it to a heading it takes about one minute for the unit to stop ocsillating around the assigned heading. When I decided to look for a rotator that could handle the elemnts up here in Alaska I talked at lenght to the people in Canada at the factory and they assured me that their product could handle the load. "THEY LIED". It will definitely not handle any kind of large array for very long. When I pointed this out to AlfaSpid they started back peddling, they told me I should have put a long drive shaft down to the base of the tower to take up the stress load." Baloney" it either will or will not do the job. Why would anybody buy a rotator which you then need to modify and hope the wind does not blow. To their credit they did give me a new unit. ANYBODY WANT TO BUY A NEW ALFASPID? I replaced the rotator with a PRO.SIS.TEL. 71D. It is worth the money and has not failed me yet.
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DK5WL
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Rating: 2/5
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Aug 16, 2006 07:14
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Good mechanics, unreliable electric
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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We are using the Alfaspid RAK rotor since April last year to turn a Steppir 3 Element yagi and a 2m Yagi (see www.160m.de ). What I especially like is that the Alfaspid is very quite (acoustically). In contrast to the HAM-M which I used before you do not hear at all when the antenna is turning. There is some noise on 6m and 2m as long as the motor is running but that does not bother me.
The rotor was working fine until December last year. Suddenly the control unit did not work anymore. After 3 weeks I got a new control unit from my dealer. Until I got the replacement I turned the antenna by connecting the rotor directly with a 12V power supply.
The replacement unit haa a different connector type (the one used to plug in microfones) and is more sensitive to RF. When operating on 80m and 40m with the amplifier the relays in the control unit are switching on and off. This was fixed with 3 turns of control cable on a toriod. Probably this problem can be avoided by using shielded cable.
Last Saturday the rotor suddenly did not turn anymore. With the type of tower I am using you can only take the antenna down when the beam is exactly turned to a specific direction. If the rotor does not work I have to climb on the tower and move the antenna manually to be able to take everything down for repair.
Fortuneately K1YZW explains in his Jan. 3, 2006, review that he was able to "repair" the alfaspid by injecting high voltage over resistors. By feeding the rotor with 220 volts over a 1N4004 diode and 240 Ohm the Alfaspid motor impedance immediately changed from about 1000 Ohm back to about 5 Ohm. I connected the rotor back to the control unit and it works fine again since that, but how long?
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K3GM
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 13, 2006 17:42
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Rugged, nicely made
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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When looking for a replacment rotator, I wanted to get away from the cheap gear trains found in the bell style rotors, but felt I didn't have the surface area to warrant the Prosistal. After looking at the Spid at Dayton this year, I was impressed by the build quality and decided to give it a try.
There is no wedge brake in this rotator. A worm gear securely holds the heading in heavy winds without the slightest azmuthal movement. Looking into the mounting tube, there appears to be a large commercial roller bearing similar to those found on rear the axle of automobiles. The rotator is designed to be powered by +12V but will operate on voltages up to +24V. The unit fits easily into a 25G section, but the motor will hang over the side slightly. No big deal though.
There are no mechanical stops on this rotator but rather software stops. The default is 180 degrees overtravel in either direction. You can easily control the amount overtravel in the setup. There are 6 presets available to enter your favorite beam headings as well as the semi-automatic set and forget. Using the arrow keys on the controller, you merely hold it down until the desired heading is displayed, release, and let the rotator do its job. Initially orienting the antenna is a breeze. Just point it north and set the controller. There is no need to manually turn the mast. There is also a controller adjustment if the mast should slip in the mount a few degrees.
The upper and lower tubes use 8 bolts each to secure the the mast and mounting pin. If you have a standard Rohn rotor shelf, I would strongly recommend purchasing the mounting pin. It's super heavy duty, and is galvanized. I felt it was worth the extra $35 (US).
My unit arrived in a battered, torn box that I felt wasn't strong enough to support it's heavy contents. The base of the mounting pin was hanging out the side of the box. However, all the parts were there and it was in good shape so I accepted the shipment. Alfa Radio was quick to respond via e-mail about my concerns regarding the quality of the packing. But a subsequent operational question went unanswered leading me to question their after sale support. When I spend $1200 dollars on a rotator, and have a question, I think I deserve an answer. Still I didn't want this negative comment to degrade the overall score.
This is a rugged, heavy duty rotor unlike anything Hy-Gain or Yaesu builds. It's quiet yet sure in its movement. The lack of mechanical stops is somewhat hard to get use to, but it's flexibility in setting up and operating is amazing. I love it so far.
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VK4KKD
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 2, 2006 01:46
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Fantastic rotor
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have now been using Spid rotators for more than four years. I have 5 units in operation and the main tower unit has at various times been loade up with some very heavy antenna arrays. At one time it was rotating a 6el homebrew (very heavy duty) HF Log Periodic (13MHz - 30MHz)on a 6.5m boom, above this I had two phased 10el quads for 144MHz. above this I had a 4el wide spaced Delta loop for 50MHz.
Under the LPDA I had a 7el Log Cell yagi for 28MHz.
Even though I have the ability to instantly lower my antenna arrays should bad weather turn up, I do not bother unless I have warning that the winds will exceed 40kts - I build my antennas strongly (the 7el LCY on 28MHz. was a commercially made unit from Werner Wulf) - this means I have a pretty fair amount of load on the rotator in regard to torque from the wind pressure. The Spid has never had a problem except for one which I caused myself - I was too stupid to make sure I sealed the cover of the connector block properly after I connected the wires. This was easily rectified and after a little sealant was applied the problem ceased to exist.
My second tower - is set up strictly for UHF/VHF - EME and satellite work - it has also had a wide range of arrays fitted - for example it had 4 (phased) x 12el DL6WU pattern yagis (6.1m booms)on 144MHz. and 8(phased)x 28el DL6WU pattern yagis (6.4m booms) for 432MHz. This array was a total of 172 CUBIC METERS of air space when it was fitted to the steel spreader frame.
It carries only 2 (phased) 10el quads for 144MHz. and 4 (phased) 22el circular full wave loop antennae for my normal portable work - the tower is trailer mounted. Pictures of it can be seen on my website at http://www.spin.net.au/~aeitower - the last two rotators one az and one el are set up on a "perpetual" motion display which uses my laptop to track satellites - I have this running 24/7 and it simply rotates the antennas as the laptop software acquires the next bird.
How can I sum up - all I can say is that years of problem free use - super flexibilty with the DC operation (I am a mad keen portable freak) - low cost - absolutely no sign of any RF pickup in or emission from the units or the control unit - small bench top footprint - a mouse controller with 6 pre-sets - half and full auto - software controlled limits and get this a full 720 dgrees of rotation if you want it.
When something this good comes along you shout about it from the rooftops.
In fact I liked these solid little beauties so much I applied to the manufacturer for the Australian/New Zealand and Oceania dealership and I am pleased to say was successful.
Worldwide sales and an ever increasing "user" base are the proof of the pudding - there are stronger rotors available - but the Spid is the best priced unit in it's category available on the market.
You might say I am biased - and I would have to say you are right - if they were not so good I would not want to sell them!!!!!!!
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N4JBK
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Rating: 5/5
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May 22, 2006 21:04
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tough
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I am turning a telrex 20m646 ( 20 meters 6 elements 200 pounds 46 foot boom) and a hygain 5 elemenet 15 meter. A good stiff wind ( one of our hurricanes) ripped the guts out of one of the yaesu g1000dxa's. The afla spid laughs at the same winds, the antennas kinda rock back and forth a little but thats it. i think its a great testimony to the value and workmanship of the alfaspid seeing how prosistel badmouths them.
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EI7BA
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 16, 2006 04:54
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Industrial quality
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This is the first rotator that I have seen that has NO slop whatsoever. It's as tight as a drum, and made from industrial type steel components. It went up easily, and works like a dream. I have NO noise from the controller as mentioned in another review. The only comparable product that I have seen, is the Prosistel (BigBoy) , but the SPID is much cheaper. It integrates seemlessly with my logging and control software. (LOGic8, and TRX Manager)
After suffering years of expensive, soft aluminium castings, that are clapped out after a year or two, it'll be very interesting to see how this one stands up to the salt laden Atlantic gales of my QTH. I'll review it again after an Irish Winter..
Nothing to do with the product, but I found the UK SPID importer, David GM4JJJ, to be excellent to deal with. He's at ... http://www.braeside.plus.com/spid/
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VE6XL
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 16, 2006 02:30
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Very Solid
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have used this rotator for a year and it works excellent.
This rotator is very well built, steel construction and very sturdy. The control box works great and is easy to use. This rotator will turn everything.
The unit was very easy to wire and set up. The manual is well written.
I would recommend the optional mouse control. In addition sealing the wire box with silicone is a good idea.
The only point of critism is the lack of a ground lug somewhere on the control box. I added one myself. (minor)
VE6XL
www.ve6xl.ca
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2E1RDX
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 13, 2006 13:54
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so far very pleased
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I purchased a Alfa-spid Rotator to replace an aged Yaesu G400RC it went up very easily no drama
it wired in very easily and only needs 4 core cable it comes with everything required apart from the 4 core cable I have it running via my Logging/digital software Mixw and it all worked first time just click on the world map and the antenna turns to that point it has made life much easier no need to press any buttons just click and go I purchased it from Braeside Communication Services in scotland David gave me outstanding service answering my emails very quickly even over the christmas holidays and shipping was very fast I am happy to recommend the Alfaspid as an excellent rotator and Braeside Communication Services (Scotland) for excellent service
many thanks Ian 2E1RDX
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