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Reviews For: M2 Orion 2800P

Category: Antenna Rotators & Accessories

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Review Summary For : M2 Orion 2800P
Reviews: 40MSRP: 1429.00
Description:
35 sq. ft. wind load rotator
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.m2inc.com/pdf_manuals/OR2800PX%20(AZ).pdf
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
10403.9
W8VZ Rating: 2023-02-06
Buyer Beware Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had two of these rotors destroyed while turning less that 30 sq. ft of antennas. The second failure caused the antennas to free wheel, wrapping the coax cable around the matching coil and antenna switch... not good. They simply will not hold up. Buyer beware!
K0ZR Rating: 2021-11-08
A Top Line Rotator Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have been using the 2800P for four months now. It turns a Force12 C31XR and Cushcraft XM-240 on a 72 foot crank-up tower. It has performed flawlessly, with one exception. As noted in earlier reviews, if the cable length is excessive, in my case around 250 ft to the top of the tower, you MUST use shielded cable for the digital signals. Otherwise the pulses are so "muddied" that the rotator will not function. As soon as I augmented the rotator installation with stranded RG-58U cable, all missing pulse problems disappeared.

I now have two of these rotators. The first one is now ~ 10 years old and have never had any problems whatsoever while it turned a C31XR and XM240 for about 7 years and only the C31XR for another 3 years. The newest rotator has been turning the XM240 at 90 ft now for two years without a whiff of problems.

I'm sorry others have not had my good luck with this rotator and I hope this updated review does not jinx me!
VE7SNC Rating: 2021-10-25
Please do your homework Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I got this rotator and controller thrown in on a package deal with a 4 element Steppir and a cushcraft XM-240 40 meter monoband yagi. I always felt the Americans quality of products was a thing, not with this unit. First off I noticed there are 2 drain holes on the bottom, as a multitrades person this got me to thinking there must be a water issue. I thought well why wouldn't a company fix the leaking issue instead of putting drain holes?
When we were installing the rotator the previous owner insisted I install this gasket/water shied. This was so that the water can't get in around the bearing on the top of the rotator out to the mast clamp. I had the thing in use for a week when I started having issues, I had thought I left the rotator pointed at 60 degrees and when I got home from work it was at 0 or north, controller saying 60? It wasn't until I was sitting in the hottub one night I heard my rotator, much to my horror the rotator started turning CCW at full speed and slammed into the zero stop. So after talking with Jeff at Green Heron he says "you have a short to ground". Not impressed, I climbed up the tower and removed the rotator, yes by myself. Brought it in my shop and tore it apart. I looked and looked, then I found a bare spot on the white wire, worn off from the gear rubbing against it. Another poor engineering and thought process on mechanical engineering. So I re-routed the wiring and secured with a couple tie wraps. I assume the people in California do not have some of the same issues because of the lack of rain?. My overall assessment is I think this could be a great rotator if M2 would take the time to look at these issues. Little things like the triangular piece for lining up the mast awesome,,, but it's another leak point for moisture to get in. I siliconed the 1/4" bolt that holds the mast plate on on and I sprayed the triangular piece with a rubberizing compound as I did on the outside of plate drive shaft.
W2PP Rating: 2021-02-28
Weak brakes Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I got this rotor because M2 said it would handle my EME array. 4by 32 elements on their H frame. The results have been that any wind over 20 MPH or so and the antennas move a ton. I got the very first new and improved version two years ago.


I wouldn’t recommend this rotor. For large arrays I’d suggest the Prosistel 71D or even better a Prop Pitch


It’s very expensive to change rotors on an EME array. What a mistake
WD5DBV Rating: 2018-04-23
NOT FOR BIG ARRAYS Time Owned: more than 12 months.
To start I have 35 sq ft of antenna, what the rotor is rated for. This is the second time I have had the rotor to free wheel on me. Took the rotor down and had a cup of rust in the unit.The spline shaft was completely chewed up. At there request I sent pictures, Call the factory and $500 in parts not counting labor. Was told upper seal destroyed, asked how did this happen no answer.I was told to get a prop pitch and that's what I did. Beware this rotor is no where near a unit that can handle 35 sq ft.
KF7NN Rating: 2018-03-11
broke in 6 months Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
i have the DC model (2017) up @ 100 ft. we had some winds (50mph) and noticed antenna isnt pointing where i left it and no response from rotor, its only turning a mosley pro67c3 @ 12 sq. ft. and some small vhf antennas. i thought it was bullet proof but a small wind just took the sails out of my thoughts.
W2IHY Rating: 2017-09-06
2800 P rotor is very good the rest of the hardware need help Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Purchased the M2 Orion 2800P rotor and controller when it was introduced (around 2000). Use it to turn a Mosely PRO67C3 antenna (145 pounds). I had a problem with water getting int the connectors the rotor used to connect with the control cable. M2 fix was new/different connector hardware. My fix was to eliminate the connector and solder the control cable wire to the cable coming from the rotor. The control box human factors / ease of use was awful. I called to discuss this with M2 and they acknowledged that the controller available, when I purchase the rotor, was not good and was subsequently changed. They offered to upgrade the controller to the latest shipped hardware. The upgrade was around $200. I opted to put the M2 controller out of service and purchased a Green Heron controller. The Green Heron works great and is easy to use I had the rotor bolts falling out issue. I discussed the problem with M2 and opted to get the optional aircraft bolts that they offered. When I got the rotor these bolts, to my knowledge, were not available. To my surprise, at the time I got the aircraft bolts, M2 did not ship them with every rotor they sold. Given the problem I and others have had with bolts falling out, I found it incredible that the aircraft bolts with wire to go though the bolts were not shipped with every rotor. I use a thrust bearing with the rotor. The rotor and Green Heron Controller work flawlessly turning the Mosely PRO67C3. I rate the Orion 2800P rotor as very good. I rate the controller that shipped with the 2800P as poor. I recommend buying the rotor and using a different controller. Do your homework on which controller would be best for you. I opted for a Green Heron. The controller that currently ships with the rotor may now be fine. Make sure your rotor is shipped with aircraft bolts with wire that is used to prevent the screws from coming out. Consider not using the connector hardware that ships with the rotor. The connector hardware has changed since I got it. Net the Rotor is Good) and the controller is awful.
Julius (W2IHY)
VA7DZ Rating: 2016-09-30
BAD NEWS Time Owned: more than 12 months.
We unfortunately have an Orion 2800 rotator and controller failing to turn an Optibeam 16-3 and 7-el 6m yagi.

The designer of this horrible rotator should have been fired due to many really stupid design mistakes. Instead, we customers are left to fix their blunders - at OUR expense.
Bolts falling out of the too-soft aluminum housing, a leaky control pigtail that allowed water to get in, an annoying user interface on the control box and refusal to pay for fixes to their crappy design.
Other than that, it's a great product =)
We're going to AlfaSpid and maybe Green Heron.
W9CLA Rating: 2016-09-20
Rotor bolts suck Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Due to the rotor bolts falling out of my rotor plate on a remotely operated US Tower TX472MDPL, about $2000 damage resulted. After only two years all the bolts managed to fall out of my rotor which caused severe damage to my tower when I cranked it down using the remotely controlled motor drive on my tower. Not only that, but it required me to have a crane come out and lift off the antenna when my tower was stuck in the full up position because the rotor jammed the tower section when it came free from the plate. I had to buy a new cable kit for my tower ($386) , remove all the antennas, and take it off the base with a crane ($750) all because the bolts failed. Now, M2 has the audacity to offer as an option, wired bolts. They should have recognized the problem early on and offered this as standard equipment . M2 sucks as far as I am concerned. Poor customer service. It is a great rotor but now the price has gone to $2170 you would think that they would offer wired bolts for that price. If they were not so small a class action suit would definitely be in order and I am seriously thinking about it if an attorney is willing to take it one.
W8CAR Rating: 2015-03-29
massive rotor Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Purchased this to turn a stack of antennas that kept tearing up other rotors. The installation went well as the rotor can be partially disassembled to fit into tower easily. Setup went well as I'm using a Green Heron RT-21 controller. Has only been in use for 6 months but so far it has held solid in 50MPH plus winds and some massive gusting. The controlled start up and step down at the end of rotation is a plus. This is certainly an over designed rotor but it fits the bill perfectly.