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Reviews For: Yaesu G-2800SDX

Category: Antenna Rotators & Accessories

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Review Summary For : Yaesu G-2800SDX
Reviews: 11MSRP: 1125
Description:
32 sq. ft. wind load rotator
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.yaesu.com/amateur/rotator.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00114.7
K6YE Rating: 2020-12-15
AWESOME Time Owned: more than 12 months.
14/December/2020 CE Update.
Installed this in a US Tower HDX-555 after relocating to Southern California. It is turning a 4-element SteppIR with the greatest of ease. I had planned to put a new Hy-Gain 7-3 Discover 3-element 40-meter yagi above it. Unfortunately it will hang over my neighbor's property so for now a 160/80/40 sloper will handle things. The rotator has been going strong for more than ten years.

February 2010 CE
I installed this unit a month ago while living here in Broomfield, Colorado. It turns my F-12 C-4XLD, on a Hy-Gain HG-54HD tower, with the greatest of ease. I intend to add a 4-element SteppIR and I feel that it will carry the load with no problems. I added the Rotor-card but cannot get it to interface. I will re-assess this rotator after the second antenna has been added.

Semper Fi,

Tommy - K6YE
DX IS and CW RULES
N0AH Rating: 2012-08-03
Work Horse Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have a log periodic that weights 60 lbs- on top of it, a 40 meter RTD and a 3 element 6 meter yagi- it is a lot of wind load but the 2800 has never whimpered in 100 MPH gusts and extreme wx ranging from -20F below to temperatures over 120F on the roof tower- While the total antenna array is around +-14 SQ feet, I decided to get a a rotor at least twice the rating due to SNAFU's with rotators in the past- The entire Yaesu line for me, from the 450, 800, and now 2800, have worked flawlessly- You really should consider a thrust bearing for any medium to larger antenna, and consult with an engineer about what you have planned- ... it might cost a few bucks but a lot cheaper than changing a rotor out in winter- been there, done that with Hygain......One grip is that rotor lamps in Yaesu's control boxes stink- They have all fried- Best thing about the 2800 for me is the variable control- I had a Yaesu 800 without it and really am glad I decided to upgrade when going to a larger array- - very sweet in high winds-
N9TGR Rating: 2007-05-20
excellent Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have had it running for about four years and never had a problem even turning the antenna into strong winds or turning the rotor when it has been encased in ice.Very little "SLOP" or play in the antenna which is a 4el 5b quad on a 30 ft boom with a couple of vhf/uhf antennas on top.This rotor replaced a hygain HDR 300 which is probably the biggest piece of garbage ever made.
VA7DX Rating: 2006-08-04
Outstanding Rotor Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My 2800SDX has performed flawlessly for close to 6 1/2 years rotating my Mantis II 5B4L +30/40 quad, a total of over 22 sq feet of wind loading. It has survived winds in excess of 90kmh without any damage. I have no hesitation in recommending this rotor for larger arrays. Presets, overlap and whisper quiet operation are a bonus.
VA7VR Rating: 2005-02-05
Could Be Better Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have had 2 of these rotors for about 4 years and both have developed same problems. The lamps on both have burned out. Called Yaesu to order new ones. They didn' have any in stock and wheren't sure when they would. The little dc motors used to drive the meter movement have both quit. The first about a year ago and now the second one. Extremely difficult to get at to replace these. Involves practically total disassembly of the control box. Current limiting resistors on the supply circuit used to drive these motors are too small and have burnt up damaging the pc board. Have had to replace them on both controllers. Other than that, the rotors seem to handle the loads well. One turns a 3 element 40 beam the other a TH11.
LX1AX Rating: 2004-06-06
The Best Time Owned: more than 12 months.
A very good rotator which is not noisy , I have my rotator under the roof of my house and I turn my big FRITZEL FB-DO-505 30 kg now from 1999 without problems ....I hope it will stay so .
It's an expensive rotator but you can buy it .
The best of the best !
LX1AX op. ALAIN
W6ED Rating: 2003-11-28
A great heavy-duty rotat Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have 4el 20m 4el 17m & 4el 15m beams mounted on a 20' mast I have had a number of HyGain rotators including Tail Twisters all of which required ring gear replacement and in some cases sput gear replacemet after teeth were ripped out. I finally got fed up with replacing rotators and puchased the Yaesu 2800 rotator last June. It has performed with no faults for 5 months I like the abilty to make presets and also variable speed control are handy assets. Only things wrong are the rotor plate must be re-drilled for the Yaesu preferably by a machine shop. Yaesu furnishes a drilling template. The rotor height is less than the Hy-gain, so mast must be loosened in thrust bearing and raised about an inch or so. My rotor cable is 270' long.
N9FG Rating: 2002-09-20
Stout! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Using a Pro-96 in a very windy area. Went through 3 Tailtwister rotors before replacing the last one with the Yaesu 2800. So far haven't had a bit of problem with the new rotor turning the monster beam and holding in the wind. If you have a big array, this is the rotor I'd highly recommend. The features on this rotor are a bonus...
F6GNZ Rating: 2002-09-20
Great Hevy Duty Rotor ! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Used 100SDX in-tower with a rubber shock absorber between mast and rotor (from a truck power transfer shaft) to turn 3 stacked 10/15/20 meter 5-el log-yagis: break could not stop the top bell portion turning in a heavy wind, had to repair three times distorted shaft that controls end-stop switches as bell turned beyond stop limits.
Replaced with 2800SDX that now turns 6-m boom 144, 2-el XM204 7-MHz widespaced beam, A3WS 3-el for 10-18-24 MHz and 5-el 14 MHz log-yagi on 10-meter heavy-duty boom without any problems !
K6RB Rating: 2001-12-18
Does the job Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
When I replaced a KT 34XA on a 10 foot mast with a Force 12 C31-XR and MAG 240 N stacked on a 20 foot chromoloy mast, I knew my HAM-M rotator would never handle that load. Instead I bought the Yaesu 2800 SDX and a companion, split-able, thrust bearing. Virtually all the downward thrust is on the bearing leaving the rotator to turn the stacked antenna system. It works smoothly and easily and the preset function lets you dial in a heading and hit the button once. It turns that monster antenna system a lot faster than my HyGain used to turn the 34 XA. And with the extra degrees of rotation, you can often go to a heading more than 180 degrees away by turning it through the shorter arc. My cable run is about 120 feet but I notice no startup lag. And the heading indicator uses synchronized motors rather than a flakey potentiometer in the rotator and a meter on the controller. I used to worry about that HAM-M during some of our winter wind-and-rain storms. I don't worry at all about the 2800SDX.