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Reviews For: Yaesu G-450

Category: Antenna Rotators & Accessories

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Review Summary For : Yaesu G-450
Reviews: 27MSRP: 259 us,429 cdn
Description:
10 sq ft antenna rotor
Product is in production
More Info:
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
12274
N1FDX Rating: 2022-12-24
Warm Climate rotor. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This rotor works great while the temperatures are warm. As review below by K1JRF now that it below freezing it may move a few degrees either way and just stops. I've had it for a few years and wondered about it's performance, seems a bit quirky, had to recalibrate a few times, seemed to not return to the same place every time. Just turning a Cushcraft MA5B and a 3 element 6m beam. Turned it for years with a simple Channel Master TV antenna rotor until a wind storm destroyed it, thought this would be more robust but seems to be un reliable,
W4ABF Rating: 2022-09-10
10 Years and going strong... Time Owned: more than 12 months.
First the good - I use the 450 at the bottom of a ROHN push up mast that supports a Traffie HexBeam. The rototator itself has worked well for the 8 months since installation. The bad - the control box malfunctioned after a few months in service. The rototator would turn - but there was no azimuth indication on the control box. An inconvenience during the day, but useless at night when I could not get a visual on the antenna for proper orientation. A friend purchased one of these units to use in a similar configuration, his worked for less than 2 months. He sent his to Yaesu for a repair that took 3 months. I was more fortunate, my repair took less than 3 weeks. The unit (when working) does perform as advertised. It seems more than adequate for the task. If my friend and I had not experienced these failures (his rotatator failed as well as the control box) I would have rated it a 5. When it works - it's great. I now own two of these, one for a backup that I purchased when I sent in my control box for repair. I understand that electronic components fail - but I do expect better quality from a company as reputable as Yaesu.

UPDATE: After almost 8 years of use the G-450 still works perfect. I updated my rating to GREAT
VE3TMT Rating: 2021-06-19
No issues after 14 years! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My G-450XL has been turning my A3S for the past ten years with absolutely zero issues. I've also had a 2m/440 beam above the Cushcraft and now have a homebrew 6m Moxon on the tower. The rotor have given me zero trouble even through the cold Canadian winters. It's a great antenna for small to medium size HF beams or larger VHF/UHF beams. Nothing but praise from this happy camper.

Update - 6.19.21

Rotor is still working like the day it went on the tower. Been through 13 cold Canadian winters with lots of ice and freezing rain. Turns my A3S and 5 el 2m beam perfectly. No complaints here. Still "5" star!
K1JRF Rating: 2021-06-19
450 A is not ok if you live in a cold climate Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Update: never able to make contact with Yaseu and have given up. Will buy something better and save this for when I retire to warmer climes or might tear it down and try changing the grease. Not what I buy new products for.
This rotor was bought from HRO who helped me pair it up with a hex beam. Installed summer 2020 all worked fine until I noticed in the fall that the rotor stops turning when the temp gets below freezing. I've found about half the people I talk to on air with this rotor have the same problem and half don't. It seems like the ones that do not like cold weather were new in the past 2 years and the ones that work as specs say are older. Did they change the grease I wonder? Called hro but all they could do was tell me to find the yaseu website and start there. So hro sold it but no help there.
I filled out a form detailing the problem on the yaseu site and also asking how warranty will work with this as it expires 5/2021 and assuming I can arrange a return in the spring when I can take it down I will have no way of knowing if the problem was actually fixed until winter 2021/2022 when it will be out of warranty.
Well it's been 7 days since I sent in the request for info and crickets so far. Really getting tired of this covid excuse etc etc.
Tempted to write off yaseu overall and save this rotor for when I move to Florida and replace it with something much better from someplace that actually stands behind there products.
VE7REN Rating: 2021-02-21
16 yr review-fantastic Time Owned: more than 12 months.
update-feb 2021-i ordered 2 more of these rotors to replace old cde rotors i have had,and have serviced them,but felt it was time to go more modern. the original 450 i bought i still have,and is working fine.

here we are may 2020,and the rotor is performing flawlessly.still works as good now as my 2006 post. use it frequently with no issues turning a 6 element 14 ft boom.would definatly buy again.well worth the money and the build quality is great. I would buy another.

2006-bought this as my 1st rotator to turn a 12ft boom and antenna. nice build quality,easy install ,and very nice controller. i have no complaints with this rotor ,and we shall see how time vs use is on the unit. in my opinion,the price vs features and performance were met by no one else.
W8OB Rating: 2020-05-31
over 20 years use Time Owned: more than 12 months.
over 20 years of use and still going strong. I have a A3 and A3w stacked above it with a 5 el 6 meter yagi. Using with a thrust bearing never had a problem with it not even a dial lamp go out
W0BKR Rating: 2018-02-25
So Far, Great Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have the G-450A, not sure of the the differences between the G and A.

Cheap looking but works well. Rotates antenna much faster then the older HAM IV, and with a cable premade with Yaesu connector and control box connector, sweet. No 18 or 16 gage multi strand wires to fiddle with on a tiny terminal strip. A little shorter in height to the Ham IV, only one have of a mast clamp (yaesu uses the U Bolts to lock down the mast to the rotor).

No brake to release, just two controls, left/right. Easy to set up and calibrate. Is it robust? Don't know. But seems to work well (so far).
KI5II Rating: 2017-06-22
Not so good Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Control unit quit working after 1 week. Wiring it is awful and the connector on the back of the unit is junk quality. The rotor itself seem heavy duty enough.
K0BOC Rating: 2016-12-20
A good little rotor Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I also have the G-450A which has been rotating a Hexbeam for 1 1/2 years now and have had no issues. Installing my own rotor cable with their supplied plug did give the control head unit false signals when plugged in. Pouring silicone into the plug to prevent loose connections solved that problem. This Rotor has worked in 90 deg F down to -20 deg F with no issues here in Minnesota. Design quality far exceeds your typical TV brand rotors and its beefy appearance signifies that.
N2SLO Rating: 2016-05-15
Excellent Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have the G-450A, which is used on a main array of VHF/UHF antennas. This unit replaced my old radio shack rotor which was used only for an 8 element 2M quad. This is like comparing a corvette to a Honda civic. The Yaesu has performed excellent with no issues, since December 2015. No adjustments needed. I purchased preassembled rotor cable with Yaesu connectors, which is probably a smart idea due to previous issues with the connectors. I also like being able to turn the rotor from 240 to 90 degrees without having to go all the way around. I have three yagi's on the array, and use a 2 inch mast into the Yaesu, and four feet above the mast due to wind loading.