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Reviews For: EASY-ROTOR-CONTROL

Category: Antenna Rotators & Accessories

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Review Summary For : EASY-ROTOR-CONTROL
Reviews: 81MSRP: 74
Description:
EASY-ROTOR-CONTROL is a add-on controller for azimuth-rotors. It supports the control of various rotors by a standard RS232-interface. It might be installed directly into the rotor-controllers housing or in an external housing.
Product is in production
More Info: http://schmidt-alba.de
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
10814.9
I8KPV Rating: 2023-03-26
mega 328 Time Owned: more than 12 months.
NON SONO RIUSCITO A RICEVERE IL MEGA328 GIà SOSTITUITO UNA VOLTA NEL ERC-SMD, A QUANTO PARE HA QUALCHE PROBLEMA il circuito per rompere in pochi mesi due volte il mega328 . Inviare avanti e indietro con spese di spedizione un circuito da 100 euro è una stupidità. Bastava che il costruttore desse la disponibilità dei pezzi di ricambio. A quanto pare c'è qualche problema.
Cattiva assistenza, basterebbe che Renè inviasse il componente atmega328 perchè quando si rompe non si può mandare questo coso avanti e indietro.Non sembra che sia l'unico ad avere questo problema della necessità di avere sostituzione del componente solo se inviato in Germania, Pessimo giudizio da vecchio radioamatore. Sarà un apparato costruito per chi non è in grado di avere il saldatore in mano.

I WAS NOT ABLE TO RECEIVE THE MEGA328 ALREADY REPLACED ONCE IN THE ERC-SMD, IT SEEMS TO HAVE SOME PROBLEMS the circuit to break the mega328 twice in a few months. Sending a 100 euro circuit back and forth with shipping costs is stupid. It was enough for the manufacturer to give the availability of spare parts. Apparently there is some problem.
Bad assistance, it would be enough for Renè to send the atmega328 component because when it breaks you cannot send this thing back and forth It does not seem that he is the only one to have this problem of the need to have the component replaced only if sent to Germany, Bad judgment as an old radio amateur. It will be an apparatus built for those who are unable to have the soldering iron in their hand.
VE4NSA Rating: 2022-01-19
Excellent product! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
For serious amateur satellite operators this is a great interface. Basic version available for $80 and as a kit easy to assemble. Supported by Win and Mac Software. Have 2 of these and fully recommend them to anyone with a stationary setup.
DD1SL Rating: 2022-01-05
Highly reliable Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Excellent and very reliable device. We use this device to control our Az/El rotor at our station DL0DLR (DN2DLR) for satellite QSOs. We built the station primarily for providing a ground station for ARISS calls. Before we used the the Easy Rotor Control, we used a different rotor interface which always had some issues on the software side.
We used the Easy Rotor Control for two scheduled calls with an astronaut onboard the International Space Station so far. The high reliability of the Easy Rotor Control really reduced the stress before these seldom possibilities and enabled us to focus on the handling of the contact.

Before our last contact with the ISS we discussed to turn our Az-rotor by 180° to move the end-stop from south to north. To avoid any trouble we had short phone call with Rene beforehand who assured us, that this is no problem. It turned out it was a absolute no-brainer to reflect the turned rotor in the configuration software.
G0DWV Rating: 2021-10-18
one email got it sorted Time Owned: more than 12 months.
These are excellent products, i have at least 3 in use and a couple of spares, i have never needed the spares!.
I wanted to add a Tic ring to one of the towers, but didn't see the detail the installation manual I had, it was a Thursday evening, outside of both G & DE business hours, so i sent an email expecting it to be answered the next day. Rene replied within a few minutes and after a couple of emails i had the detail I needed. I was looking in an old installation guide and he sent a more recent one covering my model.
He really is a nice guy and always super helpful, but to give service outside business hours is beyond what we are used to.
Thank you Rene, 73 Chris G0DWV
A very Happy multiple ERC-M owner
G0VAX Rating: 2021-07-08
An exellent addition! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have had the USB kit version of this controller board installed in my Yaesu G-400 controller for at least 12 months.
I highly recommend it. It makes operating so much easier when in contests.
The technical support is second to none, I had an issue with mine a few months ago, and the developer remote accessed my computer to sort the problem out. I have very high praise for this, as I haven't a the slightest idea about the workings of software.
W5XH Rating: 2021-04-12
Does the job Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I recently purchased the ERC SMD USB controller for use with an old Ham-M rotor. I put the circuit board in an external box and wired it to the Ham-M control box, and the system works very well. I use MacDoppler with an iMac, and the program does a good job with both control of the IC-9700 and the rotor. Highly recommended.

Murray, W5XH
N0SQ Rating: 2021-04-11
works great Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just built and installed the ERC RS232 version 4 board in my Yaesu G-800SA.

This version of the ERC comes in kit form only.

Took about 2 hours to assemble the board and do the chassis cutouts.

Chassis cutouts were fairly easy with the adhesive chassis cutout template and the fact that all holes are round.

You have to build the RS232 cable - one end is already terminated into a 1/8 inch stereo plug but you have to solder the other end into a DB-9 connector.

The board was mounted vertically on the back of the case opposite to where the power cord enters.

It's difficult to attach the relay wiring to the microswitches (for CW and CCW) unless you remove the switches from the case. Otherwise you can tack solder the wires to the switches (which is what I did). There's probably a neater way to do this. The ERC relay wiring bridges the existing wiring.

You have to tap into the rotor position wiring. I cut the two existing wires and solder spliced into the wiring and used heat shrink tubing to insulate the wiring. There were 2 other options I was considering. One was to get pins for the "molex" style housing and crimp the bridging wires onto the pins along with the existing wires (these pins aren't common pins). The other option was to get two 3-way splices that have screw terminals (I might just redo my connections with these).

The board has a sealed 1A fuse module and I find this to be of concern because it's soldered onto the board. If it blows, it wouldn't be a quick fix during a contest but the antenna will still be able to be moved manually. Hopefully, this won't be a frequent issue.

The DC power cord that came with the board is too short for my needs. It's only 10 inches long.

The only significant issue I had was when the rotor relays could be heard during the Service Tool "Test" but the ERC Service Tool complained that the ERC could not be found. Turns out that I had a bent pin on IC2. After fixing that, I was able to read the ERC and do the calibration routine.

After calibration, I tested the rotor operation with both the ERC and N1MM software. The calibration turned out to be accurate to within 5 degrees of what the Yaesu controller indicated.

One feature that would've been nice is automatic turn on of the Yaesu controller when the 12 VDC supply is turned on.

UPDATE: I was suppose to do an extended calibration for this rotator because the position reporting is non-linear. Turns out the calibration was more accurate without the extended calibration.
VK5IR Rating: 2021-01-25
Love it! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I ordered the ERC SMD USB. After a long wait (11 weeks shipping from DL to VK due to COVID) the unit arrived and I installed it in my Yaesu G-450A. The instructions were fairly easy to follow but I also used some of the images from the web of others who also installed one into their G450. I'm not all that confident when it comes to this stuff but installation was simple and the unit fits beautifully inside the G450 control box. The sticker template for the rear panel showing you where to drill your holes was excellent. The unit required the extended calibration but the software and the easy to read instructions supplied made everything a breeze and the just works! I use the included control software when running WSJT-X (I have it auto-start when launching JTAlert) but it also works great with N1MM+ as well as HRDRotator. I have videos of it in action on YouTube, just look up my callsign and I also have photos of the install on my Google photos (link in my qrz.com profile). Rene was always quick to reply to my emails when it did not arrive when expected. He has engineered a fantastic product and now I full full remote control of my rotator. I'm one happy chappy!
DG1PM Rating: 2021-01-17
Great piece of german engineering, works perfect! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
To control my new Yaesu rotor G1000 DXC I bought the ERC Mini, because I heard a lot of good things and received good support in advance by email. After the installation, the setup went completely smoothly and intuitively thanks to the really good documentation. The further integration into UcxLog went straight away. Absolutely to suggest!
M0RMY Rating: 2020-12-27
Brilliant customer support - excellent device. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased a used G450C controller and it came with an obvious extra two holes drilled in the back! This was not as advertised but in true ham style, I took the thing apart and figured out it was a bonus ERC! I was sure it was not a new version so I took pictures and emailed them to Rene. He replied within a day saying it was a V3 and sent a full set of instructions and advice!! Brilliant service. It hooks up to HRD using 4800 baud and Yaesu GS-232B Az protocol at 1 sec refresh time. One click and the beam is moving- a great bit of hardware and software integration. Thanks Rene!!