"Ted Goldblatt" wrote in message
...
John Ferrell wrote:

I am not sure I understand the question. I think you have the rotator
upside down on the tower at the moment. If it went through some
weather, it is probably full of water now. The way I would handle the
problem is to remove the rotator from the mount and hang it on the
tower (clothes hanger wire) right side up. I would hang it there for a
few days to drain & dry out. When it comes time to reinstall the
antennas, test the rotator for proper operation. Chances are that it
will be OK. If you seal it tight, the moisture will be sealed in.
These things are intended to be able to breathe!

The tower is currently up (the mast broke above the rotor, so all the
antennas are dangling by their feedlines, but the tower itself is OK) and
the rotor is in its normal upright position. It will be upside down when
the tower is folded over to work on. As far as I know, the rotor is fine
right now.

If removing/replacing the rotator is a major hassle, I would either
send it to one of the maintenance guys or put up a new one & sell the
old one on ebay WITH the explanation. There are lots of us who have
setups that are easy to change.

Don't understand this. Yes, removing/replacing the rotor is a hassle,
largely because it has to be done with the unit upside down, and standing
at the top of a ladder. But that isn't the issue here - in fact, there is
no obvious reason to remove the rotor at all, since it seems intact. Just
remove the stub of the broken mast from the thrust bearing and put a new
one in. The issue is that while that is done, and the new antennas are
mounted, and new (or repaired) feedlines are run, and all the antennas are
tuned, the tower will need to be folded over, with the rotor mounted, and
these steps will almost certainly take several days. Because of
availability of helpers reasons, this will likely have to be on weekends,
meaning the tower will be folded (and the rotor inverted) for a period of
at least 1 to 2 weeks.

If the rotator must be left in the inverted position outside for an
extended time I would wrap it in black landscape plastic and duct tape
to prevent more water from entering while leaving the bottom of the
plastic open to dry out.

I have done this in the past, but because of the way the rotor is mounted
on the Rohn tower, it isn't possible to seal it very well this way - I was
looking for suggestions for better ways of weatherproofing it for this
period.

Marshall


LOTS of Heavy Grease "glooped" all over every conceivable (and
inconceivable) opening. Then wrap it in plastic.

73
Roger ZR3RC