Hi Everyone,
Here's a quick update on my G5500 Azimuth rotator story. (Recall that three weeks ago I stalled the rotator after switching antennas.) Yaesu Parts USA is still backordered on the replacement motors, possibly some will arrive from Japan in a few more weeks (or possibly not). The company that I sent the motor to in LA (Eurton Electric) just gave me a quote today for the rewinding cost: $365. That's close to $3X what the motors go for new (if you can find one!), so at least with them it's not cost-effective to repair the motor. I'm having the motor shipped back, and I'll either try to rewind it myself, maybe someone else who can rewind it, or buy a replacement sometime in the future.
To get the antennas back on the air, I decided last week that it would be good to have a spare -- so I ended up purchasing a replacement G5500 system and installing the azimuth rotator this last weekend. Everything's working great so far! I also added a thermal cut-out switch to the motor to prevent a similar stall-induced-motor-burnout in the future. If anyone is interested in how I installed the switch (or what a G5500 azimuth rotator looks like inside), I've added pictures to my blog at:
http://kb5wia.blogspot.com/2012/03/az-el-antenna-system-new-70cm-yagi-and.ht...
73!
Dave KB5WIA