Hello, I am KC4ZZE, This is what Ham radio is about, sharing experiences and knowledge to advance the art. I needed a way to rotate the hexbeam remotely 200 miles away from the shack using a RCA VH226E antenna rotator. I came up with a solution after giving it a lot of thought. I purchased a WIFI IR hub and manually programmed the hub training it with the VH226E’s RCA handheld remote control as an experiment. It worked! I can now rotate the hexbeam from my cell phone turning it North, East, West, and South controlling the VH226E Antenna Rotator from my android cell phone using the Tuya App. The IR hub is freely supported by the Tuya app. I watch from two remote cameras to see the inside rotator box and outside antenna rotator operate and turn as I use the Tuya app. The AC power to the inside RCA VH226E box is a manual switch on the side of the box. I set the switch to permanent on position and plugged into a Kasa AC outlet. Now I can rotate my antenna from any where in the world with WIFI connection.
I put up a 45' tower and figured I would include this RCA model rotator. It always rocked back and forth a little from the gear spacing. I used it twice to tweak reception and never use it again for 3 years. The rocking finally stripped the gears and it free wheeled with the wind. I dropped the tower and pointed my antenna 38 degrees to Chicago where all my channels but 1 come from 48 miles distance. It was an experience dropping the hinged tower for the first time all by myself and I hope the last. I get 1 PBS channel from Gary, Indiana. All my channels come in at 72 on my LG TV signal test. I know I need at least a 40 to receive a station from past test. I cut the cable years ago.
I really miss being able to go down to Radio Shack when I needed a 5 or 10 foot mast for an antenna. They were reasonably priced and always had them in stock. Now, it's hard to find a mast anywhere. Home depot and other places seem to have discontinued handling them, No wonder you had to use a shovel handle! When I do find a mast for sale, they're selling at about three times what Radio shack charged!
Bought the RCA VH226E Outdoor Rotator with Remote Dec. 2020. Lasted until we had strong (but not too unusual) winds from a thunderstorm. Stripped the gears of this rotator. If you will check on Amazon, that has happened to many folks that have purchased that and the RCA VH226F rotators. Those are typical cheap, Chinese made with poorly designed rotators with plastic gears. All other rotators that I have found are much more expensive - all made by Yaesu. Those too may be Chinese, but I strongly suspect that they are made of better stuff.
Does it come with any cabling and how long if so... what is the connection type both ends, does it work off your 110v and will it work on UK 230v, is it 50 and 60 Hz, what accessories does it come with i.e. clamps, size, length. Thanks.
He stated,I don’t have any rotator cable so I am using some wire I have.Did you even watch and listen to the video before asking that stupid question? If I was a betting Man I would bet you are a Dumbacrat. 😂🤣
@@1OFGODSOWN Hi Dumbacrat... whatever that means... as I'm stuck in UK and needed to know what the connector type was both ends as Tom doesn't say and it isn't on the box or instructions... I thought asking might be helpful, also it does say on the box, cable included but not the length.. I think that needs another Dumbacrat... whatever that means, but I'm guessing some one of lower mentality similar to yourself... ? clamp size and 230 V could be important as once I get it here I can't change my mind as shipping is expensive.... Oh, and I just realised what Dumbacrat probably means... a good old UK "Tosser" as no doubt you are with FA better to do, go get a life buddy, we can do without morons on here... a year later...WTF is up with you, you must be mutating from the Covid 19 Virus... my sympathies... and no I bought a cheaper better one from China, minus the Virus...
@@1OFGODSOWN no good question mate thats what i was going to ask because im in the uk and we are 240v not 110 so my quess is to get a drop down converter mate the cheap anough and as for the plug and cableing just use a old lawn mower cable as for the plug is it a 3 pin or 2 baffeling lol
110V; No cable included (optional purchase from RCA or elsewhere) though you do need a 3 wire wire/cable. The size masts are spoken of in the video and yes it comes with the necessary clamps. Thats it, Control Box, Remove, and Rotor itself.
@@1OFGODSOWN No need to be offensive. He's a Socialist. RCA is making more bucks off their cabling; why include it for free. Ever buy a HF or VHF/UHF radio and it had cable included, Demoncrat?
Lowes has these on clearance for $30. A local ham let me know and I bought the last one at the store near me. Hope to put up a 6M Moxon up in the spring.
Is there anything that goes into the rotator itself to turn like a cord connected to the digital box inside the home or do you put batteries in the rotator itself? thanks
hey brian, dont see a reply here. I'm getting the same kit (RCA) to go on a MFJ-1886, will at least post a reply on here and also on my blog. 73 2E0FWE
@@brianvarey3488 thats great to hear, ironicaly i'm not using the loop now and am giong to tr y a GB-3 GB Antennas 6m/2m/70cm 11 el Yagi in it instead. Will try nearer ground level first for any griding/dodgy noises before putting it up the mast.
Does it have a mechanical stop after rotating 360 deg? Important to have in order to prevent damage to co-axial cables. 10 pound vertical load seems extremely small.
Hope you are still following to answer this: My walls are already sealed. Can I operate this via a radio link to the motor or does there have to be a wire from near the TV going all the way to the motor to make it turn? In other words, can I set the controller near the TV and use the remote to control the controller and have the rotor turn without a wire from the controller which sits near the TV? Could I use another spare coax going from my TV to the attic to make a two wired connection to the motor if wiring is required between the two? Thanks.
I bought one recently : the unit needs 3 strand wire. Two are for power and one is for control. What do you mean by your walls being "sealed"? If you mean it's regular stud and drywall construction you can still fish wires up it with wire fishing tape or rod. If that's beyond what you're comfortable doing you can hire it out for a reasonable price.
Three wire 20 AWG < 150 ft. U do the conversion to meters. Note that it doesnt need "cable" per sey. A three wire protected from damaging UV rays where necessary.
It's a light duty rotator. Designed for light television antennas. But 2 meter and 70 centemeter yagi's are usually light enough that it won't be a problem. Not designed for large Ham antennas.
7.5# or slightly less depending on sources. Ive seen it reported as 9 and 25# believe it or not. But consensus is 7.5#. No thanks to RCA for their lack of specifications.
Hello, I am KC4ZZE, This is what Ham radio is about, sharing experiences and knowledge to advance the art. I needed a way to rotate the hexbeam remotely 200 miles away from the shack using a RCA VH226E antenna rotator. I came up with a solution after giving it a lot of thought. I purchased a WIFI IR hub and manually programmed the hub training it with the VH226E’s RCA handheld remote control as an experiment. It worked! I can now rotate the hexbeam from my cell phone turning it North, East, West, and South controlling the VH226E Antenna Rotator from my android cell phone using the Tuya App. The IR hub is freely supported by the Tuya app. I watch from two remote cameras to see the inside rotator box and outside antenna rotator operate and turn as I use the Tuya app. The AC power to the inside RCA VH226E box is a manual switch on the side of the box. I set the switch to permanent on position and plugged into a Kasa AC outlet. Now I can rotate my antenna from any where in the world with WIFI connection.
Love it when a plan comes together.. Hah ! 73
I put up a 45' tower and figured I would include this RCA model rotator. It always rocked back and forth a little from the gear spacing. I used it twice to tweak reception and never use it again for 3 years. The rocking finally stripped the gears and it free wheeled with the wind. I dropped the tower and pointed my antenna 38 degrees to Chicago where all my channels but 1 come from 48 miles distance. It was an experience dropping the hinged tower for the first time all by myself and I hope the last. I get 1 PBS channel from Gary, Indiana. All my channels come in at 72 on my LG TV signal test. I know I need at least a 40 to receive a station from past test. I cut the cable years ago.
I really miss being able to go down to Radio Shack when I needed a 5 or 10 foot mast for an antenna. They were reasonably priced and always had them in stock. Now, it's hard to find a mast anywhere. Home depot and other places seem to have discontinued handling them, No wonder you had to use a shovel handle! When I do find a mast for sale, they're selling at about three times what Radio shack charged!
You can use chain link fence rail from lowes or fence post.
Bought the RCA VH226E Outdoor Rotator with Remote Dec. 2020. Lasted until we had strong (but not too unusual) winds from a thunderstorm. Stripped the gears of this rotator. If you will check on Amazon, that has happened to many folks that have purchased that and the RCA VH226F rotators. Those are typical cheap, Chinese made with poorly designed rotators with plastic gears. All other rotators that I have found are much more expensive - all made by Yaesu. Those too may be Chinese, but I strongly suspect that they are made of better stuff.
That lamp looks like its from this side of the pond. ;-)
Never mind the rotator; where did you get that old English kerosine lamp from?? I haven't seen one of those since I was a teenager - 50 years ago!
I have one of those kerosine lantern I ripped-off a roadwork site in London around 1967,
Also waiting for an rca rotor ordered from Amazon.
Hallo Thomas does this unit work with EU 220V?
Does it come with any cabling and how long if so... what is the connection type both ends, does it work off your 110v and will it work on UK 230v, is it 50 and 60 Hz, what accessories does it come with i.e. clamps, size, length. Thanks.
He stated,I don’t have any rotator cable so I am using some wire I have.Did you even watch and listen to the video before asking that stupid question? If I was a betting Man I would bet you are a Dumbacrat. 😂🤣
@@1OFGODSOWN Hi Dumbacrat... whatever that means... as I'm stuck in UK and needed to know what the connector type was both ends as Tom doesn't say and it isn't on the box or instructions... I thought asking might be helpful, also it does say on the box, cable included but not the length.. I think that needs another Dumbacrat... whatever that means, but I'm guessing some one of lower mentality similar to yourself... ? clamp size and 230 V could be important as once I get it here I can't change my mind as shipping is expensive.... Oh, and I just realised what Dumbacrat probably means... a good old UK "Tosser" as no doubt you are with FA better to do, go get a life buddy, we can do without morons on here... a year later...WTF is up with you, you must be mutating from the Covid 19 Virus... my sympathies... and no I bought a cheaper better one from China, minus the Virus...
@@1OFGODSOWN no good question mate thats what i was going to ask because im in the uk and we are 240v not 110 so my quess is to get a drop down converter mate the cheap anough and as for the plug and cableing just use a old lawn mower cable as for the plug is it a 3 pin or 2 baffeling lol
110V; No cable included (optional purchase from RCA or elsewhere) though you do need a 3 wire wire/cable. The size masts are spoken of in the video and yes it comes with the necessary clamps. Thats it, Control Box, Remove, and Rotor itself.
@@1OFGODSOWN No need to be offensive. He's a Socialist. RCA is making more bucks off their cabling; why include it for free. Ever buy a HF or VHF/UHF radio and it had cable included, Demoncrat?
Lowes has these on clearance for $30. A local ham let me know and I bought the last one at the store near me. Hope to put up a 6M Moxon up in the spring.
I just checked Lowe's, they have a price of $120 on the VH126N.
Is there anything that goes into the rotator itself to turn like a cord connected to the digital box inside the home or do you put batteries in the rotator itself? thanks
Its hardwired from rotator to the control box
hey Thomas how is the rotor holding up with the mfj-1886 loop on it .....i am doing the same thing here with a mfj-1886 loop and that rotor
hey brian, dont see a reply here. I'm getting the same kit (RCA) to go on a MFJ-1886, will at least post a reply on here and also on my blog. 73 2E0FWE
@@alzeNL i did get it set up and it works great
@@brianvarey3488 thats great to hear, ironicaly i'm not using the loop now and am giong to tr y a GB-3 GB Antennas 6m/2m/70cm 11 el Yagi in it instead. Will try nearer ground level first for any griding/dodgy noises before putting it up the mast.
@@alzeNL how is it working with the yagi?
Thank you !
hai thomas is it work for yagi 2x12 element
Does it have a mechanical stop after rotating 360 deg? Important to have in order to prevent damage to co-axial cables. 10 pound vertical load seems extremely small.
No
Yes. It will rotate 360 degrees from 0 to 360 and stop. As seen in the video. Pressing the CCW moves it from 360 to 0.
Hope you are still following to answer this: My walls are already sealed. Can I operate this via a radio link to the motor or does there have to be a wire from near the TV going all the way to the motor to make it turn? In other words, can I set the controller near the TV and use the remote to control the controller and have the rotor turn without a wire from the controller which sits near the TV? Could I use another spare coax going from my TV to the attic to make a two wired connection to the motor if wiring is required between the two? Thanks.
I bought one recently : the unit needs 3 strand wire. Two are for power and one is for control.
What do you mean by your walls being "sealed"? If you mean it's regular stud and drywall construction you can still fish wires up it with wire fishing tape or rod. If that's beyond what you're comfortable doing you can hire it out for a reasonable price.
Does this rotor have a brake to keep it from rotation when it’s not activated?
No, none of these cheap consumer rotors have that. Spend over $300 and you might get that.
Sorry, and how many cable cores does it require if no cabling and SWG.
Three wire 20 AWG < 150 ft. U do the conversion to meters. Note that it doesnt need "cable" per sey. A three wire protected from damaging UV rays where necessary.
So how has the Rotator held up? It looks suspiciously like my Radio Shack
Would this handle a Maco 103C? Shipping weight 25 pounds
Never, this is for UHF antennas , Maybe VHF if small, but not a 3 beam HF
I tried it anyway (before I got a response) with a Mao Y Quad, and guess what happened. Spin in the wind ha ha
It's a light duty rotator. Designed for light television antennas. But 2 meter and 70 centemeter yagi's are usually light enough that it won't be a problem. Not designed for large Ham antennas.
Mine lasted just over one month. It's the indoor controller that failed.
7.5# or slightly less depending on sources. Ive seen it reported as 9 and 25# believe it or not. But consensus is 7.5#. No thanks to RCA for their lack of specifications.
Do you happen to know how much the rotator itself weighs? A simple google search only shows that shipping weight.
7.5#
KYJ 9811
THE BALTIMORE BEAKEN
And you made a video for this?