RCA VH226E Programmable Outdoor Antenna Rotator

RCA Programmable Antenna Rotator VH226F ReviewThis new RCA ‘Rotator’ as it is called, is very nice, well engineered, and sturdy, but there is very little information available about it. I have installed it on my 10ft lower, chimney secured mast, and 2ft antenna rotating mast, replacing a 45 year old Radio Shack rotor. I will try to fill in a few details.1. Case of rotor section is metal and very sturdy, but I can find no specification about maximum antenna weight, or moment. They do specify 3ft max antenna mast length, above the rotor. They specify 1.25in main mast diameter but state that up to 2 inch diameter can be accommodated. I believe the same is true of the antenna mast section. The lowest mounting bracket has extra holes that accommodate optional guy wires.Be careful when mounting the base of rotor to the main mast. There is a protruding tongue on the rotor meant to act as a stop as the unit is slid onto the top of the mast. This tongue should just touch the top of the main mast and protrude into the center mast void. If you lower the rotor further that tongue will be pressed against the side of the mast and miss align the rotor on the main mast and weaken it’s mount.2. There is a 3 wire interface between the control box and the rotor. Max length of 20AWG 3 conductor cable is specified at 150 ft, but longer cable lengths are permitted with heaver gauge wire. (Be careful when connecting the 3 wires. They are numbered 1, 2, 3 on the control box, and 3, 2, 1 on the rotor.) The screws are smaller than I would expect and they warn of possible damage to the system if the wires are not connected correctly, 1 to 1, 2 to 2 and 3 to 3. Both units have terminal blocks for the connecting screws, and the screws have square washers that don’t rotate as the screws are tightened. This helps compensate for the fact that the terminal blocks are so small. If your wires are too big for using a U shape to go around the screws, I recommend a simple straight section of wire, maybe ¼ inch be inserted below the square washer while the screw is tightened. (Instructions specify stripping ½ inch of insulation.)3. The display of the control unit only displays 2 digits in degrees, so 18 stands for 180 degrees. The antenna positioning is much more accurate than that, however. The motor in the rotor unit always turns at a constant uniform speed and the control unit synchronizes with the motor unit by digitally integrating the clockwise and counterclockwise motor time. Time and rotation is set to 0 degrees in both units at the same time by pressing the initial button. From that point, time is used in the control unit to keep track of antenna movements. There is no spec on the repeat-ability or accuracy on this control system, but I believe the digital time counter and memory is better than the approximately 1 degree backlash play in the mechanics.Besides the initial synchronization system, there is a auto calibration system to match the digital counter speed to the speed of the individual motor unit paired with the individual control unit. This relative speed calibration is performed at the factory, so does not need to be done by the user, but if it ever becomes necessary, the re-calibration of the two speeds, can be performed by the user.4. There is a 12 position memory system with 12 memory select buttons. There are also clockwise and counter clockwise buttons for arbitrary control. Once a good antenna position is found, a memory button can be set to remember that position by first pressing the memory button then one of the 12 buttons. The antenna can then be returned to that position by pressing that button in the future. The memory and current antenna position are maintained across power cycles, probably by flash memory, so the unit can be powered down most of the time, and only powered up when the antenna needs to be rotated. There is a power switch on the control unit. Memory memory positions can be reprogrammed and all can be erased if desired.5. The display on the control unit is red, and way too bright for viewing at the same time as viewing a TV. I used a cut to fit piece of black dog waste bag to cover the display. It mutes the display while making it still easily visible. The display shows the memory currently selected, A, B C, D, E, F G, H, I, J, U, or L, using one character and a two digit display of the current antenna position in degrees clockwise looking down on the antenna, divided by 10. So, 3 very bright characters need to be muted.I like this unit on the whole. It is well designed, and solid. Its speed is well chosen not too fast for big antennas but not too slow for actually getting there, roughly 55 seconds for 360 deg roughly the speed and direction of a second hand. My antenna is small, but I believe it is well capable of rotating even large TV antennas. I set 0deg West, because there are no stations in that direction.On the off chance a copy of the English user manual is allowed, in this review, it can be found here:https://www.dropbox.com/s/jbvm7kaq0bizi9h/RCA%20VH22GF%20User%20Manual.pdf?dl=0

Using for 6 meter Moxon and 2 meter Yagi antennas. Works well and withstands Oklahoma storms and the winds sweeping down the plains! Have had up through tornadic storm with 80 mph winds, ice storm, and sustained 50-55mph winds during spring. No damage seen to the braking system and works very well. Much cheaper option than ham rotator and can handle 3 sq ft of antenna well.UPDATE: Have now been through 91mph wind gusts of 4-5 seconds with 15 min of sustained 65-70mph winds and still doing well. Oklahoma is lovely during Spring and early summer:) My rotator is mounted on a well guyed aluminum flag pole of 26’ above ground and 30” below ground in concrete. This has been my 6m/2m mast for 2 years now and through countless storms. Everything works well. I do annual maintenance checks on the system and tighten, reseal, etc. I remain happy with this system..UPDATE Mar 2023: Changed antennas to an Eantenna 2850 6m/10m Moxon and a Create 108-1300MHz Log Periodic just over 1 year ago. The RCA rotor is handling the heavier load and increased wind load very well. No issues at all, despite severe storms with 70-80mph wind gusts and hours of steady 30 mph Oklahoma winds with frequent gusts up to 50 mph. For the techies, my total antenna & mast weight is 9.6 kg and the wind load is 0.21 m sq. My other RCA rotator system for my LEO VU satellite array is also holding up equally well. These rotators have been a very cost-effective investment for my ham station and should handle just about any residential TV antenna on the market.

Works great! Love it! The hardest part of the whole installation is getting the wiring ran to the inside unit. Don’t know if there’s a wireless unit made but if so that might be the way to go.

This is an excellent unit for the money. The breakking is excellent and so far after 50MPH WINDS has kept 100% in alignment. When installing I set 0 as magnetic north. After multiple rotations it is still dead on. This is not the heaviest duty rotator on the market. It has to be used within it's capacities. If the intention is to swing a 20 meter amateur antenna then this is not the right rotator. I have the new ChannelMaster Pro antenna for TV and it is flawless. My only issue is the remote. It is very erratic and it only works sometimes. Have not had time to deal with it. I just push the button on the control unit and it is fine. Very easy to set up and program. Everything is included EXCEPT control cable. Easy enough to get at hardware store or order with rotator order. The 12 presets are very handy. I only need to use 4 of them to aim at the transmitter farms. Takes about 15 seconds to fully swing to alignment with tower. If you set up initially with either true or magnetic nort.h, it makes it very easy to aim. Find the location of the tower on any number of databases, turn the antenna to the direction using the controller display and push the preset button you wish to use.Overall very happy. Has not lost position and so far, except for remote issue, is perfect. Took about an hour to install and set up.

My older controller had the simple dial control, this one has a remote and is programable. I did not replace it for this feature but was happy about it. I replaced it because my old rotor would not hold my antenna in the position I selected, the wind would move it. This new controller works perfect and holds my giant antenna where I point it. Read the instructions for setting it up, you have to initialize it, and calibrate it before you can use it. I use this rotor to control my DXing antenna. So I can set button A for Detroit, B for Lansing, C for Flint etc... really handy.