RCA VH226E Programmable Outdoor Antenna Rotator

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.

This is a good unit for a small lightweight rotor. It is being used to turn a vertical receiving loop and it is working well. I was surprised to hear how quiet it is when rotating. The control box only shows direction in degrees / 10, so for instance a reading of 12 on the controller means 120 degrees. I also had to enlarge the opening for my rotor control cable which is flat instead of round - possibly round cable would not have presented any issues. But those are small nits for what is a very nice rotor for the price. As long as you don't overload it with an antenna that is too large, and pay attention to getting the control cable wiring to match between the 3 connections on both ends, you should have no issues at all.

This rotator is a light duty item that works well with smaller fm, or tv antennas. Its lightweight design adds to its simplicity of installation. You can add to its durability by adding an optional “thrust bearing bracket “ to the lower part of the antenna masting. It comes with a programmable control box and remote that will remember the antenna locations to customize where the antenna should go by pressing a custom code number and letting the antenna point itself directly toward the station you want to view. All automatically! For the cost, it’s relatively inexpensive compared to the others, but gets the job done in rotating smaller outdoor antennas with ease. Needs additional three conductor cable between the control box and rotator.

The unit appears very well built and functions as advertised with one exception that depends on your TV. The literature on the unit indicates that it has 12 memory locations that you can use to find and store antenna locations that are optimum for your reception area. And this is true, BUT: If you have a TV (like ours) that cannot permanently store the digital channels then there is no way to use this, or any, antenna positioner without rescanning the channels each time you move the antenna. If this was the old days of analog TV, it would work great as the channel numbers are locked in. We have an "older" Samsung flatscreen TV, probably 8 years old or so. Like all digital TVs, you hit the auto-scan and it finds all the channels it can for the given antenna position. Then if you move the antenna (manually or with this remote device) you scan again which erases all the previously found channels and populates the list with the new found channels. I did a lot of research to see if there was a way to lock them in and found none. I tried saving the channels as favorites, but these got erased also when doing a new scan. So, if you have a TV that can properly store the channels, or just want a remote positioner for that convenience, I think it works very well. If you want to use the position memory function to quickly move from one station to another and your TV can't permanently store the channels, then you will have to scan each time you rotate the antenna. And that doesn't work for me.

RCA Programmable Antenna Rotator VH226F Review This 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

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.

Nine months after purchase the O-ring that seals the rotator from the base broke and was found lying on the concrete below antenna. RCA Website does not recognize model name and number. Called 1-800 warranty # in manual. Representative gave me the run around said I needed to return it to the retailer I told them 12 month warranty was through RCA (Voxx) not retailer. They said that the units have been on backorder for two months so even if I returned it to them they did not know when it could be replaced or repaired. I said fine just send me my $121 dollars paid for it and they said they could not do that. I said I spent more for an RCA brand and not some cheap knock off so I hopefully would not have to deal with these kind of issues. I said send me a replacement O-ring they said they did not have one. They said contact them back at a later date to see if they have any rotators back in stock. I said how do we document this so that in case it is after the warranty date and they said they do not document it. I asked to speak to a supervisor they said they knew that was coming. I was put on hold and initial representative returned with several more conversations and me asking again several times to speak to a supervisor. They said to return the unit to them and I said I don't trust them and that they don't have any in stock nor do they know when they will get them and I would be without an antenna for who knows how long. They asked how do I know it is an O-ring issue and I said I am looking at it in front of me and it was lying on the ground under the antenna that I would gladly send them a picture of it and if they look at a product photo of the rotator they can see a black line separating the two parts and that that is the O-ring. Miraculously after one of the several breaks to supposedly connect me to a supervisor (they never did) they said low and behold they found an O-ring they can send me so I can fix it myself, not that I am looking forward to having to get back up on the ladder to fix it. I will now have to find the right kind of grease or lubricant to put on the new O-ring assuming it actually arrives so that hopefully it does not break again as I suspect that is the culprit unless it was sun exposure as upon looking at it there are numerous cracks in the broken O-ring. So if these rotators ever come back in stock and you decide to purchase one take the advice of other reviewers and put some thread lock on the screws inside the motor unit (which I did and have not had that loose screw and stripped gears issue) I would research compatible lubes for O-rings that are water resistant to minimize O-ring issues. If it wasn't for it lying on the concrete (not on the grass) I probably would not have noticed it missing. I assume it is important for excluding water from inside the unit but until I have it down and apart I won't know for sure. I may try and rig up some kind of sun shade/shield (metallic duct tape?) that will not interfere with rotation and protect the new O-ring from deteriorating and breaking again. Other than these underlying issues my rotator has helped me get a ton of free tv stations that I other wise would not get on a fixed antenna out here in the middle of no where. Now if I can just find a solution for the weak intermittent digital signals ( I am convinced analog was a stronger more consistent signal) but don't have any history at this location to compare it to. As with everything these days buyer beware as decades old US companies are not what they use to be.

Love it

شكرا

Qualité prix et Montage facile très bien ; mais le gros problème cet que le bloque commande fonctionne en 110 V ? Donc achat en plus d'un transfo d'isolement 110v/230v

Perfect. Works great

Zit een Amerikaanse stekker en staat 110 volt op.

This was purchased to turn a 4 element 2m quad ham radio antenna. It arrived quicker than expected, well boxed and full instructions. You will need a drop Down adapter from 240v to 110v for around 10.00. Cable is 3 core mains. Available at the local store. Very, very quiet, turns with ease! Program it to all the directions and your fine. You don't even have to do that you can use the remote to control it manually. Excellent value at a yaesu rotator that's overkill for light weight 2m antennas. 2e0rte.