How to Fix a Stuck TV Antenna Rotor
TV antenna rotors let you receive digital television signals from more than one direction. Standard masts -- up to 2-inches diameter - are used. Usually the equipment will hold locations in memory even during a power outage and automatic synchronization keeps the equipment accurate. Sometimes, however, the rotation stops working and appears stuck. Fixing this apparent stuck rotor can be accomplished by following some steps.
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Instructions
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Verify that the controller is plugged into the wall and that the control cable leads from the controller to the rotor drive-unit at the antenna. Trace it back. Verify tightness.
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Inspect the installation at the mast to make sure that the drive unit is still securely attached to the mast. Tighten the u-bolts and make sure there's plenty of slack in the cable to allow a full turn of the antenna. It's very likely that the rotor isn't in fact stuck, but that the mast has become loose and simply isn't moving. Test this by having a friend make a change to the antenna direction by pressing the "Up" or "Down" button on the remote. If the rotor moves, but not the mast, tighten the u-bolts some more.
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Check the cables haven't been wrapped around the mast and gotten tangled if you continue to have problems. When the rotor was installed, the installer should have left enough slack in the cable to allow for a full 360-degree turn of the mast. Unwrap the tangled cables, and if there isn't enough slack, extend the cables by adding an extension piece. You can use a commercially-available piece of coax connected with a barrel connector to the existing line. Try the rotor again.
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References
- Photo Credit antenna image by domyre from Fotolia.com
