Channel Master CM 9521A Complete Antenna Rotator System with Infra-Red Remote Control for TV Antennas.

This rotator is better than some of the other light duty items out there BUT it still leaves much to be desired.PROS: Uses all metal gear drive train. Non volatile memory in the controller Decently constructed (considering the price point)CONS: No azimuth direction feedback... the controller guesses antenna position (none of the cheaper models offer azimuth feedback). Uses spring lock wire connectors (like those used on cheap stereo speakers and stereo components) Gear train alignment could be better. My unit has an audible misalignment when bench testing.First things first... DO NOT mount this unit up on your roof or tower without testing it thoroughly. I tested mine on my bench first. I then mounted my unit on a 10 foot pole strapped to a deck post with the antenna on it and used it that way for 2 weeks. So far so good.The wires attach to the rotor and to the control unit via spring clip wire retainers which are the same type you will find on lower end audio receivers and speakers. For me, this method of connecting the "outside" wires is unacceptable. So, on the rotor, I removed the spring clip assembly and added studs for the connections (see attached picture). The picture showing the rear of the controller unit shows the spring clip assembly which is used on both units as shipped from the factory. I understand that making this modification voids my warranty but there was NO WAY I was going to mount this rotor 30 feet in the air with nothing more than a spring clip holding the wires on. Harsh weather would eventually cause corrosion rendering the rotor useless.The control unit has nice features which other reviewers have noted and can also be seen in the manual. It is much smaller than I had expected and it uses a "wall wart" to supply the needed 18VAC required to run the controller and the rotor. You will need to purchase the appropriate length of three conductor cable to attach the control unit to rotor. Since the control unit does NOT know the actual azimuth location of the antenna, occasional re-syncing of the two units is necessary. Re-syncing is not too terribly difficult but is somewhat time consuming as the rotor unit only turns at 1 rpm. The re-syncing process could take up to 2 or 3 minutes in a worse case scenario.All in all the unit is not bad considering the price point. A unit that will "tell" you the antennas actual azimuth will cost upwards of $250 and probably much more. I do not turn my antenna all that often so for me this unit will do the job nicely. Many of the other units sold do not have a all steel gear train and I am sure that those units will not survive the harsh Michigan winters.

I have used Channel Master Rotors since the early 1970's. They were once made by a USA company called Crown but now are made in China-like most everything else. That said, the rotor unit still looks like the older units made in the USA. A deeper look inside reveals pretty much the same design Crown used. I installed my new unit up on my tower at 48ft along with a new booster and new UHF Yagi Antenna. The big difference with the new Rotor system is the indoor control unit. The older control boxes I am used to seeing and using with Channel Master Rotors were bigger and had a large knob on the face of the box. you simply turned the knob (which had a pointer) to the direction you wanted to antenna to point to (North, East, West or South). The rotor would turn until it got to the direction you selected. The new control box is much smaller and comes with a remote control. The control box has a 3 digit readout which represents a compass heading in degrees. The bottom line is, the Rotor System works great right out of the box. You will have to buy the 3 conductor rotor cable that connects the control box to the outdoor rotor unit. I would highly recommend this Channel Master Rotor System to anyone who wants a quality system and more TV channels or radio stations The system comes with all the "how to" you'll need to install it like a professional.

Built as well as the old Channel Master rotors. Easy to install and easy to use. I bought this one to replace my old Channel Master rotor that "locked up" in the middle of a Wisconsin winter. I had installed this one 20 years ago. I took this one apart after I installed my new Channel Master rotor. Turned out, the grease hardened like wax after 20 years and was too much for the motor to overcome. I took the old unit apart and cleaned it and lubricated it. The gears were still in "like new" condition. After assembling it, I tested it and it worked good as new. Channel master has not really changed the design or their rotors for many years, because they work well for a long time. The controls have changed. They are much better. I highly recommend this product. If it can last in a Wisconsin Climate for 20 years without being serviced, I would say it is very well made.

Rotator unit seems well made and was relatively easy to install. I was disappointed that the wire connection terminals at the rotator were not screw on type as shown in the directions...(they were cheap spring clip type.) Hopefully there will be no future loss of connection issues as the unit is on top of a tower now and not easily accessed. I haven't fully deciphered the digital programming of the control unit...I installed the rotator and antenna on my new tower in the correct orientation as per the directions, but it seems to point the antenna in the wrong direction anyway. I've never been very impressed with most of today's digital electronics...they rarely ever work as advertised. I would much prefer an analog style control with a knob that could be rotated to the desired direction...what's wrong with making a control that's simple and easy for ANYONE to operate? Oh well...at least I have the ability to rotate the antenna.

got the rotator today...... it come with a little control box with three little buttons on the front of the controller...... all three button were broken off... so useless.... but the controller is also controlled via a remote unit.... which works ok........ and like one other person noted the flunky push spring type connector used to hold the cable is not up to par..... i did as he did and put together on my bench and the rotator did not rotate....anyway after about 15 minutes of testing i found out that the cable spring connector were not making a good connection... so i fixed that and not it rotates....which of course that what we want...... so now up it goes onto the mast..................the controller that sit in the house is very cheaply made and the engineer's need to redesign it.......

over priced and did not work, had to buy another one in town . the pain of returns

satisfactory

this unit works very well,