The general line of "bell rotors" was developed by engineers at Cornell Dublier Electronics about l950 starting with the TR-2 and TR-4 series of rotators designed for directional TV antennas which were just then becoming popular. These models were meant to compliment their existing line of smaller rotators and in many cases, turned out to be the `big brothers" as some of the control units would work on both series.
As "Ham Radio" antennas became larger and larger during the 50's, the need for larger rotators became evident, so sometime about 1956, work started on a heavier design with a separate brake feature to keep the antennas from "windmilling." This eventually ended up as the HAM IV that we know today.
This was the result of beefing up considerably the older style TV
rotators with stronger, heavier gears, the wedge brake, and an improved
indication system for direct readout to a meter with a scale for NSEWN and
degrees from 0 to 360. This model, (Ham-M) first debuted in November l957.
But first, the Ham-M
The first Ham-M's, series 1 and 2, used a wiring format that was different and not compatable with later units. While these earlier units can be rewired, it is not generally considered economically feasible or worth the time to convert.
Ham-M series 3 showed up late in 1959 after numerous complaints about the wiring and the meter "flutter" and the "backwards" scale. SERIES 3 addressed these problems with revised wiring that DOES MATCH the current models, an improved grounding system for the meter feedback circuit, and a more popular scale -SWNES -since most people in the U.S. wanted North in the center of the scale.
No major changes occurred in 1965 and 1967 when the later Ham-M SERIES 4 and 5 were brought out, but minor improvements continued to be made in reliability. Ham-M's continued until 1974.
This model showed up very early in 1974, or possibly late 1975 and a
number of rumors exist as to why this new control was developed. The most
logical explanation is simply that a separate control was needed for the
brake because as large antennas continued to grow in popularity, the
instant stopping feature of the older style was causing more and more
breakdowns. The HAM-II rotator was identical to the HAM-M at that time.
The improved control was larger and more roomy inside, therefore lending
itself nicely to the options which appeared later. Early versions of the
Ham-II control unit had metal covers which were two shades of brown; later
controls had covers which were black and white. Both had a gold faceplate
and three plastic levers for direction control, along with a front-mounted
calibration switch and on/off switch.
HAM-2 or HAM-II
This model came out in the spring of 1977 to fulfill the needs of
contesters and other "big-guns" whose antennas continued to get larger as
the 70's and technology progressed. The wedge brake style which had served
so well for almost 20 years was being overloaded more and more often by
antennas with boom lengths that exceeded that of the average tri-bander.
Monoband yagis with "looooong' booms were becoming more common to the point
of being normal , and the "pointed" steel brake wedge just wouldn' t hold.
Consequentially, a new wedge was developed that was squared off on the end,
and a new brake housing design was built to match. This was an
incredible improvement, and is still being used. Also at that time, the
control was modernized internally with a printed circuit board to replace
the old "point to point" wiring style. A disc pre-brake was also added to
the motor to stop "coasting".
HAM-3 or HAM-III
This model came soon after the Ham-3, about January 1979, because all these
new large antennas tended to break the cast, (pot-metal) type of ring gear
used in the "bell-rotors" since the beginning. The improvement consisted
of making the ring gear out of steel, actually cast out of a low-grade
stainless steel and then machined for a precision fit to the other gears
and the main casting. (This was copied from the T2X, but we'll get to that
shortly). The other most noticeable change was the switch to black plastic
covers on the control unit, probably to save money, and changing the color
of the faceplate also to black.
HAM-4 or HAM-IV
Other changes within the next few years included changing the old rotary on/off switch to a toggle switch and redesigning the indication potentiometer in the rotator as another stab at improving the grounding for more reliable meter indication.
In l981,TELEX~HYGAIN bought the rotator portion of CDE and continued to build the world's most popular rotators, the Ham-4, T2X, and several smaller models. However, as the years progressed, the material in the brake wedge somehow changed, and problems started to develop (like broken wedges) in 1985. Late in 1987, C.A.T.S. produced some hardened steel wedges and Hygain followed suit in November of 1988. This was the last major change to date on this series and its popularity continues.
Starting in September 1977, CDE produced a different looking design
commonly called the T2X. This model had much heavier upper and lower
castings, and was painted a flat black color. It also had an extra row of
ball bearings located at the bottom of the brake casting, which is thicker
to accommodate them. This means the T2X rotator will support heavier
antennas than its smaller brothers, and is much more tolerant of side
thrust such as when pipe mounted with a lower adaptor. Originally, the T2X
had a specially made wedge that was much different than the smaller
models, but this proved to be a problem. After several different designs
the whole brake assembly was changed in 1984 to a similar, but not
identical system like the Ham-4. One point worth mentioning is that all
internal components such as the motor and all gears are the same as the
HAM-4... this is not widely known. The only other change from the Ham-4 is
the use of LED indicators in the control for showing activation of the
brake and direction levers.TAILTWISTER or T2X