Aiga / Wilson rotators - latest updates
More general Aiga / Wilson rotator information can be found below.
Update March 2023 and July 2025: Thanks to Mike K9AJ and Scott from 'Rotor's by Scott', the "Owner's Manual" for the Wilson WR 1000 (aka Aiga ART-8000) rotator is included in the folder of Aiga ART-8000 / Wilson WR 1000 rotator files (zip folder : file size 6.6MB). A new folder of folder of Aiga ART-3000 / WR 500 rotator files has also been added (zip folder : file size 6MB).
Update May and November 2022: sadly the 'E-Ring' retaining clip on the end of the 'Brake Actuator'pin holding the wedge brake in my ART-8000 worked loose and jammed the mechanism. Before I realised what had happened, the teeth on two of the steel gears in the rotator's 'reduction gear chain' had stripped.
After learning about spur gear specifications, in particular the term 'module' (or 'modulus') in relation to gears, some suitable replacements were sourced from Bolton Engineering in the UK (a 60 tooth 1.25 module gear and an 18 tooth 1.25 module gear). These are not direct drop-in replacments and some light machining (lathe work and drilling) plus braising (welding) will be required.
The new 60 tooth 1.25 module gear and the old damaged gear The new 18 tooth gear (+ spare) and the old gear (part of a double gear)
Thanks to the expert help of Mike ZL2AUA the new gears have been machined to suit and now await braising together beflore the ART-8000 can be reassembled. More on that to follow ....
In the mean time I bought a 'Yaesu G-2800DXA' rotator and 'ERC-mini' computer interace to remotely rotate my 4 x 6 element 6m antenna array.
Aiga / Wilson rotators - general information
The Aiga ART-8000 is a large antenna rotator that was made in Japan during the 1970's. We believe that this rotator was also marketed in the USA as the "Wilson WR 1000" rotor. Aiga also produced a smaller ART-3000 rotator that was similarly marketed in North America as the "Wilson 500" rotor (see the Ham Radio magazine advertisement in the zipped folder mentioned above).
The ART-8000 / WR 1000 has been described as "the King Kong of rotators" and "better than a prop pitch rotor". While those claims are somewhat subjective, the ART-8000 is certainly a brute of a rotator capable of holding and turning large antennas and antenna arrays.
Specifications: metric (imperial)
Height (including mast clamp) = 48.3cm (19")
Diameter = 28cm (11")
Weight = 27kg (60 lbs)
Accepts mast diameters between 5cm and 8cm (2" to 3")
Wind load rating = 2.32 square meters (25 sq feet)
Turning torque = 450 N m (4,000 inch-lbs)
Braking torque before override = 1350 N m (12,000 inch-lbs)
These specifications are in the same class as the Orion 2800, SPID-RAK and Yaesu G-2800DXA rotators and about 50% higher than the Hy-Gain T2X Tailtwister, however the physical properties of the ART-8000 rotator are built like the proverbial "brick shithouse" in comparison to those!
Information about the ART-8000 / Wilson WR 1000 is scarce, but here is a compressed (.zip) folder of Aiga ART-8000 / Wilson WR 1000 rotator files (file size 6.6MB) collected so far from various sources (particular thanks to ON7EH, K9AJ, and Scott from 'Rotor's by Scott').
Information about the smaller ART-3000 / Wilson WR 500 is not so scarce, but here is a compressed (.zip) folder of Aiga ART-3000 / Wilson WR 500 rotator files (file size 6MB) as collected so far from various Internet sources.
Note 1: the diagram "aiga_art-8000_diagram_re-drawn.jpg" in the folder is not exactly the ART-8000 controller, but was used to build a new controller to replace a lost one.
Note 2: these rotators are from the 1970's era and the lubrication grease is likely to have dried out and changed into 'a sticky mess'. This happened to mine in the 1990's and caused the wedge brake mechanism to seize. However, it was an easy task to dismantle the rotator, repair the damage (a bent pin holding the wedge brake), clean out the old grease and re-lubricate it.
If you have additional information about the Aiga/Wilson rotators please contact me so it can be included here.
Aiga ART-8000 / Wilson WR 1000 rotator (photo credit: ON7EH)
