Name: Hy-Gain HAM-IV
Brand: Hy-Gain

all

Bands

Frequency	n/a
Power	a rotator, not an RF device: 800 in-lb of turning torque, 5,000 in-lb of braking
Modes	n/a
Weight	11.8 kg (26 lb)

Connectors

control cable	8-conductor cable (user supplied). Detachable 8-pin Cinch connector at rotator, 8-pin plug at controller
mast clamp	max 2-1/16 inch (52mm) mast diameter
mounting	clamp plates with stainless steel U-bolts for tower-top mounting
power req	120V AC via controller

The most famous antenna rotator in amateur radio: rated for 15 square feet of antenna wind area tower-mounted (7.5 with a mast adapter) - the tribander-class workhorse that generations of stations were built around The mechanism that earned the trust: dual ball-bearing races carry the load (96 balls per the spec table - the same page's prose says 98, a charming in-house typo), an electric wedge brake (5,000 in-lb) locks the array against wind, the ring gear is alloy rated to 100,000 PSI, and the grease works to -30 F 800 in-lb of rotation torque through the classic bell-housing design; the analog controller's meter-and-lever interface is its own piece of shack iconography The brake discipline is the owner's lore, citable to the service institution itself: let the array coast BEFORE the wedge drops, or - in the rebuild shop's words - 'the brake assembly just plain eats itself'; aftermarket delay boards automate the patience Lineage with dates: the CDE Ham-M debuted November 1957, Ham-II 1974, Ham-III 1977, Ham-IV ~1979 (its steel ring gear borrowed from the T2X); Cornell-Dubilier sold the rotor division to Telex/Hy-Gain in 1981, Telex to MFJ in May 1999 - and the ROTATOR line was explicitly included in the 2026 ITU acquisition, unlike the MFJ house brand A vast rebuild culture (parts, bearing kits, dedicated service shops) keeps half-century-old units spinning - the rotator equivalent of a smallblock V8

Strengths

The default rotator for the default station: 15 square feet covers every tribander and most stacks short of monobander rows, the wedge brake genuinely holds in storms, and the design's sheer ubiquity means parts, manuals, repair shops, and folklore are all one search away. Buy used without fear - everything inside is replaceable.

Weaknesses

The wedge brake demands the coast-to-stop ritual (abuse chips it - the classic failure), the analog controller's calibration drifts with age, 8-conductor cable runs are the install's hidden cost, and the ITU transition leaves new-unit availability a watch-this-space exactly like the antenna lines.

Verdict

The smallblock of rotators: not the strongest, not the newest, but the one whose every quirk is documented and every part obtainable. For tribander-class arrays it remains the sane default - used, rebuilt, or (transition permitting) new.

The HAM-IV is the rotator that turned most of amateur radio's antennas for half a century: rated at 15 square feet of wind area tower-mounted (7.5 on a mast), driven by 800 inch-pounds of motor through a bell housing riding dual bearing races (96 balls by the spec table; the same maker page's prose says 98 - an in-house typo the record should note), and held against the wind by the design's signature - an electric wedge brake delivering 5,000 inch-pounds of lock. The alloy ring gear is rated to 100,000 PSI, the grease to thirty below, and the analog controller's meter-and-lever face became shack iconography because it sat in so many shacks.

The ownership culture carries one commandment: let the array coast before the brake drops. The wedge that holds a tribander rigid in a gale will chip if slammed against rotating momentum, and 'brake delay' discipline separates forty-year units from broken ones - the legendary rebuild shop's own FAQ warns that without the coast, 'the brake assembly just plain eats itself,' which is why aftermarket delay boards exist. Everything else is famously rebuildable - bearings, motors, brakes, and pots all swap, and a dedicated service ecosystem keeps the fleet alive the way machine shops keep old engines running.

The lineage explains the ubiquity, and the dates are documented: the Cornell-Dubilier Ham-M debuted in November 1957, the Ham-II followed in 1974, the Ham-III in 1977, and the Ham-IV around January 1979 - its steel ring gear borrowed from the bigger T2X - with CDE selling the rotor division to Telex/Hy-Gain in 1981 and Telex to MFJ in May 1999; and, notably, the rotator line was explicitly named in the 2026 ITU Corporation acquisition alongside the antennas, putting the HAM-IV's future in the same revival-in-transition status as the beams it was built to spin. Its bigger sibling the T2X Tailtwister doubles the ratings for the next antenna class up; the choice between them has opened every tower-planning conversation since the Nixon administration.