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One just died after about 6 months, and one was dead on arrival. I've bought three of these units so far. One is up and working now for 4 months. I've traced the failure to the drive motor; it's not in the controllers.I do drive big FM antennae but in coastal California with a mild climate.At this price, they are not worth the repair bills and there is ZERO customer service or support from Philips or Magnavox. I won't buy another so learn from my mistakes.
my unit does not work below 32F degrees. the motor freezes up. i called phillips in NC and they agreed to replace it. they asked if i would sign for the fedx delivery, i said yes, but they never sent it.ForGetAboutIt they can sit on it and rotate when its warm.
After purchase the initial test steps specified in the manual showed that it was working OK so it was installed on a TV antenna mast, but on the next day it stuck at zero degrees (north) and would not turn anymore. I then searched the Internet for user comments, and found that failures of this brand seem to be widespread. In fact, pictures of various brands show that some look the same except for the brand name on them, so perhaps they are now all made at the same factory in China and all have the same problems. The control unit worked but the motor was dead. They also said they did not have a headquarters address to which consumers could mail written complaints. A look inside revealed that a motor wire had burned apart, and no wonder because the wire used for the motor windings is no longer the large size formerly used in USA-made rotators (years ago I repaired one of those, so I'm sure), it is now a very small and cheap size near the thickness of a human hair. Had to take it down and check the wiring - control cable, connections, and voltages to the rotor housing were good, but I replaced the cable anyway to be sure, and triple-checked wire polarity. Users say that rotator quality in general has sunk since production was outsourced to China, so much so that many only function for a short period, less than a year, sometimes in weeks.
With the insulation on it appears to be a reasonable size, but with that removed the wire itself is tiny, too small to last long. This size of wire used to be found only in very small electrical devices, like toys. That in general is what users say in numerous tech forums on the Internet, and that good rotators are no longer being made.Phoned Philips for a warranty replacement, but they said I would have to pay return shipping costs and wait a month for it. Hmmm.
If there was ever was a good example of why you should always read the instructions, this rotator is it. This indicates that there is actually no reliable feedback from the rotator to the control unit, essentially making the antenna position indicated by the control unit meaningless.2) I expected to see a larger motor. 3) The universal remote control that comes with this unit is a primitive TV/VCR only. If you are going to buy this rotator, make sure you do this step. Once the digital transition occurs, this remote will be pretty much useless with TVs because you won't be able to punch in digital channels.Philips generally puts out solid 3.5 star products - this doesn't appear to be one of them. The motor in my rotator died during this step. According to the instructions, the rotator must be synchronized and it is recommend this step be performed on the ground prior to installation. The motor size may in fact be adequately sized but to me, it does look a little "toyish." For those that remember "LPs", let me just say that most turntables had motors that looked more substanstial than the one in this unit.
I got maybe 6 or so rotations before it died. I'm so grateful that it died on the ground, before I had spent considerable time on the roof mounting the rotator and antenna and permanently wiring everything.Other reasons to reconsider purchasing this model:1) The contol box showed the antenna position moving even though the motor had burned out. I don't why Philips didn't change the remote with this product to a TV/DVD remote years ago when DVD players pretty much killed the VCR.
Philips Sdw1850/17 Antenna Remote-Controlled Rotorreceived fast shipping in perfect condition works excellent would recommend this product
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