> With the A4, the longer boom provides higher gain and wider
> bandwidth on 15/20 but performance would fall off on 10 so a
> separate reflector was used to provide a better match and
> improved F/R on 10.
>
Thanks for the clarification, Joe. As to the comment I made about the
SteppIR being noisier on 20 compared to the A4S, I really have no
explanation for it. The reverse should be true, and I first put it down to
the notion that the SteppIR was a "hotter" antenna and the lower noise level
on the A4S was because it was more lossy, but the signal levels on both
antennas with a switched A/B test are virtually the same, the only
difference is in the background noise level. Often I will switch to one the
A4S's to copy a station that is in the noise. I've discussed this with Mike
at SteppIR and he says the SteppIR should have a better signal to noise, but
it clearly doesn't here at my QTH. All the tribanders are fed with 9913
which I replace every two years and the runs are quite short because my
shack is on the 3d floor of my house and two of the yagis are roof mounted
above me. The SteppIR is on the bottom of the mast with a Cushcraft 402CD
about 14' above it. The A4S is about 8 lower than the SteppIR on the other
corner of the roof. The 3d A4S is up for some contests on a 50' Heights
tower about halfway to the sea shore. I'm about set back from the Gulf
about 300'. I really never noticed the noise until the hurricanes in the
last three years stirred up the power lines etc throughout Florida. I was
blessed for many years with an extremely quiet QTH here on the island.
In any manner of comparison, the SteppIR is a superior antenna because of
the ability to tailor it over such a broad frequency range. The old rule
that "You can never have too many antennas" is very true.
Jon Hamlet, W4ZW
Casey Key Island, Florida
"A little piece of paradise in the Gulf of Mexico"
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