I've had a 4-El SteppIR at 100ft for about a year now and have wondered
about this possible "radome" effect. I seem to remember hearing precip
static on my wire antennas while not hearing anything on the SteppIR. I'll
should also have a regular aluminum tubing type Yagi up this coming season
and can do a real comparison then.
73, Bob - W3YY
----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard M. Gillingham" <rmoodyg@bellsouth.net>
To: <N2TK@arrl.net>; "'Tom Rauch'" <w8ji@contesting.com>;
<towertalk@contesting.com>; "'Bill Ogden'" <ogden@us.ibm.com>
Sent: Monday, August 30, 2004 3:20 PM
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Quad vs SteppIR
> I can't speak for snow static, living in south Florida, but the steppir is
> less prone to precip static because (I think) of the fact that the
elements
> are enclosed in a "radome"... When some of my local buddies are
complaining
> of precip static during rain storms, I don't hear it. That's not to say
you
> won't hear static crashes from lightning. There's plenty of that down
here.
> (grin)
>
> There are certainly more knowledgable folks on here, but that's my
> experience.
>
> Good luck,
> Gil, W1RG
> 3el up since Aug 2002.
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "N2TK" <tony.kaz@verizon.net>
> To: "'Tom Rauch'" <w8ji@contesting.com>; <towertalk@contesting.com>;
"'Bill
> Ogden'" <ogden@us.ibm.com>
> Sent: Monday, August 30, 2004 11:13 AM
> Subject: RE: [TowerTalk] Quad vs SteppIR
>
>
> > Hi Tom,
> >
> > When I had a quad and monobanders, the quad was always quieter from snow
> > static than the monobanders. Was wondering if the SteppIR would be
quieter
> > than a regualr aluminum beam during a snow storm since the snow would be
> > in
> > contact with fiberglass instead of aluminum? Or would the static charge
be
> > the same regardless of material?
> > Tnx
> > N2TK, Tony
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com
> > [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Tom Rauch
> > Sent: Monday, August 30, 2004 10:54 AM
> > To: towertalk@contesting.com; Bill Ogden
> > Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Quad vs SteppIR
> >
> >> I am wondering if a 3 element SteppIR would provide any
> > noticable
> >> improvements in my situation. The SteppIR is probably
> > easier to handle and
> >> the 180 degree switch appears to be a very nice feature,
> > but is this
> >> sufficient to justify switching? Does anyone have
> > experiences about quad
> >> vs SteppIR?
> >
> > Hi Bill,
> >
> > This is all based on "how it works" data, not an actual comparison. I've
> > had
> > quads and Yagis, and the SteppIR is nothing but a Yagi.
> >
> > If both your old quad and the proposed SteppIR antennas both have
> > reasonable
> > efficiency, you can expect performance to be roughly proportional to
boom
> > length, assuming the number of elements is nearly optimum for any given
> > boom
> > length. This means the SteppIR should at least equal if not actually
> > improve
> > performance as long as it has a longer boom. My bet is that it would
> > actually improve your system a few dB for both receiving and
transmitting.
> >
> > I almost hate to say this, but an occasional reminder is due from time
to
> > time. A quad has no real gain advantage over a similar size Yagi. The
> > original "2dB" thing came from flawed measurements of a scaled model by
a
> > W2
> > and W6 long ago, and once it was in print that was it...it took on a
life
> > of
> > its own. At some heights a small quad antenna can show a little
advantage
> > (perhaps 1 dB) and at other heights a slight loss over a similar boom
> > length
> > yagi. Overall they are about equal, although for some reason long quads
> > did
> > not fair well in actual measurements (Wayne Overbeck N6NB and Dave Bell
> > W6AQ, CQ Magazine, May 1982).
> >
> > Another quad myth is capture area, but physical aperture is not the same
> > as
> > electrical aperture or "capture area".
> > Capture area only relates to gain and frequency, so any antenna with the
> > same gain on the same frequency has the same capture area! That's true
if
> > one is a big box, and the other is a small single plane element. Capture
> > area also does not determine S/N ratio, so it a moot point anyway.
> >
> > Directivity sets receiving, not gain or capture area (more correctly
> > called
> > effective aperture). I would expect the SteppIR to receive better,
because
> > it should have better directivity. The exception might be in times of
> > inclement weather, since the quad generally has less of a corona
> > (P-static) problem. In the few quads I've had here, that was the only
> > advantage I ever saw when comparing them to similar size Yagi's.
> >
> > 73 Tom
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> >
> > See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless
> > Weather Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with
> > any
> > questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > TowerTalk mailing list
> > TowerTalk@contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> >
> > See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless
> > Weather Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with
> > any questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > TowerTalk mailing list
> > TowerTalk@contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless
Weather Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any
questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
>
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>
_______________________________________________
See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather
Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions
and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
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