Remember that a 4 square is only a 2 el vertical array with the ability to
put out a uni-directional
pattern in different directions. A vertical is down 2 or 3 DB from a half
wave dipole at one half wave above ground (more so if there is a poor ground
system). So you have a beam that has 5.5Dbd
and a vertical with maybe 4Dbd gain over a single vertical. So you can
count on one S unit difference.
I seem to remember that several have installed an improved system using K8UR
style 1/2 wave verticals in a 4 square arrangement. Even there it has been
found that a 2el short beam was better
when placed at say 120 feet on 80. The gang with beams on 40 and 80 do
very well cpmpared to any vertical array until you get to phased bob tail
arrays. I remember W0MJ was using phased bob tails
on 75 and could work DX from Louisiana right over many of the East Coast. I
talked to him after a CN2 gave him 40DB over in Tangier a decade ago and
found he was a radio station engineer with specialty in antennas plus his
bob tail array was in a swamp in South Louisiana. He had several thousand
feet of ground radials too!
73 Dave K4JRB
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