I have had a Zero-Five 43 ft vertical for the past few years. I have
plenty of space around the vertical and have 57 radials of 33 to 43
feet. I run 100 watts, mostly work 40 and 30, but occasionally work
80 and 20. This antenna does very well on 40 but not as great on other
bands. I was able to get a low SWR on all bands with the Un-Un and
tuner in the shack, but all the discussion on this antenna points out
the coax losses and low efficiency so I added an MFJ-927 remote tuner
at the base last year. My results have been good on 40 and 30 but the
tuner can't match on the CW end of 80 and 160 won't tune at all even
with added inductance at the base. That may be a limitation of the MFJ
tuner. Now that the higher bands are improving, I'd like to start
working 20 through 10 more often. All the models of this antenna point
out the high radiation angle above 20 meters so expect results may be
disappointing. I don't have the desire to put up a tower and have no
trees for adding any wire antennas. The long term reliability and risk
of static damage for the MFJ-927 also concern me.
I have recently been researching the SteppIR BigIR. Although it's
shorter than the Zero-Five, the fact that the length of the radiating
element changes to 1/4 or 3/4 wave-length seems like an advantage on
the higher frequencies. The ability to tune 6 meters also interests
me. I know that 80 is a compromise with this antenna height, but it
may be no worse than the 43 footer. I also like the ability to
retract the element in stormy weather instead of actually lowering the
antenna rather than using a tuner. An amp is also possible without the
need of a high power tuner.
I am looking for comments from any BigIR users on the long term
reliability of the SteppIR and over-all results. I am not totally
ready to replace the Zero-Five, but the BigIR looks like a possible
option. I realize that one antenna working great on all bands is an
impossibility but the BigIR looks pretty versatile.
Thanks,
Phil N3ZP
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