Scott,
I cannot speak specifically to the OB 12-4 but let me share with you may
experience with OB in general.
I have in use the Optibeam 16-5 5-bander with the 2-element Optibeam 4030
stacked eleven feet above it on an 89 foot Array Solutions/ITS Extreme
crank-up tower for the past six years. I have experienced great success
with these beams and cracked many pile-ups over the years. I have pictures
of them on QRZ under my call. Both have held up mechanically very well and
I have been impressed with their performance. They meet or exceed the
published specs for each beam. I chose these beams because they handle more
than legal power and have no traps to be concerned about and they use a
heavy duty square boom along with heavy duty hardware. Looking at the
specs, even though these beams operate multiple bands, I thought they came
fairly close to the performance of a typical mono-bander of similar size.
And the front to back ratio is exceptional.
I especially enjoy using the 4030 2-element beam as it really plays
extremely well into Europe and the Pacific on 40 meters. In fact it blows
my mind many nights when I simply call a station with ease and have them
come back to me when a bunch of stations are calling them too. I work a
great deal of 30 meter CW and I have been impressed with 2-elements on this
band as well. There has been no pileup that I have not cracked. But the
art of doing that is knowing where the DX station is listening which often a
challenge. My 40 meter beam is cut for the SSB portion of the band and the
SWR is as good as OB publishes. Of course I wished the SWR was flat across
the entire band -- a pipe dream I guess.
You will find Tom, DF2BO and Array Solutions to be very responsive if you
have questions, problems or need parts either by phone or especially
internet. And I would buy them again with no hesitancy. No doubt, they are
expensive when compared to some brands in the states. But I feel I got my
moneys' worth in terms of multi-band performance and especially ruggedness.
And I would love to try their 804020 model.
I hope this helps you with your purchase decision. Email me if you have
further questions.
Rick Kourey (K4KL)
Marvin/Charlotte, NC
rkourey@carolina.rr.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Weiss
Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2011 10:54 PM
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] Optibeam 12-4
Good evening to all,
Looking for opinions and or advice on the Optibeam product. Particularly
the OB12-4. I have a local and well respected ham/contester who loves the
product. I've been to eham and the latest review was from 08/09 time frame.
73's
Scott N2WF
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