If the price of the 4 ele SteppIR is too high. Think about the 3 ele.
You lose about a DB of gain on 10-20. You will lose a bit on 6m if that
is important. The Bi directional mode and nearly instant 180 is very
handy. The 30=40 option is pretty nice. I use a 2 ele Cushcraft above
my SteppIR for 40 and I use the 30/40 option for 30m only. I had plans
to make the SteppIR 2 ele on 30/40 but I doubt I will get around to that
project anytime soon.
You cannot use the SteppIR on multiple bands at the same time and band
changes do take time. If you are a serious contester and want to use
the same antenna for SO2R or multiple transmitter contests you might
want to consider other antennas.
If 2 elements will work for you then I would suggest looking at the hex
beams.
Mike W0MU
On 6/19/2014 10:30 PM, Jim Brown wrote:
On 6/19/2014 7:44 PM, Edwin Karl wrote:
I would recommend Opitbeam over the others in a heart beat, no matter
the size. A
real class act.
I've not seen these antennas, but the designs look first rate.
From the looks of it, the 9-5 is two elements per band, equivalent to
the 2-element SteppIR. The 11-5 appears to be three elements per band,
equivalent to the 3-element SteppIR, and the 16-5 looks to be four per
band, equivalent to a 4-el SteppIR.
I'm very happy with my 3-el SteppIR, and use it all the way up to 6M.
Two really good features -- the straight SteppIRs weigh a lot less, so
are easier to handle on the tower and don't need as big a rotor.
Second, the reversing and bi-directional features are worth it's
weight in gold. Except on 6M, where it doesn't work that way, I rarely
turn the antenna more than about 100 degrees.
Here in CA, South America and Asia are approximately opposite of each
other, and the higher bands are often open to both at the same time.
Reverse takes something like 3-5 seconds. Likewise, EU and the east
coast of the US are opposite to VK/ZL. Very useful in a contest.
73, Jim K9YC
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