In a message dated 12/1/02 2:57:00 PM Pacific Standard Time,
mikehatzakis@yahoo.com writes:
> Just moved to the seattle area and am assembling a new station. Possibly
an
> MA-550 55' tubular tower with a 10' mast. Trying to decide between two
> classes of beam, in roughly the same price range are the Cushcrafts and the
> Force 12's.
>
> The Cushcraft A3S/A4S 3 and 4 element standard trapped beams claim 6db
gain (
> 3ele) and 7db (4ele) over dipole. And the Force 12 2 element beams running
> around 4.5 db. The 3ele cushcraft and the force 12 have about the same
> dimensions... They have about the same windload, 5sq ft for the tubular..
>
> Any thoughts on pro's and con's of the two antennas? experiences? The
> cushcraft is 3db high gain, but is it lost in the traps?
DO NOT BELIEVE MANUFACTURER PUBLISHED GAIN FIGURES. (The exception are
those of Force 12 net gain figures - they're pretty realistic and corroborate
our findings.)
You need a copy of the N0AX and K7LXC Tribander Comparison Report
available from <A HREF="http://www.championradio.com";>www.championradio.com
</A>. This is the ONLY on-the-air HF tribander antenna comparison ever done.
My opinion? Skip the trapped antenna.
Cheers,
Steve K7LXC
Champion Radio Products
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