[CQ-Contest] quads

[Derrick Belbas]

Hi.  Got a bit of experience with triband (or more-band) quads, and here's
thoughts from my shack.

If you elect to this way, check out the Gem-Quad.  The 2-el is easy to
mount..  3-el is murder, so beware of that.  Looks easy, but it's not.

The last quad that I had lasted about nine days before the wires got
completely (very completely) shredded in a freak ice storm.  Some folks will
tell you that these things are very tolerant of ice; not what I experienced.

The 3-el quad was HOT for its price and size, and height..  can't argue with
that.  I'm not sure about the polarization factor..  sounds like b.s. to me,
but I'm not going to discount it.

If you can, I'd recommend feeding each band with a seperate feedline..  good
application for a tower mounted antenns switch, for which I have some
$$-saving suggestions if anyone would like to discuss that.

If convenient and the geometry works, add 6m and even 2m elements, maybe 18
or 24 MHz, but I don't think you want the entire contraption to be too
"busy".

I was so heartbroken by the ice disaster, though, that I've been sticking to
yagis, with good results.  If your area isn't ice-prone..  heck, try it
once.

Good luck..

73

derrick  VE4VV
winnipeg