[CQ-Contest] TH7 Replacement

[Ria Jairam]

I have had a SteppIR (MonstIR, the big one like what they had at 6Y1V).

I do agree that the instant band changes and reliability are a concern. The
plastic gears were problematic. Supposedly they've improved but we will
see. I recently did a full refurb on mine.

I haven't found the band changes to take that long but it precludes SO2R
with a single antenna. The only exception is going from any band to 40
meters and back. That will take about a minute.

It isn't for everyone and I won't try to convince anyone whose mind is set
against it to go for one. Instead I will just enjoy beating them in the
pileups since the 4 elements perform like 5, and I can go 180 or
bidirectional instantly. I'll also enjoy a full size 3 element yagi on 30
meters, and a 4 element on 17 and 12 meters. I also enjoy not using a tuner
on any portion of 40 meters.

But I do agree that you can't change bands quickly with it. It isn't for
everyone. I have other antennas going up for SO2R operation.

73
Ria, N2RJ

On Mon, Aug 7, 2017 at 4:44 PM Jim Brown <k9yc at audiosystemsgroup.com> wrote:

> On 8/7/2017 12:47 PM, K9MA wrote:
> > SteppIR won't do the instant band changes
>
> Right. But the straight 3-el DOES go between adjacent bands pretty quickly.
>
> My station is has 3-el SteppIR for 20-6, and mono-banders for 20, 15,
> and 10 on a much lower tower, and I mostly work SO2R.
>
> 73, Jim K9YC
>
>
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