[TowerTalk] Re: [CQ-Contest] Tribander/Wire antenna catagory

[CQK8DO@aol.com]

Hi Pete...
I have watched with amusement as Tom pushes his designs that claim that every
interlaced element is adding to the forward gain, whether that element is
resonant in that band or not... He is certainly an advertising genius...
Further, his claimed gains in dB(t)  {dB per Tom} are nothing if not amazing),
even if they do stretch some laws of physics as well as the published research
of Drs. Yagi and Uda.... 
I will point out that gain is dependent upon boom length, not element count  (
I want you to repeat that ten times every night at bedtime)... Whereas, FB
ratio and side rejection are amenable to some manipulation by adding elements
and adjusting their reactance properly...

Now, having said that - Am I saying that Force 12 antennas are bad antennas?
... No... They are, in fact, good antennas that will give many hams lots of
pleasure... His use of open sleeve driven elements is excellent... His use of
rivets is outstanding...  His methods of manufacturing and ensuring that
elements can only go together in the proper sequence is super...  His multi
band antennas give a lot of bang for the buck... But, to make the statement
that one, or more, multi band Force 12 antennas are the contest equal of a
similar number of properly designed monobanders is reckless enthusiasm...

Cheers  ...  Denny

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