[TowerTalk] Quad vs SteppIR

ABowenN4OO abowen at nettally.com
Mon Aug 30 17:57:50 EDT 2004


I took down my Lightning Bolt quad, which had been on a 70 ft tower for 9 
years. I replaced it with the 3 el SteppIR.

The first thing I noticed on 20M, was that I had to point the antenna in 
the direction I wanted to talk instead of just aiming it north and covering 
a 90+ degree swath. As soon as I tried 17 and 15M, I knew something was 
working better. Perhaps some of the apparent difference was due to the feed 
system of the quad. I don't know and at this point, don't care. I call: 
they come back.

The other bands, 12 and 10 M, have not been open when I am active, so no 
experience there.

I felt that I was reasonably competitive with the quad, or I would have 
changed antennas sooner. I feel that I have made a significant improvement, 
both transmitting and receiving, with the SteppIR.

I never did have a wire failure with this quad. I had yearly problems with 
other designs.

INK N4OO
Sopchoppy, FL



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