[TowerTalk] Log Periodic, or what?

[Lee Buller]

Roger,
 
I am doing the same thing here, but I doubt my gains in the stock market are going to help me.
 
I have a TH6DXX at 60 feet and I too am looking for a change.  Why?  The TH6DXX is a good antenna.  I have to take it down to weather proof it because water is getting into the traps.  So, taking it down is a mess...so...I asked myself...lets get rids of traps, get someting new and have fun.
 
I see that there are three Manufacturers I want to deal with that have good reputations that can do some or all of the following; 20-10 + WARC, no traps, new equipment, cost, and low maintenance.  They are:
 
1.  Tennadyne for Log Periodics
2.  SteppIR for "fludimotion"
3.  Force-12 for linear loading.
 
The Force-12 and SteppIR people are rabid about thier anntennas, so there is a lot of feedback about those antennas.  The Tennadyne LPs did not have a lot of user feedback on the net except on the web site.  So, I asked for some feedback from users.  I got feedback from people using the T-8 through the T-12.  The feeback was OK, but not without some caveats.  One gentleman indicated that his T-10 was not better than his TH6DXX was but he could get on the other bands.  Fromt to back was about as good or maybe a little less.  Others said they could "open and band and close the band."  Some said there were some pretty deep nulls on the sides.  Some said that the construction is good, but the longer elements can sag and break after a few years.  Everyone of them said they were not sorry about buying the antenna but they pointed out these areas.
 
Then, you have to figure in cost.  The Tennadyne antennas are very reasonable.  So are most of the Force-12 antennas depending on the plethora of features you want with the antenna...although...Force-12 antennas can become pretty expensive on the high end.  The SteppIR is well over $1K for a three element beam and I find that to be high.  Of course, they have all that "motorized" hardware up there.
 
The other thing that bothers me about the SteppIR (please do not bring the rath of SteppIR fans down on me) is that I do not climb towers very much because I am...past my prime!  So, having all the gizmos and gadgets up on the tower makes me pause.  I know they have ran the antennas for over 2,000,000,000 cycles...because it is mechanical it is going to bust sometime or another.  So, I guess maintenance is an issue I want to look at as well.
 
So, where does that leave the discussion?  I am not quite sure.  I like to balance a purchase with weighing the cost, performace and longevity of a product.  So, maybe the discussion can enlighten me.
 
Lee - K0WA


"Tower (K8RI)" <tower at rogerhalstead.com> wrote:
Well, the temperature is staring to rise. We are past the cold weather and
getting better every day...well...maybe except for a few blizzards and ice
storms yet. We have a good two months plus before I can expect "good
weather". We used to get some of our biggest snow falls in the first week
of April.

At any rate, I'm starting to plan for a good HF antenna and the stock market
recovery to pay for it.. I'd like something that would let me get on 40
through 10 including the WARC bands, but I'd settle for 20 through 10
including the WARC bands. I keep going over the literature and visiting web
sites, but haven't settled on anything yet.

The current set-up is a TH-5 at 100 feet, a 7L 6-meter C3i at 115 and the
UHF/VHF arrays at 130.

I have a number of options, including the removing of the VHF/UHF array at
130 feet and moving up the tri-bander so I could put 3L on 40 in there, but
I'd prefer to get 40 through 10 on one antenna. Still, I may end up still
using slopers on 40. They sure do work great into Europe on 75.

So, I'm open to suggestion.

73

Roger Halstead (K8RI, EN73 & ARRL Life Member)
N833R, World's Oldest Debonair (S# CD-2)
www.rogerhalstead.com


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