[TowerTalk] SteppIR

[garyejones@cmaaccess.com]

The real issue here, in my mind, (outside of the OM that lives on a
saltwater island and had to replace his aluminum every year or two) is
how long will the SteppIR elements hold up and how long the motor
drives (the mechanics) will continue to accurately move the copper
strips out and back. I wouldn't touch one until I heard how these
elements are doing after five years vibrating 20 Hz in the wind,
bending under ice loads, taking the blistering southern summers, and a
couple of thousand changes of length.  My hunch is that there will not
be a single antenna working at 5 or 10 years, while there are many 30
year old aluminum monobanders still "playing" like the day there were
first erected......

           73

                     Gary       W5FI