[TowerTalk] yagi optimization--tuneable or not

[Jim Jarvis]

Quoth Robert, "...A 4 element on a 34 foot boom at the same 
height and optimized with YO or some other optimization program will 
outperform the SteppIR if both antennas are reasonably close by."

I don't think this is true, universally.  It COULD be true that
a monoband yagi optimized for one parameter,  fwd. gain, or f/b, 
would exhibit marginally superior performance over part of a band.
It MIGHT be true over a large portion of a band, depending on how
it was designed.  But it is unlikely to be true over an entire band,
and it is more unlikely that the monoband yagi would outperform a
tuneable one on the same size boom, in BOTH f/b and gain.  

Who KNOWS what the tuneable antenna is doing, at any given point,
unless we program it ourselves?  I'll bet that very few, if any, folks
are.  So we're at the mercy of the designers and programmers.  

Probable differences, if there are any, are insignificant, really,
when you consider the variability of the propagation medium we're
dealing with.  

Each antenna has its physical characteristics.  Each is appropriate
to a different situation.  And nobody's kid is ever ugly. 

Can we put this to bed, now?  It's way beyond boring.  

n2ea