[TowerTalk] Yagi vs Quad

[Ed Richardson]

Andy



If you are
tired of maintenance, you may want to consider the Optibeam line of antennas as
well. They are built extremely well, and perform exceptionally. Based on your
criteria, an OB13-6 may be the answer you are looking for.



Like you,
when I started planning a new HF installation, my goals were 40 -10 m coverage,
best gain, low maintenance, ability to withstand -45deg C and strong winds. My
limitations were on size, weight and cost.



I created a
spreadsheet and listed all the major specifications of each commercial antenna
that I could find. I included

















              Boom length
            Turning radius
            Longest element
            Weight
            Windload
            Gain on each band
            FB ratio on each band
            Bandwidth on each band
            Delivered cost





 
I also
included user ratings from EHam. I ranked each antenna’s specifications based
on the manufacture’s data and tempered by user comments on the forums. Some
caution is needed here because, as hard as it may be to believe, not all
antenna specification sheets are created equally and truthfully. I also put
more emphasis on certain categories because those were important to me. I ended
up with a score for each of the 32 commercial HF antennas and made my purchase
accordingly. Come next summer, we will see if I made the right choicesJ To
avoid brand bashing on the forum, I would be happy to share my spreadsheet with
the raw data and my ratings with anyone interested off the list, just email me
direct.
     

Ed

VE4EAR



ed_richardson at shaw.ca