[TowerTalk] Optibeam 12-4

[Rick Kourey]

Scott,

I cannot speak specifically to the OB 12-4 but let me share with you may 
experience with OB in general.

I have in use the Optibeam 16-5 5-bander with the 2-element Optibeam 4030 
stacked eleven feet above it on an 89 foot Array Solutions/ITS Extreme 
crank-up tower for the past six years.  I have experienced great success 
with these beams and cracked many pile-ups over the years.  I have pictures 
of them on QRZ under my call.  Both have held up mechanically very well and 
I have been impressed with their performance.  They meet or exceed the 
published specs for each beam.  I chose these beams because they handle more 
than legal power and have no traps to be concerned about and they use a 
heavy duty square boom along with heavy duty hardware.  Looking at the 
specs, even though these beams operate multiple bands, I thought they came 
fairly close to the performance of a typical mono-bander of similar size. 
And the front to back ratio is exceptional.

I especially enjoy using the 4030 2-element beam as it really plays 
extremely well into Europe and the Pacific on 40 meters.  In fact it blows 
my mind many nights when I simply call a station with ease and have them 
come back to me when a bunch of stations are calling them too.  I work a 
great deal of 30 meter CW and I have been impressed with 2-elements on this 
band as well.  There has been no pileup that I have not cracked.  But the 
art of doing that is knowing where the DX station is listening which often a 
challenge.  My 40 meter beam is cut for the SSB portion of the band and the 
SWR is as good as OB publishes.  Of course I wished the SWR was flat across 
the entire band -- a pipe dream I guess.

You will find Tom, DF2BO and Array Solutions to be very responsive if you 
have questions, problems or need parts either by phone or especially 
internet.  And I would buy them again with no hesitancy.  No doubt, they are 
expensive when compared to some brands in the states.  But I feel I got my 
moneys' worth in terms of multi-band performance and especially ruggedness. 
And I would love to try their 804020 model.

I hope this helps you with your purchase decision.  Email me if you have 
further questions.

Rick Kourey (K4KL)
Marvin/Charlotte, NC
rkourey at carolina.rr.com


-----Original Message----- 
From: Scott Weiss
Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2011 10:54 PM
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] Optibeam 12-4

Good evening to all,
   Looking for opinions and or advice on the Optibeam product. Particularly 
the OB12-4. I have a local and well respected ham/contester who loves the 
product. I've been to eham and the latest review was from 08/09 time frame.
                        73's
                            Scott N2WF

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