[TowerTalk] 10 throu 20 beam traps or no traps

[W0MU Mike Fatchett]

If the price of the 4 ele SteppIR is too high.  Think about the 3 ele.  
You lose about a DB of gain on 10-20.  You will lose a bit on 6m if that 
is important.  The Bi directional mode and nearly instant 180 is very 
handy.  The 30=40 option is pretty nice.  I use a 2 ele Cushcraft above 
my SteppIR for 40 and I use the 30/40 option for 30m only.  I had plans 
to make the SteppIR 2 ele on 30/40 but I doubt I will get around to that 
project anytime soon.

You cannot use the SteppIR on multiple bands at the same time and band 
changes do take time.  If you are a serious contester and want to use 
the  same antenna for SO2R or multiple transmitter contests you might 
want to consider other antennas.

If 2 elements will work for you then I would suggest looking at the hex 
beams.

Mike W0MU

On 6/19/2014 10:30 PM, Jim Brown wrote:
> On 6/19/2014 7:44 PM, Edwin Karl wrote:
>> I would recommend Opitbeam over the others in a heart beat, no matter 
>> the size. A
>> real class act. 
>
> I've not seen these antennas, but the designs look first rate.
>
> From the looks of it, the 9-5 is two elements per band, equivalent to 
> the 2-element SteppIR. The 11-5 appears to be three elements per band, 
> equivalent to the 3-element SteppIR, and the 16-5 looks to be four per 
> band, equivalent to a 4-el SteppIR.
>
> I'm very happy with my 3-el SteppIR, and use it all the way up to 6M. 
> Two really good features -- the straight SteppIRs weigh a lot less, so 
> are easier to handle on the tower and don't need as big a rotor. 
> Second, the reversing and bi-directional features are worth it's 
> weight in gold. Except on 6M, where it doesn't work that way, I rarely 
> turn the antenna more than about 100 degrees.
>
> Here in CA, South America and Asia are approximately opposite of each 
> other, and the higher bands are often open to both at the same time. 
> Reverse takes something like 3-5 seconds. Likewise, EU and the east 
> coast of the US are opposite to VK/ZL. Very useful in a contest.
>
> 73, Jim K9YC
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