[TowerTalk] Force 12 20M Monobander

[Jim Brown]

On Thu,5/12/2016 9:53 AM, Russ Dearmore via TowerTalk wrote:
> Rick,  Thanks for your comments.  I found the F/B to be much higher than you did so maybe we're talking about different antennas.

Or perhaps the antenna with lower observed F/B lacks an effective common 
mode choke to prevent its nulls from being filled in by pickup on the 
feedline. That's one of the primary reasons for using a choke.

>   The OP-Des design of the Force 12 is probably the reason for better gain and flatter SWR.
snip

>   In regards to the SteppIR I'm not comfortable with the extra maintenance they are well known for.

That depends a lot on the model and the vintage.  The older "straight" 
models are a quite mature design, with the design faults well worked 
through. My 3-el has been up for about six years, with zero problems I 
can blame on the antenna, and it gets a LOT of exercise during contests 
and chasing DX.

>   Needlessly expensive in the long run.

I find the cost quite reasonable considering that it's an "optimized" 
Yagi on six bands. It's entirely possible that G0KSC's more advanced 
designs are better -- his design techniques made a lot of sense, as 
articulated in his NCJ interview with N0AX.


>      I also share your skepticism about antenna manufacturer's claims and think it's time for a monobander comparison test like Ward did with the Tri-banders some time back.

I am far less skeptical of some mfrs than others. I do trust the data 
from Force 12 and InnovAntenna, because they make sense.

BTW -- there were two guys who led the  massive project we associate 
with N0AX -- K7LXC was an equally important part of that team, and their 
report lists eight other active participants, and nine others who loaned 
antennas and provided advice. W4RNL, W8JI, W7EL, W6NL, and N6AA were on 
the second list.

73, Jim K9YC