[VHFcontesting] 6 and 2 meter antenna question

[Tree]

On Tue, May 06, 2003 at 11:21:02AM -0400, Robert Cumming wrote:

> One good thing to look at is the Quads made by Cubex.  The Orlando Amateur 
> Radio Club just bought a King Bee III Triband Quad for 6M, 2M and 70Cm on 
> the same boom for use by our VHF+ station at Field Day.  It has 8 els on 2m 
> and 70 CM and 4 on 6M, all on an 8" boom.  Details on their website at, 
> http://www.cubex.com/dbuhf.htm.

I would be concerned about 8 element quads.

I love quads.  My first real antenna for 20-10 was a 2 element Cubex quad.  
It worked great.  I have used many wire quads on 40 meters and they also work 
great.

However, I had a friend with a 6 element quad and it never really worked right
(it was on a 60 foot boom for 20 meters).

After I saw some modeling for them, I stated to see why.  The two element quad 
is a great antenna, but as you add more elements, it becomes less clear that
you are really getting much advantage.  

Maybe someone smarter than me can explain why.

Tree N6TR
tree at kkn.net