At 06:17 AM 1/27/02 -0600, Barry Baker wrote:
>
>Hello to the group. My call is KC0LCL. Given a choice of running a Hex-Beam
>at 40' which is its reccommended height or Something like the KT36XA from M2
>technologies at the same height. 40' is pretty low for that antenna. Any
>advice for a new Ham?
The first fundamental thing you should do is to look at your terrain vs the
potential height of your antenna, using a program like YTAD (free with the
ARRL Antenna Book. your 40' may be the equivalent of 70-80 feet in a QTH
with a flat or upward-sloping foreground. Incidentally, the effects of
height are NOT dependent on the manufactrer of the triband yagi or
equivalent that you choose, but on the frequency, the geometry of ray
propagation and the characteristics of the ionosphere. A small antenna
like the hex-beam will have approximately the same elevation pattern as a
KT-36XA, but with less gain and front-to-back ratio.
The choice of a tribander is a fairly straight-up tradeoff between cost and
performance. A 36-foot boom antenna like the KT-36XA will require a
stronger rotator and perhaps a beefier tower than a smaller one. Cost of
the antenna itself is also a factor. If it were me, I would look seriously
at a more conventional trapless antenna, such as the Force 12 C-3E, before
investing in the hexbeam. The new XR-5 from Force 12 (www.force12inc.com)
extends the same technology to providing gain and pattern on all 5 bands
20-10 on a short boom, but I don't know what the price is.
73, Pete N4ZR
Sometimes a tower is
just a tower
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