N2EA added:
<snip>
>True, the steppIR won't tune >1 band at once.
>But that means your rx doesn't have all that out of band
>crap to intermod with. (look at 21 MHz & the SW @ 21.4)
>
>True, it takes 15-20 secs to change from band to band.
>But I found my 756pro & pw1 & steppIR moved fast enough
>when it was time to change bands....I lost perhaps 15 seconds,
>or the equivalent of 1 qso, if I were running at 240 per hour.
>
>But IF I were running in a bandmap point and click mode, at 120/hr...
>does it matter? I've worked out the band I'm on, it's time to
>move and see what else is going on.....take a swig of coffee
>while the rig is moving over.
The thing I've found as I do more SO2R is that there is a lot
of stuff out there (read: multipliers) to be had long after I would
have pretty much given up on that band with only one radio.
With the amount of jumping between bands that happens with
SO2R in a contest, the tuning time of the SteppIR becomes a
problem - even if one has some other antenna to listen to in order
to find something worth leaving a run frequency on the other radio
that could be lost if you're away for just a few seconds too many.
And the technique of alternating CQs between two bands when
things are slow probably isn't on with a SteppIR, either.
Anyway, being on the digest & in a time zone well removed from
the majority, it's hard to be totally in sync with the discussion,
but comparison based on something like price becomes quite
different when the performance of an antenna can be enjoyed
on more than one band simultaneously & that attribute is
attractive (such as when one can only have one beam & wishes
to use two radios at the same time).
As for me, neither alone will suffice & would love to change my
C-3E/A & perpendicular SteppIR dipole for a C-31XR & a 2 or
3-el SteppIR. If not for two radios, the SteppIR alone is awfully
tempting.
73, VR2BrettGraham
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