Let me clarify my statement, because Joe is right, there is no disagreement.
If you get a 3 element SteppIR and are serious about 6 meters, by all means go
for the
added element. Even though the 3 original elements are on a 16 foot boom, the
spacing
is too great. 4 or 5 elements are needed to get very good performance on 6
meters with
a 16 foot boom.
I already had a 5 element M Squared 6 meter beam, so I didn't add the 6 meter
DIRECTOR (sorry) to my SteppIR. Whenever I did a comparison between the two
antennas the 5 element monoband beam was noticeably better than the 3 element
SteppIR, as you would expect.
Every antenna installation is a compromise. In my case, with the separate 6
meter antenna, I have an additional feedline to deal with, taking an extra
position on my antenna switch. I get
marginally better performance than four 6 meter elements on a SteppIR
(probably). On the
other hand I can instantly switch to 6 meters and see if there is any activity,
etc. The cost is
somewhat more, too (M Squared antennas aren't cheap).
Rick K2XT
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