Re: [amsat-bb] Quad Antennas?

[Jesse Morris <w4mvb@xxxxxxxx>]

Hi,

I used a six element quad on a short boom when I first got back on the
air a few years ago.  It worked great on the RS birds.  The design came
from McCoy, N5YAV.  The boom was only about 4 feet long as I remember.  I
did not have an elevation rotor but I had a 7 element beam fixed at about
15 degrees, the six element quad at about 45 degrees and a home built
version of the egg beater for higher angles.  I just kept switching
antennas as the elevation increased.  The quad really worked great.  I
also used the system on the FO-20 uplink with a single 8 element 435
quagi fixed at about 20 degrees on the downlink for awhile but the
marginal downlink performance forced me to finally break down and rig up
an elevation rotor.

I like quads but found little if any advantage to the quad as compared to
the quagi and the quagi was easier to build.  I had good success with a
pair of 8 element quagis rigged up with switchable circular polarization
on FO-20 and 29.  I later built 2 larger quagis on 10 foot booms (I think
they were 14 elements)  but they did not work at all.  They were better
off the back than the front!  After that I built a pair of 22 element
K1FO style yagis on 14 foot booms and there has never been a reason to
revisit the quagis.  The yagis are very, very good!

73 de Jess - W4MVB
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