| G0WYD |
Rating:  |
2020-06-13 | |
| WHAT HAVE STEPPIR DONE |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
THEY HAVE MOVED THE GOAL POSTS WITH THEIR ANTENNAS, I CAN ONLY GET THE 2 ELEMENT ON MY TOWER AND BOY WHAT MORE DO I NEED, ITS JUST AMAZING, I AM JUST WAITING FOR THE NEW OPTIMIZ -IR CONTROLLER TO ARRIVE AND I WILL BE OVER THE MOON, ( NOTHING WRONG WITH THE NORMAL ONE)THIS THING IS JUST GREAT, THE 180 FLIP ( CHANGE FROM LONG PATH TO SHORT PATH) AT THE FLICK OF A SWITCH IS JUST MENTAL, THEN IF YOUR IN A QSO WITH OTHERS PRESS BI/ AND EVERYONE CAN HERE YOU AND YOU THEM,
I DID DO SOME SMALL CHANGES TO MY ANTENNA (NOTHING MAJOR) AND ITS JUST THE BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD, MORE INFO TO COME, BUT FOR NOW, I HAVE WORKED JA/USA/ EASTERN EUROPE AND MORE, THE ONLY PLACE THE WORK NOW IS VK,
JUST CHECK OUT MY QRZ.COM TO SEE MY SMALL STATION WITH A BIG SIGNAL.THANKS TO A 2E STEPPIR.
AS WE SAY HERE IN THE UK.....SIMPLES BUILD INSTALL AND GO, WHERE WAS STEPPIR WHEN I FIRST CAME INTO THE HOBBY :)
REGARDS TO STEPPIR FOR THEIR HELP AND ADVICE WHEN I HAD TO ASK SOME QUESTIONS.
Hi Guys, Just an update,: i have in the last few days had the SteppIR OptimizIR controller arrive, and what can i say, if like me you have a small station and want to Optimize the stations standing in a pile-up get this, its just so good to enhance the antennas performance for optimal operation and having spent some 10 hours working some stations that gave me the time to try it the results where rather good,
I really can’t thank the SteppIR team enough for they speedy delivery of the unit, and i am so happy, so if you can and have the means to get one of these or any others that may take your fancy, DO IT. I think it would have out performed my 2 element 5 band quad that i had a 65 feet all those years ago.
Well do steppIR leading from the front.
Bob. |
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| KO7SS |
Rating: |
2019-02-12 | |
| The instant reverse direction is great |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I have used this antenna for contesting the last 5 years. I am always amazed by the instant reverse direction. Running JA's in the afternoon will always bring out PY and LU/CX callers that need the beam on them to copy. It just takes a second to change direction NW -> SW.! Amazing! |
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| KB6HRT |
Rating: |
2019-01-03 | |
| Holy Cow what an antenna! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Got this antenna in the middle of Oct last year, It replaced MQ26 mini beam that I had up at 36' for the last 6 years that I was very happy with it until 6 months again, upon removal of the MQ26 found that big bird weight had loosen a contact screw on the reflector element of the MQ26 an affected its performance over time, I installed the Steppir 2E antenna at 32' hight above ground, this is the best preforming 6-20m antenna I have used, an we are at the bottom of a Sun Spot cycle, wonder what its going to be like when the cycle comes up, I am VERY VERY happy with this antenna an it just works!.......................kb6hrt |
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| WY4J |
Rating: |
2017-08-07 | |
| The Motors Will Fail and the Repairs Will be Expensive |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Purchased my first 3 element SteppIR in 2009. In 2012 I decided that as I was getting older so a shorter boom was a better way to go so I decided to go with the 2 element model. Within 2 year and with very little use the antenna went deaf. Took it down to discover that both plastic driveshafts in the motors had broken. Called SteppIR and send the two motors in for repairs as the alternative was to sell the boom for scrap. The shipping was fairly expensive since I am as far as you can be from them. But the shipping was not the issue. The $500 repair bill just blew me away.
This is a great concept and the performance is fantastic but mechanically this product is clearly substandard as the shafts in the motors will fail. I am not a professional motor designer but the plastic shaft on these motors are very prone to fail and then SteppIR rapes you with the repair cost.
I paid $600 a year for the pleasure of using this antenna since between the repairs and the loss on the sale the total out of pocket loss was $1,200.00 for the privilege of having a SteppIR for 2 years.
So think about it as is not if but when the motors will fail you and then you will kick yourself when you get the repair bill. Took the easy way out and purchased a hex beam for less than SteppIr charged me to repair the motors. |
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| M0ZMX |
Rating: |
2017-08-07 | |
| Excellent Antenna |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I've had my SteppIR in constant service since 2012.
So far I am pleased to say that I have had no issues, the antenna has worked flawlessly. My antenna was purchased as a 2 element with 30/40m trombone, and I have made many contacts around the world. There is some noticeable gain, and front to back, but after all, it is a close spaced element antenna and so don't expect miracles!!.
Myself and a friend who had a hexbeam spent many months working in company. We are within a few miles of each other, so felt that it was a fair comparison.. our findings were that there was very little if any difference in performance between the two. However, whereas the hexbeam only covered a few bands and only had a certain amount of usable bandwidth, I had 40-6m continuous coverage. Of course I was unable to compare the 30/40 trombone as the hexbeam covered neither of these bands. Comparing the trombone element to a doublet found it to be a reasonable compromise, but of course, propagation can make any antenna seem good at the time!.
Again, I have had no issues with the antenna mechanically. I did spend a considerable amount of time assembling the antenna, and have since had the antenna down in 2014 to add the 3rd element upgrade kit, which comprises of a new 16ft boom and another EHU and tubing, I have noticed better gain and narrower beam width. The only thing I had to address in 2014 was the 'choc-bloc' connector that was supplied along with a sachet of Vaseline had started to go green, so removed and used modern telecom silicone lock connectors.. job done.
5 years, 8 bands (6 of which are at 3 elements) you do the maths!!! No grumbles from me. 5/5
Mark
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| HB9ANM |
Rating: |
2014-11-16 | |
| 11 years - no mods |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have been using the 2 el. SteppIR almost daily for ELEVEN YEARS - and still going strong! Breaking many pile-ups, increasing my DXCC score from 220 to 343 during that period. Highly recommended.
73 Richard - HB9ANM
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| KK5DR |
Rating: |
2014-05-30 | |
| Modified for longer life. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I've owned a two element SteppIR yagi since 2009. I did a few modifications to dramatically increase its service life span.
(1) Chamfered the element housings at each ID size transition joint.
(2) Coat the inside of each element housing with dry Teflon lube (RV pop-out lube, found at Walmart for a couple bucks), to allow the tapes and the plastic "tip bullet" to slide without drag and resist icing (in cold latitudes).
(3)Used silicon sealing tape on each housing joint, then a cover layer of vinyl electrical tape, and fixed each end with black UV resistant cable zip ties.
(4)Painted all of the antenna assembly with white latex enamel spray paint, (2 coats), then (2 coats) of clear. Everything, gets painted, elements, EHU, joints, everything.
(5)Installed a Molex connector at the control cable junction box so the cable can be removed easy to service the beam on the ground. Sealed this joint with liquid electrical tape, and a cover layer of vinyl tape.
(6)Drilled vent holes in the EHU bottom covers.
(7)Glued copper mess screens over these holes.
(8)Removed element housing tip plugs (made of dense foam), replaced them with copper mesh screens, glued in with RTV silicon. (This prevents water build up inside the housings, which can ice up in cold WX, and damage the tapes)
That's about it for mods.
The only issue I ever had with the unit, is a controller glitch that was corrected with a reset calibration.
I used to have a Tenadyne T-12, the SteppIR performs nearly as good as the T-12, but with one added benefit, no BCI. My T-12 suffered from BCI on 15mters from BC stations on nearby freqs, since LPDAs are so broad-banded, they are prone to BCI. The SteppIR doesn't have this issue, since it is tightly resonate on only one freq/band at a time, it attenuates all off-res signals.
It has been a very reliable antenna.
Great light weight, modest gain yagi. Run any freq from 13-60MHz with a great to good match.
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| K2MK |
Rating: |
2014-05-30 | |
| Quite Pleased So Far |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I have the 2 element yagi installed at 40 feet. Assembly went very smoothly. The manual(s) were adequate and everything fit together perfectly. I also have the 6 meter element, the connection box, and the high wind boom to mast kit. I do not have the 40/30 trombone. The high wind kit is probably never needed with this antenna but I’m a sucker for anything that says heavy duty. It is indeed very heavy duty.
This antenna replaced my 5 band Traffie Hex Beam. I love that antenna but with a move from a push-up pole to a MA40 crank-up mast I had to get HOA approval and the hex beam is just too visually annoying. With my wooded backdrop the yagi is almost invisible on the MA40. The neighbors were very pleased.
Performance seems pretty comparable to the hex beam. My recent activity in the CW WPX contest was consistent with my performance a year ago on the hex beam. I did a recent stint as a W1AW/2 centennial RTTY station and my non-scientific opinion is that the performance on 17 through 10 meters is slightly better than the hex beam. Performance on 20 meters seems to lag just a bit.
I was able to directly compare performance on 6 meters with my 3 element M2 beam at 20 feet. The SteppIR provided the same received signal strength on local and distant stations. I’m sure the M2 would have been better if it was also at 40 feet. I’ve since taken down the M2 6 meter beam in favor of the SteppIR.
All in all I’m quite pleased with the 2 element yagi. I recommend it to anyone looking for a multi-band short boom HF and 6 meter antenna.
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| G8NOF |
Rating: |
2013-12-31 | |
| OK But see my experience below |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I have owned a 2 ele SteppIR for 7 years and I am extremely happy with its performance and rate it as 5. However I recently purchased a new 2 ele SteppIR to install at my home in Spain - I had it shipped from the UK. When I came to install the antenna I noticed a number of changes from the original design, there has obviously been some ' value engineering' undertaken. The element housing units (EHU) on the original design are light grey and came sealed with a loose tail for the connection of power and control. The new design is black plastic and you have to assemble a black plastic base to the EHU and also feed the control cable along a grove in the plastic EHU. That would be fine but in my case SteppIR had neglected to include the two plastic bases plus hardware in the shipping package (you can imagine my frustration at this)! Fortunately as my wife was coming out to Spain the day after I found the problem, the UK agent 'Vine' kindly sent the parts to my UK address and my wife brought them out. I also found that SteppIR had neglected to include the foam that fits into the ends of the poles. On assembling the EHUs I noticed that the foam gasket was not quite to size i.e. the holes did not quite line up and it took some tricky work to make them fit.
My concerns are that the EHUs do not look and feel as robust as my original in the UK, also I am concerned how the black plastic will wear with the high levels of UV in Spain. Along with this and SteppIR's neglect to include parts in the shipping package I have rated the antenna at 3. I will revisit this review when I have had time to see how the new EHUs wear plus what, if any, response I get from SteppIR after they see this review.
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| VE4MM |
Rating: |
2013-09-28 | |
| Great product |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Bought it in 2007 for my Ham Jam 2007 Dxpedition in Jamaica.
Using it past 2 winters in Winnipeg, Canada.
No problems.
Works well and super easy to build.
This is a winner! |
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