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Reviews For: SteppIR CrankIR Portable Antenna System

Category: Antennas: HF Portable (not mobile)

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Review Summary For : SteppIR CrankIR Portable Antenna System
Reviews: 17MSRP: 484.00
Description:
Standard Model 6M through 40M with optional tunable Radial Unit
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.steppir.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00174.5
AF7RV Rating: 2016-05-08
Get One! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
If you want a full function portable station this antenna is what you need. No coils. Simple design. There is some learning curve, such as learning to guy the mast before setting up the adjustable radial and watching the tension on the cord/radiators, but it is well worth the investment. (Keep some #14 fishing swivels and needle nose pliers on hand.) With 100w I was able to reach all four corners of the US from the Washington coast on 15 through 40m and made contacts in Hawaii and Cuba. All were at least 55 and most were 59. Easy set up. Very portable. Tunes quickly with an analyzer. A tuner is NOT required or desired. In my experience SWR never exceeded 1:1.2 on any band from 10-40M. The higher the mast the better so get the 80m kit or a Jackite pole even if you never operate below 40m. The Jackite won't fit in the carry bag but it is a less expensive option. The 80m kit will fit in the bag and provides more flexibility. I use both masts depending on the circumstance. This is a vertical antenna but unless you have a way to hang an 40m or 80m dipole at an acceptable height go with the vertical.
K0XB Rating: 2016-04-27
Solid Performer Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
After using this antenna for the past five months at a temporary location, I wanted to add my positive comment to the others posted here. It's straightforward to put up and take down, it tunes easily, it is well-built, and it works well.
VK2BJ Rating: 2015-01-09
Excellent Portable Antenna Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
My wife bought me a CrankIR to enable me to operate on holiday in Vanuatu in November 2014. I took it on the plane as carry on baggage and it did not raise any eyebrows with airport security. I erected it (with a few hiccups - you do need to read the manual very carefully !) the day after we arrived on the grass in front of the villa and about 10 metres from the shoreline. Once I had it up properly, its performance was excellent on all bands and I generated worldwide pile ups from 40 through to 10m using just a barefoot K3 at 100w. I also had quite a number of "local" Pacific area QSO's with VK, ZL and FK8 on 6m. I used a Rig Expert AA54 antenna analyser to tune the antenna/radial system to resonance on each band and from my experience, I regard the use of such an instrument to be virtually mandatory, although the antenna does have a rudimentary built in resonance check facility. I was so impressed with the antenna that my wife has now bought me the 80m extension kit. I have already tried this out at home and found it works great. So our next holiday in Vanuatu will include 80m operation - and even with the 80m kit, it will still all fit in the original bag provided and be suitable for carry on luggage. You can see a picture of the antenna set up on my YJ0BJ page on QRZ.com.
ZL1BYZ Rating: 2014-08-18
Great performer and design Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I have had the CrankIR a short time now. I set up and tested it at the home QTH during some stormy weather for a few days it has stood up to it just fine.

What really prompted me to write about the CrankIR is I have just done the first trip away with it for the International Lighthouse/lightship weekend (ILLW). We have done these ILLW trips for many years and have carted poles and yagi's with us all over the North island requiring roof racks and trailers. We don't like to compromise performance even when portable. Well this time I took the CrankIR. When I arrived at the site for this year the other team member was already setup with various antenna's. His comment was "Where is your antenna"? I replied "it's in the bag".

To mount the CrankIR I had an umbrella ground screw and a short length of aluminium pipe that gave me 1.5m hight. I also had a couple of bright yellow plastic electric fence pegs that I used to support the tunable radial and a few extra pegs just to warn the radial wire was there since we were setting up in a public area.

I set about putting it up, which did not take long and then run it through the bands with an antenna anyliser just to see how it looked compared to how it was at the home location. An excellent match was easily achived on all bands. The heat shrink markers that I had set on the radial system were on some bands a little off to be perfect but this was expected for a diffent location and still a very good start, often good enough and I did not ever have to vary from the markers set on the vertical radiater itself to get an excellent match on a band. Once I had learned the little variations on the radial for this location, retuning was easily repeatable. The tuning led worked well when I tested it with 5w although was a bit bright to pick the dip at night.

So how did it go on air? In a word. Great! I made a total of 630 QSO's all over the world on various bands with this one antenna. Changing bands was easy enough even at night just using my iPhone as a torch.

So I'm very happy and thinking about all the future trips away with this great performing light weight portable antenna. This has opened up a whole new dimension of ease and flexability with performance for portable operations, thank's to the SteppIR design team for a great concept in portable antenna's.

This is the second SteppIR product I have purchased and I have to recomend SteppIR on been a great company to deal with. Which gives great confidence when purchacing from overseas.

John ZL1BYZ.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by ZL1BYZ on 2014-08-18

I have had the CrankIR a short time now. Set up and tested at the home QTH during some stormy weather and it has stood up to it just fine.

What realy prompted me to write about the CrankIR is I have just done the first trip away with it for the International Lighthouse/lightship weekend (ILLW). We have done these ILLW trips for many years and have carted poles and yagi's with us all over the north island. Well this time I took the CrankIR. When I arrived at the site for this year the other team member was already setup with various antenna's. His comment was "Where is your antenna"? I replied it's in the bag.

I set about putting it up, which did not take long and then run it through the bands with an antenna anyliser just to see how it looked compared to how it was at the home location. Excellent match was easily achived on all bands. The heat shrink markers that I had set on the radial system were on some bands a little off for perfection at this location but still a good start, often good enough and I did not ever have to vary from the markers set on the vertical radiater itself at all to get an excellent match on a band.

So how did it go on air? In a word. Great! I made a total of 630 QSO's on various bands all over the world with this one antenna. Changing bands was easy enough even at night just using my phone at a torch.

So I'm very happy and thinking about all the future trips away with this great performing light weight portable antenna.

This is the second SteppIR product I have purchased and I have to recomend SteppIR on been a great company to deal with. Which gives great confidence when purchacing from overseas.

John ZL1BYZ.
VE4MM Rating: 2014-04-06
As Described Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Got the antenna a while back and with the now melting snow I thought I would try the antenna.

Took about 1/2 hour setup and the manual was well written.

Signals were decent but obviously not as good as my 2 el Steppir beam.

Once I got the feel for the 2 reels, extending the retracting the copper line was a breeze.

The pole sections went up easy and did not require any electrical tape to hole them up. Retracting them was easy too.

Tuning is easy and the bank markings on the copper line help as well.

This product is a winner.
K7RBW Rating: 2014-03-16
Easy to tune from 40m - 2 m Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just picked one up at the K7LED hamfest/flea market and have had great luck with it, so far. The kit is complete, the instructions are clear and easy to read (be sure to read them!), and the antenna sets up quickly. Once assembled, it tunes easily and quickly. After you tune the counterpoise and mark it with the color-coded heat shrink markers, tuning is quick and, best of all, repeatable. Once tuned, you should get <2.0:1 SWR across the band it's tuned for (except maybe 10-m, which is a pretty wide band for HF).

The construction and craftsmanship are solid and it looks like it's built for the task. The manual says that it can be used in the rain, but aside from the tune toggle switch, which is covered by a rubber boot, it doesn't appear to have anything done to keep water out; however, there might not be anything inside that would be damaged by water. Since the manual describes a procedure for cleaning it after use in/near salt water, it looks like they've thought about it so I'll take them at their word and not worry (too much) if it gets wet.

The manual says to secure the fiberglass mast sections with tape, but so far, they seem very secure and I haven't taped them (or had them come crashing down), yet. However, I put some tape in the storage bag to be ready for a longer installation.

I live in a "no antenna zone" house, but I mounted a pipe to our deck and a clothesline along the back of the house to use for the antenna. With that, I can set up the antenna in 10 minutes or less by mounting the antenna on the pole and using the clothesline to extend the counterpoise. Disassembly is almost as fast and it all goes back into its carry bag without a problem.

I like the little extra touches they put into the design and the manual--that speaks to the company's pride in construction and to their knowledge of the customer. The manual, for example, describes how to perform corrective maintenance on the reels should you happen to get the cable or the string tangled in the reels.

For as fun as it is to ignore the manual (and you can actually go pretty far without it), the manual includes operational tips throughout that make it worth sitting down and reading it for a few minutes before getting to the fun part (i.e. actually putting it together). It's time well spent!

I had such good luck on 40m that I might have to get the mast extension kit and try my luck on 80m. I would definitely recommend this antenna to anyone looking for a portable, tunable, vertical HF antenna.
N5LZ Rating: 2014-01-25
The Almost Perfect Portable HF Antenna Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The antenna was delivered just a few days ago so this review reflects my initial impressions only.

The antenna went together very easily with no tools required. It just involved putting things together and tightening several few wingnuts. I used a speaker stand which I have owned for years as the support mast. I didn't feel a need to guy the antenna for this initial test since there was no wind, and I also did not tape the pole section joints as recommended by the manufacturer.

Color coded shrink wrap markers on the wires make it very easy to locate the correct wire lengths for each band (10 through 40M). I obtained the following minimum SWR readings on each band (with the antenna setup just a few feet from my two story house):

40M 2.0:1, 30M 1.14:1, 20M 1.06:1, 17M 1.14:1, 15M 1.03:1, 12M 1.2:1, and 10M 1.02:1. Not too shabby.

I have not yet tried the built in SWR indicator. Instead I used a Rig Expert antenna analyzer to get more specific information, but I can see that with the built in KX3 SWR meter and antenna tuner it's going to be a breeze to obtain perfect matches on all bands. I connected my Elecraft KX3, and, using internal batteries with only 5 watts output I was able to check into a regional traffic net on 40 Meter LSB ... and I later quickly received answers to two CQs ... one on 17 meter phone and the other on 20 meter CW. I'm a happy camper and feel like I now have the perfect state of the art transceiver/antenna combo for portable QRP operation.

The manual recommends using electrical tape at each telescoping pole joint to prevent the pole from collapsing. I did not use tape during the first testing since I was doing a quick trial setup and really wanted to see how things would work without tape. I am very disappointed that tape will likely be required. I worry about sticky residue being left behind in addition to the hassle of putting in on and taking it off again and again and again. A friend of mine has used hose clamps to deal with a similar problem he has had with the Buddipole system, and I may look into that as well. There are ten two foot pole sections … so that’s nine joints that will need to be secured.

There are two small pulleys with bungee cords on the adjustable radial assembly to be used to anchor the far end. I am thinking that tent stakes might work for them in the field. I don’t think the angle or height above ground of the radial will make any difference since it will be tuned to length, unless there is concern about people or critter traffic where the antenna happens to be set up.

The manual also recommends guying or attaching weight to the tripod base. With the base I am using, that will not be necessary if it’s on level ground and there’s no wind, but I think I’ll probably guy and attach the rope to the lowest section of the telescoping pole when necessary.

The reels can be locked so that they turn together, but they also need to be periodically released from one another when feeding wire/cord during setup and takedown. When one of the reels is relatively empty and the other is relatively full the difference in drum diameters makes one reel feed or take on wire faster than the other. When they’re being “cranked” one reel always feeds line while the other takes it in, and when the wires are moving at different rates to or from each reel the length of the wire loop either gets longer or shorter. In that situation, depending upon the direction the loop is being cranked, it will continually increase or decrease the amount of tension applied to the loop, which affects the tensioner at the top of the mast. So, during setup or takedown it is necessary to periodically disengage the reels and readjust the tension to prevent overbending or breakage of the tensioner. I had to do that three times during setup and three times again during takedown. After the CrankIR is all setup the tension remains in satisfactory adjustment as you go from band to band, and band changes take just a few seconds.

The antenna comes with color coded heatshrink sealed to the main wire. Colored heatshrink tubes are also on the radial wire assembly but are not sealed when it is delivered. They’re left loose so the user can put them where they best suit his situation. I used my RigExpert analyzer to tweak them and went ahead and sealed them to my radial wire.

I think it’s probably going to be a little trickier to takedown the CrankIR versus setting it up. If you’ve ever gotten line tangled on a fishing reel you know what can happen with these reels. I'm sure that backlash and tangling are definitely possible, so it will be wise to be careful and keep the drag properly set on the reels. You’ll need to keep an eye on things as you feed or retrieve wire/line. Reels on the main mechanism and the radial assembly are all adjustable so you can lock them to turn together or release them to allow them to turn independently. In addition you can set the drag to prevent freewheeling and tangling, and you can lock them when the wire is set where you want it.

The CrankIR manual seems to be well done and makes things very clear. I personally think it would help prospective buyers if they were able to review the manual before they lay down their hard earned bucks, so I hope the SteppIR folks will make the manual available in pdf format on their website.

I made a short video to demonstrate setup and takedown of the CrankIR, and have it posted elsewhere. This forum does not allow url links to be embedded in reviews, so readers who may wish to view the video can find the link on my N5LZ QRZ.com page.