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Reviews For: SteppIR Fluidmotion 6-20mtr Yagi

Category: Antennas: HF: Yagi, Quad, Rotary dipole, LPDA

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Review Summary For : SteppIR Fluidmotion 6-20mtr Yagi
Reviews: 117MSRP: 1099
Description:
Remotely ajustable 6-20 mtr continuosly...available as Dipole-2 elements or 3 elements Yagi.Copper tape length inside fiberglass tubing controlled by stepper motors. 1500W rated!
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.steppir.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
22.51174.6
K9VDD Rating: 2005-02-25
BEST ANTENNA INNOVATION YET! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I purchased the 4 element - 20-6 mtr beam with the 2 extra passive elements for 6 mtrs in May, 2004. It went up on Memorial Day - 2004. It has survived several serious summer storms and a very close call on the edge of a tornado last summer. The antenna continues to perform with no problems on all bands and no rain static!! You can view my antenna at www.qsl.net/k9vdd

The 4 element SteppIR continues to outshine all others in town!! Thanks Mike et al for a wonderful product!!
W2WO Rating: 2005-02-25
Excellent Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I love the 180 degree function.

You can be considerably more inventive about installation techniques than described in the installation manual. I installed it on my crankup tower without ever being more than about 4 feet off the ground.

Sure would be nice to have an option to use the boom (with fiberglass extensions on each end and with some type of loading) as a single-element 30/40 meter dipole.
K9EE Rating: 2004-12-14
Best Antenna Around Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I've owned a 2 element SteppIR for almost 1 year now. Purchased the 2 element because is was so light (30 lbs) and easy to assemble/disassemble when bad storms (Hurricanes) are heading this way (got that opportunity twice this year). It doesn't have the front to back of a 3 or 4 element but the gain on all bands is great. I run 200 watts and still cause piles ups with this thing. I've owned bigger beams in my 40 years as a HAM but this is the best investment I've ever made.
VY1YT Rating: 2004-12-12
Cold Weather Performance Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Well The 3 Element has been up now since Oct 8 2004 and here are some observations
Assembly was very easy. Some of the instructions need to be read CAREFULLY! If you follow the instructions you should have no trouble with the build. Actually it was a lot of fun! I'm not sure how many hours it took as I did not do it all in one day. Probably 3-4 hours all told to get it ready to put on the tower. One thing that I did do however was to drill an additional hole in the mounting plate so I could run a bolt through the mast and the plate to prevent the clamps from slipping at a later date. All of the hardware seems to be of very good quality and fit together very well. Of course the antenna itself works superb. This one is up about 50 feet a plays very well. Flat swr across all bands with the factory default settings. I havent really done any experimentation with it yet. ie creating my own antennas as the results are great out of the box. I know that a lot of SteppIR owners enjoy tweaking the maximum gain out of the antennas but so far I havent tried that. I was a little worried about the cold weather performance of the motors and the copper berylium strips. but i can tell you that they do work as cold as -36 celcius or -33 farenheit. I wish my new Yeasu Rotor did! I guess I should have bought the Alpha Spid!
Anyway in my opinion you can't go wrong with this antenna. Essentially you get 6 monoband 3 element Yagis ( 4 element 6 meter with the parasitic) and you don't need your tuner!
W6DXO Rating: 2004-02-17
Really Delivers!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have had my SteppIR 3 element beam up for about 5 weeks now. It is mounted at aprox 73'.

I was going to write a lengthy review, but I would be duplicating what others have already stated: Bottom line is that this antenna, though not cheap, delivers on all its claims!

If I can hear 'em I work 'em, usually in one call. The 180 feature is amazing--Europe to the South Pacific in about 3 seconds.

Great customer support too.

This is a milestone product in Ham Radio antenna design.

73, de harry, W6DXO
K3BZ Rating: 2004-02-03
Great Antenna! Worth every penny! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
3L+6 SteppIR Yagi: simply outstanding results on-the-air where it counts. This antenna is every bit as good as I'd heard it was, and then some. It was very easy and straightforward to put together. The manual is very well done, and didn't leave anything out. It weighs only 50 lbs. and I was able to handle it alone to mount it on the tower. I have it up 40 feet and it plays extremely well. Everything worked first time I turned it on. I have it connected to my computer and radio, and it tunes itself to follow every freq and band change... very, very nice. I was a little concerned about it holding up in wind or winter weather, but 60 mph gusts didn't bother it, and it's worked every day this winter, with some long spells of sustained cold. I'm hearing stuff I never heard before, and working nearly everything I hear on the first or second call, mostly barefoot. Putting $1000+ into a beam was a big step for me, but after only a few months of use every worry I had has vanished and I'm very glad I went with the SteppIR instead of the aluminum yagis and logs I had looked at earlier. This antenna has to be some kind of an historical milestone in antenna performance.
AD5OW Rating: 2003-11-11
The stepp Dipole Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Best antenna I've ever had. If you can't affored a big beam with rotator try this thing. It covers 20 - 6 meter with perfict SWR. I love it. Worked 320 contacts the first weekend (CQWW). What can I say this is great.
XU7ABR Rating: 2003-10-15
The perfect solution Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have used a 2 element and a 3 element SteppIR yagi from Myanmar and now at my home qth too. The construction is very good, assembly quick and simple.It`s performance is better than all other available multiband trap yagis with same number of elements and comes very close to that of good monoband yagis. The quick change from normal to 180 degree or bidirectional mode is great and always very helpful on the bands. Upgrades to one more element are a fine option and to have an antenna working on all bands between 6-20 m is really great. I really love it !
73, Frank (DL4KQ, XU7ABR, XY4KQ, .....)
KX9Q Rating: 2003-10-05
Superb Performance Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After using a 5 element yagi for 18 years what a pleasant surprise I received when I finally got the SteppIR up on the tower and hooked up to the radio. In the month that I have had it up it has performed flawlessly. The 180 degree mode is unique and works great. With the controller tied to the radio, the tunning of the antenna becomes a no "brainer" as I change frequency or band. I guess the only question that only time will answer is how it will hold up over time. Will it give the service we come to expect with other yagis. At this time the only I regret I have is that I ordered the antenna at Dayton, however, I didn't take delivery until August and then it took about a week to finally open the box and begin the assembly. Once I got the ball rolling and the antenna mounted I realized I should have acted sooner.
K7XH Rating: 2003-10-02
Fantastic Product from a great team Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have been a ham for over 26 years and I can say that this one product has been the best example of innovation I have ever seen as far as antennas go.

I have used antennas from 4 of the other major manufacturers and can easily say that from both a performance and a customer service perspective, this has absolutely been my best investment.

My experience to date has been limited to the 3 element yagi at various heights between 35 and 100 feet. Without a doubt it outperforms any trapped or fixed element length aluminum antenna I have used. 3 of the 4 other antennas actually had more "active" elements on 15 an 10 meters and longer booms but did not deliver the forward gain and front-to-back performance that the SeppIR does.

As far as durability, we do not get the extreme weather here that many of the folks on the various chat room groups describe. I don't think I will ever see the 1.5" radial ice and 70 MPH winds that have been described by some of the SteppIR users in Canada and the NE but we do get occasional 50 - 60 MPH winds and plenty of rain and I have yet to experience ( or hear of anyone experiencing) any mechanical failures because of weather, regardless of antenna height. In fact what I think is quite curious is that the only people talking about their concerns regarding mechanical failure are people who have never owned a Fluidmotion product (or the one competitor who seems to consider himself the only person of integrity in the antenna business).

Beyond peformance, I have been suprised on several occasions by the outstanding customer service provided by the FM guys. The speed with which they have answered any questions I have had has been extraordinary. I have felt each time like I am the only customer they have, something I cannot say very often.

By contrast, I once had a balun come apart on an antenna from their largest competitor and when my email inquiring about replacing it was returned (3 days later)the first thing I got was questions preparing their case for why I was going to have to pay for a new one. The FM guys seem to understand that some of us still value customer relations.

I read with interest one "evaluation" on this site stating concern over the cost of replacement parts. Fluidmotion does not even have a replacement parts price list (but then you might not know that if you don't actually own a SteppIR). When asked how much it was going to cost to replace a couple of parts that got screwed up during initial installation (from not following directions), John said not to worry about it and sent them at no cost. I am telling you, these guys know how to run a business!

As far as on the air experience, I have been very happy with the overall performance of the antenna. The ability to optimize the antenna for the frequency of operation makes a significant difference in both forward gain and front to back. I have noticed this the most in DX contests where the ability to work a weak mult in the midst of very strong stateside signals (generally off the side or the back) is greatly enhanced over the other antennas I have used.

I would recommend this antenna to anyone who is looking for a high performance antenna backed by a company that is earning a sterling reputation. I would use due caution in lending much, if any, credence to the opinion of people who have not actually owned a Fluidmotion antenna.