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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
PA0CLN Rating: 2008-11-27
8 bands on one coax Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My SteppIR may be the first send to Europe, ordered in november 2001.
Since 2 years I have also the 30/40 m dipole.

The price/performance ratio (number of bands covered, gain, windload, versus the price) of this antenna is the best available.

Over the years I had some problems. However I got several (free) updates for the software chip. And, besides that, all the support I needed for solving the problems.
The SteppIR organisation never disappointed me and still have all my credits. It is a nice concept, that deserves full feed-back support of the users.
SV1OZ Rating: 2008-10-13
Good but NOT Reliable Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Me & my friend SV1QN bought together 2 Steppir 3EL antennas withought the 40m kit.
We installed both antennas 2 months ago on our towers and after 2 weeks both antennas increased to high SWR. After following all recommended checks in the manual we found that was not wire or control problem. So we decided to bring both antennas down for inspection.
In both antennas the plastic gray color shaft was broken!!!
In one antenna was the director & other was the reflector.
After sending emails to factory and waiting at least 10 days for reply we managed to get two refurbished EHU units with a new type shaft (black color).
When we checked the other two elements found that the shafts had also crack issues but were still working.(Fo how long who knows).
We realized that we had no hope to finish with these issues in the future so we decided to construct new shafts in our local market with harder & better material to replace all elements and avoid having in the future similar issues.
Conclusion is: Very good antenna "When it works" but needs upgrades.
These cheap parts they use for such a high priced antenna is Unacceptable!!!
Guys if you own one steppir antenna and have a brocken shaft issue replace "all fo them" if you want to avoid repairing your antenna for the same issue in the future.
PD9JO Rating: 2008-10-11
A 5 for the results Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After working a lot of stations with the antenna I can say that ik works GREAT!!!!
I also like to say, thanks Ron from Vine UK for the help and understanding!!
Respect Ron!!!
The antenne gives a 1:1 at all the bands now, the 180 gr works super and also bi-dir is nice to use.
I hope everything stays like this, you can read the story of this all at www.pd9jo.nl under Stepp-IR.
73.s and hope to meet you all soon!!!!
Jo.
W1ZE Rating: 2008-09-16
Great!!! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Beat 3-element yagi (with 40/30M mod)I have used in the last 48 years. Expensive but worth every penny. Great tech support from SteppIR too.
K7UA Rating: 2008-07-17
Fine antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had a 2 element SteppIR Yagi up for two years. I had also added the extra 6M parasitic element to the 2 el Yagi. I put it up on a Force 12 "low profile tower" at 42 ft., hoping to draw little attention from the neighbors. The boom of the 2el is only 57 inches long! A very trim package. I have worked over 300 countries with it here at the very bottom of the sunspot cycle. No neighbor issues, so I just added the third element last month. The front to back ratio was good before. Now it is great. Just push the reverse button and a strong signal disappears. SWR is tuned flat on all HF bands and about 1.5:1 on 6M. When I upgraded the antenna I did notice that one of my rubber boots was quite deteriorated. The others were somewhat deteriorated, so I replaced them all. Not much of a bother for my low crankup tower setup. I highly recommend this antenna as either a 2 or better yet 3 element.
PB7CW Rating: 2008-07-06
Outstanding. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
It`s realy amazing, what you hear is what you get!
I have no further information, read all reviews and you are up to date.
All photo`s of my Steppir installation you will find on www.pb7cw.net
WA4AEJ Rating: 2008-05-30
Best antenna I have ever used!! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This antenna was well worth the wait! It arrived exactly when they said, and the build quality was excellent. I had no problems putting it together. Performance is outstanding. With my old tri-bander I would struggle in contests and DX pileups. With the 3 el. SteppIR I am consistently receiving signal strength reports higher than others and, in fact, often receive "big signal" comments. To date the antenna has been flawless. I am so pleased with the yagi I am seriously considering a BigIR for 40 and 80 DX. If you are on the fence regarding the purchase of this antenna go ahead and pull the trigger - you won't be disappointed. 73 Dale.
KB3MMX Rating: 2008-04-27
Awesome Antenna and Leader in Antenna Technology !! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Well, I think all the 5/5 reviews here pretty much sum up this great antenna's performance and the outstanding SteppIR customer service !!
At first leary about the antenna due to initial cost and hearing the doom and gloom speculation about having moving parts(from NON-SteppIR owners).
This antenna has NEVER missed a beat since I installed it !!
I paid close attention to the instructions and also some tips from the SteppIR Yahoo reflector, which had eliminated any self inflicted problems that I have heard a few people have had due to not following the instructions. (DUH !! )

I am striving to never own another regular aluminum fixed beam with limited bandwidth in my life if I can help it !!
I am also striving to never again have a lossy "tuner"/transmatch in my shack for any antenna again !!
Something to note as well is how nice and low the noise level is on this antenna compared to aluminum. I am guessing it is because the elememts are guarded from static and wind by the fiberglass tubes...
Another nice thing is this antenna's performance and tuning is not screwed up by ice OR rain due to being infinitely adjustable....no worries about SWR creep !!

Excellent Product, would HIGHLY recommend to anyone interested in a high performance antenna !!






K0JJM Rating: 2008-04-11
Very Satisfied Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I continue to highly value my SteppIR! It has withstood high winds (60+), ice storms (more than I want to think about!), heavy rains, etc. with no problem! Last winter we had an ice storm that loaded up the fiberglass arms so much they were sloping down at a 45 degree angle from the boom. As soon as the ice melted, they came right back up. I have had no problems with the motors either. I wish I had room for the 4 element but I would have to cut down all of my trees!
N1API Rating: 2008-04-05
Just the best Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I just LOVE this antenna. I have the 3 element yagi with the 6 meter passive element. I've had it up now for almost 3 years and am just pleased with the way it has performed, and the way that it has survived the elements. I've been able to work most anything that I've heard. I'm happy with the ability to now be able to work 12 and 17 meters and look forward to the bands opening up as the sunspot cycle ramps up. I should get on 6 a little more but need to get the 6 meter radio worked on. I understand that the antenna can be optimized for 6 meters and hope that I can find someone who can help me do this. One of the most useful functions is the ability to electrically reverse the antenna or make it bidirectional. This is a real handy thing when working a local net on 10 meters and you have stations in all directions and they are running verticals against your yagi so they start by being 20db down on you.

I would recommend this antenna to anyone who is looking for a good performing yagi. I imagine that by stepping up to the 4 element you can become a real power station.

Al N1API