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Reviews For: SteppIR 40/30 Kit

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

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Review Summary For : SteppIR 40/30 Kit
Reviews: 10MSRP: 345 with new antenna, $490 add o
Description:
The SteppIR 40/30 kit adds the ability to cover both the 40 and 30 meter bands when using the SteppIR 2, 3 or 4 element yagi. The kit serves as a dipole for these bands, while not changing the operation of the yagi for 20 - 6 meters.
Product is in production
More Info: http://steppir.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00103.6
G0WYD Rating: 2021-02-01
instructions ? Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just paid an arm and a leg for the 30/40 add on, and when it turns up the instructions are rather hard to follow. parts are listed but the parts are not marked, really worried i could build this and add it to my antenna to find i have done it all wrong, and then face a massive bill to sort it out, really thinking of just selling it on as i don’t want to mess up the antenna i am very happy with, some of the pictures are of older kit from the early days, such a shame they do not have a video to help ?.

sad really as i did rate their antennas until now. and you dont get a hand book you get it on a memory stick not good as we all dont have a printer at home, !!!!!bob.
AD7HM Rating: 2020-06-07
Should have stayed with the 20m element Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased an older 4 element Steppir from a ham that was upgrading. I put the 4 element antenna up on my tower almost 10 years ago, and it worked well.

Then I thought, it would be nice to have a better 40 meter antenna. I ordered the 40m dipole kit to retrofit.

At first, it worked fine. Somewhere along the way, three issues occurred.

First: one of the copper tapes got mangled in the fiberglas tubes. This side of the antenna was 18 inches shorter than the other side, due to the way the copper tape got folded over.

Second: the copper tapes jumped the spools. If you want a sure-fire way to make a mess of SWR, that will do it.

Third: due to my error, the control cable connector fell off.

I had the entire element down for almost a year. I pulled the housing unit apart, straightened the copper tape, re-wound tapes on the spools, tensioned the spools - there is no information on SteppIR's web site so I made an educated guess - and tested it to death on the ground. I added more tension to the spools, as without tension, the copper tape WILL NOT spool up.

I got the element up two weeks ago. And today, I cannot get any decent SWR with the driven element.

(While putting up the driven element, I pulled the other fiberglas tubes down to put several coats of varnish on...and found that the tape on one side of my reflector had "jumped" the motor and was extended 24 inches past the other tape. Not a big deal until the element is fully extended.)

I am at a crossroads. I am not sure if I want to try to resurrect the dipole loop with a rebuilt element housing unit; to return the antenna to its former 4 element self; or to pull the SteppIR down and put up something else.

When it worked, it worked well. I fondly remember working Australia with 5 watts on 20 meters with this antenna - 45 degrees off of the direction of the main lobe!
ZS2DL Rating: 2011-11-10
Improved Service Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Sometimes one has to eat ones own words. Here I have to eat the words of my previous review. After reading my previous review personally John Mertel from SteppIR contacted me and offered to not only send me the spares I needed to fix the antenna but also paid for the shipping of all the spares. In fact he went to the extreme and sent me more items than I actually needed.

As a result my SteppIR now functions 100% as it should again and my confidence has been restore in the company's aftersales service. This however does not detract from the fact that the design is flawed but has convinced me to improve the rating from a 1 to a 3.

I am busy assembling my Ultrabeam and will review it soon.

Donovan
ZS2DL
K6ZSS Rating: 2010-12-09
Keeps freezing up Time Owned: more than 12 months.
When I first added this kit, it performed very well. However for the past 2 winters I have experienced problems with the driven element freezing up during the cold winters. The driven element EHU keeps filling up with water, and has been back to Vine twice because of problems with the tapes. It is not very well engineered for 40/30 and given a choice again, I would choose a separate rotary dipole for 30/40m.
K0JW Rating: 2007-09-23
Nice feature! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My 3 element Steppir has been up for 17 months and working perfectly, it is a great performer. I took it down to install the 40/30 kit and noticed the rubber boots that couple the fiberglass elements to the boom had some signs of weather related deterioration, serious enough in my opinion to require replacement while I had the antenna on the ground. I called the nice folks at Steppir and they sent out a complete set of new ones at no cost! They are beefier than the originals and will be taped over to help prevent decay. The 40/30 kit went together fairly well, the kit had one error, there were two bolts that were an inch longer than they were supposed to be, no big deal...quick trip to the hardware store fixed that. Once installed and back up on the tower the results are most gratifying and 40 meters has really come to life for me like never before. Great reports from all over. I highly recommend Steppir antennas and look forward to having lots of fun with mine!
W1UF Rating: 2007-08-24
599 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I was an early adopter of the SteppIR 3el. When I first saw pictures of this ridiculous-looking trombone element, I was dubious. How could it compete with my existing wires?

Because of my high satisfaction with the 3el, I took another chance and ordered the 30-40 setup. Its been up for about 3 weeks and I have not once looked back.

I am a DX chaser and have been amazed at the performance of this folded-back dipole element. This is summer and the bands are noisy, but the DX is plentiful and I seem to get through mostly on the first call. I particularly enjoyed a 100-w QSO on 30m with VK2GWK--also a SteppIR 30-40 station.

Congratulations again to the gang at SteppIR for an exceptional and innovative product.

One more thing: The stray rf that was around the house and into the stereo/telephone electronics with the wire antennas appears to have gone away, even though the SteppIR is only about 6 feet above my peaked roof.

N4MWY Rating: 2007-08-23
wonderful addition to my 3 element Steppir Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.



I have had the 3 element steppir with the 6 meter passive element for awhile and have recently added the 30-40 meter dipole upgrade kit and it works great. The steppir is mounted at about 58 feet.

The dipole has allowed the working of more dx on 40 than I was able to work before and the signal reports are better. I had never worked Poland on 40 meters until it was installed.



Herman
n4mwy
Mobile, Alabama


W2YJ Rating: 2007-02-22
SteppIR_W 40/30 kit Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The SteppIR 3 element beam has been in operation for 2 1/2 years here with one problem that I created. I didn't have the center PVC 12 conductor cable protector situated correctly and water got into it and stopped the operation of the reflector. I thought it was the reflector motor and the SteppIR people sent me a motor free. I had to return the old motor. After this was corrected I had no problems with the beam and I live in Buffalo, NY where we get wind, snow, rain, and freezing rain.
I added the 40/30 kit this past September and I did have problems with water getting into the hairpin turn around on one side and freezing and stopping the 40/30 operation. I will correct this with larger weep holes and correcting the tilt in the hairpin end when spring comes. Again, I created this by not having the 40/30 driven element on one side situated horizontally and water collected on one end. I suspect this was a result of the two fiberglass elements being of slightly different lengths when extended. This will also be corrected.
Apart for my errors the beam is the best addition in antennas to my setup and I would highly recommend it!!!
George
VU2VKU Rating: 2006-12-18
Good performance Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Have only owned it for less than a month, so
cannot comment on its durability.

Purchased the 2 Element with the 30/40 add-on
for the vu7ld expedition and carried it to vu
from W land.
Have been able to put up the antenna in 2 hours.
Fantastic reports on the air for the 40m operation. I personally did about 540 contacts in
a week on 40m SSB.
What i found was that there is directionality.
I could switch the 180 degrees and get some
signals better off the back. I was always
thinking it as a rotary dipole, but this was
a surprise to me. The director does interact on
40m.

The same experience when i installed it back in
VU2 and worked the VU7 station. Even though the
beam was pointed at VU7, the signals were better
off the back of the beam. Perhaps due to the low
angle take off from the VU7 and my close
proximity.
The semi-circle black tubing to connect the 2
fibreglass poles for the copper tape to extend for the 30/40m operation could be straightened and taped to the other tubes for transportation
in a ski bag. Did it twice and not a problem.
One minor issue is that the screws and nuts are
tiny to fasten the fibreglass spreader and the
tube to the long elements. I think adding some
compression clamps on the black tube to the
plastic molding at the point where this gizzmo
attaches to the element will be some peace of
mind for the long haul once up the tower.

Also the PVC sleave that is shipped with the
driven is supposed to be glued. I wish there was
a different approach to this. It ain't good from
a resale standpoint and dismanting or for that
matter dismantling and re-installation when one
moves ones Qth.

The black tubing has ventilation holes and should
always face downwards. No marking on the tubings
on this. So please take note. Fluid motion should
put a paint marker for this.

The metal ring on the fibreglass tubes did show
some signs of rust since the beam was installed
close to the lagoon facing the saltwater. This
was in a period of 10 days.

I wish the fibreglass poles collapsed to under 49
inches to fit in a golf case, but they are longer. But again, this is a very specific
requirement for ease of transportation.

Overall, the performance was very good. I am
going in for a 3Element for the home Qth. The
2Ele with 30/40m was snapped up in VU due to its
performance.

Thanks
Krish
VU2VKU
W4VKU
WD0M Rating: 2006-11-04
Great Addition Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
As one of the first to put this kit on a 4 element antenna, I can only say that in operation, it's great! I experienced some issues with the installation, but once past that, the antenna functions very well. You can find a step by step assembly review at:

http://home.centurytel.net/WD0M/

It's nice to have 40 - 6 meter coverage using one coaxial cable! The SWR on 40M is 1:1 across the band, and for 30M it's 1.5:1 in my installation.

SteppIR's approach to upgrading antennas is to be commended. They're innovative and enthusiastic, and their products do a great job. This will probably be the last antenna I'll buy.

73,
Joe
WDØM