Horizontal, Vertical, or Horz/Vert

[jackrabbit]

This may have been covered before, but im having a hard time deciding. I am in the market for a inexpensive beam antenna. I wanted at least a 4 element. I like the price, size, and reviews of the Sirio 4 element. I currently run an IMAX 2000 and its seems to talk local well and DX well also. I have only one tower. I was going to install the sirio horizontally under the imax and let it rock. However, I hear alot of people saying that they prefer to mount beams vertically so they can talk locally and some skip too, thus no longer needing an all directional. It seems to me that a beam mounted vertically would lose a good bit of its ablilty for DX. So I'm having a hard time deciding how to mount a 4 element and whether to keep the imax up as well. Enter the Maco M103C-HV. Has three horizontal elemets and three verticle. Best of both worlds. Isues with maco: Heavier, 3 elements instead of 4, two runs of coax, more expensive.

I really dont want the added weight on my tower's mast, so the maco doesnt seem like a good choice. But the single polarity of the Sirio without knowing which way is best to mount it leaves me perplexed. Im thinking of sticking with my insticts and using the imax for local and horz sirio for dx. I just want to know if im talking to someone 40 miles away on my imax, and i switch to a horizontal beam pointed at them...am i going to lose them because they are too close and have a vertical antenna? Or am i wrong about the inability for a horizontal beam to talk to a local verical?

[Night Crawler]

It seems to me that a beam mounted vertically would lose a good bit of its ablilty for DX.

No it won't.

I just want to know if im talking to someone 40 miles away on my imax, and i switch to a horizontal beam pointed at them...am i going to lose them because they are too close and have a vertical antenna?

Their signal will drop around three S units or near 20db because of the cross polarization with you being horizontal and the other station being vertical.

[29va]

Ive had awesome luck with my 3 element on the "flatside" shooting skip,then my a-99 right abnove it locally!!

[231]

Yea, it's been covered many times...but it's always a good topic. And just like the topic, there are probably as many view points and levels of experience to where it really boils down to preferences. After running a dual polarity beam it was hard for me to ever be happy again with a straight yagi in just one polarity. I personally would use a smaller dual polarity beam over a larger single polarity any day. But that's just me. I'd rather have a quad over a yagi, too. Again, just preference. That's not saying yagi's are bad by the way. It's merely stating there are differences I happen to deem important that others might not care for. Like having a higher F/B and F/S ratio vs. higher forward gain. The whole point of a beam to me has been not to just increase my gain, but to have the ability to squelch out interference. And when propagation really starts hitting hard, having a great back and side door on a beam to talk local has been important to me. It can get frustrating to not be able to talk local, but talk across the country. You may laugh, but I assure you it get's pretty frustrating...or rather, has me over the years.

So if it's just going to be for DX, then flat side is fine with your omni on top. Besides, now that you know about dual polarity and are already questioning it, chances are good you'll be trying one in the future.

Best of luck in your decision.

[joekillowatt]

i myself plan on going flat with a 4 element maco,,,,,,,i max in the tree 80 ' up...i agree with you on the expense of going both v@h,,,the tower i got is only 20' for my beam ..