SteppIR vs. Delta Loop - Who's The Best?

It's been windy again this week.  But I'm getting more confident in my fishing pole-and-wire 20m delta loop's ability to put up with hurricane-force winds (a term I use accurately - we have 120km/h or more regularly throughout the winter - and sometimes the summer!)

A wire triangle can't possibly be as good as a beam running power, right?  Wrong!

So, I switched on to find an US east-coast station coming in at a nice 58 or so.  He had a straightforward three element tribander on top of a house chimney, running 600W.

One of my colleagues down in Swansea, meanwhile, called said US station.  He was reported as received at 55.  He was running a three (I think!) element SteppIR antenna, with 400W going out from 40 feet.  Most of us would agree that's a big investment and an excellent set up.  What it doesn't tell you about is the antenna's environment.  Swansea is a highly-developed, urban environment.  My QTH isn't.

A big, expensive antenna does not automatically buy the best signal.

So, I fired a call across to the same US station.  Remember: my antenna is a pocket-money one element delta loop held aloft by a 10m fishing pole with the top 2m removed to allow weight to be carried at the tip.  I was running 100W, probably more like 90W after losses.

Who do you think had the best signal?

Well, it was neck-and-neck: the multi-thousand dollar SteppIR, amp and tower set up was getting the same report as my pocket money delta!

I wouldn't be so stupid as to claim my set up would win in every comparison with the more expensive system, but you do have to accept that bigger, more expensive and more powerful does not automatically mean a better received signal.

Environment is important, perhaps more so than many will accept.  Think about it.  If you want good low angle departure angles for long-haul DX, you need a horizon that is so clear of obstructions that very few living in countries like the UK will ever have that luxury.  Few live within sight of the sea.  Or have high concentrations of metals in the ground beneath their antennas.  We have all of these things, which makes a big difference to how well a simple station can get out.

So before you spend the bucks.  Try simple, proven antennas, especially verticals (which includes vertical dipoles, of course), to see just how far and how well you can reach...