Hi Rich.

You might want to investigate the HyGain DX88.  Lynn, N2IZX, uses one, and 
thinks very highly of it.  I think it would meet all of the criteria that 
you were looking at.

I don't think the GAP would have fared well in that storm either.  Its big 
drawback is the capacity hat at the bottom which will bend under the weight 
of ice.  My first one failed in the 2003 ice storm.  Other than that, the 
GAP is a good antenna, but it is so tall that it should be guyed to 
withstand high winds.  It also can develop problems if the rain cap at the 
top fails, as the first time rain gets in, you'll blow the capacitor in the 
top of the antenna, and then it becomes very difficult to load, even with a 
tuner.  I have already experienced this failure once.

73, de Lou K2LKK



At 08:45 PM 10/21/2006 -0400, you wrote:
>Hi everyone;
>The snow is gone, the antenna is history, and there are still lots of trees
>down.  I was using a kushcraft r8 which was roof mounted.  It was convenient
>in that it came with a counterpoise which supposedly avoided the need for
>long wire tuned radials.  It would appear that it just isn't sturdy enough
>for this area, however.
>I have looked at the gap but some of the reviews on e-ham were not exactly
>encouraging.  Butternut makes a good product but it can be hard to initially
>tune and then we have to deal with a set of radials.  The step-ir was also
>very interesting but I was never certain if it was self supporting and then
>we go back to radials.
>Are there some exciting options out there I haven't looked at?  This is a
>reasonably sized city lot about 50 by 140 problem is there is one pole at
>the rear of my yard which services my home and both neighbors.  Needless to
>say there are lots of wires al ready up there.  I would much prefer a nice
>simple dipole and it certainly would be easier to put up.
>73
>Rich

Louis Kim Kline
A.R.S. K2LKK
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