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From: Jim Barber, N7CXI
Date: 5/7/99
Time: 9:34:15 PM
Remote Name: 207.66.137.55
Ron,
There are a number of working CFA's around, including mine. One of the reasons you aren't seeing a lot of test reports is that none of us (that I know of) feel comfortable yet that we have a good handle on the phasing network, element scaling, and inter-element spacing.
Speaking for myself, my current impressions are that it does quite well on DX signals that arrive at low angles, and less well on signals closer than 800km or so. In the next couple of weeks, I plan to build a full-size 1/4 wave vertical on 40m as a reference antenna. When I can compare apples to apples, and feel that I've optimized both the network and the CFA structure, I'll publish comparisons.
Why so cautious? Two reasons, really. One, the CFA is a VERY strange beastie, and continues to defy analysis. Two, the antenna has received a lot of bad press/bad mouthing based on armchair analysis and second/third hand reports. "So-and-so said this, and so-and-so said that."
Personally, I'm choosing to focus on my own testing, share what ideas I may have, and worry about the so-and-so's when I have something (whatever the outcome) to report. :-)
Regards, Jim Barber, N7CXI N7CXI@SiliconPixels.com jlbarber@wolfenet.com