[amsat-bb] Satellite antenna question

I have a kind of minimal satellite antenna setup: a 16 element and a 14 element, both horizontally polarized, with no elevation. I notice that on some passes I can barely hear the satellites, or not at all, and other times they come through strong.

Would upgrading to a real satellite antenna system: circular polarization with elevation remove these variances in signal strength? With such a setup, would I have perfect copy on every sat pass, or does is the differences in signal from pass to pass something everyone lives with?

73s John AA5JG (ex: W5TD, NE0P) 6M WAS #1275, 6m VUCC #1260 2m VUCC #615, Satellite VUCC #129