Hi! Can anyone give me a recommendation for the RHCP antenna types for satellite work by the (new?) Gulf Alpha outfit?
http://www.GulfAlphaAntennas.com/
In particular, do you have first hand experience with the Gulf Alpha portable 2m 3x3 element RHCP on the 4ft boom and the 70cm 5x5 element RHCP on the 3ft boom? Or do you know someone who does?
If I am so lucky, I would also appreciate if there are any comparisons of these types to the two "extremes" of competitors: M2 436CP30 on the one hand and Arrow II (or the new Alaskan Arrow) antennas on the other.
http://m2inc.com/index.php?ax=amateur&pg=106 http://arrowantennas.com/arrowii/146-437.html
In my application of interest, I know the 436CP30 is considered overkill because I am concerned about portable or semi-portable ground stations at the moment, but features such as construction technique and durability can be related among these units.
As an aside, for those of you who use linear Yagi antennas for portable satellite work, how important is it for you to rotate the sense (polarization) of your antennas, vertical through horizontal, during a given contact? Not worth the bother? Or do you think "next time I'm gonna build in a way to rotate the plane of my uplink/downlink antenna"???
Thoughts?
Thank you very much,
Pat Kilroy N8PK