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Old 5-Jan-2012, 4:25 PM   #14
GroundUrMast
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Greater Seattle Area
Posts: 4,773
Absent body language and tone of voice, my previous comments could be read more than one way. Please be assured, I don't desire to offend you or your neighbors. You're in a tough spot. I wish I had a simple and inexpensive answer, but I don't. If I offended, please forgive me.

Quote:
Since you own the YA-1713, have you seen these Amazon reviews? - #1 #2
Are their comments about build quality accurate?
Though the expectations of both reviewers may be high, I won't contradict either. To be fair, I would expect competing consumer grade products to be reviewed in a similar manner by those reviewers if they are being consistent and objective. Given the dramatic cost difference, I expect consumer grade antennas to bend more easily than commercial grade antennas.

I used "Y**713" to refer to both the Antennacraft and Winegard 10 element H-VHF Yagi products. I presently own an Antennacraft Y5713. Here in the Seattle area, I've come across both brands of the 10 element version and have concluded they are generally comparable in build quality. Though some will argue the merits of one or the other, I don't see enough difference to join in a debate. The integral balun used by Winegard can often be a plus. But if you need to gang or stack, I'd prefer the 300Ω balanced output of the Antennacraft which would allow me to use quarter-wave-length sections of 450Ω balanced line as the interconnecting phasing line.

It's not a direct comparison, but my recent purchase of a Winegard HD8800 has been disappointing. I had to run to the hardware store to replace missing machine screws which could and should have been packaged better... and had simply fallen out of the box during shipping. There is no anodizing or other coating on the aluminum parts, so corrosion will be a problem a bit sooner. (To be fair, the Antennacraft is not anodized either.) The electrical performance of the HD8800 has been significantly less than lesser antennas, including a crudely built DIY 4-bay w/reflector. At present, modification of the combining harness is a 'back-burner' project (after some reading over at the Antenna Development section of digitalhome.ca).
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Last edited by GroundUrMast; 8-Jan-2012 at 5:26 PM.
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