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I also recently purchased this antenna (HDB8X). I have used the 4228 for a few years and my situation is more difficult than most, 70 miles from the transmitters and in hilly terrain.
Construction of the antenna was straight forward, but I also found it to be weak in physical strength, the reflector end caps came off easily. I was also surprised that the elements were strickly pressure points between wires with screws and plates (no rivets or welds). Here in the Northwest, exposed to allot of water, these points will oxidize and become resistive over time (have already seen this design and used it, with the oxidation results) I doubt this antenna will with stand a 50mph wind (get them in the fall and spring).
Putting the 4228 against the HDB8X with a 10Db (2.7DB NF) amp (have too), the 4228 out performed the HDB8X by about 6Db (measured, I have a RFM 151)
I substituted the cheap combiner with a transformer type and picked up 3Db, but with the 300 ohm to 75 ohm baluns on each bay (HDB8X), it just couldn't match the performance of the 4228.
If I was closer to the transmitters by even 15 miles, and they were in different directions, this antenna would rock, but for fringe, (extreme fringe) it just wont hold up. As a side note the 4228 stand alone is weak also, for me, I must use the preamp, and to bring in a couple of weak stations I have doubled the 4228's (use two of them) into the preamp, allot of plumbing but it works. I did run a test with 2 HDB8X's (yes I bought 2, I had high hopes) into the same situation, and only received half as many channels. Those supplied combiners really bite. (HDB8X)
My next try will be to modify the HDB8X's with 300 ohm combiners (feedline method) and see what happens.
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