I have 2 DB-420 on the air 450-470 split, Minimal SWR at 441.XXX and 442.XXX, works great. One of mine is at 150' on top of a water tower and the other is on top of a 322ft old microwave tower. The one at 322' has a 40+ mile range with a good mobile (Dependant upon terrain, of course).
You will probably run into a few who will recommend a DB-408 over the 420 due to it's smaller size being more sturdy, Higher gain of the 420 creating an "umbrella" null (yet to realize that one) under the antenna, and its only 3dB less gain than the 420, and most users wouldn't notice the difference. I have a friend who has a 408 and it plays pretty good too. I had bought a 408 to use before I came up with the first 420, it was a brand new 450-470 split, and according to the printout that came with it (the VSWR test printout) showed it to be most resonant at 442.xxx, so I wouldn't worry too much about not getting the exact ham band split, they are really broadbanded! (Preparing for flame attacks) I'll keep my 420's and be happy, you'll probably be happy with it too. 73 Tom W9SRV ----- Original Message ---- From: kk2ed <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, April 29, 2007 9:20:47 PM Subject: [Repeater-Builder] DB420 performance? Good Evening, I have a site with a PD455-5 at 400ft that has failed me after 10 years of service. The reflected power has risen to about 10% of the forward power, and coverage is drastically reduced. Rather than installing another PD455-5 (which will most likely fail in another 10 years due to the fact that it is top mounted without a support brace at the top), I was considering a folded dipole array. I hear that the DB420 is no longer made for the 440-450 split. Can I use a 450-470 split antenna at 443MHz without seeing any noticable performance degredation? Is it worth the extra money switching to the DB420? Also, I have considered using a PD-1151. Has anyone done any real- world comparison between the 10db PD455 and the 8db PD1151? Thanks Eric KE2D Yahoo! Groups Links __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
