Derek, Going to the higher gain antenna may cause shadowing in some areas close in to the repeater site if its up real high. I also like the DB-408 antennas and am using them on my systems. The fiberglass antennas are OK also, But if they take a lightning hit they are gone. I had an ASP copy of a DB813 on a water tower and it took a direct hit and it still worked great. I had a big burn mark on one of the loops. It also had a red plastic cap on the top and it was burned and blackened. To me the loop style antennas are the way to go for antennas in areas the there is a good chance of being hit by lightning. If you are going to sidemount a fiberglass antenna you need to be 3 to 6 feet out from the side of the tower as the fiberglass antennas need room to flex. An arm out to the upper part of the fiberglass antenna is a good idea. With the antenna manufactures going overseas to build antennas the quality is not like the ones we got years ago. You may want to look at COMPROD antennas. There web site is www.comprodcom.com they build great antennas.
73 from Paul W9DWP
