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Lightning 8 (Sig. Engineering)

skirtchaser

Active Member
Sep 18, 2005
122
4
28
N.Western Arizona
Light8.jpg

Boom

42 ft. x 2 in. Diameter Aluminum
Spreader Brackets

6061 Heavy Wall Aluminum
Spreaders

Rugged Fiberglass, 13'7" Longest Spreader Length
Elements

Enamel Protected Copper Wire
Fasteners

Plated For Corrosion Resistance
Wind Area

9.8 Sq. Ft.
Turning Radius

22'5"
Wind Survival

100 Mph
Weight

57 Lbs.


Electrical

Frequency Range

26.965Mhz - 28.870Mhz
10/11 Meter Models Available
Gain

19.4 dBi
Front-to-Back Ratio

47 dB
Front-to-Side Ratio

53 dB
VSWR

1.4:1
Vertical-Horizontal Isolation

30 dB
Transmission Line Required

50 Ohm Coaxial (2 Required)

Power Handling Capability

8 KW
lightning8pat.gif

lightning8pat2.gif


Kinda makes ya' want to drool on yer' shoes huh?
Sigh...............
 

'Drool'? Yep, right up to the point of wondering what to put the thing on top of, and then paying for either one! LOL
- 'Doc
 
drool? over what? some of their outlandish claims as to how they are superior to everything else? far better-built antennas for far less money can be found. far better-built antennas for equally outrageous prices are also available, but we're just trying to put SE in their place here. just like many antenna manufacturers, amateur radio included, they've included some truth, & spun some truth to make their product the best. they compare THEIR signal engineering 'beams' to other 'beams' such as the moonraker. well, their antenna is a quad. the moonraker is a yagi with a quad-type reflector. hence the reason their 'special' elements are 1 wavelength radiators vs other beams which only use 1/2 wavelength. DUH. they produce 2db more forward gain then a conventional beam. yeah, but, who is going to notice that extra quarter of an S-unit? sure, a 2 element signal hawk quad has the gain of a 3 element yagi, but in my 'hood, the 3 element yagi is less conspicuous then any quad. we'll skip overall gain rating. yes, there IS some factual elements to the comparison of a quad to a yagi on their site. i will however dispute to the death any claims of how well built those things are. in my area, yagi's have outlasted any & evey SE quad that's been installed over the years. snow, ice & rain detunes them, add in some wind & salt air, & while the yagi keeps on tickin', the SE begs for repair.
 
davegrantsr, you seem to know a lot about the SE beam. Why are the feed point locations for vertical and horizontal different from other quad type antennas like the convential Cubex?
 
MC, I agree. Dave was pretty specific in his remarks, but I was looking for him to be more specific about the difference, if he knows.

I am surprised you still have the SE 4. I guess that tells us that one has to pick out issues that are POSITIVE to say about things we wish to sell; if we want to be successful.

Do you still have my check?
 
Yep, still have the check.

Did I say something negative about the Lightning 4? Its selling for $250.00 shipped and a great deal if you (or anyone) wants one.
 
Just took a look at both 'Cubex's and 'Signal Engineering's web sites. Between the two of them, I think I come closer to believing 'Cubex's advertising than 'S.I's. What does that proove about their antennas? Nothing, just which one has better (more believable) advertising. (Didn't bother looking at prices cuz I certainly don't plan on buying from either one.)
All I have to go on as to the feeding systems are what I can see in the pictures and what's said on the web sites. So, that means a few 'assumptions' on my part. Keeping that in mind...
The 'S.I.' quad appears to be fed with a gamma or simular type matching system. Not really anything 'wrong' with that, but also not really anything particularly 'right' with it either. As long as the impedances are matched, and there isn't a huge amount of loss, it ought'a work fine. How about the horizontal/vertical feeds? Not real sure about that. If the electrical lengths of those matching devices is chosen carefully, the one not in use sort of disapears 'electrically'. As far as 'where' the driven element is fed, side, or bottom, that's the 'standard'/typical means of changing polarity with a quad. No problem with that, I can buy it.
Next!
I thend to put more 'faith' in what I read on 'Cubex's site, mostly. They seem to tend to 'ring' more 'bells' with what I'm familiar with in how they 'do' things. Can't say I agree with everything they say, but I can say I at least 'see' where they're comming from, sort of. Wouldn't go so far as to say their electrical characteristics for their antenna is 'correct', but they are an order of magnitude more so than 'S.I.'s! They are at least consistant.

I'm not a mechanical engineer by any means so couldn't say which is the stronger antenna 'mechanically'. That's a very big consideration when you're talking about any antenna like a quad, and weather.

Quads and yagi type antennas are only very roughly comparable. There are some differences, and when comparing comparative ease in erecting them, the yagi will usually come out ahead.
Electrically, a quad tends to 'open' and 'close' the bands. Probably won't be the loudest thing on the band when it's open though. Just depends on what you want, or your operating 'style'. If you live at a very high elevation, get the quad. If not, take your pick.
- 'Doc

More than you ever wanted to hear about antennas, and then I left a lot of stuff out too.
 
don't honestly know, marconi. it is far more complicated then the 'direct feed', or other matched quads i've used/built. and they never seem to stay 'good', when & if we can get 'em set. aside from my main 'complaints' with SE-their near 'jo-gunn-like' braggadoccio, their poor ability to withstand mother nature, & that funky, dual polarity wire set-up, i think there are better things to spend money on. for ME, a 3-4 element horizontally polarized yagi is much less ostentatious, & performance nearly equals the quad-type reflector of the 'raker or wilson/maco products i've used. of course, dual polarity like pdl2 would be a plus for CB. in truth, i think the weak links of the spreaders & boom can be overcome rather easily. i just don't get the matching system. the ones i've touched grossly detuned in rain, snow, ice, wind, etc. a pdl type match, or ANYTHING easier/more reliable would garner a second look. am not spending $400 on an auction pdl, nor throwing any more money away on SE stuff.
 

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