J. McLaughlin wrote:
Dear Rob (unknown call; unknown location; no E-mail address):
Your questions are unanswerable.
What constitutes the "best" antenna depends on many factors. You
have only provided the information that you are "up north" and that
you wish an antenna to survive Winter weather.
It is unlikely that someone has "tried" both of the antennas you
mention. If they had gone to that expense it would be to write a
paper/book or because one of the antennas died.
Winter survival depends on a number of factors (including luck).
What is a reasonable design to place at 40 feet in an old, wooded
subdivision is likely to be outrageous at 200 feet in open country.
The ARRL has sold a book on the mechanical design of beams. It
is a good reference to study. The mechanical standard for towers and
antennas is 222F. It too should be consulted.
It will be a few more years before the survival characteristics of
the Step products starts to have statistical significance. I have
heard from riggers that the F12 products do not do well in severe
wind/weather conditions. (You may well not have such severe
conditions.) A search using Google, or the like, will turn up
more information.
Be cautious of statements that contend that their antenna survived
last Winter's storm. The writer's location may have shielded the
antenna. I hope that this is of assistance.
Regards, Mac N8TT

"Rob" wrote in message
...
I am thinking of putting up a yagi antenna. I am considering
putting up either the SteppIR 3 el yagi or the Force 12 XR5.

Does anyone have any opinions on which is the best antenna? Has
anyone tried both?

Rob
P.S. I live up north where there is lots of snow and ice during the
winter. Will the SteppIR antenna survive such weather?

Thanks for the reply. Well the most important factor for me is survival. I
live inside a National Park up in Canada where lots of snow, ice, wind, etc
occur during the long winter months. The antenna will be located up in the
clear. There will be not much around to shield it from the winds.

The SteppIR products looks interesting but they do not have much of a track
record. I used to use a Cushcraft R7000 but that only lasted 3 winters. I
am not that impressed with the strength of Cushcraft products.

Rob